Product Reviews

Experienced Dell watchers won't spot much physical difference between the Inspiron 3800 and the 3700 model we reviewed in issue 63 (see p159). The crucial difference is where you can't see it: the 3800 G700GT has a beefier processor in the shape of the new Pentium III/700 with SpeedStep technology, plus a larger hard disk and some lesser updates like a faster DVD-ROM and a newer audio chipset.

Although the Inspiron isn't particularly compact, nor very slimline at 42mm thick, it is nevertheless only designed as a two-spindle machine. This may help to keep the weight down, but this isn't an exceptionally light notebook for its type, weighing 3.15kg with its DVD-ROM installed, or 3.75kg if you include the floppy drive and power supply.

A weak area between the battery and drive bay cutouts means there's too much give in the case when the palmrest by the mouse is pressed. The lid surface is contoured to add depth, so that when it sags under pressure - as it did, being very thin - the downward bulge doesn't damage the screen below. This will no doubt help to protect the screen but is no replacement for a thicker moulding or magnesium alloy solution.

Dell has put the battery and drive bays at the front of the Inspiron. This is fine for the battery, but you'd be surprised at how much more natural it feels to approach a side-mounted drive by comparison.

The left bay takes batteries only, while the right can be used for options like a CD-RW, Zip, LS-120 drive, a second hard disk or a second battery pack. There's a software utility that allows you to hot-swap drives, excepting a hard disk of course, and the floppy module can be run externally from the parallel port if the main bay is already in use.

For the two major areas of upgrade and maintenance attention - the hard disk and memory - Dell

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has arranged things for ease and speed of access. The hard disk is encased to protect it from static and held in place by a single screw, while the memory sockets are under a panel in the base, which isn't screwed down but will require a thin, pointy tool to pop it open. The review machine came with twin 64Mb modules occupying both slots, so as it stands you'd have to replace one if you want to upgrade.

The Inspiron has the normal complement of ports, including USB. It's also fitted with an expansion bus for use with a port replicator, which can be a considerable time-saver if you want to use the notebook with a set of external peripherals. You also get an S-Video TV-out, so you can view DVD content on a TV, or use a TV to amplify a presentation to a roomful of people.

The price for the review sample includes a Psion Dacom PC Card V.90 fax/modem, which can be used with GSM phones and an ISDN line if you buy the necessary optional adaptor kits. Dell builds to order, so you can save a lot of money by not opting for the modem.

For input, Dell has fitted both a mouse pad and a finger-joystick stud. Both can be enabled simultaneously. The keyboard is one of the Inspiron's best features, thanks to an effective combination of layout, key sizes and travel action. The main pad has been given the full width of the case, so it's roomy and yet still has space for the larger, desktop keyboard-style Shift, Enter and backspace keys. The layout is closer to a desktop than is commonly normal, with the action crisper and more decisive than usual for a notebook.

The screen is a feast for the eyes, being large enough with its 14.1in diagonal to capably represent XGA resolution. This is improved further with reasonably bright side lighting.

With its overall benchmark score of 1.85, the Inspiron is indisputably fast. However, put into context, it only just beat the Gateway Solo 9300 XL (reviewed issue 69, p154), which managed 1.83 from its slower Pentium III/650 SpeedStep processor. Considering the Inspiron has the faster hard disk, the gains from that extra 50MHz of processing power are marginal. For such a powerful and power-hungry machine, battery life was reasonable, with a running time of three hours and 30 minutes.

Along with its pleasant ergonomics and competitive price, the Inspiron 3800 G700GT is a quality offering marred only by a few glitches in the design and build.