Spanky's Place

A number of the reviews I read about the 9300 before I ordered mine commented on the white plastic trim around the case, and how "cheap" it made the laptop appear. I figured they were just being overly sensitive; how could trim possibly effect this?

Well, they were right, and I was wrong. My 9300 is absolutely gorgeous; it is a technical marvel of elegance, high tech, and style all blended together into a beautiful, tight, clean package -with cheap ass white plastic trim. I'm not kidding, this is like buying a Jaguar XK, and then slapping some curb feelers on the darn thing. (Ferrari & Lamborghini fans take note: I was going to use these for that last analogy, but both sites require flash and "hijack" your browser when you go there, so I won't link to either).

Where was I? Oh yeah, the cheap white plastic trim. I think the primary difference between the 9300 and the XPS M170 is the fact that the XPS has a cool looking case (no cheap white plastic there). Yes, the XPS can optionally include a slightly faster processor, but other than that, it is pretty much the same machine as the Inspiron 9300. For the thousand dollar price difference, I'll take the cheap ass plastic looks, thank you. That doesn't mean I won't bitch about it though.

Anyway, I figured that I would purchase as much laptop as I could afford up front. My Latitude CPx has lasted this long (close to eight years) because it was the absolute top of the line at the time. (Mobile P3 - 300, 256Meg RAM, ATI Rage AGP video w/ 8Meg RAM, 12G HDD, 24x CDROM, etc). The honest truth is that it is still quite useful even today. It's not something I want to develop on, but it is still a pretty nice little laptop. The point here is that I as long as I'm laying out money I really don't have right now, I might as well get something that will serve me for a long time.

To that end, I spec'ed out the 9300 as follows:

Spanky's Inspiron 9300
• Pentium M 770 (2.13GHz/533MHz FSB) Processor (fastest available for the 9300)
• 17 inch True Life Wide Screen UXGA
• 2GB, DDR2, 533MHz RAM
• NVIDIA® GeForceTM Go 6800 Video 256Mb RAM
• 60GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive (to pay for the high end processor, I had to go with a smaller, less costly hard drive)
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2
• Integrated 10/100 Network Card
• Integrated 56K Modem
• 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
• Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 Internal Wireless (802.11a/b/g54Mbps)
• Internal Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth
• 9 Cell, 80Wh battery
• Integrated Stereo Sound w/Subwoofer

I also included things like an extra battery, business software, warranties & insurance, and some other "fun" accessories (memory card, noise cancelling headphones, travel surge protector & wireless hotspot locator, etc). When everything was added up & discounts included, I got the whole package for just under $3K; which while a heck of a lot of loot, is still a pretty good price for the machine.

Something that frustrates me about the purchase is the fact that I can get a better price by buying as a "Small Business" customer than I get as a Solution Provider. Some of you may know that I am an authorized Dell Solution Provider & reseller. Which means that for some systems (such as server solutions & such) I get really good prices. For the laptop / desktop market, my purchase "cost" as a solution provider is often higher than what Dell charges the general public for the same item. Which really pisses me off. This purchase (and a recent multi-system deal for one of my customers where Dell undercut my price by almost $300 per machine) has caused me to seriously re-consider whether or not I remain a Dell Solution Provider. Understand that I still think they make the best machines available; it is the business practices that bother me.

Anyway, back to the laptop. When ordering it, I knew it was going to be big (you can't fit a 17" screen into a small package); but I don't think I really grasped how big until it arrived. This thing is friggin huge! It measures out at (closed) 1 7/8" high x 13 1/2" wide by 11 1/2" deep. I'm not even sure at this point if it will fit in my laptop case.

• Comparison 1
• Comparison 2

It is solid though, and feels "firm" when lifted. What I mean by this is that some laptops, when lifted up, feel like they will flex, distort, or crack if you don't hold them with both hands on both sides. The Inspiron feels solid & firm, even when grasped by one corner. The mousepad includes both horizontal and vertical scroll, which will make using it much easier. (Note: I really hate using mouse pads, and prefer to carry a portable mouse with me. This mouse pad is bearable though, and I could actually get used to using it.).

The sound and display are incredible. The display, in fact, makes my fancy 17" flat panel monitor look like an old SGA monitor. Even now, several days after getting the laptop, I'm still blown away by how good the graphics quality is. The sound is really, really good (still nothing compared to the THX certified Altec Lansing system on my main desktop), even for a normal desktop.

This thing is really fast. I upgraded the base (M740 1.73 GHz) processor to the most powerful available for the 9300; the Pentium M 770 (2.13GHz/533MHz FSB). This $400 option was well worth it. Combined with the (also upgraded) 2GB, DDR2, 533MHz RAM, this machine screams. Did I mention it was fast? To give you an idea of the speed difference, I can recompile all LotusScript in my primary development utilities library on my old Latitude in just under 3 minutes. Which isn't half bad for that machine, considering the size & complexity of the library. Doing the same recompile on the new Inspiron 9300 takes just about 4 seconds. Hoo Yeah!.

Anyway, now that I've got such a fine machine to work with, I better stop jabbering about the machine and get some real work done. There is that whole Lotusphere Session thing that I need to have ready. Back to work.