Dell Inspiron 1525 Notebook

Conclusion:

The Lenovo ThinkPad T400 outperformed the Dell Inspiron 1525, but that is to no surprise. The Lenovo ThinkPad T400 was using a 45nm Penryn processor that also had a higher clock speed and the newer Intel 4-Series graphics. However, compensating for the hardware differences, the Dell Inspiron 1525 still performed well.

The Linux compatibility of the Dell Inspiron 1525 was also great aside from the web-camera with a uvcvideo driver issue we experienced with Cheese, but that is not specific to this Dell notebook. However, all core functionality of the notebook worked as expected with Ubuntu 8.10.

Some other items to note with this Dell notebook is that the display was nice, the integrated speakers were alright but not the best we have experienced, the build quality was good and similar to that of other Dell products, and the battery life during normal usage lasted between two and three hours. While our testing mostly focuses upon the Linux aspects of the notebook, we are pleased with the Dell Inspiron 1525 and it is worth considering if you are after an Intel notebook and plan to install your favorite Linux distribution.

While our notebook arrived with Windows Vista, some Dell Inspiron 1525 models are loaded with Ubuntu Linux. The Dell Inspiron 1525 with the hardware found in this review can be bought through Dell for around $800 USD in the United States.

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