Review on 11.6" Notebook DELL INSPIRON 3162 (1366x768, Intel Celeron 1.6 GHz, RAM 2 GB, HDD 500 GB, Linux) by Anastazja Adziarejka ᠌

Name: 11.6" Notebook DELL INSPIRON 3162 (1366x768, Intel Celeron 1.6 GHz, RAM 2 GB, HDD 500 GB, Linux)
Item: 11.6" Notebook DELL INSPIRON 3162 (1366x768, Intel Celeron 1.6 GHz, RAM 2 GB, HDD 500 GB, Linux)
Rating: 5

April 13, 2023

I definitely recommend buying, I didnt notice any disadvantages.

I took the version with HDD (500 GB) and a slightly more powerful N3060 processor. Unfortunately, in this configuration they sell only with Windows 10. I didn’t have the patience to wait for Windows to load (it probably took an hour to load when I first turned it on), so I loaded Linux from a USB flash drive, reset the first few sectors of the hard disk and installed Debian 9 from scratch with LXDE (comparatively modern, stable and resource-friendly desktop environment). Wi-Fi in Linux earned immediately. For bluetooth, I had to install "not free" firmware (firmware-atheros), a little bit of magic with the buttons for adjusting the brightness of the backlight and the power saving parameters. I fiddled with the touchpad synaptics settings (scrolling, gestures, emulation of the second and middle buttons without pressing the physical buttons). In general, everything works and does not slow down. A great workhorse for home and travel. In terms of autonomy, I suspect that the Samsung NC110 netbook could honestly work up to 8 hours, the same one is good if it lasts 7 hours (Internet, text editing).

Pros

not expensive; compact and relatively light; matte screen; relatively good keyboard (there are Ins, Fn in place, comfortable keys); tolerable touchpad (if you set up gestures); there is a choice of colors for fashionistas; does not make noise and does not heat up; loud noise

Cons

of the LED indicators, there is only "Caps Lock" (power, hard disk, num / scroll lock - no); the battery is not removable; the case is "licked", but there is not a pleasant sharp edge, the laptop cannot be opened with one hand; low system performance will not suit everyone; no Ethernet port, card reader for MicroSDxx only; arrow keys are small