Dell Inspiron 9200 review

Unreal Tournament 2004 analysis written by CNET Labs assistant lab manager Eric Franklin.

In order to test gaming performance, CNET Labs uses Atari Games/Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 2004. Rather than isolate the graphics adapter, this test evaluates overall system performance, with an emphasis on CPU speed. Find out more about how we test notebooks.

System configurations:

Dell Inspiron 9200
Windows XP Professional; 2GHz Intel Pentium M 755; 1GB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 128MB; Hitachi Travelstar 7K60 60GB 7,200rpm

eMachines M6811
Windows XP Home; 2.2GHz AMD Mobile Athlon 64 3400+; 1GB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64MB; Hitachi Travelstar 4K80 80GB 4,200rpm

Sony VAIO VGN-A190
Windows XP Home; 1.7GHz Intel Pentium M 735; 512MB 333MHz DDR RAM; ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 64MB; Hitachi Travelstar 80GN 80GB 4,200rpm

The Inspiron 9200 delivers exceptional design, features, and performance, but its warranty maintains the status quo. Dell backs the Inspiron 9200 with an industry-standard one-year warranty on parts and labor, available by mailing your laptop back to Dell. Toll-free telephone support also lasts for just a year. However, Dell offers a long list of warranty extension options, including onsite repair, night and weekend service, and accidental-damage coverage, for up to $376. Since you'll be shelling out a pretty penny to get the Inspiron 9200, protecting your investment with at least a two-year warranty is a good idea.

The best part of Dell's support Web site is the customer forum, where users can go to get help from other Inspiron owners, as well as from Dell reps who moderate the forum. Otherwise, the site offers the typical knowledge base and downloads sections.