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mattloaf1
- New Member
posted: Aug. 9, 2007 @ 3:48p 
mastavic said:When playing games, the wireless Internet connection is horrible. Everything lags about two or three seconds behind. I chose the Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card; should I have made a different choice? When the laptop is sitting next to my desktop, which is using a very cheap wireless PCI adapter, the laptop would have bad connection while the desktop's connection runs perfectly fine. Any thoughts? Thanks. I don't think you should be blaming the WiFi card on this one. The 1500 is pretty fast but is not a gaming machine. I have the default WiFi card in mine that I just got today and the WiFi range is absolutely incredible, the best I have ever seen on a laptop. Here's my review of the 1500, besides the quality of the WiFi: > The cover is a fingerprint magnet, however the surface around the keyboard does not seem to have the same finish, and doesn't show any smudging. When not covered in fingerprints, the top of the case is a beautiful jet black matte finish. > Lots of silver, shiny bling all over this thing... right down to the Dell logo underneath the monitor. > Keyboard is great, the typical Dell laptop keyboard that I am used to (sorry I can't provide a more scientific review of it) > I got the only non-reflective screen and it is great. Tried it outdoors too, and looked good outt there as well. > The WiFi card/antenna, as mentioned earlier, is amazing. The Dell Wifi Utility that comes with it also gets an A+. > Speed is just fantastic for a laptop, once you unload all of the Dell pre-installed crap (Dell Media Whatever, Dell Quick Something, Norton, Intellisound Something Or Other) Amazing machine for $640 shipped. |
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mastavic
- Senior Member - 6K
posted: Aug. 9, 2007 @ 11:15p
What is the return policy of this laptop? I was searching the Dell site but could not find it (not familiar with the site). It's giving too many problems that even my over half-a-decade old computer isn't giving me, including graphic and Internet connection lag problems. Thanks. Regarding gaming, the only games I play are Gunbound and Diablo 2, both of which came out in the early 2000's and should not cause any problems at all. When the laptop is plugged in and isn't wireless, there are absolutely no connection problems. |
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loraksus
- Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 11, 2007 @ 2:52a
mastavic said:What is the return policy of this laptop? I was searching the Dell site but could not find it (not familiar with the site). It's giving too many problems that even my over half-a-decade old computer isn't giving me, including graphic and Internet connection lag problems. Thanks.
Regarding gaming, the only games I play are Gunbound and Diablo 2, both of which came out in the early 2000's and should not cause any problems at all. When the laptop is plugged in and isn't wireless, there are absolutely no connection problems. Is this the only vista machine on your wireless network? |
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mastavic
- Senior Member - 6K
posted: Aug. 11, 2007 @ 3:24a
loraksus said:mastavic said:What is the return policy of this laptop? I was searching the Dell site but could not find it (not familiar with the site). It's giving too many problems that even my over half-a-decade old computer isn't giving me, including graphic and Internet connection lag problems. Thanks.
Regarding gaming, the only games I play are Gunbound and Diablo 2, both of which came out in the early 2000's and should not cause any problems at all. When the laptop is plugged in and isn't wireless, there are absolutely no connection problems.
Is this the only vista machine on your wireless network?
It's actually running Windows XP, and it's one of two Windows XP machines. |
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savalot
- Senior Member
posted: Aug. 13, 2007 @ 4:56p
savalot said:thriftyson said:I received my order in 2 weeks even though the original ship date was one month away. Dell didn't send me a restore disk. I called to get it. Don't forget the restore disk because it will come in handy if your hard drive fails or if you want to change the hard drive. Its a nice machine.
Did anyone get a "restore" disk?? I called to get one as I needed to reinstall and wanted to restore to the "factory image." I was told the Vostro line doesn't provide this, which sounds like BS. Initially they hadn't sent the Vista DVD, so what are you supposed to do if there is a problem or you do a hard-drive replacement etc.?? I had to use the Vista DVD and do a clean install and don't know if I have the right drivers going as the touchpad doesn't work like it did before reinstalling. Mine came partioned with a "recovery" partition and of course the technical support in India or wherever didn't have a good explanation. Anyone that got a restore disk or knows a way to restore back to factory image would be appreciated for sharing how to do this (for the VOSTRO). I tried following the Vostro manual and the Dell website and the tech reps said it can't be done on the Vostro line. Otherwise I'm quite happy with notebook. Thanks for sharing and responding. Otherwise, do I need to get Ghost or something to set this up, so that it will be easier/possible in the future to restore without doing total reinstall and having to put new drivers etc in. BTW, I know about system restore, which wouldn't fix the problem I created by naming the notebook poorly when I first started using it (my bad). Huge THANKS. |
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emazing
- Member
posted: Aug. 15, 2007 @ 1:18p
cancelled my 1400 and was offered a $50 credit to my card or a Dell $100 coupon as an incentive to keep. |
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edfick
- Frivolous Member
posted: Aug. 16, 2007 @ 3:23p
just got my 1500 about an hour ago. it's a bit larger and heavier than expected, but that's ok with me since it's mainly for using around the house. the finish is nice (love the black look and smooth edges, and the media buttons in the front are nice. blue lights are cool too). the casing definitely feels plastic and is probably not as sturdy as others. the screens looks nice and is nice and bright. I did have a little trouble getting that tab to lock back in too (on the left side where the dummy card is located), but somebodies tip a couple pages back did the trick. a quick windows experience rating. processor 4.7
memory 4.5
graphics 4.7
gaming 5.2
hard disk 4.8 default config with 8600GT, bluetooth, webcam, and truelife. will be intall xp pro for a dual boot, and will probably put 2gigs or ram in next month. |
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c3
- Senior Member - 2K
posted: Aug. 23, 2007 @ 5:43p
$599 again, including webcam. |
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thriftyson
- Member
posted: Aug. 23, 2007 @ 7:55p
savalot said:savalot said:thriftyson said:I received my order in 2 weeks even though the original ship date was one month away. Dell didn't send me a restore disk. I called to get it. Don't forget the restore disk because it will come in handy if your hard drive fails or if you want to change the hard drive. Its a nice machine.
Did anyone get a "restore" disk?? I called to get one as I needed to reinstall and wanted to restore to the "factory image." I was told the Vostro line doesn't provide this, which sounds like BS. Initially they hadn't sent the Vista DVD, so what are you supposed to do if there is a problem or you do a hard-drive replacement etc.?? I had to use the Vista DVD and do a clean install and don't know if I have the right drivers going as the touchpad doesn't work like it did before reinstalling. Mine came partioned with a "recovery" partition and of course the technical support in India or wherever didn't have a good explanation. Anyone that got a restore disk or knows a way to restore back to factory image would be appreciated for sharing how to do this (for the VOSTRO). I tried following the Vostro manual and the Dell website and the tech reps said it can't be done on the Vostro line. Otherwise I'm quite happy with notebook. Thanks for sharing and responding. Otherwise, do I need to get Ghost or something to set this up, so that it will be easier/possible in the future to restore without doing total reinstall and having to put new drivers etc in. BTW, I know about system restore, which wouldn't fix the problem I created by naming the notebook poorly when I first started using it (my bad). Huge THANKS.[/Q I would call again and get the restore disk. The disk cost them next to nothing to give to you. I initially saw a charge for it in my Dell account. I called Dell to ask about the charge. They were going to charge me for it. I told them I will box the laptop right away and send it back because without a restore disk the laptop is useless if my hard drive fails. They told me that there would be no charge. I have never heard of a system being sold without a restore disk. I would not put up with this nonsense. Any laptop whether it be HP, Toshiba, etc comes with a restore disk. Go get yours because its critical. |
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UtahDealSeeker
- Addicted Member
posted: Aug. 23, 2007 @ 8:03p
Which link are you using? c3 said:$599 again, including webcam. |
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c3
- Senior Member - 2K
posted: Aug. 23, 2007 @ 8:17p
UtahDealSeeker said:Which link are you using? Just navigate from www.Dell.com. |
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savalot
- Senior Member
posted: Aug. 24, 2007 @ 3:04p
I would call again and get the restore disk. The disk cost them next to nothing to give to you. I initially saw a charge for it in my Dell account. I called Dell to ask about the charge. They were going to charge me for it. I told them I will box the laptop right away and send it back because without a restore disk the laptop is useless if my hard drive fails. They told me that there would be no charge. I have never heard of a system being sold without a restore disk. I would not put up with this nonsense. Any laptop whether it be HP, Toshiba, etc comes with a restore disk. Go get yours because its critical. Were you successful at getting a restore disk?? They sent me a system utilities reinstallation disk for XPS, inspiron etc, but it didn't have PC restore on it or a restore function to get back to factory settings. I haven't heard back from them yet and I'm tired of wasting phone time and being told no restore disk exists for Vostro line. Thanks for your help. I did finally get the Vista DVD, but it requires a COMPLETE reinstallation and then have to download drivers etc. |
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whoiswes
- Ancient Member
posted: Aug. 24, 2007 @ 5:16p
c3 said:$599 again, including webcam. Just ordered, only upgrade I added was the internal bluetooth. Also opted to plant a tree for $2. Total w/ tax came to $661.97, prelim ship date of 9/4. Thanks for the update, I'm glad now that I missed out on the first round, saved $30 as the webcam is now free. |
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jairocon
- Senior Member - 1K
posted: Aug. 28, 2007 @ 9:23a
I got my replacement laptop - I complained about the constant sound coming from the left side (sounds like a fan), well the replacement has the same sound, I guess this laptop will never be quiet. The headphone jack is horrible - there's a constant interference from the electronics inside, so unless you turn up your sound loud, you'll hear scratching noises even if you don't play anything. In retrospect I should have kept my original order (I sent it back and kept the replacement) - for some reason I think the original had a brighter nicer screen than the replacement. I'd even send the replacement back, but I do need a machine to work on. So for $600 I got an "almost" perfect laptop:
+ great machine, fast
- will not be completely quiet
- bad headphone jack
- so/so screen I didn't get a vista cd with the laptop - so I asked them to send it, they mailed me the drivers cds (which I already had) and then I complained again and finally they mailed me the vista basic cd. I have 2gig ram and 7.2k HD ready to be put in - whenever I'll get the time. |
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c3
- Senior Member - 2K
posted: Aug. 28, 2007 @ 12:07p
jairocon said:7.2k HD ready to be put in Most likely it will be even louder. |
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tpaxadpom
- Member
posted: Sep. 11, 2007 @ 1:19p
I've got my Vostro 1500 a few weeks ago.
I cancelled the first order because the better deal showed up a few days after. As it was suggested in this thread don't waste any time trying to convince Dell readjusting the price (I spoke to 4 different people and all of them were helpless), just cancel the order and place the new one.
It's a great laptop. I like the design, though it's thicker than my other laptops and weighs slightly more. I got mine with free Component/SPDIF adapter. For some reason this option was only shown when I used an old desktop PC at work. I tried uninstalling flash player and other application but I wasn't able to get the same option shown on other PCs. When I placed my original order there was a bug in their system when you were not able to add a Bluetooth adapter if you configured your laptop with Windows XP that was fixed later when the new deal showed up. I called Dell to notify them about it, but their tech didn't want to admit that and said that the Bluetooth adapter isn't an option under Windows XP (though I had this option available while browsing Dell's website on my old PC at work). It's funny that they had keyboard/mouse/headset available under Bluetooth section but no adapter to make it compatible with this laptop  ). I have my laptop connected to my Hauppage HVR-950 HD tuner card with no problems. Now I can reacord HD broadcast. I can barely hear cooling fan spinning while browsing internet and doing some other low CPU usage tasks (it's quiter than my other laptops). I used HDtune app to benchmark HDD using ATA and AHCI modes. AHCI seems to be a bit faster, so I recommend users to reconfigure SATA settings in bios to AHCI. Just don't forget to switch back if you need to reinstall your OS.
Laptop has no problems playing VC-1 and AVC encoded HD files. Currently 8400M GS Windows XP driver doesn't have hw support for VC-1 and AVC though this should be fixed in later version. If anyone knows where do download their beta driver please post the link here. I'm waiting for a replacement since the first one I received has a scratch on the palm rest. I also complain about the HDD noise and the tech suggested replacing the whole unit since their replacement HDDs are refurbished. Though honestly I don't epxect the newer laptop to have a quiter HDD. Battery life is fine (standard 6-cell). I get 3+ hours of internet browsing. I didn't like the short cable that comes with PSU that connects it to AC outlet. Though a strap attached to the PSU is a nice touch (never seen this before) making it easier to manage the cord while traveling.
My laptop came with Windows Home Edition installation CD. I've seen some links where you can get a refurb. remote control for $12 from Dell. I wonder if anyone had any luck programming their universal control and would be kind enough to post the codes. Did anyone receive a rebate from fatwallet? |
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mastavic
- Senior Member - 6K
posted: Oct. 29, 2007 @ 7:35p
For those who are subscribed to this thread in hopes of landing a similar deal, this thread may be worth checking out. |
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c3
- Senior Member - 2K
posted: Oct. 30, 2007 @ 5:27a
I have the standard (anti-glare) 1280x800 screen. When the screen is NOT at full brightness, there is a buzzing sound. A quick search on the Net found a couple of other people with the same issue. Have you encountered such problem? I'm planning to contact Dell tomorrow. |
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