DELL E1505/6400 REVIEW
Screen:
The 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD is amazing. The pictures are sharp, and there is little evidence of ghosting. My LCD has only a small amount of expected light leakage along the bottom and top edges, but nothing that is intrusive. Even when watching DVDs on a black screen, it is hardly noticeable. No dead pixels to speak of, and I can't notice the 'sparkling' other people talk about. The color saturation is excellent. As for brightness, the screen is pretty bright at the highest setting, though that's not adviseable for battery usage. There is a problem with glare on this glossy coating, which is even noticeable on highest brightness (on a sunny day).
Heat:
The laptop will get warm, just like every other laptop. Specially on the underneath side towards the back. The palm rests will warm up insignificantly. Overall, the system has good heat dissipation, and will hover around 40-45 C for normal operations. The system never gets too hot, and it can always be placed on the lap without any discomfort.
Noise:
The CD/DVD drive is NOISY. It also tends to cause vibrations throughout the keypad area. The harddrive has a gentle hum thats very tolerable. The fan comes in 3 stages. The lowest stage is hardly noticeable, and very quiet. The 2nd stage is a bit louder, but also nothing too bad. The 3rd stage is a bit noisy, but not so much that it interferes with operations. And to note, the 3rd stage will only kick on for a few seconds, and is not prolonged.
Construction:
Mediocre at best. Perhaps one of the few faults I can find with this E1505 is the poor build materials. The plastic along the back of the LCD panel is easily scratchable, and the white bumpers along the edge has a distinct cheap plastic feel. Too bad the chasis isn't made of carbon fiber or magnesium alloy... Its just cheap cheap plastic. Areas along the vent and undercariage are depresseable with a semi-strong push. Although the laptop does not feel like it will break without a significant reason, the feel of the quality is still pretty miserable.
The LCD panel opens and closes without squeeking, and it feels pretty tight and well matted so thats good. The clasp along the top is plastic, and works as intended.
Sound:
The sound system on the laptop is remarkeably good. Sure, it won't replace any high end stereo equipment, but for integrated speakers, they're good. They have good bass, and a moderately crisp sound. However, there's always headphone jacks if you rather use a pair of headphones.
Price:
I got my laptop through Dell EPP program and with a $-750 as well as a free 1 GB Ram upgrade. Therefore, the price was roughly slashed by 40%. Making my laptop a very very good value. Dell runs promotions throughout the year, so keep hunting for a price, and Dell won't let you down. However, the E1505 is priced competitively at its regular sale price. (My laptop with its settings was bought at $1259.45 after tax and s/h)
Speed:
The advertising for the Core Duo DOES NOT LIE. The overall system is INCREDIBLY fast. My T2500 was able to compute 1 million digits of Pi (albeit, on Mathematica 5.2 which supports Core Duo Processors) in roughly 15 seconds [Remarkeable]. Then, just to push the limits a bit, I decided to run a virus scan (mccafee), spyware scan (spybot), and System Mechanic Pro 5 all simulteneously. (All the while also chatting via AIM). Lo and behold, the system usage hovered around 90%. Which is incredible since I was running so many programs simulteneously. The responsiveness of the system is much quicker compared with a single core system. However, is the extra $70~ worth it for the T2300 upgrade to T2500 (around +0.17GHz)? Probably not... But I like my T2500 =)
Video:
Fortunately, the E1505 has something besides the dreaded integrated video: a dedicated video chip. Unforunately, the options arn't the best (but not the worst either). The high end chip for the E1505/6400 is the ATI Mobility X1400. Clocked at 432 MHz, and with 128 MB Dedicated onboard memory (256 Max), the X1400 will not compete with the Nvidia 7800s or 6800s. But it will get the job done. Video editing, DVD watching, and some games, the X1400 will handle it without breaking a sweat.
I personally use my laptop for only "lower-end" games like Warcraft III, and less graphics demanding games like Civilization IV. However, I was able to run Doom III on High settings and a decent resolution (1024x768) at a steady 40 FPS without any overclocking (Omega Drivers). I would not dare to try FEAR or Oblivion on these kind of settings though.... The X1400 will satisfy most casual to low-High end gamers.
Keyboard/TouchPad:
The keyboard and touchpads are decent. The keyboard has a nice size, and good keystroke depth. The touchpad is very responsive, and the side scroll lengths are useful. Although, the two click buttons feel quite cheap... (fortunately, I've replaced this with my wireless optical Logitech V500 Mouse $20)
Wifi:
Meh, its a standard Intel A/B/G adapter. It gets the job done, I get a 4 bar reception strength (and excellent signal quality) here in my room 2 floors above my router ($40 Netgear G wireless router WGR614-v6)
Ports:
Nice array of ports. 4-USB 2.0, Firewire, PC Express Card, 5-in-1 media slot, video out, and s-video out port (at least I think that's what it is...).
Media Direct:
Nice row of multimedia buttons with a cool blue backlight along the front end for easy access to sound, and play options. Dell's Media Direct is useful for playing multimedia without booting into Windows.
Asthetics:
The laptop looks cool, no lie. Although the white bumpers look kinda cheap, the silver finish along the inside and ouside mixed with the black undercarriage looks pretty neat.
Preinstalled Software:
Oh jeez, another hitch Dell has: the incredibly USELESS and abundant amounts of bloatware they install. So annoying to get rid of... Recommend complete reformat and clean install or otherwise face 1-2 hours of housekeeping...
Battery:
Respecteable battery life. Approximately 6 hours on a full charge using headphones on low sound, medium brightness, and wifi off. 5 hours on full charge with wifi on. But keep in mind, I am using the upgraded 9 Cell rather than a 6 cell. (Although I did get 2 batteries, which is a wise thing to do for those buying a laptop) The batteries charge fairly quickly, approximately 2.5 hours to charge a 30% battery to 100%.
Overall:
A good laptop for a large host of users looking for a balance of power and value. The speed and hardware on this laptop is excellent. Although it could use a better construction and less bloatware that came with...
Recommendation:
yes, buy the E1505 if you are looking for an affordable laptop that delivers a punch. However, if you're a hardcore gamer (rather play FEAR/Oblivion on high settings), it would be best to get a desktop replacement laptop (E1705, XPS, etc etc) Or better yet, why not just get a desktop
. The E1505 can handle everything from word processing, email, surfing the net to video editing, and low-High end gaming (WoW, Doom III).
The 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD is amazing. The pictures are sharp, and there is little evidence of ghosting. My LCD has only a small amount of expected light leakage along the bottom and top edges, but nothing that is intrusive. Even when watching DVDs on a black screen, it is hardly noticeable. No dead pixels to speak of, and I can't notice the 'sparkling' other people talk about. The color saturation is excellent. As for brightness, the screen is pretty bright at the highest setting, though that's not adviseable for battery usage. There is a problem with glare on this glossy coating, which is even noticeable on highest brightness (on a sunny day).
Heat:
The laptop will get warm, just like every other laptop. Specially on the underneath side towards the back. The palm rests will warm up insignificantly. Overall, the system has good heat dissipation, and will hover around 40-45 C for normal operations. The system never gets too hot, and it can always be placed on the lap without any discomfort.
Noise:
The CD/DVD drive is NOISY. It also tends to cause vibrations throughout the keypad area. The harddrive has a gentle hum thats very tolerable. The fan comes in 3 stages. The lowest stage is hardly noticeable, and very quiet. The 2nd stage is a bit louder, but also nothing too bad. The 3rd stage is a bit noisy, but not so much that it interferes with operations. And to note, the 3rd stage will only kick on for a few seconds, and is not prolonged.
Construction:
Mediocre at best. Perhaps one of the few faults I can find with this E1505 is the poor build materials. The plastic along the back of the LCD panel is easily scratchable, and the white bumpers along the edge has a distinct cheap plastic feel. Too bad the chasis isn't made of carbon fiber or magnesium alloy... Its just cheap cheap plastic. Areas along the vent and undercariage are depresseable with a semi-strong push. Although the laptop does not feel like it will break without a significant reason, the feel of the quality is still pretty miserable.
The LCD panel opens and closes without squeeking, and it feels pretty tight and well matted so thats good. The clasp along the top is plastic, and works as intended.
Sound:
The sound system on the laptop is remarkeably good. Sure, it won't replace any high end stereo equipment, but for integrated speakers, they're good. They have good bass, and a moderately crisp sound. However, there's always headphone jacks if you rather use a pair of headphones.
Price:
I got my laptop through Dell EPP program and with a $-750 as well as a free 1 GB Ram upgrade. Therefore, the price was roughly slashed by 40%. Making my laptop a very very good value. Dell runs promotions throughout the year, so keep hunting for a price, and Dell won't let you down. However, the E1505 is priced competitively at its regular sale price. (My laptop with its settings was bought at $1259.45 after tax and s/h)
Speed:
The advertising for the Core Duo DOES NOT LIE. The overall system is INCREDIBLY fast. My T2500 was able to compute 1 million digits of Pi (albeit, on Mathematica 5.2 which supports Core Duo Processors) in roughly 15 seconds [Remarkeable]. Then, just to push the limits a bit, I decided to run a virus scan (mccafee), spyware scan (spybot), and System Mechanic Pro 5 all simulteneously. (All the while also chatting via AIM). Lo and behold, the system usage hovered around 90%. Which is incredible since I was running so many programs simulteneously. The responsiveness of the system is much quicker compared with a single core system. However, is the extra $70~ worth it for the T2300 upgrade to T2500 (around +0.17GHz)? Probably not... But I like my T2500 =)
Video:
Fortunately, the E1505 has something besides the dreaded integrated video: a dedicated video chip. Unforunately, the options arn't the best (but not the worst either). The high end chip for the E1505/6400 is the ATI Mobility X1400. Clocked at 432 MHz, and with 128 MB Dedicated onboard memory (256 Max), the X1400 will not compete with the Nvidia 7800s or 6800s. But it will get the job done. Video editing, DVD watching, and some games, the X1400 will handle it without breaking a sweat.
I personally use my laptop for only "lower-end" games like Warcraft III, and less graphics demanding games like Civilization IV. However, I was able to run Doom III on High settings and a decent resolution (1024x768) at a steady 40 FPS without any overclocking (Omega Drivers). I would not dare to try FEAR or Oblivion on these kind of settings though.... The X1400 will satisfy most casual to low-High end gamers.
Keyboard/TouchPad:
The keyboard and touchpads are decent. The keyboard has a nice size, and good keystroke depth. The touchpad is very responsive, and the side scroll lengths are useful. Although, the two click buttons feel quite cheap... (fortunately, I've replaced this with my wireless optical Logitech V500 Mouse $20)
Wifi:
Meh, its a standard Intel A/B/G adapter. It gets the job done, I get a 4 bar reception strength (and excellent signal quality) here in my room 2 floors above my router ($40 Netgear G wireless router WGR614-v6)
Ports:
Nice array of ports. 4-USB 2.0, Firewire, PC Express Card, 5-in-1 media slot, video out, and s-video out port (at least I think that's what it is...).
Media Direct:
Nice row of multimedia buttons with a cool blue backlight along the front end for easy access to sound, and play options. Dell's Media Direct is useful for playing multimedia without booting into Windows.
Asthetics:
The laptop looks cool, no lie. Although the white bumpers look kinda cheap, the silver finish along the inside and ouside mixed with the black undercarriage looks pretty neat.
Preinstalled Software:
Oh jeez, another hitch Dell has: the incredibly USELESS and abundant amounts of bloatware they install. So annoying to get rid of... Recommend complete reformat and clean install or otherwise face 1-2 hours of housekeeping...
Battery:
Respecteable battery life. Approximately 6 hours on a full charge using headphones on low sound, medium brightness, and wifi off. 5 hours on full charge with wifi on. But keep in mind, I am using the upgraded 9 Cell rather than a 6 cell. (Although I did get 2 batteries, which is a wise thing to do for those buying a laptop) The batteries charge fairly quickly, approximately 2.5 hours to charge a 30% battery to 100%.
Overall:
A good laptop for a large host of users looking for a balance of power and value. The speed and hardware on this laptop is excellent. Although it could use a better construction and less bloatware that came with...
Recommendation:
yes, buy the E1505 if you are looking for an affordable laptop that delivers a punch. However, if you're a hardcore gamer (rather play FEAR/Oblivion on high settings), it would be best to get a desktop replacement laptop (E1705, XPS, etc etc) Or better yet, why not just get a desktop
. The E1505 can handle everything from word processing, email, surfing the net to video editing, and low-High end gaming (WoW, Doom III).