Dell Inspiron 15 3000

Nardge

Greetings Forumites,


This is perhaps a long throw of the dice, but is worth a try...

I'm aiming to buy the above laptop, with the below specifics (see below).

It seems to have received countless poor reviews regarding poor performance, and being too slow...
However, people usually neither specify which exact sub-model nor the specifications of the model in question.
It might be that it's too slow to deliver games-console standards, or that it takes forever to open a page...

If anyone has bought the same, may I ask of your experiences with it? Is it notable for being a snail?

Processor
7th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-7200U Processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.1 GHz)
Operating Systems
Windows 10 Home 64bit English, Dutch, French, German, Italian
Display
15.6-inch HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Display
Memoryi
8GB, DDR4, 2400MHz
Hard Drive
1TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
Video Card
Intel® HD graphics 620 with shared graphics memory

Thanking you in advance,

With Kind Regards

BigAl94

I would avoid - low resolution screen and slow hard drive.

John_Gray

Is an SSD an option?

Certainly the screen resolution should be at least 1600x900.

You haven''t actually said what you want to use the laptop for...

neilmcl

What do you intend to use it for and how much are you spending?

If it's just for internet browsing and general office type stuff then the specs are fine although you should consider upgrading straight away to an SSD.

Nardge

John_Gray wrote: »

Is an SSD an option?

Certainly the screen resolution should be at least 1600x900.

You haven''t actually said what you want to use the laptop for...

Dell don't make the 3000 with SSD unfortunately...

The laptop would be for a friend who's current laptop was a 2007/2008 release (so a relative dinosaur to today's standards!), with 4GB Memory and Hard Drive 500GB. They'd use this one as a replacement for that one which is now hideously slow given it's age, and the main objectives would be to have something faster, with more memory, and with the wish to be able to multitask reliably. Being a Dell is important. HD Screen Resolution, or the need for state-of-the-art games console excellence would not be necessary...

Thanking you in advance for any further guidance you might have

Nardge

neilmcl wrote: »

What do you intend to use it for and how much are you spending?

If it's just for internet browsing and general office type stuff then the specs are fine although you should consider upgrading straight away to an SSD.

The laptop would be for a friend who's current laptop was a 2007/2008 release (so a relative dinosaur to today's standards!), with 4GB Memory and Hard Drive 500GB. They'd use this one as a replacement for that one which is now hideously slow given it's age, and the main objectives would be to have something faster, with more memory, and with the wish to be able to multitask reliably. Being a Dell is important. HD Screen Resolution, or the need for state-of-the-art games console excellence would not be necessary...

The aim would be to get something for less than £500

From your indication and that of 'neilmcl', SSD seems to be something of worthwhile perhaps immediate importance

Thanking you in advance for any further guidance you might have

that

Nardge wrote: »

Dell don't make the 3000 with SSD unfortunately...

yes they do
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell-inspiron-15-3000-156-intelr-coretm-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-449-currys-3105770

I would not buy one with this screen resolution. Six or seven years ago, I still would not have bought this. If theier eyesite is not as sharp a 15" would be better, but a 17" more expensive.

how about this as it has a better screen (possibly the cpu is not as quick?, but they will never notice) https://ao.com//product/4xx96eaabu-hp-laptop-silver-62632-251.aspx?WT.srch=1&WT.z_MT=drytinder&WT.z_RTM=PHG&WT.z_CN=304092&WT.z_AG=Forum&WT.z_AT=&WT.z_KW=drytinder

Would suggest to go second hand though, or the dell refurbish route.

Also if that computer is just going to sit on a desk, how about a desktop with a much larger screen, a bit like a second hand dell optiplex 7010, or 9010 circa £150 form ebay, plus another £100 for a screen, plus about £30 for mouse and keyboard when added up will possibly cost less than £230

Nardge

that wrote: »

yes they do
https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell-inspiron-15-3000-156-intelr-coretm-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-449-currys-3105770

I would not buy one with this screen resolution. Six or seven years ago, I still would not have bought this. If theier eyesite is not as sharp a 15" would be better, but a 17" more expensive.

Many thanks for this!

The above link appears to tick all the right boxes - SSD, better Resolution, Laptop, and all good reviews!

I had previously thought Dell didn't do SSD for the 3000 as they've none selling on their own Dell website.

With Kind Regards

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

As mentioned elsewhere I am running an old Dell Inspiron 15 i3 with a Crucial SSD bought in 2011. I did stick another 4GB in it to make it an 8GB memory (didn't cost much) but I've never seen much evidence that it uses more than 6. Perky as a perky thing, Photoshop, Cubase, Android Studio and it'll cope with video editing for the odd bit that I do.

I don't think Windows will ever give excellent performance without it having an SSD given the amount of tasks that make it disk bound.

SWMBO has an even older Dell Inspiron which I didn't bother with the memory upgrade but did do the SSD treatment and it is equally lovely to use, instant on for Office and browsing.

Nardge

IanMSpencer wrote: »

As mentioned elsewhere I am running an old Dell Inspiron 15 i3 with a Crucial SSD bought in 2011. I did stick another 4GB in it to make it an 8GB memory (didn't cost much) but I've never seen much evidence that it uses more than 6. Perky as a perky thing, Photoshop, Cubase, Android Studio and it'll cope with video editing for the odd bit that I do.

I don't think Windows will ever give excellent performance without it having an SSD given the amount of tasks that make it disk bound.

SWMBO has an even older Dell Inspiron which I didn't bother with the memory upgrade but did do the SSD treatment and it is equally lovely to use, instant on for Office and browsing.

So yes, I think the key overall take-home message from this Thread is "Get it with an SSD"

I'm grateful to all who've helped in identifying the root way of avoiding the "slowness" of the above model.

Best Wishes

toshi

Nardge wrote: »

The laptop would be for a friend who's current laptop was a 2007/2008 release (so a relative dinosaur to today's standards!), with 4GB Memory and Hard Drive 500GB. They'd use this one as a replacement for that one which is now hideously slow given it's age, and the main objectives would be to have something faster, with more memory, and with the wish to be able to multitask reliably. Being a Dell is important. HD Screen Resolution, or the need for state-of-the-art games console excellence would not be necessary...

IanMSpencer wrote: »

SWMBO has an even older Dell Inspiron which I didn't bother with the memory upgrade but did do the SSD treatment and it is equally lovely to use, instant on for Office and browsing.

I agree. Yes, here is THE money saving forum, then I also would seriously suggest installing an SSD to the existing 7-8 years "old" computer. Now 500GB SSD is around 60-70 pound. You will know the 7-8 years computer is not dinosaur at all and amazed how powerful the Old computer is. The hard disk is a 60 years old dinosaur!

You can add memory but 4GB is OK for general computing with an SSD. (I actually tested with various combination, SSD swap file won't make your computer slow down unlike hard disk swap file.)


Get an SSD at 2019, be happy