Dell Inspiron 2650 Review
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From 6 ratings and 18 reviews
67% of users recommend this product
Jay.'s Review of Dell Inspiron 2650 Laptop
23rd Sep 2002
Overall Rating
- Value for money

- Quality

Price.
Bad Points
Tech Support, incorrectly configured.
General Comments
Had my Dell Inspiron 2650 Laptop for 3 months and it has performed very well. The 16mb graphics card nvidea geforce 2 is good enough for most games today (plays return castle wolfenstien very well). Overall performance is quite good, i chose the dell over the sony viao pcg-fx701 which had a similar spec (+ a few extras like infra red port and tv-out)
Build quality is good but not excellent as the screen does make a creaking sound when you close it. The LCD display is good, but looking at the screen from an angle (other than straight on) it does look quite dark, i.m not sure if this problem is due to the limitation of current LCD technology or to the screens DELL use.
The keyboard is good, free from any squeaks or rattles but sometimes if you type too fast it doesn't pick up the keys you have pressed.
I did have one problem with it when i changed the printer mode in the BIOS from ECP to EPP then When i tried to eject the cd tray from windows xp the shortcut key FN+F10 the whole machine would freeze up. I'm not sure if this was due to a DMA conflict or BIOS fault (may require a BIOS update). I did email DELL support but they didn't bother getting back to me.
The inbuilt speakers are quite decent for a laptop. Producng a clear sound, free from distortion. Not sure what the exact spec of the sound card is.
Can't comment on the battery life because i use the laptop as a desktop replacement and run it off the mains.
One major problem i had was with the DVD-rom, you can only change the region setting 4 times only, then it locks!! I have heard you can flash the bios drive to unlock it, but after hearing many disasters from other people who have tried it. I decided not to. And the region setting from the factory was set to region 1 (i.e for the USA), as a UK resident, it should have set to region 2. And also the 'paging file' set up was incorrect. It should have been set to where windows handles the exact amount NOT the user, as the hardrive was constantly writing data, till i changed it.
Overall this is a good machine (can't compare with other laptop manufacturers, as this is my first laptop).
Tech spec:
P4 1.7ghz
256 ddr ram
14.1 lcd screen
20gb hard drive
v92 56k modem inbuilt
NO network card
DVD drive
price £1060
1 year collect and return to base warranty
On average, people found this review very helpful
Members' Comments onJay.'s Review
Tweety. on 12th Oct 2002
rob. on 12th Nov 2002
Dude get the new one with TFT its much better than anachronism LCD
Vynz. on 8th Jan 2003
Just leave the region set at region 1. That way you will be able to watch all DVDs and never worry. Imagine the horror of buying a DVD only to be unable to watch it because your drive is set at region 2!
stormtroooper on 2nd Aug 2008
You dont set to region 1 when you want to watch UK disks - DUH
Web Links
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Dell Inspiron 2650 review - IT Reviews
Independent review of Dell Inspiron 2650 - find out how well it performs compared to other laptops and notebook computers. ... Dell - Inspiron 2650 features - Verdict
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Dell Inspiron 2650 Review Overview in Notebooks Reviews at ZDNet.co
Dell Inspiron 2650 review Overview. Dell?s latest budget Inspiron neatly balances features and cost, offering most home and small business users what they are likely to need at a... ... Dell Adamo XPS:
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Dell Inspiron 2650 parts
Dell Inspiron 2600 and 2650 service manual ... Dell Inspiron 2650 Parts List ... 5J698 Dell Inspiron 2600 2650 Palmrest Touchpad Assembly
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Dell Inspiron 2650 - Notebooks | Mobile Business | ZDNet.de
Dell Inspiron Mini 9; Mit dem Inspiron Mini 9 hat Dell sein erstes Netbook vorgestellt. Ende... » mehr... ... Testbericht Dell Inspiron 2650
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1 GB of RAM in a Dell Inspiron 2650? - Topic Powered by Eve
I need to bump the RAM as high as possible in a Dell Inspiron 2650. MemoryX shows 3 versions of the 2650, a 2650, a 2650C & a 2650SE.
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Documentation
Operating system not found ? Contact Dell for technical assistance; (see "Contacting Dell" in the Dell Owner's Manual that came with your computer).
support.dell.com -
Hard Drive: Dell Inspiron 2600/2650 Service Manual
Removing the Hard Drive ... CAUTION: If you remove the hard drive from the computer when the drive is hot, do not touch the metal housing of the hard drive. ... NOTICE: Hard drives are extremely fragile;
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replacement battery for Inspiron 2650,Dell Inspiron 2650 battery for your Inspiron 2650 laptops ... New Replacement Dell Inspiron 2650 battery Pack[DELL Inspiron 2650 laptop battery]
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I agree with most of your comments on the laptop, haven't had your problems with the printerports thoo...
A few points... the angle of the screen... yes that is a limitation of LCD technology, it usually has a recommended wieving angle of about 30 degrees or less, and a maximum angle where it goes completely dark.
Also ALL DVD players have a region code set at sale and then 5 OR LESS times to change it, though your should have been set to region 2, as you said.