JUst got my Dell D600.....Mini Review

[pillage2001]

First of all, I'm freaking impress with the built of the laptop. I've had a chance to use almost all the inspiron series except the 600m but did not like the built of it as it look kind of plasticky(sp??). The D600 looks sleek and very professional (Pics coming up soon).

I got a D600 with a 1.6Ghz centrino and this CPU is simply screaming. There's only 128mb RAM on my pc but I don't really feel the slowdown of it yet due to the fact that I've nothing running at my background. The LCD is free of any dead pixels as far as I can see. I got the 40Gb 5400Rpm hdd which obviously played a part in the speed of the whole machine.

Heat?? It gets warm but nothing too hot to touch. I'm typing this as the laptop is lying on my lap and it's not as hot as many had claim. Overall, I'm very happy with it and could not ask for more. It's a tad heavy for my taste but I can't complain as I got it for 1100 after tax.

Some questions. I thought of formatting the whole hdd and delete the partition but not sure if I would be able to find all the drivers for the sound card or Dell 1300 wireless card. Had anybody done it?? Would the volume button on the top of the laptop work after it??

 

[kimagurealex]

I just got it too! The size is just right. Not big, not too thin, not too small. My D600 is 1.4Ghz with DVD/CD writer and 40GB harddrive. The build is really good. Way better than other dell laptops I have experienced recently. The speed is fast even with 128MB RAM but I haven't loaded up the anti virus, office, java and other programs. My screen is just the XGA since I will do some coding on it. This machine will replace my 4550 desktop and now I am planning to buy an external harddrive, a USB 2.0 hub.
oh, and with 3 years warrenty, there isn't much to worry about.

By the way, how to charge the battery for the first time? How long should I charge it?

Alex

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: kimagurealex
I just got it too! The size is just right. Not big, not too thin, not too small. My D600 is 1.4Ghz with DVD/CD writer and 40GB harddrive. The build is really good. Way better than other dell laptops I have experienced recently. The speed is fast even with 128MB RAM but I haven't loaded up the anti virus, office, java and other programs. My screen is just the XGA since I will do some coding on it. This machine will replace my 4550 desktop and now I am planning to buy an external harddrive, a USB 2.0 hub.
oh, and with 3 years warrenty, there isn't much to worry about.

By the way, how to charge the battery for the first time? How long should I charge it?

Alex

I'm running down the battery to 0% and just charge it overnight I guess.

 

[Pandaren]

I would avoid going below 10% charge - Lithium Ion batteries don't like that very much. Lithium Ion batteries don't need to be calibrated.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Pandaren
I would avoid going below 10% charge - Lithium Ion batteries don't like that very much. Lithium Ion batteries don't need to be calibrated.

eMachines recommends biannual battery calibraton on my M6805 (Li ion battery).

 

[pillage2001]

What's this calibration we're talking about?

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: pillage2001
What's this calibration we're talking about?

Running the battery down to 0% and then fully charging it.

 

[pillage2001]

Got it....

How do I adjust the brightness level on this thing?? Under maximum battery, the level is at lvl 3 but it's a bit too dim.

 

[kimagurealex]

press FN key and using the arrows(up/down) to adjust the contrast

Alex

Know anywhere selling a High Cap Battery for the D600? or memory?

 

[pillage2001]

As for memory, you can look for Crucial or Newegg for price below 100 bucks. That's the best I can find so far. Ebay is not any cheaper either.

Not too sure about the battery. Just got my wifi working. W00t.

 

[Ravenit]

Alot of laptop manufactures recomend to condition a new battery 3 times before the battery is at peak working order.
This involes fully charging and discharging three times. (Charging without running the lappy).
After that who knows, I have heard so many different procedures.
IBM says not to fully discharge li-ion batteries.

 

[arsbanned]

Some questions. I thought of formatting the whole hdd and delete the partition but not sure if I would be able to find all the drivers

I scrubbed the drive on my new 1100 and installled XP Pro. Dell included a driver disk with my rig and I simply added any necessary drivers to get full system functionality back. It was an easy process and the laptop was much more responsive and to my liking after installing XP Pro.

 

[Maximus96]

i tried to configure a D600 for my GF. on dell's site, it saids now from $1249. when i 'customize it', i picked 1.4ghz Pentium M, xp home, no wireless, and 'dell latitude notebook' for productivity. it then gives me a starting price of $2002. how do i get the $1249 price?? thanks

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: zaku
i tried to configure a D600 for my GF. on dell's site, it saids now from $1249. when i 'customize it', i picked 1.4ghz Pentium M, xp home, no wireless, and 'dell latitude notebook' for productivity. it then gives me a starting price of $2002. how do i get the $1249 price?? thanks

Go to the reccomended systems link. You'll find that they ahve configured 3 diff systems at 3 diff prices. 1249 is the cheapest as of now. Wait around for another 15% coupon and try your luck again. That's how I got mine 1138 after tax.

 

[pillage2001]

Got problem here. My CPU is a 1.6Ghz but it seem to never go above 1.3Ghz even when I'm plugged into the AC adapter. Is there anything restricting the speed?? it's maximum performance under the Dell quickset option.

 

[doggy]

if i were you i would watch the refund deadline real carefully. the palmrest heat is a real problem when using the laptop for an extended period (say, 45 min). even with insulation on the inside, the heat will eventually build up to an uncomfortable level as the HD compartment is pertty much enclosed-- parmrest is the only place that the heat can dissipate. i like most things about this laptop but now desparately trying to sell it because of this.

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: doggy
if i were you i would watch the refund deadline real carefully. the palmrest heat is a real problem when using the laptop for an extended period (say, 45 min). even with insulation on the inside, the heat will eventually build up to an uncomfortable level as the HD compartment is pertty much enclosed-- parmrest is the only place that the heat can dissipate. i like most things about this laptop but now desparately trying to sell it because of this.

I've read about the overheating issue but it did not seem to bother me. It got pretty wam on my lap but that was it. The palm was alright and I had that laptop on my lap for almost 2.5 hours straight.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: pillage2001
Got problem here. My CPU is a 1.6Ghz but it seem to never go above 1.3Ghz even when I'm plugged into the AC adapter. Is there anything restricting the speed?? it's maximum performance under the Dell quickset option.

Reboot while plugged in and see if it goes back up to 1.6.

I've noticed this with a lot of lappies. If you boot up under battery power, they wont go back to full CPU power when plugged in until you reboot while plugged in.

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: pillage2001
Got problem here. My CPU is a 1.6Ghz but it seem to never go above 1.3Ghz even when I'm plugged into the AC adapter. Is there anything restricting the speed?? it's maximum performance under the Dell quickset option.

Reboot while plugged in and see if it goes back up to 1.6.

I've noticed this with a lot of lappies. If you boot up under battery power, they wont go back to full CPU power when plugged in until you reboot while plugged in.

I used WinXpSpeed or something like that reccommended by some members in here and I'm getting full speed after I switched to full performance now.

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: pillage2001

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: pillage2001
Got problem here. My CPU is a 1.6Ghz but it seem to never go above 1.3Ghz even when I'm plugged into the AC adapter. Is there anything restricting the speed?? it's maximum performance under the Dell quickset option.

Reboot while plugged in and see if it goes back up to 1.6.

I've noticed this with a lot of lappies. If you boot up under battery power, they wont go back to full CPU power when plugged in until you reboot while plugged in.

I used WinXpSpeed or something like that reccommended by some members in here and I'm getting full speed after I switched to full performance now.

Got a link?

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: pillage2001

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: pillage2001
Got problem here. My CPU is a 1.6Ghz but it seem to never go above 1.3Ghz even when I'm plugged into the AC adapter. Is there anything restricting the speed?? it's maximum performance under the Dell quickset option.

Reboot while plugged in and see if it goes back up to 1.6.

I've noticed this with a lot of lappies. If you boot up under battery power, they wont go back to full CPU power when plugged in until you reboot while plugged in.

I used WinXpSpeed or something like that reccommended by some members in here and I'm getting full speed after I switched to full performance now.

Got a link?

SpeedswitchXP?
http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/

That program rules, I've used it on all my laptops.

 

[kimagurealex]

pillage2001:
what is your average battery time when you set the power management to MAX Battery Performance(Dell Preset)?
It seems like I can't get close to 4 hours.

Thanks.

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: kimagurealex
pillage2001:
what is your average battery time when you set the power management to MAX Battery Performance(Dell Preset)?
It seems like I can't get close to 4 hours.

Thanks.

3.5 hours to 4 hours. That was when I'm on wireless connection. I'm sure once the wireless card is disabled, it'll be longer. I'm using SpeedswitchXP.

 

[Corporate Thug]

pillage, how heavy is your lappy? close to 5 lbs or over?

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: shady06
pillage, how heavy is your lappy? close to 5 lbs or over?

It's rated 4.98lbs with the 4 cell battery. I would imagine it's 5.2 or 5.3 pounds with the 6 cell battery I'm on.

It was heavier than I wanted. Then again, I haven't own a laptop before so if 5.3 pounds is this heavy, I don't wanna know what the Inspirons 1100 or 8600 weighs like.