Home > Consumer Reviews > Dell Vostro 1500, Intel Core 2 Duo T5470 (2x1.6GHz), 2GB RAM, 80GB SATA HDD, 8X CD/DVD Burner, 128MB NVIDIA Video Card, 15.4" Wide XGA LCD, 802.11g Wi

I've got this laptop from dell's website 3 years ago when it and core 2 was first released. The quality of this laptop is very good. I also added the following features to it: firewire, webcam, bluetooth, 120GB HD and 9 cells battery which still has a capacity of 3:50 hours when running under high performance settings.

There's nothing I can say about specifications other than that I'm using Windows 7 on it now which is a bit lighter than Vista Business that came installed on this laptop. The Media button feature is nice but I rarely use it, specially that unlike Vista, Windows 7 has Media center built in it's business version.

This laptop is heavy and it gets really hot to a level that you can't put it on your lap. So if you are looking for a mobile laptop, you need to look somewhere esle.

My 2-month old Dell Vostro laptop has been a problem since day one. It would not play DVDs or load DVD-based software. When I called tech support, their solution was to load a different DVD player, which did not work, either. After spending an additional 4 hours on the phone with tech support, they decided that I needed to reload the operating system. Somehow, it became my responsibility. They said it would take 2 - 3 hours on the phone with them for me to do that. I'm not that computer savvy, so I took it to a Dell authorized repair shop. They can get the laptop to work with Vista, but I paid $99 extra for the XP "downgrade". I don't want Vista. The repair shop could never get it to work correctly with XP. They called Dell, and Dell told them that it was a software issue and that they would not honor the warranty, or take the computer back for repair. So now, I have a laptop that doesn't function and a warranty that is basically worthless. Don't buy a Dell - you'll be sorry.

Be aware that if you want to upgrade or replace your hard drive, unlike most other laptops on the market, you must do a total teardown including the removal of the motherboard in order to replace it. This is ridiculous and evidence of very poor design judgment. The same is true of the A860.

I ordered a Dell Inspiron laptop 1 1/2 years ago and it worked great until recently. The screen went black and the system would not start. Turned out that the video card had failed.

I contacted Dell customer support to activate my next business day warranty and after more than a week I have gotten nowhere with them. My claim has been "escalated" twice with the same excuses and refusal to fix the problem. They claim they have no video cards in stock and I will have to wait 2-3 weeks for a replacement card, 2-3 weeks for a loaner system, or 2-3 weeks for a replacement system -- basically my NEXT DAY warranty is anything but.

I explained that this is a mission critical system and a 2-3 week delay is unacceptable given the high price I paid for the next day warranty. I offered to take another make or model of graphics card and even offered to go buy the card myself if the agreed to pay for it.

They refused to help in any way. So, I am left with a useless laptop for 2-3 weeks until it becomes convenient for them to honor the warranty. I will never buy another Dell product again and recommend that others who are not technically experienced with fixing computers or that need a "mission critical" system that they look elsewhere because Dell cannot be relied upon to fix broken systems in a timely manner.

I've had my Vostro 1500 for about 9 months now, and it's worked perfectly. I bought it with a fast Intel Penryn Processor, 3GB of RAM, nVidia 8600M GT video card, and Windows Vista. The Vostro 1500 is built like a tank, and pretty heavy. That might be a negative to some, but I like to know it can handle the everyday use I put it through. This is my 5th Dell notebook, and I've never had a major problem with any of them. The 1500 has since been replaced by the 1510. IMO, it is not nearly as well built as the 1500. You can still find the 1500 around, and IMO it is still a great notebook that's more than fast enough for most of today's uses, except heavy gaming.