HP Laptop Repair

Compaq Recalls Faulty Notebook Batteries

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A quick glance at the specs of the current crop of netbooks might lead you to believe that they're more alike than different. Nearly all of them are based on the same Intel Atom CPU (the N450), with 1GB or 2GB of RAM, no optical drive, and similar battery-life claims. But look closer, and you can see that various models are designed with different people in mind.

If you're interested in using your netbook for entertainment, such as watching high-def video or playing the occasional game, you'll want a model with a larger screen and a good graphics processor (nVidia's Ion or AMD's low-power platform with ATI graphics). You'll pay more and give up some battery such as Dell BATDW00L Battery, Dell 1X793 Battery, Dell BAT1194 Battery, Dell Precision M20 Battery, dell F5635 battery, dell YF976 battery, dell C5974 battery, dell U4873 battery, Dell Inspiron XPS M170 Battery, Dell Inspiron XPS M1710 Batterylife, though.
The move by Compaq, announced in conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), came just two weeks after rival Dell Computer issued a similar recall notice for about 27,000 batteries that were sold with models of its Latitude and Inspiron notebook PCs introduced in June. (See "Dell Recalls Dangerous Notebook Batteries.")

However, Houston-based Compaq says the two recalls aren't related beyond the similar nature of the problems afflicting the batteries used by the two PC vendors. A company spokesperson says the battery packs being recalled by Compaq were made by Sony, whereas Dell said previously its batteries were produced by Sanyo Electric.

In both cases, the affected batteries can short-circuit, causing them to overheat, release smoke, and potentially catch on fire. Compaq says it recently discovered the defect in a single battery pack that was manufactured between June 2 and July 10. The pack overheated and released some smoke, damaging the PC it was installed in, the company adds.

Although just that one problematic battery pack has been found so far, Compaq says it and Sony "consider this defect a potential risk due to the high levels of heat and possibility of fire." The recall is being made "to ensure the safety of Compaq's customers," it says.

Users affected by the recall are eligible to receive two free replacement packs for each one they have now. Compaq urged users to immediately discontinue use of the recalled batteries, which were distributed worldwide as standard components of the Armada notebooks and as separate options or replacement spares

HP EliteBook 2740p

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The HP EliteBook 2740p adds a twist to the typical design of ultraportable laptops. As a notebook, this thin, light PC fits big performance into its small case, but that's not all. You can rotate the display to shift it into tablet mode. A pressure-sensitive stylus can do sketches on screen, or you can point with up to two fingers, enabling multitouch gestures. And this EliteBook supplies nearly every other expected feature, making it a versatile work machine for any portable situation.

I tested the 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-540M version, equipped with 4GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and an extra battery mounted underneath. (HP charges $1699 for the laptop and $179 for the additional battery like Dell RD859 Battery, Dell PR002 Battery, Dell UD260 Battery, Dell PD942 Battery, Dell Latitude 131L Battery, Dell 8F871 Battery, Dell 2G218 Battery, Dell Winbook N4 Battery, Dell F0590A01 Battery, Dell 7T670 Battery; price as of 8/5/2010.) HP boasts that the machine includes desktop-class chips, and it shows in the performance and battery life; the laptop feels speedy, but battery life is merely adequate.

The machine scored a strong 104 in our WorldBench 6 test suite, putting it near the front of the pack in the ultraportable category, and applications all felt responsive during general use. The EliteBook provides ample power for Office software, image editors, and nearly anything a mobile pro could install.

Integrated Intel GMA HD video processing lags in the most demanding visual tasks, such as high-end GPU-accelerated 3D applications and games. Audiences for either category should look elsewhere, since the EliteBook 2740p targets another niche.

Instead of 3D mastery, the EliteBook impresses with its touchscreen. In the laptop or tablet configuration, you can poke at the screen with a finger or the stylus. The typical features of Wacom screen technology are here, including 255 levels of pressure sensitivity and a stylus with an eraser end for quick changes. The tool enables precise sketches in addition to nuanced photo edits. The stylus slips inside the case when unused, storing it well. The EliteBook automatically senses when the stylus tip is close to the screen to disable fingertip input, but I occasionally still managed to click with my hands when trying to sketch. (You can manually disable nonstylus touch input in the Control Panel.)

Touching with fingertips feels less precise by comparison, but it's still accurate enough to navigate through applications. Once I got used to the screen, I often just poked at icons instead of reaching for the trackpad. The screen supports touch from two fingers at the same time, letting you rotate or resize photos in supported software. Unfortunately, few real-world tools yet take advantage of multitouch, but with this laptop, you'll be ready for their arrival.

The 1280-by-800-pixel screen presents a good range of color and contrast, although this is one of the laptop's weaker elements. Colors lack the full richness found in competitors, and the screen begins to wash out in a bright room. In direct sunlight, the image crumbles, although HP says an optional outdoor-optimized display is available for those who need to work outside.

Basic input devices work well. Flat keys bounce back tightly, and the trackpad always feels responsive. HP also includes an eraser-style pointing stick, similar to what you'll find on ThinkPads. I prefer the concave shape on those competitors, but HP's take on the pointer still quickly whisks the cursor across the screen. Two sets of buttons--one for each pointing device--feel a little too soft, but at least they're individual buttons instead of a seesaw lever for each click.

HP includes few extra buttons, but that's better than a laptop with useless clutter. Touch-sensitive buttons control volume from the corner. Two side-mounted physical buttons activate your browser or e-mail application. A slider switch toggles on or off the 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1. A few extra buttons reveal themselves in tablet mode to reorient the screen and activate Escape and other common commands. They're all well-placed and useful.

The EliteBook 2740p includes almost every significant port: USB 2.0 (three), VGA, FireWire, a headphone/mic jack, gigabit ethernet, and analog modem. You can expand with ExpressCard/34, and an SD slot reads flash cards. A Webcam and mic are ready for videoconferencing and other media capture.

In addition, the laptop's security features can lock down your data. A fingerprint scanner and SmartCard slot can authenticate users. Bundled software can encrypt the drive or permanently destroy old data. An option for the LoJack service can help recover a lost laptop or destroy its data. These touches should fit business users well.

Several aspects of the EliteBook 2740p underperform. Speaker audio sounds loud enough for a small group to hear, but it whistles out music with shrill tones. Battery life is passable at 3 hours, 29 minutes in our tests, but that's not stellar for an ultraportable PC. HP sells a flat "battery slice" accessory for $179 that adds about three hours of battery life, but it also adds about a quarter-inch of thickness and over a pound of weight. HP includes a series of firmware tools that can include a Web browser or access to your Outlook data before you boot into Windows. These would be great additions if Windows could boot in the background, but since you still have to run the full startup process to do anything else, they're rarely useful.

The EliteBook 2740p feels solid as a tablet or laptop. An HP representative said the company put a lot of effort into designing it to be rugged, claiming it can withstand 300 pounds of pressure on the enclosure. Hopefully it'll hold up, since HP ranks dead last in our most recent survey evaluating how companies handle problematic portables.

While it takes an extra battery--and added weight--for the HP EliteBook 2740p to feel complete, this small laptop can handle mobile work anywhere. It's quick, and the convertible touchscreen makes it especially versatile. That touchscreen and the unit's all-around performance make up for the shortcomings in battery life and screen colors.

Dell debuts new Inspiron and Vostro notebooks

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Dell's new Inspiron 13z and 14z sport bright colors, slim designs, and Intel Core i3 and i5 processors, while Dell's Vostro V131 gets a battery such as Dell Latitude 131L Battery, Dell 8F871 Battery, Dell 2G218 Battery, Dell Winbook N4 Battery, Dell F0590A01 Battery, Dell 7T670 Battery, dell Inspiron E1705 battery, dell Inspiron 6000 battery(dell 6000 battery), dell Inspiron 9300 battery life boost.

Computer maker Dell has taken the wraps off three new notebooks today, that consumer-oriented Inspiron 13x and Inspiron 14x, and the business-skewered Vostro V131.

The Inspiron 13z and 14z take the “z” ultraportable distinction from the XPS 15z and aim to put it in more colorful and checkbook-friendly packaging. The new systems sport either second-generation Intel Core i3 or Core i5 processors, with the 13z sporting a 13.3-inch 1,366 by 768-pixel display and the 14z stepping out to a 14-inch display with the same native resolution. Both systems can support up to 8 GB of RAM and offer a high-definition webcam and chiclet-style keyboard. Del is offering black and red cases, with matching palmrests.

The 13z is available with a 320 or 500 GB hard drive or a 1298 GB SSD, while the 14z steps up to 500, 640, or 750 GB hard drives and an internal tray-load DVD combo drive. Both systems feature SDS Premium Sound HD, and work with Intel’s Wireless Display technology or HDMI to connect to big screens.

Pricing for the Inspiron 14z starts at $599.99 and is on sale now in the U.S. and other markets; for now, the Inspiron 13z is only available in selected Asian markets.

Not neglecting its business customers, Dell has also unveiled the new Vostro V131, which builds on the V130 by adding power-sipping processors (including Intel’s second-generation Core i3 and i5 CPUs) and user replaceable battery options, including a 6-cell model that adds a bit of keyboard tilt and can offer up to 9.5 hours of battery life when paired with an SSD and an Intel Celeron Dual Core processor. Dell is offering a bunch of options with the Vostro V131s, including WWAN, WiMax and LTE (in the U.S.), Bluetooth 3.0, fingerprint readers, and Absolute LoJack security software, along with stock options like a full HD webcam, two USB 2.0 ports, backlit keyboard, and built-in Skype capability. However, the goal of the Vostro V131 is long battery life and portability, not raw power: the systems peak at 2 GB of RAM. Dell says the Vostro V131 will be available next month, with prices starting at $449.

Dell Inspiron M101z Ultraportable

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Dell's new Inspiron M101z ultraportable notebook offers a AMD Athlon II Neo processor with ATI graphics and a 1,366 by 768-pixel 11.6-inch display.

Computer maker Dell is getting into the Neo ultraportable notebook market, announcing the new Inspiron M101z ultraportable notebook computer. Aimed at students and everyday consumers, the M101z is designed to combine performance and portability with eye-catching looks that don’t make the system look like some boring hand-me-down notebook. And the display might only measure 11.6 inches, but it packs a 1,366 by 768-pixel native resolution.

“Finally, people can get premium looks, a big display, a full-width keyboard, long battery like dell Inspiron 9400 battery, dell 310-6321 battery, dell 310-6322 battery, dell D5318 battery, dell G5260 battery, dell G5266 battery, dell Latitude CPi battery, dell Inspiron 8200 battery, dell Inspiron 8000 battery, dell Inspiron 8100 battery, life, and a powerful processor in a laptop no bigger than many netbooks,” said Dell’s director and product manager for ultra mobile products Brian Pitstick, in a statement. “The Inspiron M101z is an affordable, on-the-go companion that can be easily customized to handle individual needs.”

The M101z features Dell’s hinger-forward design the moves the display a little closer to the user and helps keep the computer’s body rigid and more resistant to bumps and knocks. The computer itself is powered by an AMD Athlon II Neo processor (single and dual core available) with ATI integrated RS880M graphics powering that 11.6-inch 1,366 by 768-pixel display. The unit supports up to 4 GB of RAM, comes with up to a 320 GB hard drive, and also packs an integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam, HDMI and VGA output, three USB ports, and a 7-in-1 media reader. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS are available as options, and users can also pick up an external DVD drive. The whole unit weighs less than four pounds, and Dell says the system can run over six and a half hours on a single charge of its 6-cell battery.

The Inspiron M101z is available today with prices starting at $449; Dell is offering a varity of case colors and patterns, including matching designs on the palm rest.

Beyond the Streak's basic awkwardness

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But using it to instant message my friends was more difficult than on other touch-screen keyboards I've used; despite the Streak's size, I kept hitting the wrong keys.

Using the Streak to make phone calls was a new experience. I felt weird holding it up to my ear, imagining quizzical looks as I walked down the street. The Streak didn't sound bad, but it didn't sound great, either.

Calls sounded kind of fuzzy on my end, and in one frustrating exchange the screen kept changing orientation while I was on the phone, which also meant that the physical button that allowed me to turn the sound up and down kept reversing functions.

Beyond the Streak's basic awkwardness with battery such as dell Inspiron 4000 battery, dell Inspiron 4100 battery, dell Inspiron 2500 battery, dell Latitude CPX battery, dell Latitude C600 battery, dell Latitude C610 battery, dell Latitude C640 battery, dell 1691P battery, dell 75UYF battery, dell 5081P battery, its biggest flaw is that it relies on old software. Despite the inclusion of a swift processor, the Streak is saddled with an older version of the Android operating software - version 1.6 - which means it is missing some of latest features and can't run some applications that call for newer operating software. It also lacks Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 for watching Flash videos.

Dell says the Streak will get what is currently the latest Android software, version 2.2, later this year and will get Flash 10.1, too. I'm stymied by the decision to not even start out the Streak with version 2.1, which is available on a number of current smart phones.

Another odd handicap: Although the Streak has a low-resolution front-facing camera, which could be used for video chatting, it's only currently enabled for taking photos and videos. Video chat is expected to work when the device gets the Android software update, but for now it feels like quite a tease.

Fortunately, the Streak comes with fully functional 5-megapixel digital camera on its back. The camera takes sharp images and has a bright flash, and the display functions as perhaps the biggest viewfinder you've ever used.

There are plenty of options for adjusting your shots, and I was able to take a bunch of crisp shots. You'll need to hold it steady while snapping, though, because the Streak takes a long time to take a photo after you've pressed its shutter button.

And you'll probably want to use headphones with the Streak, as the quality of its built-in speaker is dismal. When watching a Ted Leo And The Pharmacists music video online, the sound was muddled, even at a low volume. Because the speaker is located on the Streak's back, it gets even harder to hear when you set the gadget down.

Fresher software will surely improve the Streak, but whether you're looking for a phone, a tablet computer or both, the Streak falls short. Performance-wise, that is; in reality, it's anything but.

Dell Streak

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Lately I've been feeling very self-conscious when talking on the phone in public, and it's not because I'm worried about strangers listening in on my private conversations.

Rather, it's because the cell phone I'm using - the just-released Dell Streak - is actually a touch-screen tablet device that makes some of the clunkiest handsets from the late '90s look diminutive by comparison.

The Streak (US$300 (NZ$430) with a two-year AT&T contract) is a complicated gadget. For a tablet computer, it is fairly small and thin - a fraction the size of Apple's popular iPad. Its face is dominated by a touch screen that is 5 inches diagonally, compared with the iPad's 9.7-inch display.

Yet Dell insists it is also a phone, and as such it is fairly enormous and uncomfortable to talk on. Beyond that, it comes with an older version of Google's Android software. Overall, it's just too awkward to bear.

The Streak's enormity is inescapable. It's a little less than 6 inches long and 3 inches across, so it looked mammoth in my petite hands. I felt like a little kid holding her father's smart phone.

It was clear from the start that carrying around the black gadget would be a chore. It fit into the back pockets of my jeans, but protruded noticeably. I was afraid it would fall out or be filched by some tablet-phone-hungry thief.

As a result, I had to carry it in a bag or hold it in my hand if I wanted to tote it around, and this latter option quickly got old.

Still, I figured the Streak's size would be great for at least one thing: watching videos. As expected, videos streamed well from such sites as YouTube and Funny or Die, probably helped by the device's 1 GHz processor.

Images looked sharp and bright on the screen. They didn't look quite as stellar as they do on Apple's latest iPhone or Samsung's new Galaxy S smart phones, though.

There is plenty of storage space on the Streak for the videos you want to watch (and for photos and songs, too), as it includes a 16-gigabyte microSD memory card. And the device's battery like Dell 1K500 battery, Dell Inspiron 3700 battery, Dell Precision M40 battery, Dell Precision M50 battery, dell Inspiron 700m battery, dell Inspiron 710m battery, dell F5136 battery, dell 312-0306 battery, dell 312-0305 battery, dell D5561 battery, seemed to have no problem getting through a day filled with video and music streaming, web surfing and chatting.

The screen was also a swell surface for checking out Google Maps and other websites. I liked having extra real estate to look up directions and see pages that contained both photos and text.

Riviera Beach Police

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WEST PALM BEACH — Police and the state's child welfare agency failed to protect 11-year-old Javon Nelson, who was fatally shot by his stepfather, along with his mother and three of his siblings, said Leroy Nelson Jr. in a lawsuit filed last month.

The gruesome September 2010 incident marked the worst mass murder-suicide in Palm Beach County's history, and tragically ended what the lawsuit claims was a lengthy series of events in which Patrick Dell showed that he was a danger to his estranged wife, Natasha Whyte-Dell, and her children.

Now, Leroy Nelson Jr., acting as a representative of the Nelson family, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Florida Department of Children and Families and the City of Riviera Beach.

Nelson's attorney Vincent Miller said the family is still healing from the loss of Javon, and that the lawsuit was a necessity.

"The Nelson family regrets the (shooting)," Miller said. "They are not looking to sue anyone just for the sake of it."

The lawsuit, which seeks damages in excess of $15,000, states that a "long, deep history of domestic violence" permeated the Whyte-Dell household, prior to the 2 a.m. Monday shootings. It goes on to state that DCF launched an investigation after a call was received to the abuse hotline in December 2009, where it was reported that Dell had threatened Whyte-Dell with a knife and told her "you will be going to the morgue."

But the investigation was "woefully inadequate," according to the lawsuit's allegations.

In the days after the murder-suicide, The Palm Beach Post reported that former DCF southeast regional director Perry Borman said that the investigator who looked into the abuse allegation at the Dell household had been placed on administrative leave after being arrested in Plantation on charges of aggravated battery such as dell G5345 battery, dell Inspiron 500m battery, dell Inspiron 510m battery, dell Inspiron 600m battery, dell Latitude D500 battery, dell Latitude D505 battery, dell Latitude D510 battery, dell Latitude D520 battery, dell Latitude D600 battery, dell Latitude D610 battery, on a pregnant woman.

Calls placed to DCF for comment and for the status of the investigator were not immediately returned.

Nelson further claims that Riviera Beach Police knew Whyte-Dell and her children were continuously beaten and terrorized, but provided "absolutely no protective services" to the family.

Records obtained by the Post after the incident showed that Riviera Beach Police responded to the Whyte-Dell household 34 times in the nearly four years before the shooting. In a 2008 incident, for example, police responded to the home and Whyte-Dell reported that her husband had gone searching for scissors to cut her underwear off.

Riviera Beach spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said on Monday that the city has a policy to not comment on pending litigation.

Dell XPS 15z Laptop

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The Dell XPS 15z laptop price and availability is now online and you can buy now, this is the day you can get your hands on the thinnest 15-inch laptop on the market.
Is the XPS 15z going to be a life changer? This all depends on sales and of course personal customer reviews, at the moment we have no clue but here are the details of this laptop and how to buy. If you visit Dell online you will get the option of 5 different configurations with the lowest price being $999.

The $999 model features a 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M processor, 1GB of dedicated video memory, NVIDIA GeForce GT525M graphics, 500GB 7200RPM hard drive, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, slot-loading DVD burner, dual-band 802.11a/g/n and two USB 3.0 ports. Now you could spend $1,500 for the top model that features 2.7GHz Core i7 processor, 750GB of rotating storage, 8GB of RAM, 1080p HD display and 2GB of VRAM.

The Dell XPS 15z laptop is now available by visiting Dell’s global online stores, including www.dell.com in the United States, with retail availability to follow shortly.

Main Features: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel Core i5 and Core i7 Dual Core processor, Standard HD or optional Full HD (1920×1080) WLED display, NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M with 1GB graphics memory or 2GB graphics memory, NVIDIA 3DTV Play technology, 4GB up to 8GB DDR3, Fast 7200RPM hard disk storage up to 750GB, Built-in Slot load DVD +/- RW (reads & writes to CD/DVD), Backlit keyboard with adjustable brightness, Up to 8 hours of battery like dell 312-0068 battery, dell 6Y270 battery, dell 1X793 battery, dell C1295 battery, dell Inspiron 1100 battery, dell Inspiron 5100 battery, dell 6T473 battery, dell Inspiron 630m battery, dell Inspiron 640m battery, dell Y9943 battery, dell RC107 battery life and much more. Just click the Dell link above for more information and option to buy.

Please let us know of you will be buying the laptop mentioned above, love to see the responses today. You may be interested in reading out article comparing the 2008 MacBook Pro to the Dell XPS 15z.

Dell XPS L501X

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Dell's XPS L501X laptop could well be the best laptop I've ever had the pleasure of using.

The first thing I noticed on the test unit was the striking red top emblazoned with a raging bull. What does this mean?

Is the XPS going to gouge a hole in my wallet because it costs so much or is its performance so good that it packs the punch of an annoyed bull?

I'm glad to say that it's the latter: this baby really romps.

Sporting an Intel i7 CPU (1.73Ghz), 6GB of memory and running Windows 7 64-bit Premium edition, the XPS has a 15.6-inch screen (capable of pumping out 1080p resolution content from the HDMI 1.4 connection) and comes with two USB 3.0 ports, a LAN connection and an nVidia GT435M graphics chip – just right for all the gaming you'll want to do.

The XPS L501X passes my not-yet-patented backpack test (where I see how heavy it feels when carried in my backpack as I commute on my bike), and the battery such as dell Latitude D620 battery, dell 312-0386 battery, dell PC764 battery, dell TD175 battery, dell Latitude D820 battery, dell Latitude D830 battery, dell MM165 battery, dell YD626 battery, dell 312-0393 battery, dell Latitude D800 battery life is pretty good (especially when compared to other, bulkier XPS models).

It performed excellently when playing games (Mass Effect 2 and graphics card-eating Crysis were tested) and did as well when playing movies. These were a delight to watch thanks to the JBL speaker package included in the XPS. A meaty sub-woofer can be found on the underside.

The L501X has nice rounded corners and sleek lines and there's a row of three illuminated buttons above the keyboard that allow the user quick access to a systems functions utility, letting you adjust display brightness, audio functions, see the current state of the battery and turn the WiFi on or off easily.

If there's one thing that annoyed me about the XPS L501X – and it annoyed me about a previous Dell laptop that I looked at – it was the intrusive pop-ups from the pre-installed McAfee anti-virus software, which got on my nerves with their continual warning that "Your computer is at risk". It became more annoying when it did it while I was watching DVDs.

If it had been my XPS – and not a review unit – the first thing I'd do is get rid of the McAfee software and a lot of Dell's pre-installed software, which are resource hungry.

McAfee aside, the XPS L501X impressed the pants off me – and I know I've said that about several laptops over the past year – but this one really did.

It's priced well, too, which means that in this climate where people want to get the most bang for their buck, the L501X delivers in spades.

Dell Inspiron 15R

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I understand there's a place in the world for netbooks – those little cut-down mobile computers that can fit into a handbag and do all the mundane stuff like checking emails and web browsing really well.

But I prefer full-featured laptops that can do all those mundane duties and double as an entertainment device when I'm looking for some fun.

The Dell Inspiron 15R is one of those laptops that fits my bill.

The blood-red colouring on the review model I had might not suit everyone's tastes but underneath the garish exterior is a laptop that you can write letters on, surf the net and, yawn, check your email ... but it also plays games like Mass Effect 2 brilliantly and, importantly, they look good, thanks to having a dedicated graphics chip (ATi's Mobility Radeon HD 5650) rather than an integrated solution

(And, yes, it passed my backpack test, although tipping the scales at 2.7kg, I certainly noticed that it was in there).

In the past Dell's Inspiron range has played second-fiddle to Dell's XPS brand but no more: the 15R is the Inspiron range revamped for the better, and with Intel Core processors it means the 15R can do intensive tasks like photo editing and play games wonderfully.

The 15R has plenty of connections (USB, ethernet) to plug stuff into and something I really liked was the HDMI port on the rear which means you can hook the laptop up to a high definition monitor or TV easily. The 15.6-inch screen is bright and makes watching DVDs a joy.

Now, I play games on my laptops so I did what any self-respecting gamer would do: I benchmarked the thing and played games on it.

One of the best graphics benchmarking tools that I stumbled across recently was the Stalker: Call of Pripyat benchmark, which will hammer a computer's graphical capabilities within a centimetre of its life so it's nothing more than a sobbing sliver of silicon. The benchmark tests the computer by running a graphically intensive scene during day and night cycles, as well as during bright sunlight and rainy weather. The test was run using medium-quality settings. The results: (numbers indicate frames per second): Day – max 25.2, min 15.2; Night – max 29.2, min 12.7; Rain – max 20.2, min 15.8; Sunny – max 17.7, min 8.5.

OK, so the 15R isn't going to outperform a top-of-the-range Alienware laptop but if you run your favourite game at medium graphical settings, the 15R should treat you right. I played ME2 no problem.

If there's any downsides to all this graphical and computing power (and there is always downsides) one of them is the battery like dell Inspiron 8500 battery, dell 8N544 battery, dell Inspiron 8600 battery,Dell Precision M60 battery, dell Inspiron 6400 battery, dell Inspiron E1505 battery, dell Inspiron 1501 battery, dell GD761 battery, dell KD476 battery, dell TD347 battery life. After using the 15R for gaming and watching a DVD, the battery was almost drained – the screen uses up a fair amount of energy, too – so if you're planning on pushing this puppy with a heavy workload it would pay to be near a power point, just in case.

Another small niggle was the rear facing USB port – it was just a pain being there.

Overall, however, the 15R is a brilliant laptop for a great price and a machine that will keep power users satisfied for some time to come.