Question:
Inspiron e1705
Hello All,
I am looking into purchasing a Dell E1705 for school(Because of that awesome 7900GS) and I'm really into gaming. But I am worried about the Inspiron's reliability as I will be taking it with me mostly every day in laptop briefcase or backpack, so it won't really be stationary.
Do I have reason to be concerned with it's durability, or should I have no worries?
Thanks in advance for the replies, and I would really like to hear from E1705 Owners about the durability of the Inspiron as well.
-Murphed
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
While it has a great graphics card, the quality and durability is not that great. Considering that you are going to be mobile and traveling alot, you might want to consider a laptop that has a better built quality. For Dell, Latitudes have the best quality, but not the good graphics card.
I don't have the E1705, but I do have its sister laptop, the 9300. I take my laptop to school every single day, so I know exactly how the durability of the Inspirons holds up. Dell advertises it as roadready, but that is more of the internals. The external/base of the laptop is the same as the previous laptops, and it is not meant to be taken to traveled with everyday.
Depending on what your budget is, you can probably afford a good laptop and much more dependable than the Inspiron series is.
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
My budget is $1500 max. It's really hard to find a laptop that has as nice a graphics card as the 7900GS for that much $$.
How much would I have to keep getting it repaired? Are you talking about it breaking down, and chipping, etc? Or things breaking off or like hinges coming loose? I know I would like it to last for at the least the next 3 years...Specifics problems that you've had with the 9300 would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
If you have warranty on your laptop, then most of the problems will be covered. At the same time, drops, spills, accidents, drops, etc are only covered by the accidental coverage.
Most of my problems are physical problems. Chipping on the white bumpers, on the bottom - because the laptop gets so hot, a lot of the black paint on the doors have come off. My laptop took about 1ft. fall, and the hinge latch broke off plus cracked the side of the base. The keyboards on the newer systems are supposedly better than what I have, but I'm going on my 4th replacement.
I bought a LCD to replace my current one (matte) cause it is so dull. I had the glossy screen which was bought from Dell since March, and the LCD recently started having problems.
Like I said, the inside has handle pretty good. The only problem that I had was the power supply became loose from the motherboard and caused problems.
It is just the small things that you don't expect to happen with a 2000+ notebook (includes coupon price) like the chipping of the paint. I take very good care of my laptop and am careful when traveling. Less than 1 foot fall (while it was in a bag) shouldn't have done that much damage.
I honestly don't know if an Inspiron would last 3 years in that kind of environment. The Inspirons are marketed/built for users who plan to leave it at home all the time. The XPS and latitudes are better built for everyday travel. There are coupons for those (30% off right now if you can find them).
I guess the easiest way to explain it is that you'll get what you are paying for. The inspirons are at a cheaper price, but you have to pay in terms of quality and durability. I'm not saying that the Inspirons are wrong for everyone. They are good, but mainly for users who plan to not travel very often with it.
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
Man, it sounds like you're describing one of the older Sony Vaio lines from a few years ago, except those were a little worse. Everything but the CPU/MB/HD on those things needed replacing.
I certainly don't want to spend a lot of time sending my laptop back to Dell or requesting repairs. I don't have the time or patience for that sort of inconvenience.
I guess there's no such thing as the perfect bargain. Thanks for the insight.
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
LOL, i wish there was such a thing as perfect bargain. I'm was in the same boat as you. I wanted a 9300 at the time cause it was just released, the hottest thing on the block, and I didn't want to believe anything could happen to it.
I bought my 9300 April of 2005, and right now, let's just say, i'm in the market for a new laptop. I love my 9300 to a point. I think the inspirons are good for at home users, but paying more than 1500 for an Inspiron is not really a bargain.
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
I've been worried about the durability of the Inspiron E1705 as well so here's my question regarding the lifestyle that this laptop will have if I finally decide to get it.
I'm going to use it 90% of the time at the office and at home so it'll be carried to and from work. The remaining 10% will simply be miscellaneous stuff.
Also, I'm quite worried about vibrations since I read that hard drives will be damaged if exposed to certain degrees of vibrations. Do you think its feasable to use a laptop for recording sessions in close proximity to the amplifiers and drums?
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
i wouldnt trust recording to ANY laptops integrated sound cards. but im an audiophile and work in the recording/live industry. but my denon hdd recorder hasnt had any problems so i would think that it would be ok as long as its not on top of say a buttkicker amp.
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
How about getting a small inexpensive laptop for class. Unless you're doing some sort of specific high powered computing in class, I think a basic smaller laptop will meet all of your needs.
You could then get a high powered desktop for the gaming.
Mike
Answer:
Re: Inspiron e1705
durability is relative IMHO...I also have an IBM T42 called by many a "relatively heavy duty road warrior" and I traveled with it lots on planes trains and automobiles, I had to replace a motherboard and then eventually the lcd cracked when I bounced my laptop case too hard one time...my point is durability can be a little relative unless you have something truly "ruggedized" to military specification...carrying the e1705 back and forth to class it should be fine if you don't abuse it...mine seems to be holding up fine and is feels like it will be just as durable as the T42...one man's opinion