Dell Inspiron 1520 vs Asus G1S
Before our honeymoon, Chickz0r and I decided to buy her a laptop. It suits our lifestyle and medical needs, and if we got it before the honeymoon it meant we could play games (since I have an Asus G1S). Did I marry the right girl or what?
We decided on a Dell Inspiron 1520. They’re cheap, reasonable quality, and pack a lot of punch
| Dell Inspiron 1520 | Asus G1S | |
| CPU | Intel Core2Duo T7500 (2.2ghz) Configurable up to 2.2ghz |
Intel Core2Duo T7500 (2.2ghz) |
| RAM | 4GB Configurable up to 4GB |
2GB |
| GPU | 8600M GT with 256mb GDRR2 Option of 8400m gs/8600m gt |
8600M GT with 256mb GDDR3 |
| Screen | 15.4" @ 1680×1050 Option from 1280×800 |
15.4" @ 1680×1050 |
| HDD | 320gb | 160gb |
| Networking | Ethernet 10/100, 802.11A/B/G, Bluetooth | Ethernet 10/100/1000, 802.11A/G/N, Bluetooth |
| IO | 4xUSB, Firewire, ExpressCard, SD/MMC/MS/MSPro Card Reader | 4xUSB, Firewire, HDMI, ExpressCard, SD/MMC/MS/MSPro Card Reader |
| Audio | Microphone In, Stereo Out | Microphone In, Stereo Out, Line In, miniTOSLINK |
| OS | Windows XP Home SP2* | Vista Home Premium* |
| Extras |
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| Known Problems |
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| Cost | ~$2100 | ~$3100 |
* Both laptops are actually running Vista Ultimate (32bit version for now). I have licenses for this, so we downgraded the 1520 to save a dollar or two
On paper, the Dell laptop looks far superior value, and to some people this is certainly true. To me however, they are of about the same value.
My G1S was available before the 1520′s (both on paper, and terms of availability – Dell took awhile to actually ship any); and was imported from America (there are AU models now, but they weren’t available until 3->4 months afterwards); and is a "premium" laptop in the Asus lineup, compared to the ‘budget/workhorse’ line that Inspiron is to Dell, which means better build quality; thus the larger price. The AU model is available for ~$2300->2600 (I believe) today.
There are other niceties to the G1S, such as the OLED display above the keyboard. It is gimmicky, sure, but having a clock while in games is useful, or having WLM messages popup is handy. Another gimmick is a Lightscribe capable dvd-rw, but I’ve used it once or twice, and the end result is actually pretty nice.
On the less gimmicky front, the onboard sound is pretty good, and the addition of optical out (through the 3.5mm jack). Having eSATA will allow further expansion at decent performance when I fill this hard drive up (although Dell’s "counter" to this is to include a massive, relatively speaking, hard drive). Finally, while the Dell screen is pretty good, the G1S screen is the best I’ve seen on any laptop – colour and brightness wise (and that includes before I had the screen replaced due to a poor backlight!)
While I love my G1S, the 1520 is fantastic value. Huge (for laptop) HDD, a massive 4gb of ram, and very comparable specs to my G1S? It is just hard to say no. Throw in the ability to choose the colour of your laptop (and less "IM A l33t H4X0R" aesthetics of the G1S), and you’ve got a very ‘personal’ laptop.
They aren’t flawless, they both have varying problems. The 1520, for example, produces a high pitched noise through the headphone jack – however that was resolved when a tech came out and replaced the motherboard. My G1S had dull patches in the LCD panel (presumably inconsistent backlight?) as well an optical drive that sounded like it was preparing to destroy the world – thankfully both problems were solved by dropping my laptop back into Asus’ repair centre in Melbourne. They also both share the heat and noise issues associated with having the 8600M GT and 2.2ghz, which is solved (to some degree) by using an iXoft (or equivalent cooling device).
I’d be hard pressed to recommend one over the other. Those willing to pay the premium for a "more rounded" laptop, definitely go for the G1S, or those looking for best bang for buck, go for the Dell XPS 1530; its price has now dropped to about the 1520′s price.
