This laptop wasn't much of a secret as it was, and it turns out reviewers got an early shot at it as well. The
Inspiron 1525 from Dell is about as cheap as standard-size laptops go, with a starting price of $500, but Dell has made surprising gains in the looks and size department -- the major complaints levied towards the
1520. Dell shaved 25% off the size, 30% off the thickness and half a pound off the weight in building this new model, and while it might not exactly have the looks of the m1330, it's certainly not the eyesore the 1520 was. Reviewers got to play around with a $999 configuration, and found performance to be just fine for standard applications, but the lack of a dedicated graphics option makes this one a non-starter for gamers. Perks like HDMI out and solid battery life for this price range are icing on the cake, and there are multiple color options and patterns you can trick out your 1525 with, but for the most part this is a simple but nice budget laptop, so we're guessing you've already got a decent idea if it's what you're looking for.
[Thanks to everyone who sent these in; image courtesy of NotebookReview]
Read - Laptop Magazine (4.5 out of 5: "Our favorite mainstream budget notebook.")
Read - NotebookReview - ("The Inspiron 1525 is exactly the notebook that the Inspiron 1520 should have been in the first place.")
Read - PC Mag - (3.5 out of 5: "Unfortunately, the slimmer design also means that it had to forgo an option for dedicated graphics.")
posted Jan 3rd 2008 12:52PM
Well I am very impressed by the look and feel of the Inspiron 1525, and it seems to be handling Vista just fine. It has a T5450 processor, high-gloss street custom finish, WXGA LCD, 160 GB hard disk, Soundblaster, and the integrated web-cam. Ordered via the US site and in my hands 5 business days later - couldn't ask for anything better. Thumbs up for anyone who wants a well balanced PC without paying a premium to get it!
i just bought a dell inspiron 1525.As I have a RAM of 1 GB its pretty hard to run other programs when i use Vista.I want to uninstall it as soon as possible.When i tried to install the Windows XP it didnt work.kindly let me know how can i uninstall vista and put on with XP in my system..Any suggestions are welcomed
Other than the impressive mods hardware hackers are making to the EEE, why would I rather have an EEE over this guy?
The kid wants a blue laptop. The (nonSurf) EEE...uh...blue?
I don't understand why the physical appearance of a computer matters. If you are using your computer as a fashion statement, you should be buying from Apple.
What's fashion got to do with it? When you spend enough time with just about anything, you would (I think) generally much prefer it to be a pleasurable experience.
Tell that to a sub-10-year-old girl.
yes you won't,
now go back to the corner and dont take the dunce cap off!
i'm not sure if thats a stab for or against apple.
And why is only Apple allowed to make decent looking computers?
Ask an architect what physical appear can do. That is such a closed-minded statement. Looks having nothing to do with fashion statements. The visual appearance of items and the surrounding affects the mood of the individual and, yes, can also serve a very valid purpose of identifying who you are to other people.
I have a 1520 with a dedicated GPU (the 256 GEFORCE 8600GT M). I couldn't live without it (I play lots of Counter-Strike Source, WoW, etc.). If you play any games, get the 1520. If not, this thing should work for you. My brother has an identical 1520 as mine, sans the GPU, and it won't even do normal Vista usage as well as mine.
Oh, by the way, my computer does play Crysis (on low DX10 settings) at about 30FPS. Not too bad for a lappy, eh?
Wish it comes with dedicated GPU and WinXP as an option. I'm not sure why Dell can't release a complete laptop with all the available options that user can customize.
FYI, there are options for those who want dedicated graphics. Look at the Vostro 1500 from the small business site or the XPS 1530
This blows ... the only graphics you can get with it are Intel 3100 which is crap. NO games for you!
They discontinued the 1521 AMD/ATI notebook, 1501, and 1520 and replaced them with this crippled piece of crap ... i am looking at buying a notebook ... guess i'll have to pull one out of the Dell Outlet Center.
How do you know that they won't offer nVidia options on this laptop in the future?
i don't ... but right now there are no options.
Both Engadget and Dell need to check their math ... X3100 is a stout chipset for 3D gfx ... sure, it's no dedicated card (8800, etc) but it will do just fine for a starter, especially in notebook form. It's definitely not a GMA 950. X3100 supports DX10 and PS 4.0.
Dell should be sued for ignorance. Their website talks about how their laptops have X3100 but then in the side-by-side comparison they claim that X3100 only supports DX9 and PS 2.0. I think they're referring to GMA 3100, not _X_3100. I say buy the laptop and if it comes with a 3100, sue their ass for false advertising (no, I am not a lawyer but I saw this episode of Judge Judy one time ... the sound was turned off but I got the gist of it).
Here are some links for your reading pleasure ...
http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/articles/eng/1488.htm
http://www.dell.com/content/learnmore/learnmore.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~id=hmc_graphics_inspnnb&~mode=popup&~series=inspn&~tab=details
So, is Dell going to update this computer again in a few days to include updated Penryn chips?? I hope the Vostro gets the style upgrades, but keeps XP, good graphics card options, better screen resolution, and gets penryn chips. Oh, and 7200 RPM HDD options.
I remember the days of the e1505 (my last laptop); it was goooood! (Anyhow, I now have a D830, which is a slight upgrade from the D820; same laptop, only Santa Rosa :-P)
where is the 1526?????
i want ubuntu!!!!!
I am confused. When the 1525 showed up on the Dell US site for the first time I swear it had a higher resolution option listed than 1280X800.
If I surf on over to the Dell Australia site they list the 1440 X 900 resolution as an option, so what gives? Can I expect it to show back up on the site? Can you think of a reason for dropping it?
AFAIK they remove options [from the site] that are too high of a demand at the moment. If you call them you ought to be able to get all the options you want, but you will have to wait a bit longer for the laptop to be manufactured/delivered.
This is what I had to do when I ordered a Vostro 1500 for my mom, to get 1440x900 and Wireless-N. Eventhough they said five week delivery on the phone, it took them one week to deliver it. Good job Dell.
I called sales and every other department I could think of and all Dell could tell me was that they just had the 1280 x 800 option available - nothing else. None of them seemed to have any recollection of anything else being offered either despite the numerous online reviews stating otherwise.
I guess I'll just twiddle my thumbs and play the waiting game.
i got the 1440x900 screen, according to my dell.com receipt anyway (see the section from the receipt below that talks about the screen).
-- LCD Panel --
-- High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900)
-- [320-6053]
I ordered on 1/3, and just got the shipping notice today that it's being shipped tonight (1/10) or tomorrow (1/11) for arrival to NY (from Tennessee) on Monday 1/14.
The 1440x900 option is available if you go through the Government option. Not sure why they left it there, but dropped it off the home user.
Also, if you go down the Government option, it will cost about $35 more for the exact same configuration. Not clear why...
where on the government links did you see the 1440 option? I still can't find it.
Dang.....I knew I should have ordered right off the bat, I didn't think they would be eliminating options though.
I guess I will still play the waiting game for more resolution options unless anyone has any suggestions?
Gr8 comments! I just ordered the 1525 through Scholastic. Originally wanted the 1520 but would have come up with more out-of-pocket $. For less than $150 out-of-pocket I have upgrades on everything including the large HD, Supa processor, wirless N, supersound blaster, and high resolution w/true life (whatever that means), blue tooth, lojack, web cam, midnight blue color plus a few other things cant remember right now. Plus it was suppose to ship on the 22, but tracking shows it will be here tomorrow. Might have to take a day off!!!