my kid needs a laptop for collage next semester ... here's what I'm looking at getting him

I know my computer skills leave a lot to be desired but I think I loaded enough stuff in it to at least be usable ...... any commentsQty Part # Description
--- -------- ---------------------------------------------
1 224-4307 Dell Inspiron 1010
1 317-0049 Inspiron 1010, Intel Atom Processor Z530, 1.6GHz, 533MHzFSB, 512K
L2 Cache
1 317-0493 Z530 (1.6GHZ) Atom, 1GB RAM
1 320-7786 10.1 Inch High Definition Widescreen Display (1366x768)
1 320-7784 Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500
1 341-8508 160GB, 2.5inch, 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
1 430-3508 Non-WWAN Base, WLAN Antenna 1GB
1 317-0050 Obsidian Black Color with Gloss Finish
1 310-8624 You have chosen a Windows XP System
1 330-3121 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP,1010
1 420-7622 Dell Support Center Software 32 Bit 2.0
1 420-8223 Dell Video Chat
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer
1 420-9191 Box.net online backup and filesharing 1.0
1 421-0119 Genuine Windows XP Home Edition SP3
1 421-0319 Power-Cinema
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 412-0689 Image Restore
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 313-7398 No Mobile Broadband Option Inspiron
1 430-3547 Dell Wireless 1397 802.11 Half Mini Card
1 320-7986 No TV Tuner Option, Inspiron
1 320-7800 Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
1 410-2185 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 15-Month
1 312-0901 56WHr Lithium-Ion Battery (6-cell)
1 420-6589 Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition
1 950-3338 2 Year Limited Warranty
1 993-6598 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year(s)
1 993-6587 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
1 986-2771 Third Party At HomeService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, 1 Year Extended
1 992-8070 Third Party At HomeService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year
1 900-8221 Warranty Support,1 Year Extended
1 960-2780 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 412-0360 Soft Contracts - Banctec
1 330-0171 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
1 466-7691 Thank you for choosing Dell
are welcome :D

Looks good. Should have no problem using the laptop at school.
Dont forget Microsoft office, get the student edition.
Dont pay for a warranty. I had the 3yr warranty, on yr 2 when I called, they would not help me unless I bought another warranty.:mad:

I would not use McAfee. The name brand antivirus products are being singled out by viruses.
AVG, Zonealarm, and Spybot, are all you need to be safe and they are free.:D

I would put as much RAM in it as possible.

I would put as much RAM in it as possible.


At least 2GB minimum...since it's so cheap!:hurray:

i bought my daughter a dell laptop, one of the worst computors i have ever bought, nothing but troubles, just my .02, good luck Jim

Buy a business class machine if at all possible and don't over look refurbished, I buy refurbished HPs from Tiger Direct and they work just fine.

I LOVE my Dell Mini 9...travel with it everywhere. :thumbsup:
The model you're showing about is not really a good (screen) size for college IMO but a big kudos for the Dell brand.
I'd go with a min 15" screen laptop...

I am not sure but I think that 1010 has embedded ram and cannot be upgraded. (not positive)

I would dump the Mcafee and just download AVG 8.5 free edition.

What is his major?

If it it drafting or computer science, etc, you are going to need more power.

Compiling or CAD will take more to handle compiling or rendering.

If he is a college student, don't forget that you can get a discount on your laptop purchase, which can make a significant difference in price. Same deal on the software. If he is living on campus, the school may offer free anti-virus as well.

My college also had an account with the Microsoft Academic Alliance, which gives him free dowloads, of all Window's Business class Operating Systems.. XP Pro, Vista, and soon enough Windows 7, both 32/64 bit.

If money is tight, don't worry about Microsoft Office, download Open office from openoffice.org.

Big D

What is his major?

If it it drafting or computer science, etc, you are going to need more power.

Compiling or CAD will take more to handle compiling or rendering.

If he is a college student, don't forget that you can get a discount on your laptop purchase, which can make a significant difference in price. Same deal on the software. If he is living on campus, the school may offer free anti-virus as well.

My college also had an account with the Microsoft Academic Alliance, which gives him free dowloads, of all Window's Business class Operating Systems.. XP Pro, Vista, and soon enough Windows 7, both 32/64 bit.

If money is tight, don't worry about Microsoft Office, download Open office from openoffice.org.

Big D

agreed open office works great, he would only be missing Access and Perhaps Publisher.

My work offers us enterprise accounts. MS Office 2007 Enterprise $19.99 Visio 2007 Professional $19.99 MS Project 2007 Standard $19.99 - schools offer similar deals I would hold off on the MS package as well

I have a Mini 9 with the same processor. Forgo the Atom processor and get at least a decent dual core processor with 2gb of ram. Running programs beyond a basic browser or office application (or any combination of the two at the same time) will bring that atom processor to it's knee's. I also recommend a 15" or larger screen for actually doing any useful work on. I couldn't imagine squinting at that little 10" screen to make a large spreadsheet, much less typing with any accuracy or speed on the tiny keyboard...

If your going with Dell, try looking at one of the mid level Inspiron's with the dual core Pentium for $469. Forget all the extra software (MS Office, etc.) as that can be has for CHEAP once he starts school and has his student id.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-1545/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-1545&s=dhs&cs=19&ref=lthp

also, you might consider forgoing the extra ram through dell unless they offer a decent price. Newegg is a great place for stuff like that. I am going to upgrade an old Gateway laptop with DDR 2700 memory. 2 gigs will cost me $80.

PC2 memory looks like its even cheaper.

What is his major?

If it it drafting or computer science, etc, you are going to need more power.

Compiling or CAD will take more to handle compiling or rendering.

If he is a college student, don't forget that you can get a discount on your laptop purchase, which can make a significant difference in price. Same deal on the software. If he is living on campus, the school may offer free anti-virus as well.

My college also had an account with the Microsoft Academic Alliance, which gives him free dowloads, of all Window's Business class Operating Systems.. XP Pro, Vista, and soon enough Windows 7, both 32/64 bit.

If money is tight, don't worry about Microsoft Office, download Open office from openoffice.org.

Big D

They have free downloads of Microsoft operating systems?! CSUSB?

They have free downloads of Microsoft operating systems?! CSUSB?

agreed open office works great, he would only be missing Access and Perhaps Publisher.

My work offers us enterprise accounts. MS Office 2007 Enterprise $19.99 Visio 2007 Professional $19.99 MS Project 2007 Standard $19.99 - schools offer similar deals I would hold off on the MS package as well


Elco, Yes sir..... Free!! CSUSB requires you to be a computer science student. If you aren't I'm sure you could find someone that is a CSC major and due their taxes or toss em a California Brownie from one of the dispensories....

MSDAA offers,

Windows Server Editions 2003-2008
Windows Desktop Editions from XP-Vista-and soon Windows 7
Microsoft Project
Microsoft Visio
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Visual Studio(like 10 different versions)
Microsoft MapPoint, Share Point,
and some others.

Here is the link for CSUSB -- http://www.csci.csusb.edu/resources/msdnaa/


And to menko,

Go here and reprice your dell. http://delllounge.com/delluniversity/

You can save over regular dell pricing from dell.com and you usually get some extra added fluff as well.


For Example, I just priced this laptop...

Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T4200 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache) (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 1))
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 64 Bit (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 11))
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 - Word, Excel + PowerPoint (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 22))
2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 29))
Glossy, widescreen 15.6 inch display (1366x768) (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 5))
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 3))
500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 8))
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 6))
8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 16))
6-cell battery (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 27))
Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 19))
Integrated 1.3 MP Webcam (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 21))
Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 17))
Jet Black (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(1, 2))
My Accessories McAfee 30 day Trial (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(3, 25))
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(3, 34))
Dell Remote Access, free basic service (http://javascript<b></b>:to_page_mod(3, 813))
Also Includes
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
Windows Vista™ Premium
No ISP requested


@Dell.com $963 @DellUniversity using my edu email, $805.

Has Vista, Office, 15" screen, 4gb of memort, and wifi and plenty of space.



Now if you don't need the OS or office suite, go somewhere other than dell, CyberPowerpc.com for istance. You can get pretty much the same laptop, same features, just doesn't have the dell logo on it, minus the software, for $707.

You could also go look on NewEgg or Tiger for some refurbished models for even less.

Dell is just a name, the parts are all made by other companies, and there service isn't spectacular. Unless you have Platinum 24/7 support then they are lightning quick.
Big D

thanks Chaos ......... but the Idiots at Dell won't ever stop production on the one I ordered ed two days ago......... their idea of economy is to ship is to me { across the country} then have me an have me ship it back :clonk:

oh but please order the other one & we'll short out the payment problems ........ B.S. !!!
an where do I find the school Id numbers to access that sight his student number didn't work or the schools official ID number what is it a top secert computer nurd number l:)

thanks Chaos ......... but the Idiots at Dell won't ever stop production on the one I ordered ed two days ago......... their idea of economy is to ship is to me { across the country} then have me an have me ship it back :clonk:

oh but please order the other one & we'll short out the payment problems ........ B.S. !!!
an where do I find the school Id numbers to access that sight his student number didn't work or the schools official ID number what is it a top secert computer nurd number l:)


Use the column at the left, Choose State, City, and college. Acutally, you can pick any college.

What he needs is an email address ending with .edu All i did was enter my XXXX@uis.edu email and was sent a confirmation link. After that I was good to go.

Big d