Dell Vostro 1500

Dell's new Vostro line of computers developed to meet the needs of small businesses has become very popular among working professionals and consumers alike. The Vostro 1500 is the "twin sister" to the Dell Inspiron 1520, and while this business notebook with a 15.4" display doesn't come in a variety of colors, the Vostro is packed with enough performance and optional extras to keep anyone happy. But is this "black beauty" a thoroughbred, or is it destined for the pastures?



The Dell Vostro 1500 is available with a range of Intel processors (from the 1.86GHz Celeron M M540 up to the T7500 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo). There are two 15.4" screen offerings, a 1280x800 WXGA and 1440x900 WXGA+ display. The notebook can take up to 4GB of RAM but Dell only offers 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows Vista or XP ... so don't expect to be able to use all 4GB. Built-in wireless is standard and the system is priced starting at $549 with integrated Intel X3100 graphics at the time of this writing.





Our review unit of the 1500 has the following specifications:

• Screen: 15.4-inch Wide Screen XGA (1280 x 800) LCD with TrueLife (glossy finish)
• Processor: 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5470 (2MB L2 Cache,800MHz FSB)
• Hard Drive: 120GB SATA hard drive (5400RPM)
• Memory: 1GB RAM (PC5300, 667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM) -- 4GB max memory
• Optical Drive: DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive (Blu-ray drive optional)
• Ports and Slots: Four USB 2.0, one FireWire 400 port, one ExpressCard slot, one S-Video, one VGA, one 8-in-1 card reader, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 10/100 Ethernet
• Wireless: WiFi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (128MB)
• Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
• 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion battery
• Dimensions: 14.12" x 10.59" x 1.65" (Width x Depth x Height)
• Weight: 6 ibs and 11.6 oz with 6-cell battery