My Inspiron 1440 !

[PieWai]

Does it come with Windows 7 or does the A05 BIOS include the SLIC 2.1 for OEM activation of Windows 7?

[raydabruce]

I just bought the Inspiron 1440 yesterday and I'm very happy with it. I got it at BB for $449+tax ($480). The BB model has the T4300 (2.1GHz) cpu, 3GB of 800mhz ram and 250GB WD HDD. If I have no problems with it during the 14-day return period, I'm going to install a matching pair of 2GB modules to bring it up to 4GB ram and put in a 320GB (7200rpm) hard drive.

I did a lot of research on various CPUs and, for the money, the T4300 is a kick-butt processor. Look it up on PassMark and other benchmark sites. Intel calls it a dual-core Pentium, but Intel's CPU names really don't mean much -- you have to look at performance benchmarks. All of Intel's CPU names (Pentium, Celeron, Core2 Duo) are just marketing schemes to soak you for more money. Again, look at performance benchmarks.

My research paid off. This computer is very fast for a budget (less than $500) laptop. It doesn't have all the ports and lights and other bells and whistles you get with more expensive laptops -- but then, I don't care about all that. Someone mentioned that it has a little flex when you hold it with one hand by the corner. Sorry, but that's not a very smart thing to do -- you want to crack your mainboard and turn your laptop into a 5 lb paperweight?

I've owned at least 20 laptops and the build quality is pretty good for the price. As long as you treat it with care and don't throw it around or handle it carelessly, it will last for years.

The first thing I did was flash it to the latest BIOS (A07) and apply all updates from MS and Dell. It came with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit).

I'm impressed with it's speed, display, features and overall quality. If I have any problems with it, I'll edit this post to elaborate. As a long-time laptopper, I recommend this model (so far). For the price, it's a good buy. Another nice thing about it is the BIOS setup program -- much more detailed and easy to use than most laptop BIOSes (thanks to Dell).

If you get one at BB, don't buy one that Geek Squad has "optimized". You don't need that and they'll add $100 to the price. Insist (as I did) on a sealed box that Geek Squad has not touched.

EDIT: I upgraded the RAM to 4GB (2x2GB kit) and installed a Seagate 320GB 7200rpm hard drive. After a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit), my WEI scores are as follows:

CPU: 5.4
RAM: 5.4
Aero: 4.0
Games: 4.0
HDD 5.9

Pretty damn good for a consumer laptop costing $449. Yeah!
You really don't need all the crap Dell puts on it. Do a clean install and watch it fly.

[Blueberry_Ice]

Total newbie here. HOW do you do a "clean install" and you can change the hard drive? Is that easy to do? About how much is the cost of a 7200 Hard Drive? Not that this system isn't running great as is, but i'm jealous of your WEI numbers ) Mine are 4.9, 4.9, 4.1, 3.4, and 4.9-

Thanks!

I just bought the Inspiron 1440 yesterday and I'm very happy with it. I got it at BB for $449+tax ($480). The BB model has the T4300 (2.1GHz) cpu, 3GB of 800mhz ram and 250GB WD HDD. If I have no problems with it during the 14-day return period, I'm going to install a matching pair of 2GB modules to bring it up to 4GB ram and put in a 320GB (7200rpm) hard drive.

I did a lot of research on various CPUs and, for the money, the T4300 is a kick-butt processor. Look it up on PassMark and other benchmark sites. Intel calls it a dual-core Pentium, but Intel's CPU names really don't mean much -- you have to look at performance benchmarks. All of Intel's CPU names (Pentium, Celeron, Core2 Duo) are just marketing schemes to soak you for more money. Again, look at performance benchmarks.

My research paid off. This computer is very fast for a budget (less than $500) laptop. It doesn't have all the ports and lights and other bells and whistles you get with more expensive laptops -- but then, I don't care about all that. Someone mentioned that it has a little flex when you hold it with one hand by the corner. Sorry, but that's not a very smart thing to do -- you want to crack your mainboard and turn your laptop into a 5 lb paperweight?

I've owned at least 20 laptops and the build quality is pretty good for the price. As long as you treat it with care and don't throw it around or handle it carelessly, it will last for years.

The first thing I did was flash it to the latest BIOS (A07) and apply all updates from MS and Dell. It came with Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit).

I'm impressed with it's speed, display, features and overall quality. If I have any problems with it, I'll edit this post to elaborate. As a long-time laptopper, I recommend this model (so far). For the price, it's a good buy. Another nice thing about it is the BIOS setup program -- much more detailed and easy to use than most laptop BIOSes (thanks to Dell).

If you get one at BB, don't buy one that Geek Squad has "optimized". You don't need that and they'll add $100 to the price. Insist (as I did) on a sealed box that Geek Squad has not touched.

EDIT: I upgraded the RAM to 4GB (2x2GB kit) and installed a Seagate 320GB 7200rpm hard drive. After a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit), my WEI scores are as follows:

CPU: 5.4
RAM: 5.4
Aero: 4.0
Games: 4.0
HDD 5.9

Pretty damn good for a consumer laptop costing $449. Yeah!
You really don't need all the crap Dell puts on it. Do a clean install and watch it fly.

[Blueberry_Ice]

Great Review!! Where DID you get that carbon fiber fitted so perfectly? Looks awesome!

Thanks

I've noticed many people here asking about the new Inspiron 1440. And besides one review dug up through Google results, there really isn't much information available at the moment other than the manufacturer's description.

A few weeks back, I pulled the trigger and ordered one. I've spent a few days with it now and I figured I'd share my thoughts about it, post a few pictures, and answer questions anyone may have about it.


My specs:
Inspiron 1440: P8600, 4GB DDR2-800MHz, 320GB 5400RPM, 900p LED, GMA 4500MHD, 6-cell

Overall, I am impressed with this laptop. It's pretty much a larger version of the Dell Mini Inspiron. I knew that this was a budget-line unit, but I configured it with decent specs and took a chance hoping that the material & build quality wouldn't be too horrible (it was much cheaper than high-end units).

And it didn't disappoint. The build quality is excellent, and the chassis integrity is surprisingly impressive. Despite using the same cheap-looking plastic material like every other laptop out there, I can safely lift up this laptop with one hand from the corner of one palmrest. No cracking sounds or bending at any point on the chassis.

Attachment 37337

It has a nice, solid keyboard. The keys aren't shaped in any unique way, in fact the entire keyboard is very flat. The keys feel a little "thin" (probably because they are) but it is by no means a low-quality keyboard. It bends a little around the enter key (nothing unreasonable), but otherwise there is virtually no keyboard flex.

Attachment 37338

It has no hard drive or wi-fi LED indicator lights. It just has one power LED indicator that doubles as a battery indicator, since it also lights up when it's off and charging.
Also shown in the picture above is the separation of the top bezel/faceplate and the plastic border of the screen. There is no adhesive holding these two pieces together, so one could theoretically pull on the plastic border of the screen to detach it/snap it off.

Attachment 37339

That's a shot of the rear exhaust vent with the screen opened at a 90 degree angle. Similar to the Studio XPS line, opening the screen will block the vent. However, this unit doesn't run too hot even under load so I don't foresee it being a problem.

Redirecting the airflow sometimes caused screen discolouration on the SXPS 13 because of it's edge-to-edge design, but shouldn't be a problem with this one since there's a fat plastic border around the screen.

It has a high RPM fan throwing air out of the exhaust vent. I can definitely feel a strong airflow when I close the screen a little to unblock the vent. The fan is loud enough to be well heard it when it kicks in, but not enough to be bothersome.

Attachment 37340

There's one easily accessible compartment on the underside: in which there are two 200-pin DIMM slots, and one PCI-Express mini card slot occupied by the Intel WiFi-Link 5100 chip. Notice the poorly placed sticker on the bottom DIMM.

Attachment 37341

The easy-access HDD drive bay on the side of the notebook makes it very simple for anyone to swap out a hard drive. They put Kingston memory and a WD Scorpio in the one I got.

Attachment 37342

And that's what mine looks like now. I couldn't stand the plain look of the consumer-grade "silver plastic" that it had, so I got some automotive carbon fiber vinyls (black and chrome) to make it look unique.

The 900p LED screen has a native resolution of 1600x900. The text does seem a little small with this resolution on a 14" screen and would take some getting used to.

The first thing I did was wipe the drive and reinstall the OS, and it's been awesome so far in terms of speed, form factor, and performance.


Feel free to leave comments or ask any questions if you were considering this laptop!

[raydabruce]

Total newbie here. HOW do you do a "clean install" and you can change the hard drive? Is that easy to do? About how much is the cost of a 7200 Hard Drive? Not that this system isn't running great as is, but i'm jealous of your WEI numbers ) Mine are 4.9, 4.9, 4.1, 3.4, and 4.9-

Thanks!

I can't explain your WEI numbers without knowing which processor is in your machine, etc. Mine is the BB model with the T4300 processor and Intel 4500MHD integrated graphics.

The hard drive is very easy to swap out. Look it up in the manual on Dell's web site. Two screws and it pops out the side. As for the hard drive, go to Newegg.com or any other online computer parts retailer and you'll see dozens of laptop hard drives at good prices. And as for your clean-install question, I did it with a Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit DVD that I already had. Clean-install simply means you wipe out all the current partitions during the install and start fresh. In other words, it's not an upgrade. Clean-installs are always the way to go to avoid complications/problems.

[joan2009]

cheap-laptop-batteries.com
good ....Inspiron 1440

[User Retired 2]

There is no HDMI port. The only means of video output is the VGA-out port (clearly it wasn't meant to be a desktop-replacement powerhouse).

Adding accelerated graphics AND HDMI video and audio to the Inspiron 1440

Got a T6600-2.2 Inspiron 1440 hooked up to a US$250 12V/80W HD5750 DIY ViDock via the expresscard slot. Get HDMI audio and video and 3dmark06=9551!!. Great budget gaming/portable setup. The thing is built solid and runs very cool.

Runs even better with a NVidia GTX470. 3dmark06= > 10k!!

MC8781 WWAN via mPCIe socket

This does work. So trading wifi for wwan.

Just need to glue down a lug to allow a full length card to be screwed down. There is no sim card so either need the ~US$25 solderless USIM holders off ebay OR solder pins 2,4,10,12,14 to a sim socket AND mask those pins so they don't connect with the systemboard.