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Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook Computer
Note: You may want to check out our guide to choosing the right netbook in addition to this article for even more information.
Performance Specifications as tested:
Boot times were average. The system was timed from when the BIOS screen turned off to when the desktop was in a usable state. Windows booted in 41 seconds. OS X booted in 22 seconds.
Geekbench Scores
(Show All Graphs)
898
709
0
Score (higher is better)
1236.25
746
1024
0
Score (higher is better)
1236.25
989
1008
0
Score (higher is better)
1236.25
1075
1010
0
Score (higher is better)
1236.25
I'm at a loss to explain the Geekbench scores - I had expected OSX to perform marginally better, which it did, but the large difference in integer and floating point scores has me confused. Both OSes had Geebench run 3 times and then the top and bottom scores were dropped. I had no problem watching videos up DVD resolution (720x480); 720p video was not able to play at full frame rate - something the Nvidia Ion could remedy if it were to find its way into such a netbook. Outside of raw performance numbers, the Atom chip performed very well in Windows and OSX. You're not going to be playing the latest games or anything enthusiast oriented, but I was able to play some old games via DOSBox.  Below is a chart for power consumption for various activities. Unless otherwise noted, the screen brightness was set at 3 notches below max, useful for viewing in a well lighted room or office setting. All tests were done using a Kill-a-Watt with the battery removed. Note: These numbers are measured at the wall, and include any inefficiencies between the conversion of the AC 120V from the wall down to the 19V DC output by the AC to DC transformer, and might not correlate with the power consumption when powered by the battery (in other words, it's likely that the actual power consumption of the unit is slightly lower than what I've posted below), and its subject to any nearest integer rounding.
I was surprised to find that running the Mac OS consumed more power than Windows. I went through and checked a few things - made sure that Spotlight wasn't indexing anything in the background and that no other applications were running or using up CPU or IO requests using Activity Monitor. I even left the mini idle, with minimal usage for four days and found the results were the same as before. I would assume that it has something to do with system-level power management, that XP was doing something that the Mac OS wasn't with regards to shutting parts of the system down when not in use, or it could be the more extensive use of the GPU via Quartz Extreme and CoreImage.
The battery life numbers were tested from full charge (100% as indicated by the OS) until the laptop shut itself off, with brightness set to 7 clicks down from maximum, and any sound through the built-in speakers. The video playback test had the wifi disabled (as if you're watching on an airplane). With both operating systems, after the 5% warning, VLC would no longer display the video. I rebooted the laptop and video was restored, and I resumed the test. I'm not sure if this is a feature of VLC or some issue with the hardware. Both laptops only lasted another 7-10 minutes after the 5% warning and a reboot to restore video. Windows XP did outlast OS X in terms of battery life, which matches the increased power consumption I had discovered during testing without the battery installed. XP managed to get 11 more minutes in the general use mode, and an extra 20 minutes in the CPU-intensive video decoding mode. Even OSX's 2:33 time should let you get through at least one movie. If I were to have my iPhone and netbook with me, I would be able to watch about 7.5 hours of video - more than long enough for those transcontinental flights. And the Dell also has a removable battery!
Page 1: Introduction, Specifications & Upgradability
Page 2: Usage & The Forbidden Fruit Page 3: Performance, Power Consumption & Battery Life Page 4: Conclusion 
Related Reviews Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
aireiq
on January 27, 2009 - 3:25 pm Suggestion. Link this: "check out our Netbook Guide" to your actual netbook guide. Thanks 2 - Posted by
Kurtis
on January 27, 2009 - 3:47 pm Good point, Eric. Added. :)
3 - Posted by
georgeryder9
on October 3, 2009 - 12:43 pm Dell Laptop are the best, I do own ACER laptop but going to buy Dell in near future. The laptop memory and battery life is great ........cheers
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