Resources for the Washington DC area

Dell Inspiron 1200 Notebook Computer

The Dell Inspiron 1200 is an extremely good value if you want an entry level machine. For about $500, a Dell notebook is a great deal, but obviously you can't expect it to be a powerhouse like their top of the line models. But it should be perfectly fine for the things most people do; surfing the web, e-mail, writing documents.

At the time this was written, the Inspiron came with:

Intel® Celeron® M Processor 350, 1.30 GHz

256MB RAM

30GB hard drive

24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive

WordPerfect® 12 word processor

This is all an extremely solid package at this price point. You wouldn't really expect to get a CD burner and a DVD player for such a low price.

You can customize it on Dell's website. One thing that's definitely worth getting is the Windows restore CDs; they're only $10. If you need to reinstall Windows, you'll be set.

For $500, one tradeoff is that the warranty is a bit short. Only 90 days. For $59, you can make it 1 year (in-home service). Longer warranties are available if you want them.

Also, you should add antivirus Software. You can have Dell preload Norton Internet Security 2005 AntiSpyware Edition, but it's $79. If you're on a tight budget, you can probably pick up the basic Norton AntiVirus software in a store for $30-40.

If you can afford more, it's probably worth spending a few hundred more to get a more responsive machine with more power in the CPU. But if you're on a really tight budget, this is a great deal.

July 2005