Dell Inspiron N5050

I got my dell 3 weeks ago, and it's my first dell. Its also the first laptop to be bought over the net without first inspecting the laptop at a local showroom or reseller. And it's also going to be my last.

This is what RM1599 paid for

Inspiron 15 (N5050) Direct Base
U510808MY-Dell(TM) Inspiron(TM) 15 (N5050) Laptop
2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2330M processor 2.20 GHz
Discount is only valid if the corresponding upgraded item is selected above.
Limited time promotional offer only. No further discounts apply.
15.6" HD WLED True-Life (1366x768)
Dell Webcam Central Software
LCD Back Cover - Obsidian Black
Genuine Windows(R) 7 OS Label
Dell(TM) Welcome
Break the Seal Sticker
DataSafe Local Basic
APCC Info Mod
Direct Ship Info
Skype Software
Ebay Webslice
Energy Star Label
Energy Star Label (on shipment box)
My Dell Downloads
Dell(TM) Support Center
Stage Software - MusicStage
Stage Software - PhotoStage
Stage Software - VideoStage
Windows Live Software
Stage Software - Framework
Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 Series Processor Label
Adobe Reader X
SERI Document (English/ S-Chinese/ T-Chinese/ Japanese/ Korean)
3-in-1 Memory Card Reader: SD/MMC/MS
Internal 10/100 Fast Ethernet
Dell SyncUp Software
Dell Stage - Remote Control Application
Resource DVD
Inspiron N5050 System Driver
Enrico15 Placemat (English, Indonesia)
Integrated 0.3 mega pixel webcam
Driver for Dell Wireless Card 802.11b/g/n, BT3.0+HS
Me and My Dell
4GB (1 X 4GB) 1 DIMM DDR3 1333Mhz
320GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
12.7" SATA tray load DVD+/-RW
Roxio Creator Software
Power Cord (UK)
65W AC Adapter
6-cell Lithium Ion Battery
Shipment Box - Brown
Intel® HD Graphics 3000
Integrated Stereo Sound
Dell Wireless Card 802.11b/g/n, BT3.0+HS (MY)
Dell(TM) Chiclet Keyboard with Multi-touch Touchpad (English)
Genuine Windows(R) 7 Home Basic COA Label (SEA)
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic 64bit (English)
Windows 7 Microsoft Patch (Including SP1)
OS Media Kit Not Included
- Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Dell(TM) PC Restore Software
Cyberlink PowerDVD Software (DVDRW)
McAfee(R) Security Center(TM) (Multi-Language) - 15 Months Version
# Yr 1 Carry-In Service after Remote Diagnosis
# Yr 1 CIS Parts Exchange Service
For info only:1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
# 1yr Ltd HW Wrty, InHome Svce after Remote Diagnosis
# 1yr Parts Exchange Service
1 Year Standard Phone Support: Mon-Fri 0900-1800
1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
Regional Support Within Asia Pacific Countries For Laptops

It's an unnecessary long list of items to make you feel that you bought a house for RM1599. Personally I couldn't be bothered with the preinstalled software like cyberlink power dvd, mcafee and software by dell. I like by system trimmed, free from unwanted garbage. But for the system spec that I got, even with the unwanted garbage, it doesn't feel weight down, slow or sluggish. Except for the mcafee update part. Anyways, the summary of the N5050 hardware is as follows.

The number one reason why I got this dell is because it's cheap. At RM1599, it's a steal for a 15.6 inch display laptop powered by an intel i3 sandy bridge with 4GB of RAM.
And it's also 'cheap' cheap. Laptop feels cheap, with lots of hollow parts especially the keyboard which I disliked the most. Typing on the N5050 can be very noisy. This is all due to the design of the laptop itself.

Take a look at the back of the N5050 and you won't see any removable lids for the HDD or RAM. Instead you'll need to remove the screws at the back cover, flip the laptop around, lift the screen, and then very carefully pry the stainless steel finish only to be greeted with dell's patented anti DIY alarm of plastic snapping sound. It's a very mac way to build a laptop. Don't get me wrong, I like apple products, especially the iPhone, but if I wanted a mac, I would have bought one, instead of getting a dell. IBM clones are suppose to be DIY friendly. This is one of the biggest regret in getting this laptop. Future upgrades will be troublesome. And this is the biggest disappointment of the N5050. All these while I've never bought any PCs online, though I do scout for prospective PCs the final purchasing decision will be a physical examination of the product at local resellers. I should've done the same with this purchase as well.

Another thing about having the 'latest and greatest' hardware like this dell with an intel i3 2330M with built in HD3000 graphic processor on the same die, is the lack of support by non mainstream OSes, namely linux. Sure, the latest kernel 3 is suppose to have better compatibility with sandy bridge, but it's how the desktop integrates itself with the kernel to give the best user experience which matters most. The old ubuntu 10.10 that I'm currently using on my compaq proves to be obsolete on the dell. And being a linux convert, I did what I can to not rely on windows.

In my hunt for the perfect linux for the N5050, I've installed Fedora 16 64, Linux Mint 12 RC 64, Xubuntu 11.10 (assumed to be 32bit). I've avoided Ubuntu because of Unity. There are many other distros, but I stick to those that required the least compiling. Don't even need to access the terminal, all the better.

I couldn't get fredora 16 to detect the wifi card. Mint 12 rc has trouble accessing my wifi unless I unhide the ssid. Xubuntu 11.10 doesn't have the same problems as the earlier two, and since its based on ubuntu (which I've been using for months now), its very easy to get the hang of it. But there's one minor set back. Boot and shutdown time. Xubuntu 11.10 shutdown much slower then the older ubuntu 10.10, and out of curiosity, I also tested Win 7 (64 bit) and realized that Win 7 not only boots faster (1 second faster then Xubuntu) but also shutdown faster as well. The test is done on freshly installed OSes with their drivers updated. No additional 3rd party software installed on Win 7 (firewall, anti virus, etc)

If you have 2 minutes to spare, test video is right below.

After editing the video and posting them into this blog only has I realized one variable that I did not take into account. load time from login screen to desktop. Win 7 took its time from the login screen to the desktop while Xubuntu 11.10 felt almost instantaneous. I would have done a second round of testing with auto login into desktop but then abandoned the plan when xubuntu 'excellent' battery management has drained the battery dry when I left a 60% charged laptop unattended for 6-7 hours. That was never an issue with win 7 as it went into hibernate and still has 40% charge (from 50%) after being left unattended for the whole day (about 8 hours). As a desktop OS, i'll opt for Xubuntu anytime, or may even try the lighter ldxe version. But for better battery management, better hardware optimization, win7 is the only way to go, for now.