Dell Inspiron Mini 9 acquired.
11-08-2008 | 02:09 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Don't drive so slow.
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
From: Fresno, CA
Dell Inspiron Mini 9 acquired.
https://acurazine.com/forums/console-computer-gaming-13/do-you-use-laptop-692440/
Well it arrived on Tuesday. I had to pick it up because DHL totally fucked up. The box it arrived in was about the size of kids shoebox, no fancy packaging either. The build quality is great, very solid with an odd hinge design. The hinge only allows the screen to open at about a 120 degree angle at most. I did order a barebones unit just for the sake up upgrading it. Delivered configurable specs were 4gb hard drive, 512mb memory, no bluetooth or camera and Ubuntu(8.04).
Ubuntu out the box ran quite well, snappy in-fact. It had a customized Dell desktop that delivers its applications in an animated widget-type interface. You are able to switch back to a normal GNOME interface too. I didn't spend to much time with Ubuntu because the limited kernel that Dell ships with only allocates 1gb of memory. I got home and awaiting me was memory for this unit.
Installing the memory was easy, two screws, done. The Mini 9's do ship with DDR2 667 but only runs at 533. The memory I acquired is 2gb at 533 with faster timings (4-4-4-12) which it does support. I'm not sure if the faster timings would really make a difference but it was only a dollar more to make feel like a ninja.
After installing ze memory I installed Windows XP Pro just for kicks. Before arrival I prepped a lightened copy of XP Pro which installed onto the unit at 1.2gb fully operational with Firefox. It ran ok, it's XP, not much to say about it. I also had a hard time trying to figure out if it ran faster with the page file turned off or not keeping in mind this SSD drive has a slow write speed. Got bored with XP so I installed Kubuntu 8.1. I chose not to go back to Ubuntu because I enjoy KDE more than GNOME and I run GNOME on my D620.
(It does cut the top of the menu off but not the desktop)
Kubuntu, fantastic and polished. Installed a little larger than suspected, it ate up about 2.9gigs! All hardware was detected properly upon install! This was my first time seeing KDE 4 in action and it's quite impressive even with this amount of GPU power. Every so often you'll see video-sync lines though. There is a file you need to reconfigure for sound to work though. After doing that, installing FF3, Flash 10, mp3 support I'm road ready! With Kubuntu I was able to get about 3.5 hours of action. Next is a faster and larger SSD, ze one I'm waiting for is suppose to be out later this month. I'll reinstall Kubuntu onto that drive too.
Size comparison to Latitude D620...
Well it arrived on Tuesday. I had to pick it up because DHL totally fucked up. The box it arrived in was about the size of kids shoebox, no fancy packaging either. The build quality is great, very solid with an odd hinge design. The hinge only allows the screen to open at about a 120 degree angle at most. I did order a barebones unit just for the sake up upgrading it. Delivered configurable specs were 4gb hard drive, 512mb memory, no bluetooth or camera and Ubuntu(8.04).
Ubuntu out the box ran quite well, snappy in-fact. It had a customized Dell desktop that delivers its applications in an animated widget-type interface. You are able to switch back to a normal GNOME interface too. I didn't spend to much time with Ubuntu because the limited kernel that Dell ships with only allocates 1gb of memory. I got home and awaiting me was memory for this unit.
Installing the memory was easy, two screws, done. The Mini 9's do ship with DDR2 667 but only runs at 533. The memory I acquired is 2gb at 533 with faster timings (4-4-4-12) which it does support. I'm not sure if the faster timings would really make a difference but it was only a dollar more to make feel like a ninja.
After installing ze memory I installed Windows XP Pro just for kicks. Before arrival I prepped a lightened copy of XP Pro which installed onto the unit at 1.2gb fully operational with Firefox. It ran ok, it's XP, not much to say about it. I also had a hard time trying to figure out if it ran faster with the page file turned off or not keeping in mind this SSD drive has a slow write speed. Got bored with XP so I installed Kubuntu 8.1. I chose not to go back to Ubuntu because I enjoy KDE more than GNOME and I run GNOME on my D620.
(It does cut the top of the menu off but not the desktop)
Kubuntu, fantastic and polished. Installed a little larger than suspected, it ate up about 2.9gigs! All hardware was detected properly upon install! This was my first time seeing KDE 4 in action and it's quite impressive even with this amount of GPU power. Every so often you'll see video-sync lines though. There is a file you need to reconfigure for sound to work though. After doing that, installing FF3, Flash 10, mp3 support I'm road ready! With Kubuntu I was able to get about 3.5 hours of action. Next is a faster and larger SSD, ze one I'm waiting for is suppose to be out later this month. I'll reinstall Kubuntu onto that drive too.
Size comparison to Latitude D620...
11-08-2008 | 02:34 AM
#3
That's the reason I hesitate on getting one. I tried an acer out at BB. The keys are really small.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218020986362
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218020986362
11-08-2008 | 11:28 AM
#4
Thread Starter
Don't drive so slow.
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 276
Likes: 0
From: Fresno, CA
The monitor is 8.9" at 1024*600; LED backlit with 15 shades of brightness. I don't have a specific use for it. I bought it because I was so intrigued by a fanless, SSD and compact dual-core internet machine. Plus with the low price it was just too hard to pass up. Typing on this unit isn't exactly a breeze but very doable. Not my machine of choice if I need to write an Executive Summary or lengthy reports...
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