some things to do with your 5150, smb
join dell forums - support.dell.com
check the ftp.dell.com for bios updates. they show up here way before they hit the site. the filename is i5150-aXX.exe or something along those lines in the bios folder
another issue that has come up on the forums is the gpu overheating on both ati 9k and nvidia chipsets. since you dont plan to do any gaming, i guess thats not an issue, but more of an annoyance when you do. halo crashes on mine every now and then... which is why im looking for a good cooler (check other thread)
the 3.06 cranks out quite some heat, but most of the time its downclocked to 1.6.
download "speedswitchXP" from the web to be able to control cpu speed regardless of bios. (bios will still speedstep the processor down when it reaches 72degrees centigrade.) its not uncommon for these to run anywhere from 45-70 degrees.
'i8kfangui' can also be found on the web. this little tool will let you control fan speeds, although it is designed for the 8000 inspirons it will still read the hardware sensors - hard drive temps and cpu are the only two implemented on the 5150. some gaming machine!
thats my advice, and enjoy
i like my 5150 but as all computers, always somethign that could be better
pherako
