Dell's Inspiron 1100 review

Dell's Inspiron 1100 Offers complete desktop functionality in a mobile package for increased efficiency and productivity. An Intel Celeron processors at 2.0GHz or Intel Pentium 4 processors of up to 2.40GHz deliver sustained performance. Dell's Inspiron 1100 budget system is a hit or miss product. Its base configuration is nothing special, but good deals can be found through Dell's special offers.

Dell's Inspiron 1100 budget desktop replacement is probably one of the oldest systems available for under $1000 and its components show that age. The base configuration comes with an Intel 2.0 GHz Celeron processor which is sufficient for most computer users, but lower than most of its competitors. the biggest drawback to the system is the normal capacity battery that ships with it to reduce costs also reduces its possible battery life. The system displayed the fastest performance and the longest battery life among its Celeron-based competitors The other area that it lacks is the optical storage. It ships with a 24x CD-ROM drive. On the plus side of things, Dell offers many upgrade special offers that can allow one to get memory or optical drive upgrades if they are willing to shop for the deals.

Design of Dell Inspiron 1100

You can't mistake the Inspiron 1100's lineage: it sports the same "Venice blue and moonlight silver" case as all new Inspirons, including the 600m and the 8600. In fact, the Inspiron 1100 shares its case design with the more expensive Inspiron 5100, which carries more cutting-edge components than the 1100.

\With a 14.1-inch screen, the Inspiron 1100's case measures 12.9 by 10.8 by 1.7 inches and weighs 7.4 pounds, average for a mainstream notebook. There's also an optional 15-inch display that jacks up size and weight slightly. You won't want to travel a lot with either one, but taking them on occasional jaunts won't do you in, either.

Features of Dell Inspiron 1100

The Inspiron 1100's base configuration gives average users just about everything they need for work or play, including a 2GHz desktop Celeron processor; 256MB of fast 266MHz DDR SDRAM; a 14.1-inch screen with a native 1,024x768 (XGA) resolution; a CD drive; and a 20GB, 4,200rpm hard drive. For various prices, you can choose higher-end specs such as a 2.4GHz desktop Pentium 4 CPU; up to 1GB of memory; a DVD, CD-RW, or DVD/CD-RW combo drive; a 40GB, 5,400rpm hard drive; and a 15-inch XGA display. All configurations come with the same graphics chip: a 64BM Intel 845G. Our evaluation system shipped with a 2GHz Celeron processor, 256MB of RAM, a 30GB hard drive, a DVD drive, and a 14.1-inch screen.

Performance of Dell Inspiron 1100

The Inspiron 1100 was the fastest system in our small test group, beating its nearest competitor, the HP Pavilion ze4200, by one point. The Dell also handily beat another Celeron-based notebook, the Gateway 400E. While the Inspiron 1100's first-place rank is impressive, and it will excel in most tasks you throw at it, we had hoped that it would show even more speed. The victory margin between the Dell and the HP might have been wider because the HP uses an ATI graphics chip that borrows video RAM from main memory. The Dell's graphics chip is independent.

Battery life of Dell Inspiron 1100 battery

With its powerful 14.8V, 6,450mAh inspiron 1100 battery, the Inspiron 1100 had little trouble clobbering the competition in battery life. The battery Inspiron 1100's four-hour score is the longest battery life we've seen in a Celeron-based system, and it even bested a couple of Pentium M systems--the new battery-life champs. With the Dell Inspiron 1100, you'll be able to work unplugged without eyeing the power meter every 15 minutes.

Description

• Intel Celeron 2.0 GHz Processor
• 256 MB PC2100 DDR Memory
• 30 Gigabyte Hard Drive
• 24x CD-ROM Optical Drive
• 15" XGA (1024x768) LCD and Intel Extreme 3D Graphics with 64MB Shared Memory
• AC'97 Audio
• v.92 56Kbps Modem and 10/100 Ethernet
• Two USB 2.0 Ports and One Type II PC Card Slot
• 13.1" x 10.8" x 1.8" @ 7.8 lbs.
• Windows XP Home Operating System
• Dell inspiron 1100 battery : Li-ion, 14.8v, 6450mAh. OEM CODE: 312-0079

Sytem can overheat using processor intensive functions, like games, video rendering. Cleaning of fan/heatsink will restore proper function. New BIOS supports 1024 MB RAM, download from Dell. Not for gamers, multi taskers, or long distance carrying. Great for word processors, web surfers, digital photos, mp3. Not lightweight or thin, but not excessively large either. If you can find a used one at a good price and are capable of performing a clean windows reinstall, buy it. If you need something that works perfect without you tweaking it, think Apple, but think at least twice the price.