Dell Inspiron 1545 Review

When I originally made the decision to go back to school, I wasn't thinking about getting a new computer.  My husband and I own 3 other desktop computers, what more could I need?  It was the hubby that came to me with the suggestion to look for a laptop and its not like I was averse to the idea!  I'd wanted a laptop for years but just couldn't justify the purchase.  Now that I'd basically been given the thumbs up, I started to check around.  Having worked at a well known electronics store for three years, I had some idea of what I wanted and what I didn't.  The biggest stumbling block, however, was price.  If I'd had my way, I would have spent $2000 on the biggest, baddest gaming laptop I could find.  Since this was to be primarily for school, however, the gamer in me had to be confined to the back seat.

A friend of ours had ordered his laptop from Dell so I decided to give their website a try.  I realized rather quickly that building my own laptop from scratch was still going to run me into more money than we could afford to spend.  Then I realized that I could look at laptops that for one reason or another, hadn't been puchased after all or that had been returned.  That's where I found my Inpiron 1545.  I chose one that hadn't been damaged in anyway, since I'm about the looks as well as what was on the inside.

This computer has most everything I need and want but there are a few things I wish it still had.  Its very lightweight which I love since I have to carry this as well as my books when I go to class.  It also has a widescreen, well, screen that I've found was easier to adapt to than I thought.  I have 3 usb ports, one on the right and two on the left by the power cord plug in.  There are also ports in front for both a microphone and headphones.  Also in front is a memory card reader for an SD Card.  If you have a digital camera like me, this is so amazingly convenient for when I want to download pictures or a recording to my hard drive.

I could've chosen Windows XP for my operating system but I decided to go with Vista instead.  I figured if I was going to get a new computer, I wanted to try the newest OS as well.  Getting the Home Edition of Vista was a no brainer for me.  I wouldn't use the Pro, which is more for buisness anyway but I still wanted more features than the Basic would have given me.

Now, I won't lie.  Vista isn't perfect.  The biggest problem I've found is that my internet keeps wanting to crash on me at what seems to be the most in-opportune moment.  That could be because I'm using Mozilla Firefox instead of Internet Explorer, however.  I hate Internet Explorer so I haven't switched over to see if that one will crash too.

This Dell Inspiron also has a built in wireless adaptor for connecting to the internet.  It has a pretty good range but in the time that I've had it (since April) I've noticed something odd.  Twice I've had connectivity problems with the internet and when I checked on it to see what was wrong, the computer has told me that the wireless option has been shut off.  Now, seeing as how I haven't touched it, I'm still trying to figure out how that happens.  There is a wireless button at the very top of the keyboard above the numbers so its at least quickly turned back on.

As far as programs are concerned, the laptop came with several I find very handy.  I got the newest version of Microsoft Word as well as a Powerpoint program.  I also have the latest Adobe and a Windows DVD Maker to go along with the standard Windows Media Player.  You'll also get the usual assortment of games like solitare, mindsweeper etc.

There is only one battery in this laptop, instead of having a primary and secondary.  When unplugged, I can get about 4-6 hours of use before it has to be plugged back in.  Now, that time will of course depend on what battery setting you are using, volume for your speakers and so on.  There are three battery settings and the one I'm currently using is the balanced setting.    

I have about 3g of space on my hard drive, which is more than enough since all my school work is saved on a seperate thumb drive.  I mainly have my music on here and a couple of games that I just couldn't do without.  The one thing I do wish was better is my RAM and my graphics card.  I can tell you that the graphics card on here isn't nearly as good as the one on my Sony VIAO desk top and we've had that computer for 3-4 years now.  I also don't use the touch pad very much so I had to go out and buy a wireless mouse.  In hindsight, I would've liked a number pad as well but that's not such a big deal.

I use this computer for everything!  In fact, I'm using it to type up this review right now.  I'm usually on my Dell several hours a day, everyday and it was more than worth the price.  I only spent $500 for this computer and while I do wish it had a few extras, I'm thrilled with it overall.  I never really realized how I'd come to adore the convenience a laptop provides you with but now I don't think I could do without it!