To all who doubt Dell and the 9100. My ltl review.

Hello all.
I have read some of the posts here and wanted to say a few things and also give the small review as I said I would back at the beginning of MArch for the Dell 9100.

First of all Id like to comment that people here are complaining about Dell like they just suck in quality and no disrespect to anyone here but how many of you really know what youre talking about??
This is my first Dell but is it not obvious that this is one of the largest selling computer companies around?? They got there somehow.
Do any of you realise how difficult it must be to make a computer and make sure its compatible with what EVERYONE will do to it regarding software and hardware configs, not to mention people that arent very fluent and cause problems just by pressing the wrong keys at the wrong time?? My brother worked for LucasArts as a tester. His job was to take a game, and try to make it crash. Every time it crashed, hed send it back up to programers, and theyd fix that problem. Then hed do it again. Theyd have to write code for every problem hed create just as a USER. Sometimes hed just hit a key at the wrong time, it would crash. Extra work has to be done for the most probable human error possibilities just to keep that game running not to mention what has already been worked out to make it run WITHOUT human interference. Now apply this to a computer. EVERYONE does different things with them. Many people do the wrong things. I have taken my old Gateway laptop apart to the last screw at least 7 times to fix things, replaced parts, worked out software issues over the years. Sometimes even I still do the wrong thing and cause a problem or crash. sometimes worse.
Ok with this in mind, lets go back to how much product Dell moves out to customers. Compared to some other brands A LOT. Lets also remember that this new 9100 and the XPS are quite remarkable machines for the price on paper. What other machine has come out that has drawn so much attention right away. Im sure theres been some but since Ive been looking (January), no other new release has held attention and interest as the 9100 has. So by that alone, we can assume that it could be the best selling newer machine also.
So we have just about the best selling company releasing a laptop that for a time seems like the best selling machine. You think Alienware is selling laptops like the 9100 right now???
Ok we just happen to have an issue that halts production right after initial shipping starts. Many people here act like its never happened before with anything. And I have been in the middle of it. I ordered MArch 3rd and was expecting it by the 17th or so at the LATEST. I got it April 6th or something. Yes it was frustrating not getting a consistent answer with Dell as we all wondered what the problem was. But you think a company with that reputation and size wants to just say "well we released the laptop and overlooked a major problem so now youre all screwed and have to wait". Assuming it WAS only one problem (with a new major selling laptop, it IS possible that parts were just not meeting demand too) then the way it was handled was smart cause no one really knew what or who to blame cause we all felt confused. And any of you that think large companies dont do this kind of thing need to get out more.
Anyway, I think we can all agree that EVERY laptop that gets released has problems with a certain percentage of them. This laptop obviously sold a LOT so of course were going to here about more little issues. And cant they get some credit for halting shipping and working out a problem rather than shipping all our computers knowing there was a problem and just hoping no one would notice??
Id rather wait a bit longer.
So how was it handled as well as other issues??
Well Im sure with EVERY big computer company you have people that have good experiences with Cust support and bad. With Gateway, I initially had some issues with my laptop. Hard drive stopped working, video driver problem. I had really bad service one day and then got really great service another. Depended on who I dealt with.
Lets take Dell and this problem. My experience. First of all, I saw my laptop was 100 dollars cheaper right after I ordered it. Dell changed the price for me with NO questions. Then when the delay happened, they upped my shipping to next day with NO EXTRA CHARGE.
They have always been nice to me. Theres someone who posted recently with a bad video issue with her 9100 right out of the box. She worried but read the whole post....They are sending her a new machine before she even ships the other back.

No I dont work for Dell.

But to say "I wouldnt buy a Dell right now" is just silly. This company overall has a great reputation for quality and service. Now a laptop comes out that gets stopped due to an overlooked problem.
And some of you had a bad video card or something.
But we are not hearing from MOST of the people that are buying Dells and if we were, these problems would probably seem quite isolated. But the problems are going to be the loudest. Dont you think they are selling a TON of these laptops right now?? We are only hearing from a handful of people about problems.
Its all relative...
Hell, I bought a Subaru Outback in Nov 2002 brand new. The car was rated excellent as are there other cars. In the first year, I had 3 different CD changers lock up and have to be replaced!!!
Quite frustrating. But that still doesnt make it an excellent fun car that Ive already drove 40,000 miles in (mostly FUN miles, not commuting). I saw a message board with a few other people having prob lems with the stereo. So it seems like theres a big problem. But the reality is we were only a FEW people. And I drive so much that if I drove only a little bit like most other people, I probably wouldnt have had the problem as often.

Ok sorry this was long. But you can read it or not.

I just think people here complaining about a machine theyve never owned and even one person that has had a bad experience, doesnt mean its all bad. ESP with computers that come in so many different configs and then add the billions and billions (sorry Carl)
of different things that happen when a user gets their hands on it.
Then also keep in mind amount of product being moved.

I could go on but I think Ive said enough.
Other than to say that people should read reviews from official channels cause those people DO see many machines in their hands and deal with many companies. Thats way better than the review I may give on this cause Im only one person and Ive only owned one other laptop.

I will write a review of my machine in another post.

Its awesome to say the least though.

 

holy crap that was long. Ill get complaints Im sure.
I will say as a response in advance to complaints,
You chose to read it.

Anyway, I wanted to make another comment to
Briggs_CA as hes worrying in another post about his ordered 9100.

Briggs_CA,

The power adapter is large but who cares, do you hold it when youre computing?? Get a backpack for the laptop (theyre are many different ones at REI.com but not in their stores). I dont know what you mean by "the power brick doesnt work at all". But this is an awesome desktop replacement. Compare it is size to a desktop and stop worrying.

As far as the noisy fans, Ive run mine for over a week now and it seems that one fan runs all the time. The others kick is very occasionally. Its NOT all that noisy. I work in a quiet television mixing stage where we mix TV shows and we have to cover up the Macs running our audio to dampen the noise. (Fans on the drive bays and whatnot.)I have my laptop on and its not noisy enough for anyone to really hear but me right next to it. Ive heard noisier computers. Its not as quiet as older or smaller laptops but there are some sacrifices with those.
I really dont see what all the complaining is about.
And as far as noise, its the best sounding laptop Ive every heard after comparing them in stores. Im an audio engineer. The speakers used in laptops are a step above cheap headphone speakers (not a good thing). This laptop sounds as good as my bigger computer speakers I used to plug into my old laptop. (though thats not saying much cause those little computer speakers are pieces of CRAP)

But it sounds great for a laptop.

dave

 

i dont thikn i was commenting on how big the power adapter was or.. anything about the size of the notebook or anything.. and if i did.. well.. im retarded cuz i honestly dont care hwo big the power adapter is or how big the notebook is! lol. i dont plan on moving around much anyways, and i do have a carrying bag also, by the way.

I wasnt actualy complaining about the machine either. I've just been hearing a few bad things about it so far, so i am just preparing my self for incase somethign happens.. and since ive neer bought anything this expensive or important to me, i am going to be quite paranoid.

I know people tend to only hear or read about the bad things in a product, and if there were more people coming forward talkinga bout hwo great it is, im sure it would relieve some worrysome from me.

I am aware how many machines are probably being sold. How many are just fine with no problems whatsoever.

Like i said.. im pretty sure i wasnt complaining.. i will go back and read my post.. but i dont think i was! i sure hope i wasnt, because im incredibly excited about this machine, about its price and what its innards are all about, sinice ive been looking for a notebook and retail stores fo the past months, and this easily blows any of them away. If this 9100 was to be sold in a store, it would easily hit 4000 bucks or more canadian im sure.

Whe i was referring to the power brick not working, i was meaning that it was a problem ive herad about from some ppl from other message boards.. as in their adapater works for a few hours, and then it absolutely stops working.. no green light.. nothing.. its not supplying any power to the notebook.

The fan thing was just another problem i heard about from a few other ppl also.. how they had a really noisy noisy fan and dell ended up sending him a new one and he put it in himself and its quiet again.. and another person said the fans were incredibly loud ,but whos to say they were actualy normal, and hes just not use to loud fans.

I have an ibm r31 right now, and i can barely hear it.. so i am use to a low sounding fan that doesnt go on often. i certainly dont expect the dell machine to be this quiet,since its one fan i think, but i also certainly hope its not like my friends toshiba tecra, which causes the professors to have to raise their voice to talk over his fan (its that loud, somethings wrong wtih it lol)

so.. i dont think i was complaining. it will probably be fine and i wont have any problems with it, but I was just preparing myself for incase there was problems.. so i woudl atleast know why or what is going on with the machine.. so if i had to call tech support i could dispense with all the BS they might put me through and tell them striaght up what the problem is and get a quick solution!

 

Sequoia225, I agree with all of your comments here. Some facts:

1) Dell has shipped more notebooks and PCs that any other PC maker in the WORLD so far this year. There's bound to be more negative media/comments regarding any problems because they're the most visible.
2) According to an annual PC World customer satisfaction report, Dell has a higher customer satisfaction rating than HP, Sony, Toshiba.
3) Dell offers more features for a better price than just about any computer maker. HP and competitors are of course adjusting prices accordingly to compete though.

As far as the 9100 goes, I totally agree on the speakers, they rock. The fan on mine constantly runs also. I find that somewhat annoying to be honest, but I'm getting used to it. The power adapter is freaking large though. I find that annoying too...it just makes it that much less mobile, even though I know full well it's designed to be a desktop replacement. Overall though, my feelings for the Dell and 9100 are positive as far as bang for the buck and quality for price.

 

just to update, i checked my other forum post, and i didntmention anything about the size of the adapter! hehe

 

Thought i'd share this incase some people havn't seen it

http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/15/technology/pc_shipments/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

As for the 9100's noise level, I for one don't notice it.

But that's probably due to the fact I've got two hand built gaming rigs (desktops) that each have 4 or more cooling fans in them, so the fan noise on a PC doesn't faze me at all. And compared to my main gaming rig, the 9100 is whisper quiet! [ ]

 

I for one don't get all the fuss some reviewers/owners have been making about the Inspiron 9100's bulk. It's a true desktop replacement, built to offer the power and speed of a high end, full-sized Desktop PC. The 9100's a multimedia powerhouse and gaming rig. Your not going to get that kind of power and capability (and cooling ability) into a true laptop like the thin, light jobbies everyone's become so dependent on these days.

Your not going to find a thin and light notebook out there that can play games and run video editing programs as effortlessly as the Inspiron 9100... atleast not any that won't leave 2nd degree burns on your bare legs when wearing shorts! [xx(] This baby runs cooler to the touch than most notebooks with half the power.

Yeah it's 9 pounds, I wouldn't mind if it were lighter.
But I also recall being 14 yrs old carrying 4 text books to school every day for the 1.5 miles to school and then back every day. I know those textbooks easily weighed than 9lbs combined. In high school my pack had no fewer than 5 textbooks in it at once, some of them like the big, thick bastards they hand out in biology class. Honestly, folks need to get a grip, sure it's heavier than most other notebooks, but most other notebooks can't crank out the benchmarks the Inspiron can. Not even close. Especially if your 9100 has the Radeon m9700 w/128mb DDR like mine does! [ ]

Anyhow, folks (not talking about anyone on this forum) need to relax and remember the I9100's not intended to do what your average notebook is designed to do... it's designed to do far more, and faster too. Yeah it's a little heavy, just consider luggin' it around as penance for not going to the gym! And if your in great shape, quit yer whining, 9lbs should be nothing to one such as you! [ ]

In essence, if your not a rabid gamer, or a user of cpu/graphics hungry programs like video editing software, the 9100's really not necessarily your best buy. But if you want desktop gaming performance (or damn close to it) then you gotta accept the penalty of all that performance in the form of added weight.

Just my 2 cents

 

Meant to point out the 9100's price/performance ratio as well.

I don't think anything comes close.

 

Hey Sequoia225, i'm anxiously awaiting your "hands on" review. One request... could you try to include a little more whitespace in your text. that mega post was a bit tough on the eyes. thanks! [ ]

 

Sorry, I was off of here for the weekend and didnt see any of these responses yet.
I still have to read them all but I only have a moment,
but,

Briggs_CA,
I wasnt criticizing you at all. You just sounded worried about your decision and I thought that was unfortunate and not justified.
As far as the power adapter, you said something about a "power brick".
I didnt know what you were referring to but I thought you meant something bad about the power adapter (which is pretty big.)

Mal,
Yeah I know that post was long. Ill try to get the little review written tonight. I was real busy the past few days.
Ill try to make it more pleasing on the eyes too.
I dont have bench type tests or anything but I will surely tell you what I think of different aspects of this laptop.
dave

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Hordedog