Dell/Ubuntu Inspiron 1525 Review

I recently purchased a new Dell 1525 laptop running Ubuntu 8.04. I've been in need of a new laptop for about a year, and decided to take the plunge and see how good a Linux based laptop from Dell really is. My needs are fairly modest. I'm not a gamer, and don't watch many videos. Mainly it's used for blogging, internet, OpenOffice, IRC/IM, listening to podcasts and programming. Portablity is only somewhat important, mostly it'll be used 80% on a desk with the remaining time mobile.

Model: Dell Inspiron 1525N
Price as reviewed: $749
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 (2 Ghz/800 Mhz FSB/2MB Cache)
OS: Ubuntu 8.04 with DVD playback
Screen: Glossy 15.4" widescreen (1280x800)
Video: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Memory: 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667Mhz
Hard Drive: 120GB SATA (5400 RPM)
Combo Drive: CD/DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW)
Wireless: Intel 3945 a/g Mini-card
Camera: N/A
Battery: 6 cell Li/Io
Sound: High Definition Audio 2.0
Network: Integrated 10/100
Weight: ~6 pounds

Initial Impressions

I ordered this laptop on a Tues and according to Dell, it was going to take 7-10 working days then 3-5 days shipping before I'd see my new laptop here in Southern California. Much to my surprise, it shipped two days later, and arrived at my home two more days after that! I'd say Dell is very conservative in estimating dates. For once, it was great to see a laptop that didn't have all kinds of extra packaging. Dell packaged the laptop with a very minimum amount of packaging material. My box arrived via DHL intact. The contents of the box were very minimal as well, only including the power supply and Ubuntu DVD. A quick start guide and manual was also included, but not really referenced. It's a laptop after all, there's not much to put together! The included manual was for Windows OS only, there were no directions on using Ubuntu.

Upon power up, it was cool to see the Ubuntu splash screen. It went through some hardware configuration, found my wireless network and I was online in under 10 minutes from opening the box! A very flawless start! Ubuntu is installed in mostly a default configuration, and after a few minutes of being online, it had almost 700MB of updates for me to download. I transferred my data from my aging desktop system on a USB thumbdrive to the Dell. I was 100% working off the Dell in about 30 mins from the time I opened the box. The 700MB of updates would wait until I went to bed before downloading and updating.

Performance

Performance is very subjective, but for my needs, the 1525N has been great. Firefox 3.0.1 performance has been very acceptable. OpenOffice also has very acceptable load times too. I downloaded the latest branch of Drizzle and compiled it in about 8 mins. Under normal use, the CPU fan isn't running very fast, but during the compile, it was running at fullspeed. Graphics has been very good for my needs. Watching the occasional video, it was crisp with good colors. The Intel GMA runs at 500Mhz and uses up to 384MB of shared RAM. Using that amount of system RAM, it's best to install as much RAM as you can afford. I rank installing the most RAM you can afford as the #1 upgrade you should do to this laptop. Upgrading to a faster CPU or harddisk may not be a great return on your investment. YYMV of course.

I tested out the DVD writer by creating a restore disk using the Dell/Ubuntu Rescue DVD. I used standard Memorex DVD-R disks, and it burned about 1.8GB of data in around 3 minutes. I made two DVDs, and when trying to burn the second disk, it took a few ejects before the system would recognize a blank DVD was inserted.

Wireless has been flawless. My WAP is a Buffalo WHR-G54S flashed with dd-wrt. The laptop hasn't dropped the link at anytime, unlike my work HP/Compaq 6710b which drops WIFI every few mins.

Sound is a tad weak, it's not very loud. The speakers are upward facing, and Ubuntu responds to the hardware volume controls just fine. Sound quality is what you'd expect from built-in speakers, kinda rough. Plugging in headphones is the high quality option.

The touch pad is just OK. The default settings are ,very sensitive, causing text selection to occur when that's not the intended action. Double clicking by double tapping doesn't work reliably either. This could be due to Ubuntu settings, something I haven't investigated yet.

Keyboard has a nice tactile feel to it. I use the Dvorak layout, so I might see about rearranging the keys from QWERTY layout. By default, the backspace and delete keys are not configured to autorepeat.

Battery life is about what I expected. I'm seeing around 2 hours and 45 mins runtime with the 6 cell battery. I haven't made any configuration changes to Ubuntu for power saving modes, this run time is based on the stock Ubuntu configuration and "general" useage.

Not Tested

• Modem
• 8-in-1 memory card reader
• HDMI port
• S-video output
• Express card slot
  

Conclusion

For less than $750, this is a fantastic laptop. I'm very happy with it. My other choice was an IBM Thinkpad T61, but I'm glad I went with the Dell. I've only had the laptop about 5 days now, but it's performed flawlessly for my needs. I think the Dell/Ubuntu laptops are a great combination. Only a few small negatives, but they are not a major concern for this laptop. I think Dell should include some kind of Ubuntu quick start guide instead of the manual that ships. If you're already experienced with Ubuntu, this won't be such a big issue, it's more of a concern for users that are new to Ubuntu.