**Official Dell Inspiron 8500 NoteBook Discussion Thread

[Trevor Schell]

Too Bad you guys don't have Screen burn in.
I really like the way that looks!

:bluezoned:




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Bing Fung]

It does look kinda cool Trev :T :wedgie:




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

That's right!!
It's a good thing that I like my Desktop Icons, cause now i can see them all the time.
Even when watching video!.
I must admit, DeLL has some cool features included in the i8500.

:wedgie: :smackbutt:


Jeff,,I agree with Bing,,
I'm thinking that you look like the DeLL dude!!:-y




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Trev that burn in sucks. :evil: Are you getting Dell to come out and look at it for you? I couldn't live with that.

Bing, I am really enjoying my Netgear wireless router, but I have a quandary. There is a little 'i' LED to indicate internet activity. It blinks during any Send/Receive activity. There is also a wireless icon LED to indicate wireless activity.

Anyway, when both computers are off (actually when they are on as well, but it is more odd when they are off), the little 'i' blinks constantly. It is about one blink per second and it never varies. It coincides with the 'Send' light on my cable modem blinking as well. The wireless LED does not blink, so I know there is no activity from someone else. Any idea what this may be?

[Bing Fung]

Humm, I suspect that it may just be a way of indicating there is inactivity or no established/authenicated client logged into your DHCP routing. I know that our Cisco wireless access points on campus have a LED exclusivley for that prupose. You may want to look in the manual or send netgear support an e-mail if this concerns you.

My ADSL modem will blink a steady red LED as well when my system is shut down. I have never really noticed if my router does as well.

Wireless is the cats, I took my i8500 to work today for I'm on a Cisco Network /Router/Switching/VPN/Appletalk/DHCP/Wireless course, holy man I have a lot to learn, but I now found out Trev can teach me and I'm wasting my time at work. Anyway, I just turned on my notebook, logged into the DHCP registry on Campus and Viola!! There I was all connected with no wires.... Sweet! The Wireless card just sniffs out a wireless network and if you have permissions, your cooking with gas

Did you get my email regarding your wireless printing question?

My fellow employees were Wowed with the Dell, which really says a lot, for the ITS department has the budget for any toy available, and they have seen them all. A $6,000 IMB Think Pad is nothing to these boys, but they really liked my Dell. I think it was the Silver color and widescreen that caught their attention, but when they seen the screen, their eyes popped out at the clarity and resolution, as was often mentioned.




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

Bing !,
Hopefully DeLL will pay you some comission!,,

Unreal II looks real nice at 1920 x 1200, however , it's way to slow at that resolution.

Kind of uncool seeing my desktop icons engraved all over the screen while playing the game.

Looks like DeLL is starting to replace some.
I will wait to see the results before I make my call.
I do know that there is no way I can keep this one with the screen the way it is.
For surfing it's Ok,,But anything else running is hampered by the burn in.
Big Time!!




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Trev: Unreal II is known to be a poorly designed game, bringing even top-notch desktop systems to their knees because of its sloppy graphics engine.

I went to Canadian Tire to get the gasket stuff but they were sold out. Gotta go to another location to get it or wait until mine gets it in.

Bing: I did get your email. Thanks, I will reply. My Inbox was suddenly inundated!! Also, I sent an email to Netgear tech support to see what's up with this thing.

Nice to hear the 8500 was wowing the crowds. It really is an impressive piece. The screen blows my mind. If only the quality of the build was a bit better and this would be a class leader.

[Trevor Schell]

Jeff, the game doesn't seem to be to good.
It is fluid at 1024x768 , but obviously doesn't look as good.

What is your 3d Marks Score?




Trevor
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[Bing Fung]

I hear Unreal II is a real killer of PC's :twisted:




Bing

[Bing Fung]

Hey WUXGA gang, here is a trick to increase the font sizes in Internet Explore with out making the pictures all look like crap..

OPen IE and then select View from the menu. Scroll down to Text Size and then select Larger or Largest, beware though, Largest looks hilarious after using the 96dpi on the WUXGA for so long. This will resize most web text, however some may not and you can additionally go to Tools menu and then Internet Options, at the bottom of the menu window select Accessibility and then Ignore font sizes specified on web pages.

That should do it. I myself don't have Ignore.. selected, but I have been using the Larger fonts. It took a bit to become accoustomed to then again, but now it looks good as well. It does not resize the icons or menu fonts in IE, but hey it will help thos of you that are use to Fisher Price sized fonts (not naming any names )




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

Bing,,I prefer to keep mine on Medium..
Just used to it that way.
I didn't notice any change on HTG though by switching from medium to extra large.
I haven't changed the accesiblilty feature yet. I may try it.




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Good tip Bing. Its funny, I am totally used to the fonts now. Even the smallest fonts are no issue for me. WUXGA ROCKS!!!!

Trev, my 3dMark score was just over 9000. I might try overclocking the memory and see where that takes me. Apparently it makes a big difference and there is basically no added heat. Upping the GPU core is a little riskier, as it adds a lot more heat output.

anyway, I'm gonna try Canadian Tire again and see if I can sort out this kb issue once and for all!

[Bing Fung]

I like the larger size fonts as it makes it easier to read at a distance, like when I'm sitting on the couch and the notebook is in my lap. The HTG is not affected however most other sites are, and thats nice

You definitely have to apply the keyboard fix Jeff! I really like the feel of it now and athough it still has the notebook feel for layout, I love the short, solid stroke of the board. I actually kind of like it when everyone I know hates how notebook KBs feel....




Bing

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

WOW!!!!!!!

I just put the gasket material in. Is this ever amazing. The keyboard is rock solid now and no rattling. DELL!! This is the way it should be!!!!!

My opinion of this notebook has just shot up. With a first rate keyboard, this thing is a sure winner.

Many thanks to you Bing for coming up with this, the ULTIMATE tweak!

Actually, opening it up reminded me of another tweak I'd like to try...replacing the green LEDs with BLUE ones. 8)

[Bing Fung]

NP Jeff, glad to hear you're liking it. I think the material really adds to a quiet and dampened KB.

I would like to make the HD LED Red, however I would really hate to void the expensive warranty for a 2 bit item like this. Maybe a person could slide a blue colored gel filter on top of the Green LED?

OK, this may border on too much information, however all I have to say is Christine stated Im a person in need of help because I'm posting and surfing from an unlikely place. Tim Tayor never had it this good :twisted:




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

Where are you Bing! My wireless wonder?? :LOL:

Jeff,,Glad you fixed the keyboard!!
Can't beleive you went as long as you did before getting fixed.
I could not stand it at all from the beginning.

No screen burn for you guys??
That thread on the DeLL Forum is getting larger and larger.
Now 6 pages actually. Many owners are experienceing the screen burn.
Sounds like DeLL will be reacting to it by the end of the week.

Jeff..That's a good 3D mark score. I have yet to hit 9,000
Could be my lowly 60 Gig drive that is the culprit.
I would have prefered the 5400 RPM 40 gig model.
I beleive mine runs at 4200 RPM.




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Jeff Kowerchuk]

No screen burn here Trev. I'd be MAJOR pissed if that happened to me though. I fired this Q off to Bing via email, but I should publish it here. I am wondering about something else about my screen. The brightness at the left and right edges is less than the middle. We're not talking black/white differences, but I do have a bit of trouble reading text that goes to the edge because of the difference in Contrast. I run my brightness at 3 ticks below max. Do you guys notice this?

Sure hope you get the screen fixed Trev!!

Is Bing posting from the potty? :P

[Andrew Pratt]

Jeff you're were up late last night

Another neat trick is that if you hold down the Control key then scroll with your mouse you'll cycle though the font sizes.

I didn't notice any change on HTG though by switching from medium to extra large.
I haven't changed the accesiblilty feature yet. I may try it.

The font size settings only effect regular HTML and not cascading style sheets (CSS) so if the authour used PSTYLE to set the font size it can't be changed with the settings under font size etc. I like using CSS for tables and headings etc where you need to maintain a set font size to maintain a proper layout etc.

[Trevor Schell]

Andrew!!,,Does Jeff look like the Dell Dude pictured in the avatar?
You have seen him before since you both live in Winnipeg!,,Right?




Trevor
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[Andrew Pratt]

Unfortunatly yes I've seen Jeff before and no he looks nothing like the Dell Dude :LOL: (jk jeff) He actually lives about a 5 mintue walk from me.

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Andrew!!! You shattered the illusion!!

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Actually Andrew, CSS supports variable font sizes as well. All depends on how its coded. Go to the Creative site to see - I used CSS entirely and the fonts do change through the Text Size option.

It all depends on how its coded. You can enter a specific point size for a font - say 10pt. If you do that, the user cannot change the font size. On the other hand, if you were to use a relative setting, say x-small, then the size can be changed by the user. The best websites give the user as much control over layout as possible, and the worst assume that everyone runs at one resolution and has 20/20 vision.

[Andrew Pratt]

Yeah CSS is very neat stuff when used properly. I like what you've done with creatives site btw.

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

I am very proud of the site. Especially the fact that there is not a single table used in the design. It is strictly CSS based (as all layout should be) and adheres to HTML 4.01 standards. Now if only the browsers would get better so I can do a few more things without tripping over bugs!!!

[Trevor Schell]

Should I order Blue Tooth for my 8500.?
Not sure what I could use it for right now!!




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Trev: Silly question. Of course you should. Even if you don't use it, you'll have a cool blue LED glowing on your 8500!! :T

[Trevor Schell]

Heh! Heh!! That's what I was thinking!! Blue!!!!!!!! :bluezoned:




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Trevor Schell]

Heh! Heh!! That's what I was thinking!! Blue!!!!!!!! :bluezoned:




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Jeff Kowerchuk]

You have to do it Trev. Press SUBMIT.

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Hey Guys! It pays to overclock. Just ran 3dMark again with my memory set to 525. 9646 was my score. That was just the memory I overclocked, so there is very little added heat output. Not too bad. I've heard the GPU can go to 230 safely, but there is a lot of extra heat.

[Trevor Schell]

Tell me how to do it and I will try!
That's a pretty decent score.
Actually beats the pants off my 8967 top score!!




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Bing Fung]

:nos: Yes, its amazing how much OC head room the Graphics card has.... By OC'ing my card I get 10131 3D Marks.



Trev, the simplist way for you may be to try RIva Tuner or nVHardpage to overclock your card. Download it from http://www.guru3d.com

Or you can do it the manual way like I did by hacking the registry with the Coolbits hack.

Click Start button, and go to Run. When the command box opens, type regedit and press OK. Your registry will open.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE|SOFTWARE|NVIDIA Corporation|Global|NVTweak.

Once there, right-click inside the right pane, and choose New>DWORD value in the pop out menu.

Name the value Coolbits. Right click on Coolbits, and choose Modify. Change the Value data to "3", and click OK. Reboot, go to your nVidia drivers properties and Clock Frequencies show now be in your tabs.

Have fun!




Bing

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Great score Bing! Is that with the GPU overclocked as well? How high did you go? Any serious heat side effects?

The easiest way to O/C is to pick up a modified INF file for the nVidia driver. The modified INF allows you to use the nVidia Detonator drivers. I am running 44.03, and the INF allows for the adjustment of memory and GPU frequencies right on the nVidia tab under display properties.

Trev; if you can't find the thread, I'll send you the INF, then you can download the driver and you're set!

[Bing Fung]

Jeff that is with the core at 200 and Mem at 525. I have it a overclocked to those values at startup. I have hit higher 210/541 with out problems, but I didn't see an increase in 3D marks. I may have needed to reboot the system, but I was too lasy to continue, as I doubt pushing it harder would translate into real world gains, increased 3D marks? sure....

I actually like the Coolbits hack as it is part of the nVidia driverset. It just has to be enabled as its all there already. The drivers have it as part of the package, it's just hidden and Coolbits, unlocks the multiplier tab.

The INF is a nice option as well, have you seen any anomalies using non Dell drivers?




Bing

[Jeff Kowerchuk]

Wow Bing, thats the same timings I was using. Is the difference in our score due to CPU difference (mine is 2.2, vs. your 2.4) or is it memory (I have only 256 on two chips). I'm surprised to see so much difference.

I haven't had any problems using these drivers. They were a cinch to install and everything works flawlessly.

[Bing Fung]

Jeff, it's actually not that much a difference... 484 I have seen variances of this magnitude in my desktop system.

I suspect it is the CPu that is making the difference.




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

Thanks guys!!
I made the change to my regisery.
The tweak settings tab is now there. so I will try it out later.

Now I should be able to hit over 9,000 :-y!!




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Trevor Schell]

3D MARK 9942

So close to 10,000
A little more tweaking and I should be there.

Cool!!!:-y




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[Bing Fung]

Damn that boy is fast! :driving:

I'm going to have to pump up the jam or pull over....




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

Did some more tweaking and managed to get 9943 3d Marks.

An increase of one point.

Anyways, It's funny how I was so determined just to get into the 9,000's previously which was at one time evident that it wouldn't happen.
Now after reaching it for the first time with the assistance of OC 'ing
I am so close to 10,000 that I want to reach that milestone to whatever it takes.
It's going to be TUFF though!!




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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[ltparis]

Oh so very close.

I have a 8500 with 1GB mem, 2.4GHz proc., and 1680 x 1050 native res.

[Bing Fung]

Sweet Score Itparis :T What were your clock speeds for that?

Welcome to the forums as well and thanks for sharing your smoking score!




Bing

[ltparis]

Actually I used the same identical tweaks (200 MHz Core / 525 Memory) as posted earlier. Also using the latest Det. drivers. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have known about the reg tweak.

[Bing Fung]

Good stuff Itparis! That is a great score...

Tell me do you have Direct X 9 installed? I installed it almost as soon as I got my notebook, and from what I have read around the net is it can take up to 1000 points off of 3D Marks.

I'm hoping this is why I'm so far behind you as we have simular systems, except for you have double the RAM I do.




Bing

[Trevor Schell]

Bing!,,I thought you had a gig of memory in your i8500,
but then remembered you have that fancy 2 CAS stuff in there.
Anyways!! I think you better visit Crucial and get some upgrading going there , Sir!!




Trevor
My HomeTheater S.E.
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