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Dell Inspiron 15 Notebook (with 2.1Ghz Core 2 Duo) - only $596 at Officeworks

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Been researching cheap 15.6" laptops for a Christmas present for my mum for about a month, was about to buy a different one for $699 when my Dad walked into Officeworks on Thursday and found this. When I looked on to the Officeworks website to check the specs before my dad bought it, it said $796 so it's had a $200 price reduction in the last couple of days! Fantastic price for a Core 2 Duo processor!

Dell Inspiron 15

  • CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 (2.1Ghz)
  • MEMORY: 3GB RAM
  • HARD DRIVE: 320GB
  • SCREEN: 15.6" WXGA
  • GRAPHICS: Integrated Graphics (Device Manager says "Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family")
  • OPTICAL DRIVE: DVD-Supermulti Drive
  • COMMUNICATION: Wireless b/g/Webcam
  • OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows Vista Home Premium
  • Comes with Microsoft Works, 60 day trial of Office 2007 and 30 Days of McAfee Security Center

It's eligible for the FREE upgrade to Windows 7 (no need to pay postage and handling but may have to wait a while to receive).

I'm typing on this now while setting it up so if you have any questions just ask.

It's not a gaming PC but for general use its very well specced.

EDIT: Can also order online. When I entered in my postcode it said $4.95 shipping and handling.

Related Stores

Officeworks
Officeworks

closed Comments

  • -5

    2 words… DELL SUCKS :)
    Their business laptop is a bit most reliable than home user range.

    • Oooh, you good speak.

  • Lol. Works very well from where I'm sitting. Definitely beats any other from a retail chain and competes very well with online offerings (with advantage of being able to see/try before you buy and pick up when convenient [easier to hide for a xmas present than a delivery]).

  • +1

    Bought one yesterday from the Subiaco store, was the last one they had (other than display).

    Considering this got 15 positive votes less than a month ago when it was $796, bargain!

  • +1

    wow, bought a few months ago when it was $900+

  • +1

    Well, I'm still deciding between this and a Toshiba L 500D 2nd hand (3 mths old) for $580 with the following specs. What do you think guys?
    TOSHIBA LAPTOP SATELLITE L500D
    15.6" WIDE SCREEN
    E-SATA CONNECTOR !
    2.10 GHZ DUAL CORE CPU
    4GB RAM DDR800
    320GB SATA HDD*
    ATI RADEON 3100 - 256GB DEDICATED
    UPTO 1480 GB SHARED VIDEO MEMORY
    DVD + R/W DUAL LAYER DRIVE
    WIFI & LAN
    5 IN 1 CARD READER
    2 USB PORTS
    BUILT IN WEBCAM+MIC
    FREE LAPTOP BAG

    • I would imagine the Toshiba's dedicated graphics is better, and I agree that you should ignore MS works and McAfee - neither is any good anyway.

      You didn't say what OS the Toshiba is, and is there a chance that it's a good bit fatter? Is battery life important? I would actually tend to lean toward the Dell, particularly if you don't really need it for gaming, because the Dell is new with warranty and apparently has Free Windows 7.

      I also had the idea that Toshiba's have a reputation for not going the distance, and don't have a great build quality. That could just be me though.

    • +1

      Due to the dedicated graphics and AMD CPU, it'd have around 2/3 to 1/2 the battery life.

      The RAM would make zero difference to the vast majority of tasks, especially since it'll be a 32-bit OS which can't properly address 4GB of RAM.

      Both this and the Dell should have the Win 7 upgrade free, but the original owner will have had to applied for and received it, not you.

      The dedicated graphics would make it better for gaming, but it'd still be pisspoor in general for gaming.

  • -1

    Very similar specs. The Toshiba does have an extra 1GB of RAM which is worth roughly an extra $100.

    I would ignore the software that comes with the Dell as it's all trialware so you need to pay for it eventually if you want to use it on an ongoing basis.

    My decision would come down to whether each notebook came with Windows 7, and what sort of warranty was included with each.

  • +2

    Sold! Just got home from my local OW with one of these - bought mainly for the wife to web surf, use Skype and for music/photos. Sales guy said they've dropped the price to try and move them before the models that come pre-loaded with Win 7 arrive - he said that people are holding off buying (despite this model being eligible for the free upgrade). Crazy, but I thank the people who couldn't be bothered waiting 4-6 weeks for the upgrade to arrive for the price drop! :)

  • not sure whether i should. i might need one for uni next year just for word processing but i've heard that the hinges on this aren't that great. http://www.laptopical.com/1525.html not sure if its the same model (tell me no, lol).

    • I have the Inspiron from 1 or 2 models back (1.5 years old). The hinges went after about 10 months. Other than that the build is okay, but I would think a HP or ASUS would have an overall better build quality. I would really advise getting an extra 12 months warranty if your buying an Inspiron.

      • I have an Asus laptop, one of the hinges (to my surprise) broke after about 1 1/2 years of use. To my greater surprise, I just sent it in under its 2 year international warranty and they fixed it - with a turn around period of under 3 days.
        The courier picked it up wednesday, I got the laptop back, perfectly fixed, friday morning.
        Oh and.. Good deal!

  • +2

    The graphics adapter is most likely the GMA X4500HD - this is from the Intel Series 4 family and is standard on the 15" Inspirons. Not really suitable for 3D gaming but no slouch as far as integrated graphics goes (better than the integrated graphics on many budget laptops).

    @dixon888: Your Radeon 3100 is probably 30%-40% faster than this.

    • stylecrime: yeh but as far as integrated graphics goes the GMA X4500HD is a necessity. Anything older, is not good enough.

  • Good price but it's a Dell…

  • This is a GREAT PRICE
    but it is a Dell

  • Got mine at the Freo, WA store. Most stores have 1 (display) or none. You can get a returned one from the Joondalup store for a further $50 off.

  • It's actually decent price!

  • pity you can't switch out the graphics, as would have made a good hackintosh

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