Why I did not like 9300

I just wanted to mention some things that made me to not like Dell's price/performance king. I wish they would fix those things in the future models, but at this point it is not what I would use (note: use).

1. The keyboard bezel was not made for typing, I hit the edge with my thumb on each Space bar press.
2. The DVD/CDRW thing makes so much vibration that I can feel it when watching a movie from a distance and putting my feet on the table that laptop sits on.
3. The screen has no white color at all, whites are bluish grey, so grey color is hard to distinguish from white.
4. The viewing angle sucks, I have to move my head to whatever corner I need to look in order to see the stuff at the right lightning/brightness/color.f

I understand it's big performance, but come on, usability is not what Dell has in mind by building their laptops.

PS: WUXGA is the same screen as WXGA but with higher resolution and glass cover, I seeing them both in the kiosk, same dull grey whites, with the exception of WUXGA being little more vibrant.

 

Well, those do seem like valid complaints. Obviously, if Dells were perfectly built to Fujitsu or IBM standards, and had the prices and performance they do, no one would own anything else. It's really a matter of cost effectiveness versus build quality/feature set. Maybe they aren't very well built; they're frightfully ugly, to be honest, and I've heard all manner of complaints about the screen. So why did I buy one? Simple: I need top-of-the-line performance (not just for games, but also for my programming work) and I'm on a tight budget.

Sure, I'd love to own an ASUS or a Fujitsu, or even an Apple, but Dell fit my needs better. Still, it's good that people know what they're getting into.

 

I do programming too sometimes, that's why I had a thought about 17" screen, but what is the use of it if my typing makes my finger hurt in a while (dumb thing can be fixed by a simple plastic saving option of making that edge lower). And why in the world I would want GF6800 class card to compile programs? I bet you are playing during lunch times ;o)

 

The optical drive shook that badly? I've never seen a drive like that before.

 

my problem with the optical drive is that its not a tight fit. There is a tiny little space above in between the drive and the frame that my cds like to get caught in sometimes. It scratches up my CD, and then I have a hard time getting them out

 

Well, that's why we have these forums. If you have complains and post em here , Dell forsure reads them and they will investigate the problem...or at least they SHOULD! Sorry you're not satisfied...can you get a return?

 

My drive fits tight but the dvd mode does spin very rapidly and it sometimes makes a loud fan like noise. Is that what you hear or is it actually a buzz? DVD or cd? I would have to admit that I don't think I ever played a cd in it yet.

 

I have noticed some noise in dvd mode and others have mentioned that the dvds get scratched. I noticed that it is easy to not insert the dvd (I assume cd too) such that it is not flat with the drive. When you do this the top of the dvd must hit the case somewhere as it spins. Now I spend a little more time seating the dvd on the spindle before closing the drive. I guess that if the media was not flat it would also cause the whole thing to vibrate just like a bad tire. Try really playing with the media until it is truely seated, sometimes this still doesn't seem to work for me.

 

Mine usually never makes noise. The only time I hear it is when a cd/dvd (mostly happens with CD) was already in there, and I try to play it. I can hear it start to spin which it does sound like a fan, but only lasts for 5-10secs.

I guess it is a tight fit. When the door is open and you look at where your drive fits, its just the space between the outside of the drive and the frame of the 9300. Its probably 1/8 of inch big, but I only get the cd stuck when I am closing the door real quick. When the door is closed, its perfect.

~SG~

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. I have a 9300 with an LG screen. I have no problems with sparkles or dead pixels. Whites and all other colors are perfect. I have no issues with the dual layer dvd writer. I have used many cd's transfering my music collection. As far as the keyboard, I have large fingers and I do not have any problem with the spacebar.

 

I have the same problem, so I return it. I was looking for a Desktop Replacement. My laptop will be plugged in 99.9%, so I brought the Compaq x6000. The Keyboard was the deciding factor. Both of the computer Compaq x6000 and Dell Inspiron 9300 cost the same.

1. The keyboard bezel was not made for typing, I hit the edge with my thumb on each Space bar press.

 

could you elaborate a little? i have the same keyboard on my 6000 and i'm trying to figure out what you guys mean.

 

When you put your hands on the bezel (the cover panel that the keyboard/touchpad sits in) to get a "typing position" and start to type your thumbs are suppose to be positioned in parallel to the bezel and when you "hit" the space bar (and this is happening EACH word) with it the edge gets a "hit" by your precious part of the body (left or right depends on your habit to type). Kapish?

The edge suppose to have a little curve down in front of the keyboard like most of normal laptops have (Toshiba, IBM, Sony, etc.), so when you press the space bar there is a little space between the laptop and your thump to prevent contact, which can be annoying, bothering or painful over time. I don't know what Dell'l designers thought when made this bezel, but I don't think they like us at all, they overspit everyone with this one.

 

I have the same problem except with the touchpad/keys...it creating a little smooth spot on my thumb. Must have been the same designers that made the touchpad keys. Why couldn't they have just made the keys smooth instead of the little cut-out.

 

i dont no y many ppl's viewing angles on the 9300 are sooo bad...i have an XGA screen...and it's actually incredible!!!..it's not hard 2 c at any usual viewing angle..it's still strange tho

 

The viewing angle is what I call angle where ALL the colors and sharpness stays the one that is displayed, not what you see when you move up or down or side ways. I can see what's there but I don't see what kind of colors or shades on it.

 

ooo...that's not a problem on my screen

 

I agree with point 1, but I can't reproduce the other problems you have. The laptop stays pretty quiet when playing a DVD, no noticable vibration (ok, I usually rest it on a solid table, so small vibrations might go unnoticed.

The white in my screen appears very white to me, maybe my eyes are not sensitive enough, but I can't see a grey in there, same with the angle, I can turn aside pretty far, before the colours begin to fade. So either my eyes suck, or you've gotten a particularly bad display

that said, the 9300 isn't really a notebook that's built only for work, the geforce 6800 would be an utter waste then, but if you like a game on two between work.....

 

actually...i can type more quicker and more acurately on my laptop then my desktop...prob. cuz i'm a realllly fast typer...and i use it 4 a lotta gaming and other school work as well

 

DVD might be fine, never tried it. Just tried to burn and play CDs.
I don't know how to paste the pictures here, but if you are interested, I can send you one so you can see the difference between non-Dell and Dell screens on the same page.
And I agree, for games it is a good machine, you don't even have time to look for colors flying by ;o) ...but for work (writing/reading) I like to have a flatter LCD (where letters do not appear as they are hanging above the background).

 

can i c sum pics??

 

PM me yer mail box, I'll drop it in there