For anybody who wants mobility with decent price and features
Written: Apr 29 '03
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Pros: Lightweight, compact, sleek design, Centrino mobile technology
Cons: Not exactly the greatest processor speed - even Celerons are already doing 2.2 Ghz
The Bottom Line: Looking for style, light weight, the Dell reputation, the latest Centrino technology, and can sacrifice some processor speed? Go with the Dell Inspiron 600m.
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| uhhh_i_dunno's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 600M (600MBS1) PC Notebook |
Purchased laptop specs:
Processor: Intel Pentium M @ 1.3 Ghz
Memory: 256 MB, DDR, 266 Mhz 2 SoDimms
Hard Drive: 30 GB Ultra ATA
Additional Storage: Dell 16 MB USB Memory Key
OS: Windows XP Home
Modem and NIC: Integrated
Wireless: Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 WLAN (802.11b, 11Mbps) mini PCS Card
Battery: Primary and Free Secondary Battery
Accessories: Weight Saver D-Module, TrippLite Notebook Surge, and Kensington Saddlebag
Dell makes a fine laptop for mobility with decent performance with a load of energy saving features. First off, the design is sleek and new, a contrast to the black plastic cases of other Centrino notebooks on the market. Its weight is a featherweight 4.98 lbs with the Weight Saver in place, and still a light 5.3 lbs with the CDRW/DVD drive in place. Not only that, but the seamlessly integrated Centrino technology, comprised of the new Pentium M processor from Intel, the 855 chipset, and the 2100 wireless card, has power saving technology that enables the 600m to operate nearly 4 hours on a single charged battery. The free additional battery I got in my deal online would mean that I would have 8 hours of total running time (optimum). The battery itself isn't even a pound (0.7 lbs) and like the laptop, is very mobile. These advantages certainly give it an edge over the bulky desktop-replacement laptops in this field (namely the 1100 and 5100)
The problem with laptops is that you can't really get everything - compact and lightweight plus top-of-the-line processor performance - in under $1500. I was seriously considering to purchase the Inspiron 5100 instead of the 600m, but seeing that its only pros would be a) 1.1 Ghz faster processor and b) Firewire, I thought that the 600m's pros outweighed the 5100 in my demands as a student, using Word, AIM, and Internet Explorer most of the time. These applications truly don't require anything more than 1 Ghz, and the 1.3 P-M with a larger L2 cache satisfies this requirement. (Although, the processor speed can drop to 600 Mhz when not needed - like when typing or scrolling pages of text.)Truly, I would desire the 1.6 Ghz processor, but since that would push up the price of the laptop to nearly $2000, that was out of my budget range.
The 600m runs relatively quiet, and dissapates heat well over flat surfaces. These credit the Centrino technology partially, but the main advantage of Centrino is the extended battery life. This laptop really lasts longer than other bulky laptops I've seen and used - 3.5-4.0 hours per battery is pretty good time. Really, if you need mobility and battery time, this laptop is a good choice.
The graphics aren't bad for a laptop. DVDs run fine. Low to mid-end graphics games (such as RTS) will run fine on the 32 MB standard radeon 9000 graphics, but if you are really pushing for 3d gaming performance on a laptop, get the 64 MB video card upgrade. Though really, play those games on a 128 MB card on a desktop - laptops aren't meant to play those kinds of games. The 256 MB of RAM is enough for me, and you can upgrade it to higher amounts if necessary.
There are endless available accessories to customize the 600m, and I chose some good things: a surge protector, a carry bag (convertable to a backpack), a memory key (like a floppy but holds 10x data of a floppy and faster transfer), and the weight-saver module. Of course, these add to the price of the laptop, but I think these are worthy choices.
If you're looking for style, practicality, mobility, and decent performance, go with this laptop. You hardly go wrong with Dell. Though I'm wondering why Dell labeled the 1100 and 5100 as "desktop-replacement" while you can't even dock them in an advanced docking station - while the 600m can.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1484
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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uhhh_i_dunno
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