AboutKarl Zick Expertise I am very familiar with all brands of computers and computer components and the best places to purchase them. Can also provide a lot of help to the 'build your own PC' folks.
Experience over 20 years experience as a computer systems consultant and PC builder/user/trouble shooter.
Education/Credentials BSEE from VMI and CIS degree from El Camino.
Question Hi Karl. Would you be able to give me a crash course in the differences between the following Dell laptops: Inspiron, Studio, XPS, Studio XPS, Adamo and Vostro?
It used to be so much simpler selecting a laptop. Now they have branched out in many ways and I have lost track of the differences.
I appreciate your help Karl. Thanks.
Answer Hi Ash,
Glad you asked me the question. I haven't checked Dell's inventory of notebooks lately and it looks like some people in the company have totally lost their minds. No wonder you are confused! Picking out a computer is hard enough without throwing dozens of boxes at people that all, essentially, do the same thing.
As with ANY computer, the things that matter the most are brand, CPU. and RAM. From my experience, I tell people to stay away from eMachines, Compaqs, HP's, and Gateways. Also, never buy a computer with an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron processor in it.
From here, it is a features vs price contest. Any dual, 64 bit processor is good - but tri or quad core are better. 2GB of RAM will do the job on a PC or notebook running Vista - but 4GB is better. As far as a hard drive, they have very little to do with computer performance and for the average user, 80GB will do the job. If you save a lot of large graphic files, external drives are fast, cheap, easy, and safe.
As far as Dell notebooks, do not buy an Inspiron with a Celeron CPU in it (I can't believe they still make them). If you are looking at netbooks, Dell's have the worst reviews of any out there so I would check out a Lenovo or ACER. Just out of curiosity, I checked out the most expensive laptop Dell sells (around $4,000) and it only had 1 GB of RAM and a dual-core processor in it?? I think you can drop it from a tall building or use it under water though.
If you are stuck on buying a Dell, start with one with the color and screen size you like (14" is popular because it is not so bulky) that has at least dual core CPU and 2 GB of RAM and go from there. For a price target, I have seen my two favorites, Lenovo and Toshiba, on special at Newegg.com for $370 ea (new, no tax, and free shipping). I do not think Dell can touch that except for their Inspiron door stop.
Other things to consider are software upgrades. You can always do better on Microsoft products buying them somewhere else - and the different levels of the 32 bit Vista do not buy you much in improved performance. The 64 bit OS is definitely a speed boost though. Last, for more money, you can still get XP - which is faster but not as secure.
