Dell Inspiron E1705 Laptop

I have not have the misfortune of experiencing the problems that others have had with this laptop. I've had mine for 3 years, and it's still working great. I haven't pushed it with 3D gaming or anything, but it's handled everything I've asked it to do. No hardware failures. No crashes. I'm a software engineer, so I've used a lot of computers, and this has been one of the most stable.

I also had the misfortune of purchasing this laptop based on generally favorable reviews. My Inspiron E1705 hard drive crashed within 12-months of purchase destroying all contents. It was in warranty and Dell fixed it. I assumed the faulty hardware was just a fluke and everything would be fine after the repair. A few months later the AC adapter stopped working. Dell sold me another cable for $100 as it wasn't a "standard" model. Six months later the laptop crashed again once again destroying all contents. Mind you the laptop was lightly used and never left the house. Rather than taking the professional high road and resolving the problem once and for all, Dell was quick to remind me that laptop was out of warranty. I spent $1,400 for this? The next few weeks were a nightmare, including hours of unhelpful scripted technicians, misdirected calls, departmental runarounds, frustrating and incomprehensible foreign accents. After weeks of this, the issue is finally escalated to a supervisor who agrees that Dell products should not fail like this within 18 months. He promises to call back and correct the problem. He never does. I try again to get through the call center maze again but to no avail. I gave up and went out and bought a Mac. The moral: this product comes with low-quality hardware. It is a serious customer risk. Given Dell's inability to respond to a legitimate customer issue I would say any Dell product is a serious customer risk. At this juncture I would also be wary of any favorable or fair magazine reviews of their products given their sizable advertising budgets they bring to print and web media.

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This 17'' monster is no lightweight. The Dell Insprion E1705 is a big computer but does the job with no problems. I encountered no problems with this product.

Pros:

The keyboard is spacious and does not cause any trouble when it comes to typing. The display on the is great...like having your own portable TV. It comes with a DVI port that allows for easy connectivity to HD tvs (with the use of a DVI to HDMI cable of course). Media Center is useful when using its TV tuner capabilities.

Cons:

The computer is a bit outdated when it comes to internal hardware. The hard drive is a fraction of the size from what you may see in newer computers. The processor speed is no longer at its prime...lacking speed for multimedia users. Also, this notebook is only capable of holding 2 Gb of Ram. Although it only comes with 1 Gb stock its ability to be upgraded any higher is quite limited.

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This laptop was the biggest waste of money ever. I might as well have went outside, put the $1000 I spent on this piece of junk in a pile, and set it on fire. Since I've bought it I've had nothing but issues with it. The latest one is the built in speakers have simply stopped working. Now I get to call up Dell customer support and try to figure out what the guy on the other line is trying to say to me for the next 2 and a half hours.

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I've had this laptop since spring 2007. Right now it is fall 2012 and the laptop is powering my 27" Samsung monitor.

I've had to replace the video card (GeForce Go 7900 GS) once, which is fine because it was under warranty. I also have replaced the fan (a ton of dust was building up).

I originally paid roughly $2,200 for this laptop. It's only a 32bit processor, so you have to realize that this laptop is now falling behind. However, it is built very well. I've had a number of tech. nerds comment on how well it is built.

It runs Oblivion (an Elder Scrolls game) better than an Xbox 360.

Overall, worth the money.