Updated - see bottom of thread for some remarks.
I posted this at Ars OpenForum, and I though I'd post it here as well
It's my first total system upgrade since 1999, so without further comment, here are my thoughts on the
Dell Latitude D600
Major System Features:
1.4 GHz Pentium-M
512 MB DDR-SDRAM, PC2100
i855PM Chipset
40 GB, 5400 RPM (Hitatchi (formerly IBM) TravelStar GNX40, I believe)
Mobility Radeon 9000 Graphics, 32 MB DDR, 64-bit interface
CD-RW/DVD combo drive (CD-RW rated at 24x)
Dell TrueMobile 1300 802.11b/g wireless card
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 56K modem
Windows XP Pro, SP1
First Impressions:
General Construction (4/5):
Overall I found the construction quite good. The monitor assembly consists of magnesium alloy. It feels metallic to the touch and does not flex or exhibit screen distortions when I press on the back or adjust the angle of the screen. Two hinges connect the monitor assembly to the base unit, and a single, button spring latch holds the screen in place when the unit is closed.
The base consists of a combination of plastic, magnesium, and aluminum parts. Unlike my previous notebook, an old Dell Latitude CPi, the base does not creak or feel fragile when I lift it or move it around. However, despite the obvious improvements, the construction is still not as solid as the IBM ThinkPad T series notebooks. The Latitude?s plastic parts have less heft to them (for example, the silver trim around the keyboard is a bit thin and flimsy) than the T30, but the construction is still very good overall. Unlike Latitude C6x0 or Inspiron 4100 series machines, I don?t get the bad feeling that something is going to fall off the notebook ever time I lift it.
Input Devices (2/5):
The keyboard is downright annoying. I was pleased to see that Dell has been consistent with the Latitude?s keyboard layouts ? it was the same layout as my old CPi; There is a decent amount of key travel, but I was very disappointed with the flimsiness of the keyboard. The entire board bounces a bit when I type quickly. I also noticed that the letters on the keys seem to be stickers that were fused to keys. Against the T30 it?s no contest. The D600?s keyboard sucks. And sucks some more.
Cursor input was thankfully a much better experience. The pointing device works through a dual trackpoint / trackpad system. The trackpad has a grainy but pleasant surface texture, and the two sets of buttons have a decent amount of feedback. The trackpoint has a very rough texture, but is also quite easy to use. Dell was kind enough to include 2 extra eraserheads for the trackpoint device. Dell got this part just right.
Other input devices include a mute button next to a volume up/down control. These buttons and the power button respond with decent feedback and clicks. The power button also lights up when the system is on.
Output Devices (4/5):
I configured my D600 with a 14? 1024x768 TFT. Brightness and clarity are excellent (this is very subjective I realize), but the difference between this LCD and my Dell E151FPp desktop LCD is quite apparent. Though the E151FPp is a decent LCD, the D600?s LCD tops it in visual quality.
There are four LED status indicators embedded in the right monitor hinge ? HDD activity, Power On, Battery Charging, and Blue Tooth. I do not think this system is equipped with Blue Tooth, but I will check later to make sure.
Just above the keyboard area are Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock indicators. All the LEDs in this system are a nice green color.
The speakers sound pretty awful, but that?s pretty much what I expected.
Noise, Heat, and other Problems (4/5):
The area under the left palm rest houses the hard disk enclosure. It does get warm, while the right palm rest remains cool. However, this warmth is really only noticeable during periods of sustained HDD activity, and it certainly does not get hot enough to be uncomfortable. I noticed that the HDD became really hot while I installed Windows XP, but cooled down noticeably during normal use. I have not yet put the laptop on my lap, but on the surface there appear to be no other hotspots in the input areas.
The system fan is virtually silent ? I didn?t notice it was on until I felt cool air being pulled through the keyboard. Several tiny rubber feet keep the system a couple of millimeters off the table to allow for adequate air circulation underneath the unit.
The laptop itself is extremely quiet, but I have one major problem with the power adapter ? it makes very annoying buzzing sounds when plugged in. A quick visit to support.dell.com forums reveals that I am not alone. Some people who use PA-12, Revision A00 adapters are also having the same problem. Dell tech support was unable to resolve the problem.
System Responsiveness: (5/5)
The 1.40 GHz Pentium-M had no trouble with Windows XP. Everything feels very snappy and instant. SpeedStep kept the processor running at 585 MHz most of the time, though the speed would go up to 785 MHz or higher (according to System Properties) if I was opening many applications or Explorer windows. I played a DVD of ?The Princess Bride? to see if it would stress the CPU (using WinDVD), but the CPU usage never went above 35% so far as I could tell, and the CPU speed seemed to stay at around 585 MHz.
Other things I tested were the CD-RW drive and the built in gigabit Ethernet port. I didn?t time the CD-RW drive but it was certainly much faster than the old 8x in my Dell tower. I was unable to determine if the Ethernet was faster than a standard 10/100 card because my university does not support gigabit Ethernet connections.
Things That I Have NOT Tested:
Gaming capabilities of the Mobility Radeon 9000 (32 MB DDR, 64-bit interface)
Performance of the Dell TrueMobile 1300 802.11b/g card
USB2.0 and other ports.
Overall, I'd give this system a 3.75/5. It's got its flaws, namely (I suspect) a noisy A00 revision power adapter and a lousy keyboard, but it's a fair value overall. The features are excellent and the construction is very good. For $1700, I doubt I could have gotten a faster system. I've sent Dell tech support an email concerning the buzzing power adapter, so we'll see how good (or how bad) their support team treats an average guy like me
I will post updates from time to time detailing how the system holds up over the next few weeks and months. It pretty much has to last me the next three years, so I'm hoping I made the right choice.
Post any questions you might have - if I have time later this week I will post some pics, but for now you can find decent pics here at CNET
I posted this at Ars OpenForum, and I though I'd post it here as well
It's my first total system upgrade since 1999, so without further comment, here are my thoughts on theDell Latitude D600
Major System Features:
1.4 GHz Pentium-M
512 MB DDR-SDRAM, PC2100
i855PM Chipset
40 GB, 5400 RPM (Hitatchi (formerly IBM) TravelStar GNX40, I believe)
Mobility Radeon 9000 Graphics, 32 MB DDR, 64-bit interface
CD-RW/DVD combo drive (CD-RW rated at 24x)
Dell TrueMobile 1300 802.11b/g wireless card
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, 56K modem
Windows XP Pro, SP1
First Impressions:
General Construction (4/5):
Overall I found the construction quite good. The monitor assembly consists of magnesium alloy. It feels metallic to the touch and does not flex or exhibit screen distortions when I press on the back or adjust the angle of the screen. Two hinges connect the monitor assembly to the base unit, and a single, button spring latch holds the screen in place when the unit is closed.
The base consists of a combination of plastic, magnesium, and aluminum parts. Unlike my previous notebook, an old Dell Latitude CPi, the base does not creak or feel fragile when I lift it or move it around. However, despite the obvious improvements, the construction is still not as solid as the IBM ThinkPad T series notebooks. The Latitude?s plastic parts have less heft to them (for example, the silver trim around the keyboard is a bit thin and flimsy) than the T30, but the construction is still very good overall. Unlike Latitude C6x0 or Inspiron 4100 series machines, I don?t get the bad feeling that something is going to fall off the notebook ever time I lift it.
Input Devices (2/5):
The keyboard is downright annoying. I was pleased to see that Dell has been consistent with the Latitude?s keyboard layouts ? it was the same layout as my old CPi; There is a decent amount of key travel, but I was very disappointed with the flimsiness of the keyboard. The entire board bounces a bit when I type quickly. I also noticed that the letters on the keys seem to be stickers that were fused to keys. Against the T30 it?s no contest. The D600?s keyboard sucks. And sucks some more.
Cursor input was thankfully a much better experience. The pointing device works through a dual trackpoint / trackpad system. The trackpad has a grainy but pleasant surface texture, and the two sets of buttons have a decent amount of feedback. The trackpoint has a very rough texture, but is also quite easy to use. Dell was kind enough to include 2 extra eraserheads for the trackpoint device. Dell got this part just right.
Other input devices include a mute button next to a volume up/down control. These buttons and the power button respond with decent feedback and clicks. The power button also lights up when the system is on.
Output Devices (4/5):
I configured my D600 with a 14? 1024x768 TFT. Brightness and clarity are excellent (this is very subjective I realize), but the difference between this LCD and my Dell E151FPp desktop LCD is quite apparent. Though the E151FPp is a decent LCD, the D600?s LCD tops it in visual quality.
There are four LED status indicators embedded in the right monitor hinge ? HDD activity, Power On, Battery Charging, and Blue Tooth. I do not think this system is equipped with Blue Tooth, but I will check later to make sure.
Just above the keyboard area are Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock indicators. All the LEDs in this system are a nice green color.
The speakers sound pretty awful, but that?s pretty much what I expected.
Noise, Heat, and other Problems (4/5):
The area under the left palm rest houses the hard disk enclosure. It does get warm, while the right palm rest remains cool. However, this warmth is really only noticeable during periods of sustained HDD activity, and it certainly does not get hot enough to be uncomfortable. I noticed that the HDD became really hot while I installed Windows XP, but cooled down noticeably during normal use. I have not yet put the laptop on my lap, but on the surface there appear to be no other hotspots in the input areas.
The system fan is virtually silent ? I didn?t notice it was on until I felt cool air being pulled through the keyboard. Several tiny rubber feet keep the system a couple of millimeters off the table to allow for adequate air circulation underneath the unit.
The laptop itself is extremely quiet, but I have one major problem with the power adapter ? it makes very annoying buzzing sounds when plugged in. A quick visit to support.dell.com forums reveals that I am not alone. Some people who use PA-12, Revision A00 adapters are also having the same problem. Dell tech support was unable to resolve the problem.
System Responsiveness: (5/5)
The 1.40 GHz Pentium-M had no trouble with Windows XP. Everything feels very snappy and instant. SpeedStep kept the processor running at 585 MHz most of the time, though the speed would go up to 785 MHz or higher (according to System Properties) if I was opening many applications or Explorer windows. I played a DVD of ?The Princess Bride? to see if it would stress the CPU (using WinDVD), but the CPU usage never went above 35% so far as I could tell, and the CPU speed seemed to stay at around 585 MHz.
Other things I tested were the CD-RW drive and the built in gigabit Ethernet port. I didn?t time the CD-RW drive but it was certainly much faster than the old 8x in my Dell tower. I was unable to determine if the Ethernet was faster than a standard 10/100 card because my university does not support gigabit Ethernet connections.
Things That I Have NOT Tested:
Gaming capabilities of the Mobility Radeon 9000 (32 MB DDR, 64-bit interface)
Performance of the Dell TrueMobile 1300 802.11b/g card
USB2.0 and other ports.
Overall, I'd give this system a 3.75/5. It's got its flaws, namely (I suspect) a noisy A00 revision power adapter and a lousy keyboard, but it's a fair value overall. The features are excellent and the construction is very good. For $1700, I doubt I could have gotten a faster system. I've sent Dell tech support an email concerning the buzzing power adapter, so we'll see how good (or how bad) their support team treats an average guy like me
I will post updates from time to time detailing how the system holds up over the next few weeks and months. It pretty much has to last me the next three years, so I'm hoping I made the right choice.
Post any questions you might have - if I have time later this week I will post some pics, but for now you can find decent pics here at CNET
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