Blazing fast, sleek, quiet, nice keyboard, but it gets very HOT!
Written: Aug 18 '04 (Updated Nov 21 '04)
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Pros: FAST Pentium M Dothan CPU and ATI 9000 video, 5400RPM HD, super-quiet fan, SXGA screen
Cons: Runs VERY hot (90 F palm rest), cheezy plastics, flexy lid, ~3hr so-so battery life
The Bottom Line: The Inspiron 600m is a very fast, sleek notebook. It runs uncomfortably hot and isn't very rugged; but still a good choice for some applications.
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| bcsanders's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 600M (600MSAP) PC Notebook |
First reaction: Sleek and fast.
Performance
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The Pentium M 725 (Dothan) 1.6 GHz CPU with 2MB of L2 cache means BLAZING SPEED on business applications. The Dothan CPU beats a 3GHz Pentium 4 in some benchmarks. Paired with a super-quiet and speedy 30GB 5400RPM Seagate Momentus drive, this is by far the fastest and also the quietest notebook I've ever used. I upgraded to 512MB of RAM which gave a little extra turbo boost when running multiple applications.
Heat Issues
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The 600m does get very warm, all over, especially in the left palm rest, and even the touchpad. The center of the bottom surface gets scorchingly hot in warm ambient temperatures. In an office environment, with an ambient temperature below 72 deg F, and running on a lower power setting, there is some warming of the left palm rest. In a warmer environment than that, or when running power-hungry applications, you WILL notice excessive heat. For example, when my office temperature reached 82 F, the left palmrest measured 96 F. The underside was 140 F! That's warm! If you don't think that sounds OK, then avoid this laptop.
Battery Life
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With 512MB of RAM, during mixed use, on Maximum Battery setting, with the wireless network card turned on, I'm getting around 3.2 hours of battery life. That's middling performance in this class of notebooks. By comparison, the IBM X31 ultraportable Pentium M notebook can routinely run 6 hours on a charge.
SXGA Screen
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My Inspiron 600m has the optional 14.1" SXGA TFT screen (1400 x 1050 pixels). It took some getting used to; but now I appreciate the huge desktop area. All of those pixels are a real plus when running screen-hogging applications like Dreamweaver, AutoCAD, etc. (I would have preferred a 1280 x 1024 pixel native resolution for a 14.1" screen size; but they're nowhere to be found.)
If you can't deal with tiny text, or have aging eyes, then go for the XGA screen. (XGA = 1024 x 768 pixels) You would dislike the SXGA screen.
Wireless Networking
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The Intel Centrino Pro/wireless 2100 mini-PCI internal Wi-Fi/802.11b wireless networking card and integrated antenna are excellent. I'm getting much better reception than I've ever had before. If you are still using external PC cards for your Wi-Fi networking, move up to a built-in antenna and integrated mini-PCI wireless card. You'll be glad you did.
Case Design
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The two-tone silver lid and metallic logo design are beautiful - definitely business class - but the blue-and-grey interior plastics are a little cheezy looking.
The lid is a bit flexy; but that's not uncommon in this class of notebooks.
I've heard people say that the 600m has a metal case. It does not! It's a plastic case, and quite thin at that. It's not the most solid-feeling laptop I've ever seen. It's a little on the flimsy side; but not worrisome. One drop, and it would be toast. If you are rough on laptops, look elsewhere.
Miscellaneous
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Almost everything else about this notebook is top-drawer. The keyboard is a fast, light-action, full-sized unit with a decent key layout. The *removable* CD-RW/DVD 24x combo drive works great! The built-in stereo speakers actually sound pretty decent. This is my first notebook computer with USB 2.0, and the difference is astounding.
I bought my 600m from the Dell Outlet, using several stackable coupon codes, for ~35% off of Dell's retail price. Dell even financed it with 0% introductory APR for 6 months! You gotta love that.
I've read other reviews complaining about a loose keyboard and flexy/loose trackpad on the 600m's. Mine is solid as a rock, no dead pixels, no defects of any kind. There was one tiny scuff on the rear bottom edge of the case - I didn't even see it until I thoroughly examined the computer one day. That's the kind of minor cosmetic defect I can live with to get nearly $500 off the retail price!
Bottom Line
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If you can live with a (very) warm palm rest and hot underside, and if you get the screen resolution that suits you, then the Inspiron 600m would be a good choice. It is a sleek, feature-packed, very powerful and relatively light business-class thin and light notebook that competes favorably with more expensive units. Be aware that Dell support is spotty, however. If you need lots of handholding, or you are rough on notebook computers, spend the money and get an IBM, Twinhead or Panasonic Toughbook.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1025.00
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): 21-30
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Epinions.com ID:
bcsanders
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Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 4
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