Dell Inspiron 545 Piano Black Desktop PC with 22-Inch HD Monitor

2 comments

1. 

   M. R. Reynolds on December 6, 2009 at 12:25 pm

   Review based on the Dell i546 I received from a big box store.

   Pro: Quiet system unit. Adequate memory. Very affordable.

   Odd: The system unit came with or somehow I ended up with both Internet Explorer 32 bit and 64 bit editions. The IE icons on the screen bring up the 32 bit edition. The system unit does not have a parallel printer port. Possibly a USB to parallel cable will solve this omission.

   Con: The Dell install booklet in my box was written for VISTA, not Windows 7 which was on the system unit. The DVD door on my system unit keeps the DVD tray from fully closing part of the time. I suspect that this part of the PC is of very low quality. The biggest con occured when I tried to install Microsoft Office 2003. The install repeatedly failed. I tried both my 2003 full edition and my student edition. Google sources correctly claim that installing Office 2003 on a Windows 7 system is a 50/50 deal. Finally I was able to acquire and install with some difficulty, Microsoft Office 2007 enterprise edition. The MS Office icons hid themselves under the MS Works tool bar at the top of the screen. I am a moderately experienced computer geek with a growing Microsoft hate attitude.

2. 

   dhinmn on December 6, 2009 at 12:43 pm

   This computer is a replacement for a relative’s ancient Dell Dimensions system. I bought it and am setting it up for him. I personally have several Windows XP computers myself, 1 Vista, and 1 Snow Leopard (iMac), and I do know a lot about computers and networking, so this review will have those above thoughts in mind as I write it.

   Positives:

   * Monitor (5/5)
   
   The supplied 22″ has an exceptionally sharp screen, and I have no complaints about it at all. Perfect size, and works very well even at mid-range settings (I like 1920×1200, but lower resolutions are still sharp, unlike experiences I’ve had in the past with other computers & monitors).

   * Windows 7 (5/5)
   
   I can’t find anything to complain about with 7. It is intuitive, and does everything I need easily and without having to jump through hoops. I was familiar with the earlier Windows releases, so there was basically no learning curve for me with 7. I am also a big Snow Leopard fan, but now with 7, in my mind they are pretty much equals.

   * Box (5/5)
   
   The piano black looks nice. I like that the DVD drive and the card reader slots are covered when not in use to keep dust at bay. It runs quiet, so that is much appreciated. I also prefer the Intel processor VS AMD, and like that it came with 6Mb RAM and a large hard drive.

   * Keyboard (4/5)
   
   The supplied keyboard is basic, and is a USB connection (not wireless). It works well, and is no frills. No complaints.

   * Speakers (3/5)
   
   The speakers are slimline, and very light. They won’t get real loud, but are fine for basic needs. If you are planning on doing anything like watching movies frequently, you may consider upgrading them. Absolutely fine for everyday use though.

   * Performance (5/5)
   
   For my relative’s needs (internet, email, youtube, etc), this is perfect. Video works great, and the speed of 7 is satisfactory. I did some benchmark testing, and the processor and drive score high, with the only downfall being the graphics ability. Nobody will notice that though, unless you are into hard core gaming.

   * Amazon (5/5)!!!
   
   The price is terrific, and is actually a much better deal than I could get from Dell directly (at least as of this writing, deals change all the time). Also very much appreciated the $3.99 1-day shipping! I’m a prime member so I could have had free 2-day shipping, but I wanted to make sure it was delivered when someone would be here so the 1-day worked out great.

   Negatives:

   * Mouse (2/5)
   
   The mouse is also a USB connection (not wireless), and is pretty cheap. It is optical and tracks fine, but just feels real cheap. I’ll probably replace with a nicer wireless mouse.

   * Dell supplied software (1/5)
   
   The only real issue I’m having is the Dell supplied software crashes repeatedly. None of it is very useful, so I just disabled it and all is well. Please note that this is NOT a Windows 7 issue, but an issue with the Dell utilities software itself. I suspect they will have updates that will fix it, but for now, it liked to crash, so I just disabled it. I also uninstalled the supplied anti-virus software and installed one I like better that is free, but that is just a personal choice.

   Overall:
   
   I am very pleased with this computer! The hardware (except for the mouse) is better than expected, especially the monitor. I would recommend this setup without hesitation, especially for those that are mainly going to do emails & internet. This is a stellar deal as well, and I feel you get a lot for the money.

   Thanks for reading.

   UPDATE 11/29/09: I did purchase the Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro keyboard and mouse set to replace the supplied Dell ones for this system. This was a fantastic upgrade! I highly recommend the Wave Pro setup. It integrates well with Windows 7, and has dedicated keys on the mouse and keyboard for Aero among other things. With this mouse and keyboard, I like the system even better.