One of ozbargain's favourite little laptops is back on sale
Original 20% off Selected Stores on eBay deal
Specs are:
Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
Ram: 4GB Single Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (4GBx1)
Processor: Intel® Pentium ® Processor N3710 2.56ghz
Hard Drive: 128gb solid state
Ports: Audio Jack, USB 2.0, DC-In, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro SD Card
ohh to buy or not to buy!
Aldoduco how is battery life and display thanks
it is my wife's laptop. what i did was all the win updates and installed apps and it was quick. not sure about battery life tho, she only use it for a few hours and back to the charger.
I have the older model (N3700) Inspiron 11 3000 2-in-1 (also 128Gb SSD, 4Gb ram etc), and IPS screen, and as far as I can tell so far, it will get around 8 hours on a battery. I would think (but don't know for sure) that these would be similar.
I think they dropped the IPS screen from the newer models (laptop and 2-in-1) so I can't comment, but the IPS screen model is outstanding - viewing angle is about the best I have seen on a laptop screen.
Is the screen really dim?
I find it fine, although I have only used it inside.
has anyone seen all the colors and can recommend the best one?
Got blue
These the convertible model?
nope
Processor: Intel® Pentium ® Processor N3710 2.65ghz -> should be 2.56ghz
True, this is more helpful.
http://ark.intel.com/products/91830/Intel-Pentium-Processor-…
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Pentium+N3710+…
Great value laptop for the price.
It seems as though Dell have moved from the N3700 to the N3710. Aside from a speed bump, the only real difference appears to be "Intel® HD Graphics 405".
surprising the old gen N3700 is slightly faster http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp%5B%5D=2730&cmp%5…
Having one for my son, Dell Inspiron 14 3000 with an ssd it's fine for him only just manageable for me. Good laptop if you were looking at others with a Celeron that would annoy even the weak hearted.
Oops sorry, will fix
Touchscreen ?
Nope
I just bought one! This price is insanely good.
Is it capable of outputting 4k resolution over hdmi?
Was going to get my grandpa a NUC for simple media centre..
Output to 1080p
Dang, this would have been the way to go if it was capable of 4k. Appreciate the reply.
I have one. I plugged into my Benq GW2765 Monitor via HDMI and it drives it at 2560*1440.
Can this laptop be upgraded to 8GB?
The manual seems to state that 4GB is as high as it goes
Can confirm that it will accept an 8GB DDR3L 1600MHz SODIMM. Specifically a Kingston KVR16LS11/8.
Do you have a guide on how to do this? Everything I've come across just says that you can't upgrade the ram :(
I picked up one of these (with an N3700 CPU; which now seems to be an N3710) during the previous 20% off deal. While I figured the 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD would be perfectly adequate, I was really hoping these aspects of the machine could be upgraded. While it was a bit of a crapshoot, there was plenty of evidence to suggest it was possible.
Practically every mention of this laptop online states it can't be upgraded. Which, for the most part, is correct. The problem comes with Dell overloading the term "Inspiron 11" (or even "Inspiron 11 3000") to describe its product offerings. Looking at Dell Australia's offerings, there are at least three models: 2GB RAM/32GB eMMC, 4GB RAM/32GB eMMC, and 4GB RAM/128GB SSD. All of which have the sub-model "3162" in Dell's knowledge base.
The eMMC models have everything soldered to the board and, indeed, can't be upgraded. The SSD model has discrete RAM and disk. The internals of mine are exactly as they appear in
the service manual
http://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/inspiron-11-3162-laptop_Servi…
They are not like the internals shown in this video series (which is a pretty good visual reference of how to get the plastic shell open)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMEsRltNWPPK6J2bgnVtV…
As for supporting 8GB of RAM: it was a bit of a gamble. Intel's product page suggested the CPU supported 8GB, and motherboard offerings from other vendors with the same CPU/chipset showed support for 8GB of RAM (or more). Turns out laptop deals with it just fine. The first time you boot after upgrading, the BIOS provides a warning that the quantity of RAM has changed. No further action is required.
P.S. 8GB RAM + 240GB SSD + Windows 10 Professional license + Hyper-V + Docker makes for a really nice lightweight virtualisaton lab. Plus, XenServer can be nested inside Hyper-V, which makes it even more ridiculous.
Your last paragraph is convincing me to buy this, all i need to know now is..what does your last paragraph mean?
@Alfonso: Consider the following as the completely watered-down version…
Hypervisor: software that runs virtual machines. Think "VMware" or "VirtualBox" where you can run a completely separate operating system (Windows/Linux) inside your main operating system.
Hyper-V: Microsoft's hypervisor which is included in Windows 10 Professional (hence the need for Win 10 Pro).
XenSever: an open source hypervisor which usually has to be installed "bare metal" (i.e. as the main operating system of a machine). Hyper-V and XenServer are just different approaches to the same problem: running full virtual machines. Being able to install XenServer inside Hyper-V allows experimentation with its features while maintaining Windows 10 as the primary OS.
Docker: a different approach to virtualisation where only parts of an operating system are used, mainly to deliver a specific [network] service. Docker support under Windows requires Hyper-V.
RAM + SSD: when it comes to virtualisation, the more virtual machines you have, the more you will need. Hence 8GB/240GB being a step in the right direction.
@Alfonso: Clarifying the RAM upgrade: the laptop deals with it just fine.
Remove the 4GB SODIMM, insert an 8GB SODIMM and power on the machine. The BIOS detects a change in RAM quantity on first boot, which is a good thing (I'd not previously seen it as a feature on any other machine). A few full complete rounds of Memtest86+ (via UBCD written to a USB drive with Rufus) confirmed everything worked as expected.
@TheStahh: 8gb would give a slight performance boost(if the extra ram is actually used), but this machine is weak, so a slight performance boost on a weak machine = negligible improvement. The HDD is the slowest part of a computer, and since this has an SSD, it is already optimised almost to the max.
Most people who buy this machine use it for simple purposes, and 4gb is plenty. Only an i3 CPU or above can give a noticeable improvement in performance, even with 4gb ram.
@coffeebucket: OMG I love you. I upgraded the SSD in mine but didn't want to risk buying RAM that didn't work. Do you know exactly what RAM you installed? How much and where did you get it? MSY does 8GB of DDR3 SODIMM for $49, so that is what I would probably get.
@TheStahh: It really depends on what workload you are trying to optimise for. As @NightElfHunter suggests, for 'average' users browsing the web and watching videos, the CPU will limit user experience way before the 4GB of RAM or disk I/O become a factor.
As a portable, dirt-cheap machine to start playing around with virtualised network infrastructure and services (that are sitting at idle most of the time), more RAM is a must. Particularly if you want to keep Windows 10 as the host OS; I suspect it doesn't run particularly well with less than 2GB of RAM.
@coffeebucket
@mitty
Hey lads, my laptop just arrived and I have an SSD and the 8gb Ram ready to upgrade to, Im wandering if I need to remove the battery before removing the current ram/ssd.
Additionally, I'm going to replace them one at a time rather then do both the first time I open the laptop, is this a good idea? Thanks!
Thanks buddy, I can confirm that your confirmation is legit. Just upgraded it with the exact ram from MSY. Took a while to boot up so don't panic when nothing happens for 10 seconds after pressing the power button.
capable to play hevc movies on this laptop?
how about to stream hevc from on this laptop to FHD tv by wifi or hdmi>?
I just ordered the one with Touch screen and convertible type from DEll last night for the wife. Only 32gb drive though. With a 5% off coupon got it for $379.
Touch screen with W10 always seems to be a better option for laptops etc, I think.
cheers
link please?
HI,
What do you want a link too?
This is the 5% off code : CTS?M$GC51$Z0J
This is the dell address for the Inspiron : http://www.dell.com/au/p/inspiron-11-3168-2-in-1-laptop/pd?o…
cheers
Not bad, but much slower CPU, slower and smaller storage ( not upgradeable ), RAM not upgradeable ( I think ). Only component better is a touchscreen that is rotatable 360 degrees in tent and tablet mode ( if that is what you can use ).
Its also bendable so can be folded back on itself so it can be used as a tablet.
Cheers
Is this machine fanless? I bought one an hour ago, and having a fan won't change a thing, but I am just curious!
I would like to know too ?
Comment from previous post said so far 100% silent. I think this model is fan less ( or rarely spins due to cooler SSD ).
Can confirm it's completely passive: just a large copper heatsink sitting on the CPU. Absolutely no moving parts inside.
So good of a value deal. If my ms surface pro still wasn't going, i would have chopped this one up. Tiny portable usb3 ssd quad core hdmi out to 1080. Damn good deal
Grabbed one thanks for the feedback guys
Would this be good enough for a year 7 student? He would probably also want to run Minecraft on it for multiplayer games. Any advice would be appreciated.
This would be a great PC for any school work he might need to do, check out LibreOffice if you need a free office suite. This should play Minecraft just fine, although don't expect it to play new triple AAA titles likes Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. You really need an expensive gaming laptop or PC to do that.
If it's for school, and mainly for school and he already owns a console (or has no interest in gaming..) this would be a great buy imo. The included SSD makes it a killer laptop for the price.
Matte or glossy screen?
It has a matte screen.
Do the cheaper options with 32GB eMMC come with a 2.5" SATA drive bay?
(I have a 128GB SSD and 8GB stick I could swap in if that's the case)
the emmc version is all soldered on components, there's no sata drive bay.
Just received mine from the previous bargain. First impression was excellent all round except for the matte display. Once I went through colour management to reduce the gamma and over-saturation of blue, the screen looks a lot more bearable. Speedy little unit, ran World of Warcraft on minimum settings and surprisingly playable (15-30fps). Battery life is great (5+ hours heavy usage, 9+ hours light usage). Bootup time on mine was <8 seconds from power button to desktop, just remove the bloatwares (McAfee, Office360, Dell apps etc.).
The installed 128gb SSD has a CrystalDiskMark (Seq-Q32T1) read speed of 545.8mb/s, write speed of 138.5mb/s. In comparison my desktop Samsung 850 Evo 500gb had 545.1mb/s read, 519.6mb/s write.
Anyone tried upgrading ram to 8gb yet?
I have no intention of buying this laptop at all but i upvoted your comment for the detailed description for other potential buyers. Good on you mate :)
I can confirm it boots up <10 seconds with McAfee/Office360 and the DellApps suite. I think it's extremely fast all-round, it can handle multiple apps in a go without slowing down (doesn't need the 8GB upgrade imo). the SSD makes it super fast, portable and silent (I can't tell it's on if I put an ear to it).
zechem, are you still pleased with the speed? How about with multiple Internet tabs open? So, so tempted….
very pleased, it can handle that just fine.
My CrystalDiskMark stats were very similar to the above stats.
Cheers all. As a follow up I have successfully upgraded the ram to 8gb Kingston KVR16LS11/8 as mentioned by coffeebucket. Took a while to boot up initially (>10 seconds) so don't panic if the screen goes blank for a while. Boots into the UEFI bios prompting a change in memory status. Exit and boot normally, all good.
Using this Dell laptop right now, with a 64gb samsung evo+ microsd from another CHOICE20 bargain, and a $15 half price $30 credit telstra sim from woolies, with the Huawei 5573 Optus 4G modem from the officeworks sales 2 weeks ago. Ozbargain enough? :)
Notice any difference at all with the upgrade in ram?
No noticeable difference in Win10 yet, but I do heavy multi-tasking at times, should be useful for those. I did notice however, a slow down in booting at times. It seems to take 2 more seconds at the first Dell screen, followed by a blink then the usual Dell > Win10 login > Desktop. The first Dell screen that pops up (does not pop up all the time though) seem to take longer.
What is the simplest way to remove the bloatwares? Cheers.
Thanks. Bought one
I bought the blue one in the previous deal, great laptop for the price.
Monitor: The resolution is perfectly fine at this size. The colours and viewing angles obviously aren't as good as an IPS monitor, but that's expected. Bright enough (don't use it below 80%), but of course not under direct sunlight. Nice matte coating that reduces glare.
CPU+RAM: Good enough for the basics, but I wouldn't recommend even considering this laptop if you need to run some intensive software or games. Just for reference Overwatch on the lowest settings plays at about 20fps online.
SSD: Really fast start-up and shutdown times.
Keyboard+touchpad: Can't fault the keyboard and touchpad other than they are small, but that is expected with a tiny laptop. I do prefer touchpads where the buttons aren't part of the touchpad but there is a setting to turn off detection on the buttons anyway, so that solves that problem (but also makes the touchpad even smaller).
Battery: I can't say exactly how long it lasts on a full charge. I for one can leave the charger at home.
Other: Decent build quality, doesn't feel flimsy at all. Fingerprint/oil magnet. The camera is good enough for video calls. Speakers are ok for how tiny they are, thankfully they are top facing.
Would buy again.
Thanks for the detailed review. Would it be able to play H.265 video files?
Yes it can play H.265 video files.
If the video sample from this website is truly H.265. http://www.h265files.com/
cheers gojkins!
Does this laptop have a LAN port? Parent's house only Ethernet connection no Wi-Fi 😒
Wireless 802.11b/g/n/ac only. Full specs here
https://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_lapto…
You could always attach a USB Ethernet adapter, but then there's another 'thing' hanging off the machine.
Thank you coffeebucket
Yes, there's no LAN port and only 2 USB ports - one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0. I bought one in the June deal for my son as a school laptop. I was a bit concerned about the lack of ports, but in practice this hasn't been an issue for us and we're really happy with the laptop.
Just in case we need it one day, I picked up a 3 Port USB3 HUB with RJ45 GLAN Adapter from Umart for $38. It works really well - obviously performance is better if you remember to plug it into the USB 3.0 (LHS) port. I get 80 MByte/s transfer speed via the LAN port on a Gigabit switch.
Actually I'm really impressed with the Wifi performance - I get 40 MByte/s using 802.11ac (5 GHz).
6 white ones left. Still 10+ for the other colours.
Rrp?
White all gone :(
Should have no problem grabbing a white one. Last time it was on sale, it would get restocked to ~10 each day (or 2).
Was able to grab one the 2nd last day of the ebay sale.
Will keep an eye on this to see if more stock gets added
stocks added
Thanks - picked up one as well after you alerted it was available again
it is back in stock
sorry why marked as expireD?
question.
if i bought laptop like this with win 10 installed, but later decide to wipe the ssd or change to bigger ssd it but dont want to clone from old ssd, can i re-install fresh win 10 but then how can i activate it?
yep, back in stock got a white one!
Warning to new players: If you're going to upgrade the SSD and RAM, make sure you remove your Micros SD card before taking the base off (if you have one installed). I didn't and the socket bent slightly when I removed the base as a result. now my card won't stay in place (only if I hold it in). My Solution is to stick it in place with tape. Removing the base is slightly painful, so take your time when attempting to do so.
is it just your normal sata 2.5" SSD don't want to buy the sandisk for $75 if it doesn't fit
It's your standard 2.5", 6MM high SSD. Wouldn't take a taller drive. Here's a picture of mine when I had it opened up today to install the new RAM: https://imgur.com/a/Z2PHs
cheers mate
Great advice, and don't forget the middle screw at the back covered by a round sticker. I missed that initially and almost pried open the back cover by force before I decided to read the service manual :P
Anyone tried/ know if guild wars 2 can run on the laptop?
I am quite sure you can. I can run World of Warcraft and Rocket League on close to minimum settings and very playable, however not enjoyable due to the small screen and low settings. Good to get a quest or two done but not for hardcore raiding or competitive play I reckon.
Thanks for your feedback! Might give it a go - fingers crossed for playable pvp
Back in stock. Just bought 2 for my kids to use at school. Seems the $399 is $100 off the standard price and ends Sep 8. The extra eBay 20% forced my hand.
To anyone who has previously bought one of these….how are you finding it, esp speed wise? About to buy one, then saw loads of reviews on Dell website complaining that they are very slow. Appreciate any feedback. Cheers
Pretty good laptop, I have not upgraded RAM nor Disk yet.