Dell Latitude E6420?

Well, it's time for a new laptop after a few years, so I'm thinking of buying a Dell Latitude. The E6420 is a 14" notebook and the E6320 is a 13" notebook. Portability is important. I'd really like the portability of the E6320, but that comes at a $200+ premium. I expect the E6420, however, would be significantly lighter and more portable than my old Vostro 1500 (weighed today at 7.25 pounds!) from 2007.

My other concern is build quality. My Vostro 1500 suffered from weak lid hinges, meaning that it was very easy to rock the lid back and forth with no tension when the laptop was opened up. I was wondering if the Latitude E6420 is of much better build quality.

If I get the E6420, is there any benefit to getting the nVidia NVS 4200M for $69. Is it much better than the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics? I don't plan on playing games on this.

This is what I would customize the E6420 with:

Intel Core i3-2310M (2.10GHz, 3M cache)
2.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 1 DIMM (will aftermarket upgrade to 8)
nVidia NVS 4200M 512MB DDR3 Discrete Graphics
250GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
6-cell (60WH) Primary Lithium Ion Battery
8X DVD with Cyberlink Power DVD
Dell Wireless 1501 802.11b/g/n Half Mini Card
Light Sensitive Webcam and Noise Cancelling Digital Array Mic
Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Module
Fingerprint Reader and Contactless Smartcard Reader
14.0" HD(1366x768) Anti-Glare LED-backlit
E-Modular USB 3.0

 

Maybe fill out the FAQ from the What Should I Buy subforum?

 

I'd recommend checking out the E6420's on the Dell Outlet to see if you can't find a decent configuration. I got one for $750 that would have cost $1300+ configured new, and it still came with the 3 year warranty.

There's a 15% off coupon for the Dell Outlet here: Twitter

 

Upgrade this to the 1600x900 display if you can. It makes the most difference compared to any other upgrade.

Having a higher resolution lets you fit more onscreen at once, and is a very good thing to have for multi-tasking, and in general. The difference between 1366x768 and 1600x900 is fairly significant.

 

Much thanks to manarius13 for telling me about the Dell Outlet deals! I can now consider the E6320, that has much the same features, for around $779.

So I guess it's down to the main difference: a 14" screen with the nVidia NVS 4200M, or a 13.3" screen with the Intel HD 3000. The E6320 base weight is 3.64 lbs, whereas the E6420 weighs 4.56 lbs.

Since portability is important to me, I think I'm leaning toward the E6320, unless a bigger screen and nVidia graphics is worth the extra pound. What do you think?

 

The bigger screen isn't worth it unless you're getting the 1600x900 upgrade.

The graphics won't be worth it unless you're using CAD, or gaming (but the NVS 4200M isn't all that much better for gaming than integrated graphics)

 

Well, I went ahead and ordered a refurbished Dell Latitude E6320 from the Dell Outlet. Here are the specs:

Intel Core i3-2310M (2.10GHz, 3M cache) (will get a Core i5 2520M on eBay)
4.0GB, DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM, 2 DIMMs (will aftermarket upgrade to 8)
13.3" HD (1366x768) Anti-Glare LED-backlit display
Intel HD 3000 Integrated Graphics
250GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
6-cell (60WH) Primary Lithium Ion Battery
8X DVD
Intel 6300 Wireless-N (2x2) Half Mini-Card
Light Sensitive Webcam and Noise Cancelling Digital Array Mic
Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Module
Internal Fingerprint Reader and contactless smartcard reader

The cost of a new custom-built system with this configuration is about $1,220. I'm paying $779. Not bad at all!

My order should be delivered by Friday, June 24th.

Thanks to all those who responded!