If you need the power of a desktop and the portability of a laptop, the Inspiron 9300 is the ideal choice. With a choice of powerful Pentium M processors, good storage capability, a range of PCI-Express (PCIe) graphics options and a large 17in. widescreen display, the Inspiron 9300 packs a punch. The system's build quality is reasonable (it still suffers from a flexible plastic chassis that's an issue with most Dell laptops), and it's battery life is only moderate, but the Inspiron 9300 is still excellent value for money.
Pros: Big, bright screen; excellent graphics/gaming performance
Cons: Middling battery life; mediocre build quality
The Inspiron 9300 is Dell's flagship portable multimedia computer. The new high-end laptop succeeds the
Inspiron 9200, which has itself only been out short while, and includes new technology such as Intel's Sonoma chipset (the replacement for Centrino), 533MHz DDR2 RAM, and nVidia's excellent GeForce Go 6800 PCI Express-based graphics chipset with 256MB of dedicated memory (ATI's Mobility Radeon X300 is an option). The Inspiron 9300 also combines a large screen and a double-layer DVD recorder, both of which were firsts with the Inspiron 9200.
Encased in an arctic silver-and-white enclosure (other clip-on lid designs available), the Inspiron 9300 is considerably more attractive than Dell's existing laptops and most other desktop replacement laptops. Measuring 394x288x41.5mm and weighing 3.5kg, the laptop is also relatively portable considering it uses a massive 17in. widescreen display. Having said that, the build quality is a little suspicious, especially just underneath the screen where the case flexes when pressed.
With a 1.8GHz Intel Pentium M processor (upgradable to 2.13GHz) opposed to the hot running, power-hogging Pentium 4, the Inspiron 9300 is one of the smallest and lightest 17in. laptops available. The system packs a lot under the hood too, including 1GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM (upgradable up to 2GB), a multi-format dual-layer DVD recorder (DVD±RW opposed to just DVD+RW) and a 5400rpm 80GB hard disk drive (optional 100GB model). There's no integrated TV tuner and the system can't playback audio or video without booting, unlike some other multimedia systems, but the Inspiron 9300 is a powerhouse of a laptop that should find favour with most users.
Similar to some IBM ThinkPads, the Inspiron 9300 is available with a choice of two LCD screens: WXGA+ (1440x900 pixels) or WUXGA (1920x1200 pixels, reviewed here). According to Dell, the WUXGA LCD offers 26 per cent more viewing area than Dell's traditional 15.4in. laptop displays. Regardless of this claim, the screen is big, bright and crisp and performed very well when used to playback DVD-Movies, games and other multimedia applications in our tests.
When it comes to watching DVD-Movies or audio CD playback, life is made a little easier by a set of physical play controls set into the front and centre of the Inspiron 9300's chassis. These buttons allow you to alter volume levels and skip tracks. With the lid closed and the screen off, the Inspiron 9300's battery life is also increased so you can enjoy listening to music stored on the hard disk for even longer.
To further enhance the multimedia experience, Dell includes its Media Experience 2.1 deluxe software, which provides a large screen interface for editing photos, archiving video clips, and organising music. The Inspiron 9300 is also equipped with integrated subwoofer and stereo speakers which sound great compared to the poor speakers used by most other laptops.
