Dell Inspiron 15 Laptop, 15.6 Inch FHD Display

After reading all the naysayer reviews I wasn’t sure about my decision to get this laptop for Christmas. After a few hours I have to say I’m glad I got it. No its not slow. Websites have been quick to load. I plugged in a thumb drive and it was recognized quickly. Yes it has no cd/dvd drive but I can read and knew this prior to ordering. I downloaded the Windows 7 files form Dell just in case I decide that Windows 8 is not for me. You will need a Windows 7 64bit disc or you can download one as you already have a license for Windows 7. So just borrow a disc from a friend. But, give 8 some time, like I will, since it doesn’t seen as horrible as some say. I do ilke 7 better but 8 has done all I ‘ve asked so far so I might stick around awhile and see what happens. I laughed at my wife for buying a laptop based on looks. I bought this one based on the looks, I won’t tell her this little tidbit, but I have to say my draw to how it looks aside, it’s a fully functional laptop with a nice screen. Kinda makes me wonder why I bought my new Dell Desktop and Monitor this Christmas. I love them but this laptop might have worked for most of my needs just as well.
Edit 1/9/2015 Still love this laptop. It’s like a big Netbook. Had and ASUS 900HA before this and my aging eyes demanded something bigger. This Dell continues to impress me even with Windows 8.1.
Edit 3/14/15 Still rockin Windows 8.1 and love this laptop. Just get one of the Start Menu replacements and you will forget you have Windows 8.1.

4 GB RAM, but graphics are awful.
Playing a game is impossible, unless you play a low graphic game. Nothing recent or new.
Playing a game MAKER with HQ loads is impossible. Crashes.

Screeen is nice and big, laptop not heavy. Not flawless, but very decent.
I use it for Word processing, Youtube, Web-design drag drop templates, finding jobs and using Sketchup.

***UPDATE 12/16/14 with SSD cloning video – I’m getting many comments and questions regarding the process of cloning the OS from the HD to the SSD. Therefore, I wanted to clarify a few things to hopefully help everyone through this process.

(IMPORTANT NOTE) Do not be confused by the nomenclature for this process as it goes by many names; i.e. migrate, copy, transfer, etc. This is *NOT* my video but it is very helpful. I’ve also reposted the video on how to remove the Dell HD and install the SSD. Here is the link.

Last note: it does not matter which SSD you purchase, it will be up to each individuals preference (i.e. price, features, etc.). So if you do buy a SSD, make sure that:

1) The SSD is a 2.5″ drive, SATA III
2) Check to see if it comes with “cloning” (migration, transfer…) software.
3) If it does not, there are several other cloning software programs available online that are free to download. But I wouldn’t recommend this route if this is your first drive swap.
4) Make sure you get a USB to SATA cable. This is the one I purchased. Buy it, use it, keep it or return it after your done. Your preference but you will need this.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057UAB2K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That’s all you need folks. Then follow these two videos and you will then reap the rewards of a faster laptop and the gratification of the successful install!

So, removing the HD & installing the SSD video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up5uGX1Bf4g

And, the video to clone the drives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfUe81ThddM

Hope this helps.

***UPDATE 10/26/14 – Looks like the laptop is now shipping with an i3 CPU and an upgraded GPU (on board). I’d be interested to here reviews on this.

Also, here are some pros and cons after owning the laptop for 3 months.

PROS:
-High price-value ratio, decent hardware components and performance for the price
-Extremely light weight and very thin
-Easy to upgrade components, you can do this rather economically to keep the overall costs down
-Full 10 key number pad and smooth key operation
-Webcam, and photo verification for login (some may not be aware of this but the webcam also acts as a security measure)
-Great for medium-heavy work loads, i.e. running multiple programs, playing music or videos, etc.
-Solid construction, mine travels with me in my backpack and it takes a beating, haven’t had any issues

CONS:
-Processor could be faster, however I mention below on how to increase the CPU’s performance
-Lack of RAM. The 4GB RAM is quite slow but I describe my experience below after upgrading the RAM to 8GB
-Hard drive has plenty of storage but it’s also slow. See below for SSD upgrade and comparison
-With the factory components, the laptop struggles with heavy flash websites. You can alleviate this issue by upgrading the hard drive and RAM

***UPDATE 10/24/14 – Putting this at the top since some have asked for instructions on how to replace the hard drive and RAM. Here are two (2) youtube videos (not mine) that will walk you through the process. NOTE: Pay close attention and follow his exact removal and re-install process of the cover on the underside of the laptop, otherwise you will break the plastic tabs.

Hard Drive removal and installing SSD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up5uGX1Bf4g

Upgrading RAM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24kPq-xzwHc

REVIEW:

Great budget laptop, especially for students. Keep in mind the price reflects the product.

Before deciding to move on to other brands, consider that there are many consumers who purchase laptops without possessing any rudimentary knowledge about computer software and components. Let alone there are buyers who show lack of consumer aptitude by writing comments like “thought it came with a optical drive, 1 star.”

So, quickly I’ll highlight on a few things you can do to noticeably improve the performance of this laptop.

-First, replace the HDD with a SSD. You will experience an immediate performance boost. You’ll need a USB to SATA cable to clone the drive. It is very, very easy and basic. Samsung offers a great software to assist you in this process. Here is the drive I purchased.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3W15P0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Here is the cable.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057UAB2K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

-Second, uninstall McAfee as it ties up many of your systems resources. Microsoft Defender comes pre-loaded, just turn this on. Also, uninstall all the Microsoft apps you do not use. Most of these run in the background tying up CPU resources.

-Third, unlock the CPU’s parked cores as this will allow the processor to operate at it’s highest output. To do this, follow these directory series. Control Panel\System and Security\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings. Then go to Advanced Power Settings. A new window opens, then scroll down to Processor Power Management and click to expand. You will see Minimum Processor State, click to expand. The default setting is 5%. Increase to 100%. You will notice that the Maximum Processor State is already at 100%. Apply the changes. Now you have a processor running at it’s maximum performance capacity. You should see a overall noticeable performance increase in all areas.

-Fourth, make sure you have the Power Saver mode OFF. This mode tells the CPU and other components to run at a minimum state, hindering performance.

-Fifth, if you are comfortable with removing programs both in the control panel and in the registry, then remove all the unnecessary Dell software. You can use CCleaner to assist you.

-Sixth, using CCleaner, go to the start-up programs which run in the background. Turn off all the programs and automatic updates that you won’t use.

**UPDATE: As of 9/23/14, I have updated the ram to 8GB. The performance increase was significant. It still travels with me to college 4 days a week and I have no issues with it. I wanted to make this clear, the laptop is considerably lighter and thinner than most others (excluding the Chromebooks, SurfacePro’s, etc.). Although it doesn’t contain “powerhouse” components, it does a fantastic job in handling medium-heavy work loads, i.e. multiple programs open, streaming, VPN programs (LogMeIn), student learning applications, and so on.

Here is the ram I installed.
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-Notebook-CT102464BF160B/dp/B006YG8X9Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411501025&sr=8-3&keywords=laptop+ram

And like the above reviewer mentioned, if you are comfortable with wiping the drive clean, do so.

Its an amazing computer for the price. You can use it to surf the web, see movies on netflix, youtube, write a paper, with no issues, and its fast for that kinds of stuff. For gaming it doesn’t work at all since CPU delivers the graphics and it doesn’t have enough firepower for that. I thought that it wouldn’t be able to open multiple programs at once and have a smooth experience or that it would be extremely sluggish, but it isn’t slow at all, it does everything rather well.

The computer looks good, its thin and lightweight. It feels very rigid, not flimsy at all, and it doesn’t feel cheap. If you didn’t know the price you’d think it was a 500 or 600 dollar PC. The battery on this thing lasts forever. But it does come with a few issues, the number keys on the right fail to respond quite a lot. Maybe its my computer, but if you’re an accountant or work a lot with numbers using the right side then you might have a problem if this is a general problem. Also I haven’t been able to plug in an external hard drive successfully, it doesn’t recognize it (I don’t know if its a hardware or Windows 8 issue), but I plugged the same hard drive on a mac and it worked instantly. It reads thumb drives fine.

The 2 main issues I have with it is that it has Windows 8 (but all new PC’s have Windows 8), and that it doesn’t have a CD/DVD bay, but I knew that before I bought it. If you plan using this computer as a computer for normal web browsing, watching movies, listening to music, writing papers, or working in excel, then you shouldn’t have any problems. I use LibreOffice and it works great, I don’t have Microsoft Office so I’m not sure how it would run but I guess it should run great.