Can the Inspiron 531 Inspire you (Dell Inspiron 531)

Member Name: dario_crosier

Product:	Dell Inspiron 531
Date:	25/01/09 (463 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It broke but with the know how fixed it. i guess others must be stuffed

Disadvantages: It broke

I bought the Dell Inspiron 531 for just under £400. I suppose depending on what you need is the only way to tell you if this is a good product. Obviously, i own one and i have to say it's not one of my smartest ideas; now, after just 5 months roughly, when i switch it on the bar at the bottom doesn't work (unless I'm extremely lucky) therefore have been left to use alt and the arrows.
(I actaully fixed that now but still it's slow at times in general)
Even before buying it, i knew that athlon isn't very good in general, they use cheaper material and therefore cost less and i thought, because it has dual core and 1gb of ram that it would still be fine, and even with, i think 160gb of memory, it goes slow and is constantly freezing. I also later learnt that Windows Vista needs bigger ram to run smoothly.

So my brother installed Windows 7 which doesn't take up so much space and is better. So I now love that it works quickly and I have the latest Windows.

On the other hand, the colours are quite good and it hasn't completely failed me, it is widely useful and even though i don't make it out to be one, it is rather good.
Plus, who can turndown an offer that cheap when it also comes with a 19 inch screen, which is MASSIVE (in my opinion).

The Dell Inspiron 531 can handle 6 usbs at one time, takes normal memory cards and has easy and accessible jacks for headphones etc.
Furthermore it already has Dvd writer capabilty and you can add another disk drive your self.

If you understand any of the stuff below. You are a genius. (and sorry i copy and pasted all the specs). lol

General
MPN: D08517-UK
Type: PC
Product Form Factor: Tower
Width: 17 cm
Depth: 43.5 cm
Height: 36.2 cm
Weight: 12.7 kg
Localisation: United Kingdom
Processor
Type: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Multi-Core Technology: Dual-Core
64-bit Computing: Yes
Installed Qty: 1
Max Supported Qty: 1
Cache memory
Type: L2 Cache
Installed Size: 1 MB
Cache Per Processor: 1 MB ( 2 x 512 KB )
Mainboard
Chipset Type: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE / nForce 430
Ram
Installed Size: 2 GB / 4 GB (max)
Technology: DDR II SDRAM
Memory Speed: 667 MHz
Memory Specification Compliance: PC2-5300
Form Factor: DIMM 240-pin
Configuration Features: 2 x 1 GB
Storage controller
Type: 1 x Serial ATA - integrated
Controller Interface Type: Serial ATA-300
Channel Qty: 4
RAID Level: RAID 1
Storage
Hard Drive: 1 x 250 GB - standard - Serial ATA-300 - 7200 rpm
Optical storage
Type: DVD±RW - Serial ATA
Card reader
Type: 13 in 1 card reader
Supported Flash Memory Cards: CompactFlash Card type I, CompactFlash Card type II, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Microdrive, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, SmartMedia Card, Memory Stick Duo, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, miniSD, RS-MMC
Monitor
Monitor Type: DELL SE198WFP - flat panel display - TFT active matrix
Diagonal Size: 19"
Max Resolution: 1440 x 900
Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch: 0.285 mm
Response Time: 5 ms
Image Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Image Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Graphics controller
Type: PCI Express x16 - plug-in card
Graphics Processor / Vendor: ATI Radeon X1300
Installed Size: 256 MB
Digital Video Standard: Digital Visual Interface (DVI)
Max Monitors Supported: 2
Audio output
Type: Sound card - integrated
Sound Output Mode: 7.1 channel surround
Input device
Type: Mouse, keyboard
Keyboard
Keyboard Name: Dell Entry QuietKey
Interface: USB
Localization and Layout: UK QWERTY
Mouse
Technology: Optical
Technology: USB
Features: Scroll
Networking
Networking: Network adapter - integrated
Data Link Protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
Expansion / connectivity
Expansion Bays Total (Free):
2 ( 1 ) x front accessible - 5.25" x 1/2H
2 ( 1 ) x internal - 3.5" x 1/3H
1 ( 0 ) x front accessible - 3.5" x 1/3H
Expansion Slots Total (Free):
4 ( 2 ) x memory - DIMM 240-pin
1 ( 0 ) x PCI Express x16
1 ( 0 ) x processor - Socket AM2
2 ( 2 ) x PCI
1 ( 1 ) x PCI Express x1
Interfaces:
8 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A ( 4 in front )
1 x display / video - VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45
1 x audio - line-In - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x audio - line-out - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
2 x microphone - input - mini-phone 3.5mm ( 1 in front )
1 x audio - line-out/headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ( 1 in front )
1 x audio - line-out (side surround) - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x audio - line-out (rear) - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x audio - line-out (centre/subwoofer) - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm
1 x display / video - DVI-Analog/Digital - 29 pin combined DVI
1 x display / video - S-video output
Power
Device Type: Power supply
Voltage Required: AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
Power Provided: 300 Watt
Operating system / software
OS Provided: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium - English
Software: Drivers & Utilities, Microsoft Works 8.0
Manufacturer warranty
Service & Support: 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details: Limited warranty - parts and labour - 1 year - pick-up and return
Environmental parameters
Min Operating Temperature: 10 °C
Max Operating Temperature: 35 °C
Humidity Range Operating: 20 - 80%

Summary: Ok cheapish computer. 19"

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