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Technofreak

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#106680 29-Jul-2012 16:03
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I'm looking to replace my 8 year old HP Pavilion ZE 5526ap.  It's given good service but it's getting time to retire it.  The 1 Gig of RAM is a bit limiting at times.

I very much like the look the ultra thin laptops like Acer and Asus make, since they would slip into my work bag easily not take up much space or adding too much weight.

The down sides of these models is no ethernet port and no CD/DVD drive, plus the screens were starting to border on the small side for me, especially compared to the current 14.8 inch screen I now have.

I've decided that the Dell Inspiron 14Z with the 128Gb SSD might foot the bill.  http://www.dell.com/nz/p/inspiron-14z-5423/pd?oc=v510642nz&model_id=inspiron-14z-5423

It's still quite thin, has an ethernet port and CD/DVD drive.  The SSD will help with boot up times and battery life. I have a 1 TB external drive plus a 2TB server so I don't needs heaps of on board storage.

I'm still trying to decide if I go the the i5 or stick with the i3. I'm tending to think the i3 will be sufficient as I rarely need grunty computing capacity.

Has anyone on here got one of these or anyone able to provide any worthwhile comments on this model. 

Thanks.




Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS 
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5


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freitasm
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  #663816 30-Jul-2012 08:54
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I have an HP Folio 13 here, and it's pretty similar to the Dell 14z Inspiron. No CD/DVD but really haven't used one in years - it helps save battery and reduces the bulk.

You should consider that one too. Pretty happy with it...





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Technofreak

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  #663878 30-Jul-2012 10:45
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Hi Mauricio,

Thanks for the feedback, I will take a close look at the Folio, It looks like a really good laptop.  If I go the Folio way I still need an external disk drive.  I like the thin 18 mm of the Folio and the connectivity options, ethernet, USB etc.

However I need a CD/DVD reader for work and an external one will probably be a bit cumbersome.  Also I'm concerned that I'll find the 13.3" screen size a bit on the small side.  This will be my main computer, I don't bother with a desktop.

Thanks again for the comments.




Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS 
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5


freitasm
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  #663883 30-Jul-2012 10:48
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I am selling my desktop and going back to having a laptop only - I used to live like that for years until I got a desktop last year. It's nice, but having to sync to my laptop, and so much more used space on the desk is not my kind of thing...

The Folio (and surely the Dell 14) are cool because they are so small and light than other laptops - and when I travel I can just grab and go.





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Technofreak

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  #664159 30-Jul-2012 19:01
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Went and had a look at both the HP Folio and the Dell Inspiron 14Z.

The Folio is very nice, has all the ports I need and is nice an slim. Also I think the 13" screen would be quite OK but the need to have the CD/DVD reader makes the 14Z my choice.

Thanks for the help.




Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS 
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5


beddy
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  #664402 31-Jul-2012 10:27
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I've recently purchased one of these, and am very happy with it. I actually removed the DVD drive though, and replaced it with a 500GB hard drive.
It's really light and portable compared with my old Inspiron 15R.

Technofreak

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  #664555 31-Jul-2012 13:08
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Pleased to hear of a happy owner. While the 128 Gb SSD drive is small compared to most computers today it's still 4 times bigger than my current HDD which is has been adequate.  I have plenty of storage via a USB drive and a server.

I figure that I can upgrade the SSD later on if necessary and also expect the price in the future to come down.




Sony Xperia XA2 running Sailfish OS. https://sailfishos.org The true independent open source mobile OS 
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Dell Inspiron 14z i5


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