January Sales are such wonderful things - as can eBay be.
My 'first wife' looks back at me accusingly as I look through the listings for another laptop that is slimmer, more powerful and fuller-featured than she is.
And then the meltdown/ spectre thing happened.
As such my dilemma grew. Do I wait six months for a line of processors that is not susceptible to this vulnerability - or should I proceed anyway?
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In the end I resolved to compromise with myself.
Me and myself both agreed that while we both love our first wife - and we are typing upon her as we think back to such, we both also knew that she was simply not enough for the both of us.
Me, with my yearning to install better quality and more productive 64-bit game-design-compatible software from an era where ascii was the realm of retro-lulz...
...and myself, with my deep seated interest in re-establishing a regular posting trend upon Steemit - while also wondering how long Kraken is going to remain updating its service...
Well... we looked upon each other - as one might one's mirror image - with a mirror involved...
...and we decided that a compromise was in order.
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We both want to flirt with a new chipset and chassis...
...but we both agreed that now was not really the optimal time to be looking for the kind of commitment that we've had with our first wife, still going - ten-years-strong!
No - we'd need settle for some long-term dating... friends with giga-fenebits, so to speak.
And so we went upon eBay - browsing left and right - down-market and up-market...
Well... down-price and up-price anyway...
And a lot of really attractively configured chasses we did see.
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I guess that I'm really into the ram as I really had an eye for the 16.
Myself had eyes for something able to last the night...
...and we both like ourselves a broad chassis...
And we both fall head over heels for the Dell brand...
After 10 years of service, its the least that we can do for our first wife.
But then we saw it.
A Dell Inspiron 15 5565...
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We knew at first glance that this would be the top contender.
It wasn't the solid frame that seduced us, nor was it the complimentary single hinge.
The 8GB Ram was... not as exciting as 16GB... and its Radion is integrated...
Its 1TB hard drive was fairly decent but we'd both gotten used to making do with a fifth of that.
We liked its classy grey and silver aluminium finish even if we were wary of the unfamiliar AMD chip.
No... none of that quite sealed the deal for us.
What 'did' was the prospect of securing it all at a frugal €450, including shipping.
Score!
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...
Why am I speaking of myself in both the third person as well as the plural?
Eh... it seemed funny. Now it seems weird... but that is OK.
Well... I pay and not three days later this computer has zoomed all the way from the UK to my parent's doorstep (long story).
I heard about it at the work-place. I was ecstatic.
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I got picked up shortly after being dropped off at the place that I sleep most often (also a long story).
I walk through the door, gingerly make my way to the kitchen where a cardboard box lay in impeccable condition. I was so concerned that it might have been mishandled along the way - and this package had arrived days early.
With a knife I carefully slit the packaging tape and opened the box and drew out the computer from within.
Packaged well it was.
And then a screw fell out.
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I spend a long moment looking at that little screw.
I knew precisely what kind of screw that was.
I knew that its place was to be anywhere other than out.
I flip over the computer to inspect its undercarriage and, sure enough, one of the screw bores was vacant... and it seemed that a couple more screws were loose.
Hmmm...
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Well... following the first order of business of rescrewing and gently tightening the screws - an activity that I admit that I hadn't expected to indulge in for an item listed as new, took a closer look at the cosmetics - which were mostly perfect but for the slightest of potential scuff marks on the undercarriage - and pressed the power switch.
To life it did hum, and I got a reminder of that annoying Dell-based firm-ware that thinks that its its job to remind customers that the computer they are using is, actually a Dell.
Now, I absolutely 'adore' Dell... Really, I do.
I consider myself just one bank account and a small step short of being a Dell fan-boy.
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But it really served to remind me that my journey with the old Dell hasn't been devoid of blemishes. Most of the blemishes were software related, mind you (thanks Dell!), but there were a couple of hardware hiccups also.
And one of the most annoying things about Dell...
They take their proprietary property a little 'too' seriously.
My old Inspiron still uses the original Dell charger that came with the computer.
That is great! What is not so great is that half the time it gets rejected by the laptop, failing to recognize that its genuine.
But let us really have an honest moment with ourselves...
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Yeah! What he said!
Why 'should' Dell give a second thought about what kind of a charger their customers purchase to replace one of their original products that have grown faulty?
What 'is' it about a laptop that makes it taboo to use anything other than a proprietary component? If I want to stick a Toshiba hard disk to an AMD chipset along with a Microsoft motherboard (do those still exist?) within an Apple laptop chassis... who gives a Peking duck?!
Well... lets get back to it - since I'm getting side-tracked.
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So... I go ahead and install Firefox (they have really improved their performance as of late) and...
....Blue screen of death... or whatever passes for such in Windows 10.
What??
Fine! Diagnostics time.
Set up a memory scan.
Join my Dad to watch a half-hour of Benny Hill sketches on YouTube. Its been a while!
Return... and... the laptop is off.
Press the power button... a little light but nothing...
...even though the 98% power reading suggested that the batteries were good for up to 5 more hours...
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OK! Fine!
I hadn't actually charged the laptop - so I take responsibility for the laptop's failing in this instance.
So I let it charge fully, and the next day I proceed with checking out that battery.
It gave me two and a half hours of life. To be fair, it was connected to the wifi the whole time, and I did get a few short YouTube videos in, as well as a 1.5GB download. That and the power settings were set to balanced.
Still... its not at all sufficient for long distance travelling.
Eh.. its a three-cell battery... and its running McAfee (Thanks Dell!)...
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And so I looked upon this Dell more critically.
The box sure said that it was an Inspiron but for some reason it didn't seem that this Dell wanted to do anything more than to tell me that its a Dell. Unlike my first wife, it didn't have 'Inspiron' emblazoned upon its interior cover. Nor did it have her electric blue lights or media buttons.
I kid you not, the only lights this new computer feature are tiny lights built into the power button 'and' the 'Capslock'. Oh... and a small charge light placed low upon the chassis' lower lip. In appearance it feels like an Inspiron robbed of its Inspiron soul!
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So sad...
And the worst part had to be the keyboard. My beloved first wife... the Inspiron 1525, she featured a reduced silver mechanical keyboard. Each key has travel to this day. It is a joy to type upon even though some keys are increasingly in desperate need of refurbishment (and I sincerely hope that I'll get around to doing that some day - it deserves it!).
Well.. this keyboard is - not mechanical. Its keys have less travel and the keys, rather than being beveled, are harsh and jut upwards from the aluminium finish as if daring my fingers to use them. It feels different... and not in a good way... but, may my first wife forgive me, it features a full number pad!
This Inspiron is a couple of inches wider in profile than my first wife. And in this case that is actually a good thing! On the flip-side it does seem that the screen is a little too 'generously' framed 'and' the screen is actually 'shorter' - which has the effect of giving it a wider aspect ratio that has grown more popular these days. The new laptop is also flatter...
Looking through the run-time stats did raise questions.
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I quickly enough ascertained that the half gigabyte of unavailable RAM and 80 or so missing Gigabytes of hard drive space were likely assigned to the integrated graphics chip and Dell recovery partitions respectively.
What did raise my eyebrow was the clear indication that the AMD chip is delivering 2.4 Gigahertz of cycles - a mere 20% more than my first wife of over ten years, and a far cry from the 3.3 Gigahertz advertised.
Hmm... Maybe I had read the listing wrong.
"Dell Inspiron 15 5565 3.3ghz 7th gen AMD 8GB, 1TB,15.6" DVDRW GREY"
Oh... no... I read it just fine...
It took some more research (Google-asking) to come up with the following elaboration on an equivalent.
"Dell Inspiron 15 - 5565 1920x1080 8GB Ram 1TB HDD Radeon R5 Graphics Quad-core - 2.4 GHz / 3.3 GHz (Turbo core)"
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Still... a 'little' cheeky, even if it made more sense.
However it was not all bad news. It has a pretty solid wifi connection for one thing.
More importantly - it has a very decent sound system built right into it's chassis.
Well, it sounds a 'lot' better than that which featured with my first wife.
With the epic sounds of Tears for Fears and orchestrals, I found it in my heart to mostly forgive the new laptop's transgressions.
Its got its up-side - but I think I'll crystallize my opinion of the machine after a session of gaming. Tomorrow. :c)
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And... that is one of the things that has been on my mind at the moment. I've yet to decide whether to call things in on the seller - but I am presently leaning against. Warrants more investigating though.
Do you have any feedback or comments? I look forward to your comments down below.
Also, if you found this post interesting and would like to share this with your followers and friends then a resteem is always appreciated.
Sincerely,
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A Dell fan boy. Hmmm. I’ve always been a Mac girl. I wish I were a PC fan... life would be so much easier. I currently own a PC, but windows 10 is the most confusing OS that I’ve ever used. I use it windows 7 at work. It’s almost as wonderful as
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If PC fans were like you then PCs' life expectancy would drop dramatically as they would have a much harder time keeping their cool. ;c)
Lighthearted humorous innuendos aside, my Dad is an ardent Mac fan - and I've not for all these years been able to sway him. Its not a bad machine by any means but I do wonder if it still deserves the aura of exclusivity that its built for itself over the years. :c)
I may be mistaken but does not the man in your life also use a Dell? I may be completely mistaken but I seem to recall getting a glimpse of what seemed a lot like a Dell in one of your or his photos. :cP
As for operating systems - I really liked Windows 7 too - and was dragged into Windows 10 kicking and screaming - but it falls into the category of 'not so bad' (better than 8 for sure). Biggest failing is the lack of control that it affords users.
I must admit that I have been thinking of setting my surviving Inspiron 1525 up with a Linux-based OS if things turn out fine with the new computer. I've not ever touched that OS but the prospect of setting the computer's hardware free from the shackles of Windows Update is one that I find appealing.
Thank you, @pretzelgirlsandy, for stopping by and participating - as well as for your up-vote. Appreciated. :c)
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I got myself a new laptop recently so that I can be more effective in steemit. My old mac pro has wifi problem where I have poor reception. It took so many hours for window update actually. Nevertheless getting a new laptop is an exciting process. Thanks for sharing! My upvote for your article.
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Thank you kindly, @fun2learn, both for your up-vote as well as for sharing your experience!
Yes, laptop hunting was a very satisfying process. :cP In truth I had narrowly missed out on a couple of even better deals but they were also at higher price-points and so my remorse is greatly mitigated. :cP
I'm setting about trying it in a gaming setting and this will be a true test.
Thanks again. ^_^
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