My business laptop, which I would gladly switch...
Written: Mar 02 '01
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Pros: Lots of memory
Cons: Sloooooow, heavy, poor design
The Bottom Line: I'm glad I didn't have to pay for this laptop, because it underperforms and is poorly constructed.
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| chambemd's Full Review: Dell Latitude CPx |
This was the laptop my company provided to me about 8 months ago. While I've had success with Dell's products in the past, this laptop is definitely an under-achiever.
First, its slow. I'm sure this is due in part to the operating system I'm using (Windows 95 is still the company standard) but that should still not extract the kind of performance penalty we see here. My Pentium 2 running at 400 megahertz is quicker than this Pentium 3 700. I'm jealous of my co-workers who have IBMs and Compaqs - with identical setups, they're running significantly quicker.
A bigger complaint may be the design itself. First, its really heavy. Walk a few blocks with it and you'll know what I mean. Secondly, while it may look substantial and well designed, it really isn't. If you give the LCD a squeeze (not the screen itself, but the casing) it really flexes and feels cheap. The entire system itself has a ton of squeaks and rattles...it doesn't inspire confidence.
The design of the keyboard is good, but the integration of the mouse buttons into the casing was a bad call. The mouse buttons are attached to the casing with a cheap plastic "hinge", probably to save a few dollars. Break a mouse button (which I've done twice, with my superhuman strength...) and you've got to pop the entire top of the keyboard casing off and replace the whole thing. This has happened so frequently in my company that tech support doesn't even have any more in stock! The touchpad itself is a little over-sensitive - I sometimes accidentally activate it when I'm typing. The pointer works well, but sometimes gets stuck - after removing your finger from it, it continues to scroll across the screen for a second or two.
On the upside, the screen is crisp and clear, and battery life is decent. They included an output port for video, so you can watch your DVD movies (or computer screen) on TV. However, I think there must be some compatibility issues because I've only gotten this to work about 50% of the time.
I've always liked Dell desktops, and I hope the performance of this laptop is not indicative of the rest of their line. However, for now I'm looking forward to when I can turn this one in...
Recommended:
No
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 601-700
Screen Size: 11
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
chambemd
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Member: Matt Chambers
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 1 member
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