Outstanding for - Design, Performance, weight
Written: Jun 05 '06 (Updated Jun 07 '06)
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Pros: Processing power, Weight, design, 4 GB RAM support, scratch resistant
Cons: no media card slot, does not play audio CDs when powered OFF
The Bottom Line: What more can you ask for - outstanding performance, light weight, looks good, modular drive, tons of security features.
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| avaneesh's Full Review: Dell Latitude™ D620 (D620SINGLE) PC Notebook |
Dell Latitude D620
The most common question I encounter is which Dell laptop to buy – Inspiron or Latitude. The Inspirons, with their low price, dedicated graphics option, loaded with multimedia features, targets the home, small business and casual users. The Latitudes on the other hand with its highly robust business like design and solely aimed for productivity, targets the business users. Latitude has many features which are absolutely essential for a business laptop like – ExpressCharge technology, modular drive, Hard drive locks, integrated smart card reader, 256MB NVIDIA� Quadro NVS 110M graphics option, SATA HDD compatability etc.
In the box:
Don’t be disappointed by the latitude’s unimpressive brown box, however unimpressive it might seem, the goodies are inside. The box includes:
1. The Latitude D620 Laptop
2. Battery (4,6 or 9 cell battery)
3. Power cable
4. S-video cable
5. OS, Software & Driver CDs
6. User manual & Warranty information
Design:
The D620 is a major improvement from the model it replaces, the D610 ( http://www.epinions.com/content_223922589316 ). The case is darker grey and the silver plastic is all around the keyboard and the touchpad. The touchpad looks more modern with tapered edges. The grey case almost has a shine to it, unlike the older latitudes, which were more like brushed aluminum kind of finish. The new finish resists finger prints and scratching. There is no parallel port, but it includes 4 USB ports. And true to the Latitude line, it includes the D-Dock port. The flip up LCD panel is more thinner and looks very sleek especially since it has tapered edges at the top.
In-depth description of the Design/Features :
Processor:
It supports up to T2600 (2.16GHz Dual) L2 Cache 667MHz FSB. On the SiS Sandra performance tests, the Dual Cores Pentium M processors have performed upto 130% better compared to the same clock speed Solo processors, that is a lot of performance difference. The dual-core technology is very powerful and all future processors will be Dual-core.
Display:
The Widescreen display screen is new in the D600 series. The Latitude D620 features a wide-aspect 16:10 display. The 14.1 inch wide screen display comes with 2 display options (1) WXGA+ (1440 x 900 maximum resolution and (2) WXGA (1280 x 800 maximum resolution). The WXGA+ is recommended for larger desktop space.
Graphics:
There are two options here, (1) Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (Up to 224MB shared) and (2) 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 110M TurboCache. The Integrated Intel graphics is good, but hogs up upto 224MB the internal memory. But the real performer is the NVIDIA NVS, with its dedicated 256 MB RAM, it perform like a graphics workstation. The NVIDIA option is recommended for graphics intensive use like CAD/CAM design, gaming etc. The Graphics with the NVIDIA are brilliant and the best I have ever seen. But for most users, the integrated Intel graphics should be more than sufficient.
Memory:
Like all Laptops there are 2 DIMM slots. The slots support 667MHz - 8.5 GB/s with dual channel bandwidth. Unlike the Inspiron’s which support only 2GB, these support up to 4 GB of memory. The more the memory the better, but for most application 1 GB is sufficient. But with memory intensive work like CAD/CAM designing, Running server applications etc the more the merrier, and with expandability of upto 4 GB, the sky is the limit.
I/O Ports and Slots:
There I/O ports are adequate if not outstanding. Interesting to note is the lack of the dated parallel port. The modular drive is a hot swappable drive, the CD, DVD, Floppy and ext. HDD drive can be hot swapped, this is a cool feature, since the laptops usually support only one drive and here you can choose which drive you want to add for the specific task.
It includes the: PC Card: One Type I or Type II. I/O Ports: Serial, docking connector, 4 USB, VGA, headphone/speaker out, infrared port, RJ-11, RJ-45, AC power, integrated microphone, infrared. Docking: D/Port Modular Options: 24X CD-ROM, 8X DVD+/-RW, 24X CDRW/DVD, Floppy Disk Drive
Battery:
There are 3 options here, 4 cell (35WHr), 6 cell (56WHr and 9 cell (85Whr). Needless to say the 9 cell battery lasts longer than the others and weighs heavier than the others too. All batteries are equipped with the battery meter on them, pressing the button on the battery indicates the battery charge even when the laptop is not powered ON.
Security Features:
Security being high on priority for business computing, the Latitude D620 comes with a wide variety of security features. Apart from the security software solutions, it also features a brand-new tri-factor authentication process. The built-in Smart Card reader requires both a card and a password for the operating system to boot up. The optional fingerprint reader offers the third level of user security. There is also a standard slot for locks, an optional notebook tracking software and it is compatible with the various security software in the market. These features make this an excellent business laptop. There is an Notebook tracking option can track where the notebook is being booted up from. This laptop is loaded with tons of security features.
Using the Laptop:
The laptop is very light and easy to carry it around. The case resists fingerprints and scratches and feels well very strong. The performance is this laptops forte, it out performs similarly spec’ed IBM and Toshiba. The IBM is was the lightest of the three. In SIS Sandra performance tests the D620 outperformed the IBM & Toshiba by a large margin. I have to admit, the IBM & Toshiba had Solo 2 GHz proc, 60/80 GB 5400 rpm HDD and 1 GB RAM while the D620 has DualCore 2 GHz proc, 100 GB 7200 rpm HDD & 2 GB RAM. This is definitely not a comparison among equals, but it does demonstrate the advantage of the Dual core processor. The IBM & Toshiba processors performed 14% and 18% below the Dual core. That is a substantial difference. Opening multiple applications at the same time, all applications work seamlessly without any breaks or signs of slowing down. The Gaming experience was outstanding with the 256MB NVIDIA chip. I have Windows 2003 Server installed on the laptop with SQL MSDE, Platespin Power Convert, ESX ranger, ESX Virtual center, to mention a few & it works fine, no major slowing down. I am mentioning this because some of the applications are very processor intensive and surprisingly they worked better than expected.
The weight of the laptop is not much, making it easy to carry around. The heat desipation is excellent, it hardly gets hot. It always recommended not to block the vents, this allows for the hot air to be blown out easily. The battery can get warm too. The security features are substantial. I did not try the finger print reader but it would definitely add another layer of security. The battery life is 8 hours with the 9 cell option. These laptops have the openmanage client installed on the ROM, making it centrally manageable.
Some Issues:
1. Does not play audio CDs while laptop is OFF
2. No SD card slot
Overall:
This laptop is by far the best business laptop I have worked with. It is a perfect blend of performance, features, weight & stylish design. Though the laptop can be expensive, it is loaded with features that justify the price of the business laptop. Each latitude model replacement is available only after a minimum of 15 months making this ideal for business who ghost the company image. Definitely recommended.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1900
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
avaneesh
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Location: Milwaukee, WI
Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 4 members
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