If you don't like the specifications of the particular Dell Inspiron 1525 we tested, you can easily configure your own online. That's an important difference between this unit and most other inexpensive laptops: You can customize it down to the smallest detail--even lid color--before finally clicking the 'Buy now' button.
Dell Dell Inspiron 1525

- Spec Navigator
- Processor
- Memory
- Display
- Storage
- Battery
- Dimensions
- Other Features
- Networking
- Multimedia
- Software
- Interface Connections
- Included Devices
Storage
| Total HD Size | 120 GB |
| Optical Drive Type | DVD±R DL/DVD±RW |
| Optical Drive Speed | 8 |
| Removable Optical Drive | No |
| Slots |
|
| Number of Media Slots | 3 |
Networking
| Bluetooth | No |
| Included network card | Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) |
| Modem Type | V.92 |
| Wireless LAN Type | 802.11a/g |
Software
| Included Software |
|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit) |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Laptops »
Pros
Fast for a budget laptop
Lots customization options
Cons
Dedicated graphics not an option
Productivity apps not bundled
Bottom Line
The customization options of this zippy $999 portable will please picky shoppers, and it's fast, too.
Dell Inspiron 1525 Value Laptop PC
Dell Inspiron 1525 Review, by Carla Thornton February 27, 2008
Our review unit will please those for whom good performance is a priority. Equipped with 2GB of memory and the best notebook CPU Dell offered for this model at the time of our review (a 2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7250), our $999 (as of 2/7/08) Windows Vista Home Premium machine earned a WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 78. That's 17 percent faster than the average score of 65 earned by the five under-$1000 laptops in this roundup, and even 13 percent better than the average of 69 earned by 16 recently tested all-purpose notebooks in any price range. With the battery upgraded from the standard four-cell to a six-cell ($15 extra), our notebook lasted a fairly generous 4 hours, 4 minutes on one charge, about 10 minutes longer than our five budget laptop test group's average.
About the only thing the Inspiron 1525 can't handle is 3D graphics; with an Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 and no dedicated video card option, it's limited to simple games and other 2D applications.
The 1525 is wedge-shaped but svelte at 6 pounds, including a 15.4-inch 1280 by 800 resolution screen, a DVD writer, and a good keyboard. The port variety and layout is fine (the 1525 is one of the few notebooks in this price range with an HDMI connection). And like the excellent HP Pavilion dv2600se, the 1525 gives multimedia lovers lots of entertainment features: an instant-on button, a Webcam, and even dual headphone jacks. In fact, I like the Dell's MediaDirect button more than the HP's QuickPlay because it has Instant Office, an application viewer that lets you access your calendar, contacts and PowerPoint presentations. Also, Dell's volume gauge is easier to use. Alas, the raspy-sounding speakers take some of the shine off the 1525's entertainment appeal.
The real beauty of the 1525 is its customizability. For instance, our glossy screen (a no-extra-cost option at the time of our review) was pretty reflective, so you might be happier with Dell's standard antiglare screen. From a base configuration of $500, you can build your perfect sub-$1000 laptop that includes a lid in any one of 11 different colors ($25 usually, but included in our test model's price), Bluetooth ($20), an integrated mobile broadband card ($150), and even built-in wireless USB ($150).
If choice of features is paramount in your budget laptop, the Inspiron 1525 is your best bet among the models in our test group.
--Carla Thornton
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- Rating Breakdown
-
79
-
75
-
76
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Laptops
79
71
70
52
Performance
| Adobe Photoshop CS2 | 573 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX | 561 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering | 810 |
| Battery Life (Video Playback in hh:mm) | 4:04:43 AM |
| Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit | 9.03 |
| Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit | 14.64 |
| Firefox 2 | 329 |
| Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1 | 384 |
| Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0 | 275 |
| Multitasking | 449 |
| Nero 7 Ultra Edition | 894 |
| Number of Included Batteries | 1 |
| Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5 | 245 |
| Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0 | 279 |
| WorldBench 6 Score | 78 |
| WorldBench 6 Word Score | Very Good |
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