Dell Inspiron 1520

by Zac Anger
(Brogue, PA, USA)

I bought this laptop used from a friend because he was only asking $200 for it. It has a dead battery, but I don't really mind because there's free power everywhere.

When I got it, it had a 160 GB HD, 512 MB RAM, and a 1.66 Intel Dual-Core proc. The only thing I've upgraded on it is the RAM, added an extra 2 GB. I also use external hard drives for backups. This laptop had Vista on it, but I installed a stripped down (with N-Lite) copy of 7 Ultimate.

This laptop is great because it seems to be nearly indestructible. I've owned a few Dells in the past, and never had major hardware issues. I do get the occasional BSOD, however, which is annoying. I haven't pinpointed the problem yet, because before it was bad RAM. I hope that's not it again, because RAM isn't exactly cheap.

The keyboard works great, except for the missing down-arrow key. I don't really use the touchpad, as I've never gotten used to them. I use a USB optical mouse. The speakers suck, but that's a given on any laptop. I use Altec-Lansing speakers with a nice sub.

It's not the fastest laptop in the world, as it's aging a bit now, but it does everything I need it to do.

It can run FL Studio with my Edirol VST without bogging down too much, and it works great for my needs. I mostly watch movies, read eBook, download and listen to music, and use it for social networking.

It was definitely a good investment, and I like these computers. It shows, because we now have three Dell laptops and a desktop in the family.