Review of Dell's Inspiron 15 N5030

Dell's Inspiron 15 N5030 is a budget-friendly laptop with some light media features and solid (but not blazing) speed. It fills a niche in the growing cheap laptop market, as most similarly priced computers are severely lacking in even basic operating power.

The Inspiron 15 N5030 uses a Intel Pentium Dual Core T4500 processor that operates at a respectable 2.3 GHz. To be clear, this isn't a fast laptop -- buyers won't be able to run memory-intensive programs with the low 3GB of SDRAM memory, so hardcore gaming will be next to impossible and even a few common memory-hog programs like Adobe Photoshop won't have the necessary power to run smoothly. However, this laptop costs less than $400. For that money, a 2.3 GHz dual core processor is a steal. It's an ideal choice for web browsing, watching movies, listening to music and accomplishing other simple computing tasks. It's certainly a capable laptop for a college student or a business person who needs a lightweight laptop with decent media functionality.

The 8x write speed CD/DVD drive isn't the fastest available, but again, it's nice just to have a DVD burner in a low-cost laptop. It should be sufficient for watching DVDs on-the-go, and while the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD5 card won't make movies jump off of the screen, it should still present a pleasant viewing experience.

A 0.3 megapixel webcam won't take any great photos, but it's a nice extra feature that should make web conferencing and chats much easier. There's also a three-in-one media card reader for easily accessing camera pictures or any other data in a few different formats. As one might expect, the Inspiron 15 N5030 has a wireless card for accessing B, G and N WiFi networks and an ethernet port for wired connections. The computer also has a 320GB hard drive that comes pre-loaded with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. The 64-bit version of this operating system offers better performance and battery life, as it was designed specifically for computers with dual-core processors.

To put it simply, this Inspiron stacks up nicely against other sub-$400 laptops. It's not fast, but it's not slow. It has plenty of media features, and while it may not allow a computer user to handle absolutely everything that he or she might want to do, it's perfect for basic tasks and productivity. It's an especially good laptop for students who need something simple for writing essays and browsing the web. The Inspiron 15 N5030 is a solid computer, and at just under $400, it's a nice surprise in Intel's excellent, long-running Inspiron line.