My Inspiron 1520 Personal Review W/ PICS!

* Why Did I Want The Dell 1520?*

Well, since I will be headin' off to college this upcoming fall (first year), I needed to pick out a laptop. I decided I was going to research this topic very throughly because this is going to be my first laptop I've never owned and also because I know I will be spending a lot of time with this notebook. I had a very hard time to choose what kind of notebook I wanted in order to fulfill my needs. I went from considering a Compal --> MacBook Pro --> and obviously a Dell 1520. I thought of a list that I wanted my notebook to have:

• Semi-Portable
• Professional Looking (black)
• Able to Game
• Affordable, or most bang for your buck (as some people like to say)

I felt like the Inspiron 1520 met all of these requirements very well, and after 3 weeks of researching which notebook I was going to get, I decided to click that "Buy" button.


* My 1520 Specs:*

• Anti-Glare Screen 1280x800
• T7500 2.2 Intel Core 2 Duo
• 256MB GeForce 8600m GT
• 2.5 GB RAM DDR2/667 mhz
• 120 GB HDD 5400 RPM
• 9 Cell Battery

* First Reactions:*

Once I first opened that package, I was amazed. I loved the way the Jet Black looked.




I started just typing on the keyboard immediately, and I swear you could have seen a smile on my face from a mile away. Your probably wondering why? Because the keyboard is just so satisfying. Its so rewarding pressing down each and every button. Its almost a gift just to be able to type on this keyboard. Yes, it's that good.








I picked up the notebook and thats also where I was amazed, but not in a good way (eek). This notebook weighs a good 7 lbs I would say, which is pretty hefty for a 15.4" notebook. But I knew I wasn't going to be carrying this notebook around that much, so I wasn't too disappointed.

I also noticed that when the screen is completely down, you can still wobble it a little bit, which I did not like one bit. Although this might not cause any problems, its just an annoyance.

And the 9 cell battery sticking out is not too bad, it just would have been better if it didn't stick out! But I can't complain, I do get 5-6 hours on power saver mode.





* Build Quality:*

People say that the Inspirons are known to be a little cheap when it comes to the build quality. Obviously, it's not going to be as good as a Thinkpad, but I would say that this notebook is surprisingly strong. The palm rests are plastic, but they feel very sturdy.

* Ports/Buttons:*


Front:

Left:

Right:

CD/DVD Drive:

Express Card:

* Gaming:*

Now, I havn't really been able to play a good variety of games, but I have been able to play:

• CS Source
  I cranked the settings to all high except for AA/AF on 1280x800, and I would say that my FPS never goes below 55, very playable. My FPS usually stays around the 65-90 range.
  
  Source Video Stress Test Results: WITH EVERYTHING ON HIGH AND AA AT 4X
  
  
  
  RESULTS:
  
  
  EVERYTHING ON HIGH WITH NO AA
  
  
  
  RESULTS:
  
  
  
• Doom 3 DEMO
  I played this demo on the "HIGH" settings (not ultra) on 1280x800 and I was easily able to play the game. I probably should have tried ULTRA to see what that was like, but I never did.
  
  
• F.E.A.R Multiplayer
  I just downloaded this game (the MP is free) yesterday, and so far I just wanted to say the game is awesome! I play it on high settings on 800x600 and the game is very playable. The game rarely ever chops up, and is fairly smooth when playing.

* Benchmarking:*

3DMARK06 (default settings) - 3284




AQUAMARK (default settings) - 86,673




SuperPi (2 million Digits) - 54 seconds

I know this test might not be that useful or helpful, but I will post them anyways.




Vista Experience Index Test

I only have a 5,400 RMP HDD, so thats why that score is so low. I don't like the way they score this test, I think they should do the average rather than the lowest score you got.





*Built-In Webcam*

I think this webcam is really nice. The quality is very good for a webcam.




MORE PICTURES
















SANTA ROSA BABY!




Height Comparison with 9 Volt Battery






FINAL THOUGHTS / CONCLUSION

I'm very, very happy with my decision to go with the 1520. So far, I love it! And I've already taken it to some places like my friends house, and a coffee shop and it wasn't that bad to transport around with. There are some things that need to be worked on with this model, but theres never something thats perfect.

PROS:
*Very Afforbable
*Looks nice
*Keyboard
*Can play games very well
*Does not get hot, unless you are doing some really, REALLY intense gaming

CONS:
*9 Cell battery sticking out
*Weight / Thickness
*Screen wobbles when shut





And to sum it all up, some other things...
My Desk







My Pride and Joy:

 

Superb review Larson! BTW - What Ram did you use when you upgraded?

 

Nice Review, my 1520 is here on tuesday and i cant wait.

just one question, i assume the port just below and right of the optical drive is the memory card reader?

If it is - how does it fit memory cards in, is it a sort of 1 size fits all?

Do memory cards stick out at all when they are in or not, i was planning on using a spare 2GB SD card for readyboost?

 

Good stuff. How do you like the screen? Any graininess issues?

 

Very nice! Can't wait to get mine! 2 MORE DAYS!! Hope you're enjoying yours

 

Very nice review! I just have one concern, and that is the headphone port. Do you get any interference/beeps/boops when listening with the included Creative earphones?

 

what a laptop for the price!!

 

You have the same problem as me. Text bleed, color shifting. On your test where is says 4.3 in control panels. Wow. Is speical effects off? antiglare screen. Oh boy.

 

After seeing these pics, I can't wait to get mine! I also went with the Jet Black color. Good choice and $20 cheaper.

 

Nice review!

 

Thanks for Review Larson. Now I can say. My Display was not normal. But it seems that all AntiGlare screens are little bit grainy. So its not for me anymore.
Thank You!

 

jpep are you saying larson's laptop has the color bleeding? I couldn't tell from his screenies...

 

I got OCZ 2 GB RAM off of Frys for $89.99. They are selling it even cheaper right now, for $84.99! Click Here!

Yes, that is the memory card reader. My memory card for my camera was able to fit in the reader fine. You just press it in, and it will come out. Mine did stick out more than the one that was in there already, so I'm sure it will fit a lot if not all memory cards.

I know a lot of people have been having problems with this with their anti-glare screen, but luckily, I'm not!

 

Thank you for the review man!

 

I don't have that.

No problem!

 

Excellent review - nice work!

If you get a chance, wouldn't mind seeing some pics of your resolution in action

 

What do you mean by that? Like some pics of me gaming, or of the screen? Because I have a picture of the screen.

 

Yes, But if he doesnt see it then it is fine. Maybe some laptops are defective. Mine is not grainy just has the color shift and it is hard to read text. Even in word. Although when i print it is black text. I'm stumped.
that is why i returned my 1520 and i really wanted to like it and keep it. On my wifes 1505 same issue.If there are more settings that i need to know about please let me know.

 

Awesome review! I'm in the same boat is you - goin' to college, first laptop, decided on 1520. Ordered mine on the 11th and it's scheduled to ship on the 25th and I can't wait to get it! I'm also glad to hear CS:S runs great. I've been playing that game with a Geforce 2 MX graphic card for ages and it's going to be so nice to finally be able to do it justice lol.

 

Just a picture from the camera with applications on the screen. I'm interested in seeing the 1280 x 800 screen. The only one I see where I can get a glimpse of it is the ones you have installing some applications.

 

Hey, actually I do know of a setting that does make the text look blurry almost. You said you've returned it already right? If not, I can tell you where to change that setting.

Dude, me too!!! I've had a really bad desktop computer for quite some time now... I can now move on to other games than CS 1.6!!!

 

Yeah... it was cleartype. I have mine on "Cleartype".

 

jpep are you sure it's not your eyes? I can't see anything and I'm not sure a screenshot can even pick up what a broken monitor would display without taking an actual picture of it.

 

Yeah, a screenshot will not pick up any bluriness or anything. It will pretty much just take a picture of what the computer sees, not what is actually on the screen. Say if you turn off your screen, and you press the screenshot button, its will going to show whatever was on your screen last, not just a black picture.

 

Hey that Espresso Brown you got that is looking tempting haha. I'm juggling between spring gree, midnight blue, and I think that brown. I'll have to see some actual pics of it. The Spring Green pics I saw that someone else posted were really vibrant. I like their color offerings almost completely.

 

I was thinking about getting the expresso brown, but decided to go with the jet black .

 

Same here man, I have been researching information about laptops like crazy for awhile now. This is also my first laptop and I do not want to make a bad choice. I have decided now finally to go with the inspiron 1520. Midnight blue or jet black? Last decision

 

Anyways, if i turn on cleartype it is worse.But, atleast my wife sees it and the tech who came over 2 times sees it. Just no one knows how to fix it. I'm not saying dell is a bad brand or the 1520 is bad. Just maybe i got 2 bad laptops that have problems.Im just afraid if i get another brand laptop and have the same problem i will go off the deep end here.

 

Yeah, I was researching about laptops for a while, making sure I made the right decision, and I think I did . I think both colors look good, but I'm just going to say you will not be disappointed with black.

 

This isn't a photo of the screen; it's a screen capture! So you can't tell ANYTHING about the screen from this; all you can tell is how Windows renders the text. Any other effects would be due to the screen you're viewing the image on. The laptop owner's LCD isn't even used to get the screen capture image.

 

Can you get some in-game shots or something with the FPS? Preferably CS:source and oblivion. Other than that nice review, I might get mine tommorow, tuesday for sure!

 

Then windows rendering my text to be resish and color bleed?

 

Yeah, I could do that.

 

Hey guys, just wanted to say that I updated my aquamark 3 scores because I accidentally ran the wrong test. Now the results are much better, although I don't even know if anyone noticed.

 

Well I don't have Vista but...

First, make sure your LCD is running at native resolution. (If it's not, I think that might be a cause of color bleeding.)

Also, look at this image:

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/sbs.gif

I only get color bleed on the bottom section on my monitor.
Do you get color bleed on the top section as well as the bottom?

Here's the page I got that image from: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/WhatIsClearType.mspx

 

Hi Larson
Great review there. I have also been considering the 1520 but am a little disappointed by the lack of HDMI. I want to know if I connect the VGA out of the laptop to the PC Input of a LCD HDTV, how good will be the screen quality and output resolution in comparison to the HDMI? - I mean real world comparison.

 

the same. you wont be able to tell a difference.

 

That's not true - going from VGA through to my HDTV over to a DVI->HDMI connection, there was a definite difference. Colors especially were much more vivid.

 

I am set at native resolution. I tried all different setups. Pretty much all lcd laptops gloss or matte have this problem then i should not get an lcd computer. It just seems something is wrong here.

 

Man, I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope the next laptop you get is perfectly fine.

 

Nice post Larson, if only I could have weighted for the 1520 to come out.......

jpep maybe you think Larson's screen has color bleeding problems coz ur looking at his pictures from your defective screen.... did you ever think of that?

Get a laptop with a CRT monitor that should do the trick

Anyway my only suggestion would be to change the DPI settings on your laptop and see if there's any change. You can also try to change the color profile for your display. That might work... g'luck

 

dose the webcam take good pic's ? dose it work with yahoo messenger ?

 

I'm yet to try out the webcam on AIM or yahoo, but I can tell you that the quality is superb! So is the microphone.

 

UPDATED 3DMARK06 SCORES... 300 POINTS HIGHER!!! I switched to Classic Theme and did some tweaks before I did the test.

3284!!!

 

Larson, magnificent review!
The only thing you can still do to get pretty close up to 4,000 in 3DMark06 is to use dual channel memory (1Gb+1Gb or 2Gb+2Gb) and a 7200rpm HDD and of course the latest XP/Vista drivers.

 

I think I am running dual channel actually. I hear you can still run dual-channel even if both sticks of RAM are not identical in size.

Check this out, this is my comp running CPU-Z:

 

best review i have ever seen

 

No, it won't run in dual channel. However, 3DMark 06 is mostly GPU dependant for dual channel RAM and a faster hard drive won't actually affect scores too much.

 

You might be right about the scores but I'm pretty sure that with higher frequency processor and dual channel DDR, at least you can get way much FPS in games than without them.

Larson I'm interested too in seeing some Oblivion FPS and your webcam working in messengers