What's the word on Dell LATITUDE 6540 ?

[GoodEnough]

Are these 2014 Dell's considered good laptops?
Not for gaming, but basic casual use.

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-e6540-laptop/pd

Why does a $1000 laptop only come with 4GB and non-SATA ?
Would you upgrade it to 8GB and SSD for another $100?

 

[iamwiz82]

Latitudes are traditionally quite robust. They aren't gaming machines but they do office work very well.

 

[Imp]

I've heard good things about Latitudes. My laptop's a discontinued (?) Vostro from Dell's business line. Battery is essentially dead after 4 years, but machine has been fine with mostly light use.

 

[kyrax12]

Latitudes or thinkpads?

 

[olds]

Latitudes or thinkpads?

What's the word on Dell LATITUDE 6540 ?

Here you go

 

[kyrax12]

Here you go

My question was based on which of the two business class notebooks is the more superior option.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Latitudes are great units. Fundamentally though, the core components are nearly identical between the Dell, Lenovo, HP, so it comes down to other factors:

- Warranty
- Accessories
- Price
- Assembly time
- Features

In my experience, Dell does a few small things better than Lenovo that add up to make IT's life a little better.

1. All their Laptop power adapters use the same plug and have done so for many years. They are all interchangeable. A Precision power adapter will work on a Latitude of an size and vice/versa. Obviously a beefy laptop with dedicated graphics and an i7, shouldn't be using a 65w adapter, but in a pinch it will get the job done. Same is true for docking stations.

2. Legacy ports are more common on Dell. Which is helpful when it comes to stupid conference rooms that all haven't been updated since 2005.

Weaknesses of Dell (in general):
Assembly time can be frustrating. Unless you are buying from their limited pre-built line, you could wait 2+ weeks for your hardware to show up. Lenovo has many more options in their pre-built lines.

Latitudes in general are good laptops and there are a TON of different models to fit every possible need.

 

[ninaholic37]

My question was based on which of the two business class notebooks is the more superior option.

I've used a Latitude D610, D410 and a Thinkpad T42 and they were all good. All of them had the dual trackpoint/trackpad, nice screens, lasting build quality, and similar specs... so it's a tough decision and probably boils more down to personal preference. I am not sure if they make laptops as good as they used to though, so someone who prefers "modern" might have more perspective to offer in that department if that's what you're into.

 

[gmaster456]

They are great machines I don't think you will be disappointed at all. That's also a good model

 

[GoodEnough]

Does Latitude have a highly acclaimed keyboard like the Lenovo/TP ?

 

[gmaster456]

Does Latitude have a highly acclaimed keyboard like the Lenovo/TP ?

I've honestly enjoyed dell keyboards the most out of any I have used. Just personal preference however. To you they may or may not be as good as a thinkpad but I think you'll be just fine with it. I don't have any complaints and have never heard of any

 

[GoodEnough]

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-e6540-laptop/pd

Why does a $1000 laptop only come with 4GB and non-SSD?
Would you upgrade it to 8GB and SSD for another $100?

 

[RossMAN]

http://outlet.lenovo.com/

On the left underneath Series click T series

ThinkPad T540p - New $799.00

• Intel® Core™ i7-4800MQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.70 GHz)
• Windows 7 Professional 64 - English
• 15.6" FHD (1920 X 1080) LED Backlight w/ 720p HD Camera
• Intel HD Graphics 4600
• 8GB (2 x 4 GB) PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600MHz SODIMM Memory
• 500GB, 5400RPM Serial ATA 2.5" Hard Drive
• DVD Recordable Serial ATA

 

[GoodEnough]

I found a mint opened box E6540 for $350.

 

[corkyg]

The Lenovo "E" series are not true business class notebooks - while they have been called "Thinkpads," they are below the T and W series in quality and robustness. Latitudes should only be compared to T and W Thinkpads, not E.

 

[RossMAN]

OP - are you still looking for a used laptop?

Newegg.com has a refurb Lenovo Thinkpad T420 for $250 for a limited time.

Yes it's older and slower specs but you seem to have an affinity for older Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell Latitude's.

Personally I would buy one from their official outlets, either the Lenovo ThinkPad T440 or Dell Latitude E5xxx or E6xxx.

Edit: Nevermind see post #14 above

 

[GoodEnough]

Ross, thanks. See post 14

 

[GoodEnough]

Jacked up my newly acquired Dell E6540
to 8GB
and a 240 GSSD drive.

 

[John Connor]

Dells are pretty good computers. I have had four Dell laptops and a Dell desktop that I upgraded the hell out of except the MB.

I bought a Dell Precision M6300 2.5 GHz dual core on ebay without a hard drive or power adapter for like $140. Bought a SSD, power adapter and upgraded the RAM to 3GB and it works fine for the Internet. Has Win 7 Ultimate. I have even gamed on here with Sim City 4, C&C Generals Zero Hour and a Mario emulator.