Dell Inspiron M5030 2800B3D 15.6-Inch Laptop (3D Black)

I got this laptop recently, why the 5 stars? Because its Functional for my needs. Most Important Specs are:-

Windows 7 Home premium, AMD Athlon Dual-Core 2.30GHz,4.00Gb RAM,320 GB Hard Drive,4.1 Overall windows Experience Index. This is NOT a laptop for Gamers, or persons who want to run applications like AutoCAD, ARCGIS, or Adobe Photoshop, Why? because the processor is a Dual-Core its wayyyy behind in today's terms. This is a great laptop for young children, university students (those who are serious about schoolwork and dont play games like HALO,Dragon Age etc. lol) I use it for checking my emails on the go, and for typing reports and my occasional chess game. Other specs are listed on this page (scroll up). It has a nice patterned finish and comes with built-in wi-fi and a dvd burner. I will update further as i monitor the performance and durability of this laptop.

**UPDATE** 22nd June 2011

I have decided to give a 3 month update. The laptop still continues to perform well. No noticeable cracks (as yet) on chassis as is customed with SOME DELL laptops especially around the corners (my DELL Inspiron 6400 has cracks). Yes it has no HDMI,no bluetooth a downer but not critical features to me. Some reviewers have misconceived my opening statements, I never said you cannot play games on this laptop, I'm saying that given the laptop hardware specifications certain applications (listed above) and games (not going to list too numerous) will either not run or run with slow frame rates especially newer titles.I use Autocad and ArcGis and when working on rendering 3D drawings (AutoCAD) or Queries for Analysis (ArcGIS) the laptop freezes but these are huge files.Your experience may vary depends on your type of usage.

One commenter made the point about the memory, its stated that the laptop comes with 4 GB installed DDR3 RAM (1333 MHz, 2 DIMM slots). Yes it comes with 4GB, however in the BIOS the frequency of the memory is 1066Mhz. Now some might say that this can be changed by doing this or by doing that, that's not the point (it cannot be changed by the way the fields are read-only) its advertised as 1333 it should come that way. Keyboard shows no signs of fading but sometimes i get delayed keystrokes could be software related though.

In summary still a good buy (I paid 399.99),I have no regrets with this purchase SO FAR.

I bought this laptop on sale recently, and so far, I have no real complaints. Set up was simple and fast, and it connected right away to my WiFi. It's obviously not a gaming machine, but I installed some of my favorite (though not current) games (Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and 2), and they run just fine. Overall, it works as advertised, and for the price, I don't have any serious complaints.

The "3D" finish might not appeal to everyone, but I like it. It hides fingerprints very well, and it plays with light in a nifty way.

I haven't had any reason to use the webcam, but did test it to make sure it works. It's low-res, but good enough for basic things like chatting.

The software dock in Windows is a nice touch.

Pros: a nice bright display (I actually had to turn it down a bit), a roomy keyboard (I consider the lack of a number keypad a definite plus), and Windows 7 64-bit Home runs very fast.

Cons: no HDMI port (it has VGA), plastic case feels a bit flimsy, and the speakers are rather tinny. These cons are minor, in my opinion. Bloatware wasn't too much of a problem, either (I uninstalled only a few things). I do wish the memory card reader included CompactFlash for my older DSLR camera, but that's just a personal preference. Most devices don't use this type of memory card anymore.

Other notes: all the various ports are on the left side of the machine (one of the USB ports is at the very front of that side, which might get in the way for some), the DVD drive on the right, the memory card reader on the front, and nothing but the battery compartment on the back.

Buy Dell Inspiron M5030 2800B3D 15.6-Inch Laptop (3D Black) Now

Good value at $399 my sale price. I found it fast but heavy and upgradable. The "3D" finish is not attractive to me but will prevent fingerprints. I needed this laptop to run VMs for demos and development and this was in my price range. I found that the memory upgrade to 6GB was no problem($43) and keyboard removes ok for the memory access. Windows anytime upgrade got it to Windows 7 Pro for $89. Right now it is running an XP machine in virtual-pc and a 2008 server in virtualbox but having trouble running both at same time. The dvd writter works great and 3 USB 2.0 ports are handy. The wireless network is g and wired is 10/100 not 1000. I think networking could be better and the other external port is only vga should maybe be hdmi

Read Best Reviews of Dell Inspiron M5030 2800B3D 15.6-Inch Laptop (3D Black) Here

After ten days or so of using this computer I have not encountered any problems with it. This is my first laptop but my fourth Dell computer so I am not anticipating any major problems. Setup was a breeze and I especially liked the way it found my existing router so I can use wireless internet. Just make sure you have your routers "security key" available to complete that part of the setup. Now I am able to sit in my backyard and be online at the same time which was the reason I purchased this particular laptop. I have very nice Dell desktop so I did not need a top of the line laptop loaded with bells and whistles and lots of great features. If that is what you are in need of then I suggest you buy something else. This machine makes a great secondary computer and really for the price you can't expect it to be much more. Three USB ports is sufficient for me, a Cd/dvd burner that so far is working very well.The three in one card reader is also a nice feature. Now as far as the battery goes it charges up pretty fast but the charge does not last that long which I guess applies to most laptops. Sound quality is not so good, I mean if you're looking to play music you might want to invest in a pair of speakers to hook up to the front audio port. Picture quality seems just fine to me, brilliant and sharp and easy on the eyes. There is no HDMI connection but does anyone really connect their computers to a television? As far as the pattern on the case (small circles) that I have seen some other reviewers not so happy with I don't think it's any big deal. I'm just happy this computer is working as nice as it is so far. It starts right up and loads up quickly every time I turn it on. As for preloaded applications/programs, you really don't get much. There are the usual free games that we are all familiar with in Windows and some others that I'm pretty sure you have to pay for to play most of them on line. There is also a popular CD burner program (won't mention the name) that if you really want to use then you must upgrade to the premium version and that is going to cost you. So basically it's useless. For me, for my needs this was money well spent for a secondary computer. I did not expect to get all that much for the price but what I did get was a computer that works and so far that I am really enjoying.

One Year Later: After using this laptop for one full year I still feel it's worth the price for a good secondary computer. In my case as I've already mentioned I needed one to take outside with me. I have had absolutely no problems with this laptop as far as performance goes but of course there is a reason for me to update my review. The one and only reason I'm updating this review is because of the battery life. To put it as nicely as I am allowed, it stinks! The battery life just stinks! On a full charge I'm lucky to get two full hours from it. Sure I can tone down the brightness to get longer battery usage but who wants to look at a dull, dark screen? Now perhaps the battery that came with the laptop wasn't very good to begin with, I have no idea of knowing that. So this morning I am considering purchasing the replacement battery sold by Amazon thinking maybe I will get longer battery life. I just don't know if I want to risk spending over thirty dollars on a new battery only to find out it did not solve the problem. The idea of a laptop is to be able to take it with you, into the back yard for instance. Less then two hours on a full charge just does not work for me and I'm not about to start dragging extension cords out the window. So once again this is a nice laptop as far as performance goes and hopefully anyone thinking of purchasing it will receive a better battery with it than I did. Unless of course all of the batteries that come with this computer stink!

Want Dell Inspiron M5030 2800B3D 15.6-Inch Laptop (3D Black) Discount?

I am floored to read all the reviews on this computer stating motherboard failure. My computer is 18 months old and won't turn on. The screen is black and then a series of 7 beeps follows. After much time on the phone with Dell I've discovered it is the motherboard and a repair would cost over $400. I am just one of many many people having the same issue. Shame on you Dell for no addressing this issue and making it right for all your customers. There needs to be recall on this model due to so many having problems with the motherboard. So here I am about to shell out come $$$ on another laptop. Buyer beware!