I've owned several laptops and would be considered an intermediate to advanced computer user. I've built my own desktops, tweaked a few laptops and owned various brands of laptops including HP, Fujitsu, Sony and Dell (Inspiron, Latitude and XPS series).I purchased this laptop directly from Dell based upon Consumer Report's November 2009 article recommendations where the Dell Inspiron 1545 was rated a 'Best Buy' for every day computing. I purchased it for my husband who will use it primarily for watching an occasional movie from Netflix streaming wirelessly on our home network, emailing to share jokes and videos with his friends, and browsing the Internet.
After setting it up, which other than running into a snag with my home network was a breeze, and playing with it for about an hour, these are my impressions.
The PROS:
+ Comes with Windows 7 no need to upgrade, and the 64-bit combined with the more than adequate memory makes things move nicely. Slightly different than Vista's look, but should be easy to use.
+ Adequate hard drive (mine came with a 320) for storing photos, videos and music.
+ Great 1.3mp webcam which delivers pretty nice snapshots (not too grainy) as well as excellent video (very little drag of movement).
+ Good speakers! Better than those on my Dell XPS, for which I paid 30% more less than a year ago.
+ 3 usb ports
+ Bright 15.6" display; nice size. I sometimes find the 13" on the XPS too small and the Fujitsu had a 17" which is fine for a desktop replacement but really adds weight to the overall unit.
+ Virtually silent running. No fan noise to speak of and yet...
+ Stays cool to the touch! Not worried about overheating on this one.
The CONS:
Keyboard is OK, but not as responsive as some others I've used.
The touchpad seems a tad small and the buttons (left/right click) seem too low by comparison to the keyboard. It could be the size of my hands (small...) but I tend to think it's just the layout.
The high gloss finish inside and the glossy display (versus matte finish) look cool, but do show fingerprints and reflect light to the point of sometimes being a nuisance.
There is no 'media only' button like on the XPS where you don't have to turn on the computer to watch a movie, but this is something that higher end laptops would have and may simply be a perk to paying more.
Heavier than some others, but at under six pounds, it's still not too bad.
Matte finish on the outside shows greasy smudges where you've touched it. I have the same issue with my XPS, but frankly I've never found a finish that doesn't show something.
Not a multi-media or gaming powerhouse. It will play dvd's and games, but if you're buying a laptop and really into those things, spend a bit more and make sure you upgrade your video and audio to support your interests. The 4GB of memory really helps as much as anything and I didn't notice any issues with the media I tested.
SET-UP:
The only issue I had with setting up this laptop was with my home network not being accepted because Windows 7 didn't like the security settings I had in place. I could get the 1545 to recognize my network, but it wouldn't connect until I changed the settings. I had my wireless settings on WEP and Windows 7 wanted WPA. Once I changed the settings, the laptop connected. I then had to go to 8 different devices on my network and make sure they were happy. Only one item: Myine Electronics IR001 WiFi Internet Radio Adaptor wasn't happy, but eventually accepted the settings with some concentrated tweaking.
BATTERY LIFE:
Battery life seems to be about 3.5 hours. I think the 4+ hour estimate is high, but that undoubtedly is also based upon what things you are doing on the laptop and mobile power settings.
CONCLUSION:
If you purchase this Dell you are getting a solid workhorse for every day computing for a fair price. I think it's quality is certainly higher than an Acer with the same specs, and backed by a 1 year warranty from Dell. (Having had a Dell laptop that needed the keyboard replaced recently, I truly think the warranty service provided by Dell they came to my house the next day is exceptional and worth the small price hike over some other brands.)
The Dell Inspiron 1545 is perfect for a student, a grandma who likes to email or wants to keep up with the grandkids on Skype, or anyone who has no need for the latest and greatest gaming, multi-media computer. For a laptop with a webcam, 4GB memory, and Windows 7 (64-bit) that's ready to fly right out of the box... it's a good choice.
**WIRELESS NOTE: If you are having trouble connecting to a wireless network, be sure you check the included 'set-up guide', page 10, to find the wireless key on your keyboard. You can inadvertently press this key and turn off your wireless capabilities. Handy on airplanes... not so handy at home.
The webcam will keep kids entertained for hours with its facial recognition software. You can put goofy hair, hats, and other decorations on your face real-time. Not really a practical feature, but it is pretty cool.
Aside from software bugs on the machine, this is an awesome computer, and it feels quite sturdy. It seems to be a pretty solid machine, and I think I will enjoy having it.
Pros
Windows 7 runs well.
Wonderful widescreen display
Plenty of ram (4gb)
Speedy processor for a laptop
Built in webcam software with facial recognition is awesome!
Battery life is decent for a machine this size.
Machine runs very quiet.
Keyboard is very quiet, and buttons are easy to press.
Very attractive computer.
Cons
Built-in Mcafee software disables your network connection if you uninstall it.
Dell includes reinstallation discs, not recovery discs.
Most of the pre-loaded apps cannot be reinstalled from their DVDs if you choose to reinstall windows.
Glossy finish on the inside of the laptop is prone to fingerprints/smudges.
Lack of dedicated media buttons (shared with F1-F12 keys)
No HDMI
No Bluetooth
No Blu-ray
Only 3 USB ports
Lack of 10 keypadI bought mine from Dell with a little better price but I buy a lot from Amazon and find the reviews helpful. I have a Dell XPS which is a high end Dell and running my benchmarks it is really preforms quite well considering the cost. Like one lady said the sound is better than the xps, maybe the best I have heard on a laptop. The screen is about a 1/2 inch shorter from top to bottom but about 1/2 inch wider. I thought I would be to skinny like the new 16:9 but its fine. The screen is excellent in sharpness and color very good. The intel graphics card is ample for video and is ok for older games. I am not a gamer high end graphics are not a issue.It does have 32mb of its own ram and the rest is shared. Dell has finally installed a app to back up the system for restore like other oems. The roxio is pretty much worthless and you need something else for the normal burning that windows 7 cant do.Mine came with 15 months of mcafee and I uninstalled it as soon as I got it. It is a resource hog and will slow your computer to a crawl at times. Microsoft finally has a free security essentials app instead of having to pay someone else to protect your computer and I use it as well as Avira anti virus (free)from time to time. I am going on 4 hours battery now and the battery says I have 50 minutes left. It only has 1 led for power and low battery, I dont care for this and prefer a full set of leds to let me know whats going on. Software indicators work but or a cost cutting feature.
My only problem is the space bar feels loose at times and hinges for the monitor are quite stiff and hope they don't break.
I have had my share of problems with Dell and have sent back 2 different computers. To be honest this is the best computer for the money I have had. Only time will tell if it holds up or not but I am quite happy with it. Charging $40.00 for a different color (on there website)lid is a rip off to me, but each to their own. Mine came with 3gb ram and I added a 2gb chip for 4gb I had and it does make a difference. I would keep an eye on the price as they do change. One of the main reasons I bought this is because I despised vista, but I have had no problems with 7. My wifi and networked worked with no problems.
Update: a nice feature that might confuse some people is that the fn key need not be pushed to use the media keys and the sound volume and brightness. There is a bios setting that can change the priority of the fn key to media first or number keys (like f1 f2 f3) first) It is set by default to media first. I have never seen this before but I like this feature.We bought the Dell Inspiron 15 (1545) to replace an aging ACER laptop as an "everyday" laptop for my teen son to use for homework and casual gaming. For the price, the performance, features and display have far exceeded our expectations. While not a gaming or graphics power machine, it has more than enough processor speed, memory, and hard drive space for our needs.
This is a very simple laptop to set up and use. The box only contains the PC (with battery already installed), the power supply, and a packet of software CDs (which I did not use) with minimal documentation. The instructions recommended charging the laptop for 12 hours before using the battery, which was fine as I just left it plugged in while configuring the machine. The initial setup took about 20 minutes, and was very straight forward as it found and connected right away to my WEP protected home WiFi network. The Windows 7 configuration was straight forward and no errors were encountered. Dell also recommends updating the BIOS right away and the instructions are included in the documentation. It was a very easy process and only took another 20 minutes or so to complete.
PROS:
+ Windows 7 is preinstalled 64 bit OS, works well
+ Very Nice 15.6" Screen Very clear and bright
+ Good Webcam and Software Provides better than expected image and video quality
+ Fast DVD+RW Drive
+ Large Hard Drive
+ Large Amount of RAM
+ Good Touchpad very responsive and doesn't have the "random jump" issue seen on other laptops
CONS:
Only 3 USB Ports, no HDMI, Firewire, etc
Finish is a Fingerprint Magnet!
Limited Pre-installed Software Comes with MS Works and a MS PowerPoint Reader
Overall this is a good value laptop that will meet most general daily office, homework, and web surfing needs.
Recommended!I have been using an ancient desktop computer for far too long, and to upgrade it would have been more trouble than it was worth. I had been looking into getting a laptop for quite a while, as I wanted something I could take to my band's rehearsals to record demos and burn copies for my bandmates to work on songs. My father surprised me with the Inspiron 1545 for my birthday a month ago, and so far I have had little to no trouble with it whatsoever.
I have not really used this laptop for gaming much, but everything I have used it for works fast and flawlessly. I do a lot of photo editing, art, and music recording, and even when multitasking everything runs smoothly. I have also never had an error resulting in any loss of data (this should be a given, but coming from the machine I had been using, it is a blessing). I primarily use simple single-track audio recording, but I have also installed and on occasion have used professional multi-track recording software for writing and recording music at home (one track at a time), and it seems to run very well on this system. The built-in speakers aren't the greatest quality, but I haven't found many laptops that do have great speakers. It is also very easy to plug it into my HDTV in order to use an extended desktop, which is very convenient for programs like Photoshop.
This laptop is plenty powerful enough for the average user's needs, and unless you're looking to do a lot of PC gaming I don't think you would need anything much more powerful. I did buy Spore and have played that a bit and it ran fine, but otherwise I cannot speak for its gaming capabilities. It would likely be sub-par for any graphics intensive games.
The only real complaint I have is that the touchpad occasionally seems to not want to respond properly. This is a rare occurrence, and taking my finger off of it for a few seconds usually seems to solve the problem, but it is very frustrating when it happens. Also, double-tapping the touchpad works as if you are holding the left-click (which I believe is standard), but it is far too sensitive and too easy to accidentally activate this feature. These are minor annoyances, but annoyances nonetheless and are primarily why I gave this product 4 stars instead of 5.
I have, fortunately, not had to deal with Dell's customer service (and of course I hope that I will not have to) so I can't speak for that aspect of the company. From what I have read they seem to have a growing reputation for poor customer service, but I will not subtract from my rating based on reputation. I will say that when I went to their site to download drivers I was recommended to try their download manager which did not work. Once you try to use this feature it will not give you the option to simply download the drivers directly until you delete your browser cookies. If they are able to over-complicate something as simple as downloading drivers (the most basic aspect of tech support) I shudder to think what I may have to deal with if real problems arise.
I feel that I should point out that it is difficult to judge any Windows-based PC by reading user reviews. I have read a good many reviews of laptops where the consumer is unhappy with the product due to crashes, slowdowns, slow startups or other problems after a couple weeks to a month or more of use, and more often that not those problems arise due to viruses/driver conflicts/general software problems and not a flaw in the hardware itself. Most people that aren't very tech-savvy that have problems with a PC/laptop in the first couple months will immediately blame the hardware instead of their questionable browsing/downloading habits. Too many people don't realize that having fifteen instant messengers, weatherbug, and other unneeded programs running at startup WILL cause it to take longer to start up. I recommend anyone reading user reviews on these types of things to keep that in mind.
To summarize, this laptop has been great for me thus far, and other than some minor quirks with the touchpad I have really had no problems to speak of. It starts up fast, I never have problems with slowdown even when multitasking with more demanding programs, and though I was hesitant about Windows 7 after the abomination that was Vista, I find myself absolutely loving it.
For the price, I would definitely recommend this laptop.
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