this puter is now almost 4 years old and only now am i starting to have problems with it. the amd x2 still competes with in the market today, it is a bit bulky to move around all the time, but still portable enough i can throw it in my pack and leave, i read the other reviews and the really don't talk about this puter at all. so i don't understand the low rating but it is great, i game on it webcam and surf the net all day, what else do you need it to do? the problems i'm starting to have is the dvd drive is going out as well as the screen, but take into all the time that dvd has been turning and how long it's been spinning through its life and how old this baby is it is to be expected. same with the screen, in retrospec i should've givin it 5 stars. and fyi this big guy has gone with me through 3combat tours (i'm in the army) and on its 4th now. so it's had a harder life than most laptops.
I contacted Dell customer support to activate my next business day warranty and after more than a week I have gotten nowhere with them. My claim has been "escalated" twice with the same excuses and refusal to fix the problem. They claim they have no video cards in stock and I will have to wait 2-3 weeks for a replacement card, 2-3 weeks for a loaner system, or 2-3 weeks for a replacement system -basically my NEXT DAY warranty is anything but.
I explained that this is a mission critical system and a 2-3 week delay is unacceptable given the high price I paid for the next day warranty. I offered to take another make or model of graphics card and even offered to go buy the card myself if the agreed to pay for it.
They refused to help in any way. So, I am left with a useless laptop for 2-3 weeks until it becomes convenient for them to honor the warranty. I will never buy another Dell product again and recommend that others who are not technically experienced with fixing computers or that need a "mission critical" system that they look elsewhere because Dell cannot be relied upon to fix broken systems in a timely manner.I bought a very similar computer to the one listed here, and I am very happy with it. The problem with this particular listing is that it is way too expensive for the device you are getting. I got my Vostro for $1000 about 2 months ago, and it is substantially faster than this one (1.8 GHz, 2 GB RAM).
The actual computer itself has been great. It's certainly a little bulkier than I would like it to be, but it's nice having the 15.4 inch wide screen. I also got the 9-cell battery which adds some weight and protrudes from the back of the body slightly. Having 4 USB ports is a particularly desirable feature, and although I have only used the SIM card reader a few times, I can see how that would come in handy as well.
I ended up choosing the Vostro over Dell's Inspiron 1520/1521 -which is essentially the same computer, but is marketed toward home users, whereas the Vostro is labeled as a 'small business computer' -because at the time, the Inspiron was only offered with the Vista operating system. Also, you can customize the small business computers so they don't have all the junk programs their home & office computers come with. Overall, I was able to get more bang for my buck with the Vostro.
My advice is if you are going to buy a Dell, buy it direct and wait for a good promotion to pop up. Try searching the internet for "Dell Coupons," and although Dell doesn't usually offer them, you will often be redirected to a good limited-time offer at their official website.I purchased this model two years ago and immediately was dissapointed. this machine does not run vista well at all. I've since reformatted and installed xp (a difficult process since dell does not support xp drivers for this machine, but if you're savvy you can find through forums) with xp it runs better but Still would not recommend. there are other laptops out there that perform much better. The 1721 model is basically a big LEMON!
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