How is D610

I need to get a new laptop to replace my dead Inspiron 4150. I have a primary desktop which is connected to a wireless hub and only use my laptop to surf the internet while watching tv. I also take it to use at a summer home where I sometimes use it while sitting outside. I need something that is fairly light, excellent battery life, good screen and wireless capabilities. I don't like any of the Inspirons and was looking at the D610 but don't see many comments on it. I'm trying to decide between that and the HP nc6150. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

Hi,
I ordered the Dell D610 last week, Dell says they will deliver it by the end of this week so i have to wait a little to tell you.
I think the D610 is the perfect blend of a fullsize notebook with a standart sized keyboard and a good screen that has also the lightness for the road. I chose it because I know that Dell offers a good quality and service ( ordered complete care) at a fair price.
Thats my configuration:

Intel® Pentium® M Prozessor 730 (1,60 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 533 MHz FSB) with 14.1" SXGA+ TFT Display

512 MB 400 MHz DDR2-RAM (2x 256 MB)

60 GB EIDE Harddrive

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator

Lithium-Ionen Battery with 53 Wh

8x DVD-ROM & 24/24/24x CD-RW

Intel® PROWireless 2200 802.11 b/g Mini PCI Card

Dell TrueMobile 350 Bluetooth

I am a student and want to use it for office and for entertainment of course.
If you are a student then try to buy it over your university like i did. That will make it about 20 percent cheaper.
I will write a full review of the notebook as soon as i receive it. If you have any questions, please don´t be afraid to ask.

One last thing: English is not my native language, i am from germany. please excuse my mistakes

[ ]

Wolfgang

 

Wow, that is nice Wolfgang. My university also has a deal/EPP store with Dell, but they only offer the EPP discount on the Inspiron line. The Latitude line has no discount and is even more costly than buying from Dell SmallBiz(full price of $1600+ instead of usual discounted $1300 smallbiz price)!

When you get your D610, could you check whether you get a whitenoise/hiss/whine from the headphone jack. A lot of people over at www.notebookforums.org have complained about this issue with the D610 and I was wondering if it is widespread. Some have suggested that getting it without the onboard modem eliminates this noise. Have you ordered your laptop with the modem? Is the SXGA+ resolution ending up with smaller fonts on the 14.1' screen (as compared to XGA)?

Thanks Wolfgang, your review will be very helpful for me as I am going to get a D610 pretty soon (next month or so). I'm sorry if my questions were too pushy but I'd like to be 100% sure that it is a good laptop (I'm almost convinced it is the best choice for my needs) before I blow my limited student money on it [ ]

 

Compared to US prices the price tag in Germany may seem a litte high, because everything is relatively cheap in the US compared to European prices. The basic configuration of the D610 for students starts at 1000€ ( about $ 1300) which is a very good price in my eyes.
I hope I will not have the problem with the headphone jack, I ordered without the onboard modem so I will see, and of course, let you know [ ].
I can´t answear your screen question yet, can´t await the arrival of the notebook.

@freeradical22 Question about yourself: What and where are you studying? ( sorry I am very curiously) And what are you planning to do with the D610?

 

@Wolfgang: I'm studying Computer Engineering here in the US. My D610 is probably going to be used for a _lot_ of stuff [ ] For example:

* Notes in /some/ classes (it's better to use ancient paper+pen sometimes
* I am going to be carrying this laptop everywhere, or atleast I hope to, so it fits my weight needs.
* I'm going to use it for any programming assignments and that kind of work.
* Ofcourse the usual listen to music, make presentations etc.
* Also going to be running Linux as my main OS, and so far it seems everything is pretty well supported (except for the ATI graphics card, whose proprietary drivers are very complex in setup on linux compared to Nvidia). I'll use the opensource driver in linux but I'll keep Windows around only for games.
* Games. A lot of them. However I'm not getting a gaming notebook since that is not the primary use. The d610 fulfills my business needs and also has just an adequate graphics card (ATIx300); although I wish they would offer an Nvidia option too.

Good luck on your purchase!

 

First time poster at Notebook Review.
Let me first say this: I am a true blue Apple user (been to 4 MacWorlds, getting scared) who needed a PC that had many of the same qualities you seek.

And the D610 was it!

--My Little Story--

Have you ever met a die hard Mac fan? Well, let me say they are extremely demanding. As a business pro, I must have access to Windows XP Pro to run many applications. I looked hard at a PC laptop that could serve my criteria: Fairly light, XP Pro Pre-Installed, Excellent Wi-Fi, Good Battery Life, but yet still a Performer...and I found a good solution with the D610.

I initially planed on getting an IBM T42 Notebook, but after I consolidated all the extra options I wanted, I saw the price tag. GOD! And this from an Apple user who has a new 1.67 G4 PowerBook 15"... I am not usually scared off by price. So off I went to look at additional laptops.

Dell really was the only option for me that gave me what I wanted.
Centrino 1.86, 512MB RAM, 64mb X300 Radeon, SXGA Screen (1400 x 1050), 80GB 5400 Hard Drive, Built In WiFi, DVDRW, and the Pencil pointer is a good plus. And all this around $1700.00.

So far this notebook has performed perfectly, and Dell support has been incredible. When my D610 arrived it had a small cluster of about 5 dead pixels. Oh no. I called Dell and the next day I had a tech at my work place replacing the screen. Get this, he did not even check the screen, just took a customer's word. WOW WOW WOW.

Now I feel a little dirty. My poor PowerBook is getting ignored. As an arrogant Apple user, I never understood how Dell led the market for PCs. Ok ok, I get it now.

Tire of my story?
GET THE D610...

--
The AZKid

 

Hey, if a longtime Mac user says it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. Hopefully I will be able to get one at the end of april (saving up $$$ just for that reason). And I hope I find some Latitude/Small business coupons at that time; these days the only coupons around are the inspiron/dell home coupons...

Thanks for your input and help everyone!

 

Nice to hear that! I am still waiting [ ]... Dell shipped it last tuesday, but I wont get it until next wednesday. I will let you know about it. I hope I wont get any problems with dead pixels oder the headphone jack.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by freeradical22: Have you ordered your laptop with the modem? Is the SXGA+ resolution ending up with smaller fonts on the 14.1' screen (as compared to XGA)?<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

Sorry, I did not see you asking this question. I have the SXGA screen and it does result in smaller fonts. However, not terribly small. There are several options available to increase the font size; however I suggest doing this with just text options, rather than increasing the dpi.

Why??
In order to have graphics displayed properly you will have to use the 96 dpi resolution. Dell shipped my notebook with 120 something resolution selected. I sat there for about 30 minutes wondering why everything but the graphics looked good. Ahhh....yes, put the notebook display back in 96dpi.

I suggest making sure that you will be able to handle such a tight resolution. The notebook can go to 1024 x 768, but it just doesn't look crisp. For me, and my young eyes, the smaller fonts are tolerable, and all the extra display room on my screen is wonderful.

--
The AZKid

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Wolfgang

 

I finally received my D610. But I have got some problems with it. The first is the well known problem with the headphone jack, the sound is terrible when there is no sound from movies or music running. I have 200$ sennheisers, so they are not the problem. I dont hear it when watching a movie. The second problem i have is my ram, one of the bars is not working as it should, i have only 504 mb ram. I called DELL and they told me they will replace it. But they havent found a solution for the sound problem.
Now I dont know what to do, I am not sure if i should keep it. I mean after the replacement of the ram or the whole notebook, the sound problem will still be there. I know that I dont really need the headphone jack and the internal speakers work very well, as the rest of the notebook. Please help me, I mean I worked hard for this notebook and now I feel a little desperate.
Thank you
wolfgang

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2268

hey wolfgang, check out this recent review of the d610. it talks in depth about the audio problem, and it appears that although dell has not been able to fix the problem, there are ways around it, such as a usb adapter... i hate the fact that an adapter is needed.

otherwise, that sux about the ram, but are the only problems the audio and the ram? those are actually relatively minor, as it seems like dell will fix the ram problem... the audio problem blows though. anywho, how else do you like the laptop? my d610 should be arriving today, so i'll give some input once i've spent some time on it.

thanks!

 

The ram problem is gone, my fault. I just called Dell and they told me they will check out if they can fix the problem with the headphone jack. If not, I will send it back. Hard decision, but I dont feel good if the computer cant do the thing I bought it for.

The fan is always running but it is still very silent.
There is a background noise when using a mouse for example, but you only hear it when you concentrate on it.
Beside these two things the notebook seems very good. Nice screen, very good keyboard and touchpad + pointing stick. Solid build qualitiy and nice look. Evererything else seems to be fine.

But as I being a perferctionist, will send it back if they cant fix it. Thats my decision.

 

The reviewer at http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2268
mentions that the fan never stops running and usb devices (eg a mouse?) make background noise. Is this the experience of others? (in comparison, apple laptops are almost all of the time utterly silent).

 

hey wolfgang... the sound problem is a legitimate complaint, and i too experience with my d610. i'm really hoping that dell can resolve this, as it seems to be such a basic problem! so far, i love the rest of the laptop, but that's only after one nite.... i'll report back after more use.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Wolfgang

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Takashi