I want a 14-inch Dell: Latitude D630, Inspiron 1420, or Vostro 1400?

I've been poring over the spec sheets for a couple days now, and I've got a large chunk of what I want inside my next laptop nailed down. No matter what, I'm going to get a 14" laptop at 1440x900, 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, 9-cell battery, Wireless-N, Bluetooth, and 4GB of RAM (get lowest possible from Dell, purchase 2x2GB kit from Newegg).

The problem I'm running into here is that there's an Inspiron, a Latitude, and a Vostro contender all available with this configuration.

Initially, I was drawn to the D630; CNET was jerking off about how great the battery life is, and everything else I've read leads me to believe that a 9-cell D630 is one of the longest-lasting laptops on the market. On top of that, I find the prospect of owning a Latitude while most folks I know own Inspirons to be inexplicably compelling.

From what I'm reading, I get the impression that the D630's screen (although matte, which I do slightly prefer) is the worst of the bunch, which could be a real dealbreaker. Enter the Inspiron and Vostro offerings. The 1420 has some nice bonuses (two headphone jacks, media keys, card reader), but I find its form factor marginally less attractive than the D630's. I don't know anything about the Vostro, other than "people seem to dig it!"

The questions that will shape my decision are:

(1) How much worse are the 1420's and 1400's battery lives when fitted with a 9-cell battery than the D630?

(2) How superior to the D630's screen are the screens of the 1420 and the 1400? Given the choice of any of the three screens, which would you pick?

(3) Which system's speakers have the best-quality sound? I use headphones the majority of the time, but I like to leave Pandora playing quietly or show off YouTube videos from time to time. Is the D630 the loser here?

(4) What's the major appeal of the Vostro line? Are they just Latitudes with nicer screens and media card readers but sans fingerprint readers?

(5) Regardless of which system I go with, is there any reason to upgrade the video card past the base option? I don't play any games on my laptop and I never plan to, but I want Vista's flashy effects and HD movies to look as good as they possibly can. Will I screw myself by skimping on the video? If yes, how much of a battery hit am I looking at by adding a good video card?

(6) Finally, which of these three would you go with, and why?

I'd like to get some discussion going on the issue, because it's driving me crazy and clearly the only medicine is to overanalyze the hell out of it. Thanks so much, you guys are the best!

 

Imho the build quality of the new inspirons aren't that good, and the glossy screens are bad for use at uni because they simply reflect too much, not to talk about the noise problems they seem to be having. And as to the graphics I find the Nvidia quadro NVS 135 to be good enough to play some games once in a while. So in short, im going with the D630.

 

No one on the forum has recived their Vostros so many of these questions are hard to answer at this time. The Vostro line was announced this month so their pretty new.

But by reading around on the forum and asking Dell, people have concluded that the Vistro is pretty much an all black version of the new Inspirons with a better build.

I would guess the battery life on the Vistro is about the same as the Inspiron so I encourage you to read some of the reviews of the inspiron while we all are waiting for the Vostro reviews.

And finally to answer your 2 last questions: Figuring it was about the same as the Inspiron and it really had a mean look with the black finish, I went for the Vostro. And got it alittle cheaper than the Insprion.

Regarding the video card, I am not reallt a gamer myself but i figured it was worth the extra money so the video card lasts a little longer and that I get the full Vista effect.

 

I'd go with the 1400. Its more visually appealing to me than the other 2.

I honestly don't think there is a difference between the 1420 and 1400 screens.

Wish i could help with some of your other questions but i really don't know much about the D630.

 

630... the only advantage the 1400/1420's had was the screen but based on complaints on this side, that advantage is obviously gone..

 

Thanks for the replies so far, guys. I've got an itchy trigger finger and I really want to buy now, but I'd be curious to see some of the reviews regarding the Vostro 1400 before ordering. I'd hate to find out it has dogcrap battery life or something else awry after already having dropped cash.

Does the Vostro case close cliplessly like the 1420? Clipless is hot.

How is the advantage "obviously gone"?

 

I don't actually know how the case is closed. It lookes like the 1400 is the only one in the Vostro line that close cliplessly, judging from the picture on the dell website: Dell Vostro 1400

Regarding the screen, the advantage is gone because peolpe are experiencing problems with garyiness on their glossy Insprion screens. We'll just have to wait and see how they turn out on the Vostro.

 

I have a d630and an Inspiron 9400-1705. The Latitude's screen (WSXGA) is nice, but just has a few issues with very fine degrees of color contrast because it is a MATTE screen. The colors are GENERALLY much more saturated and life-like on the D630 screen though, as I find the color on the Inspiron screen to be somewhat washed out.

The D630 is far sturdier than any Inspiron, and has much better battery life (over 4 hours with heavy use on a SIX CELL for me). The advantage for your purposes I see with the Vostro 1400 is that both battery bays are located on the underside of the chassis, making a 4gb upgrade very easy. The integrated graphics on my Santa Rosa D630 give me a Windows 3-D score of 3.5-3.7, which indicates far more power than needed for aero and movies. This card can even do medium intensity gaming without any hitches. I think you'd be disappointed with your choice if you bought an Inspiron and later fiddled a little with someone's D630.

 

How are the noise levels on the D630?. Can you hear the fan when your working?

 

Get the Lenovo Thinkpad T61 is a little more expensive but reliable and well-built

 

Regarding my comment on "obviously gone" ... there just seem to be a lot of 1420 owners (should be identical to the Vostro) that are really unhappy about their fuzzy screens... that's what I was getting at. On top of that their's other quality issues in Dell's consumer line,.. the headphone problems, the whine, etc..

 

I actually coinsidered the T61, but the fact that they are equipped with a plastic casing on the screen (i know they have a magnesium rollcage, but still) and that the screen isn't centered (WTF!) and the fact that the fans seem to be running all the time kinda made me choose the D630.

 

I thought about the Latitude D630 and Vostro 1400 long and hard. In the end, I couldn't resist the very tempting price of the Vostro. For $650 (before tax) I got a Santa Rosa laptop, 1400x900 screen, 120GB, DVDRW, Geforce 8400GS, Bluetooth, and 9 cell battery. How can you beat that??!! I might be the oddball here, but I actually prefer the shiny screens now. I used to prefer the matte screens, but now I like the extra pop a shiny screen offers.

Now, if you're NOT going to stick with the base processor these respective models offer, the pricing gap will close QUICKLY! The D630 comes as base the 1.8Ghz CPU. Going to the 2.0Ghz with 4MB cache ONLY cost another $50; on the Vostro 1400, the T7300 CPU is a $200 option Factor in the standard 3 year warranty on the Latitude line, and I think going with the Latitude is a no brainer.

I LOVE the Latitude D6x0 design. Having owned many Latitudes D series (*3* D620s, 2 D820s, a D410, and my current D420), its lovely magnesium shell got me spoiled. You're going to love the 9cell + 6cell Mediabay battery option with the D630. I got ~7 hours of light use with the last D620 I had, and that was with the Nvidia Quadro card. If I don't love the Vostro 1400, I have 30 days to return it and get the Latitude D630 I don't even know if the Vostro 1400 is plastic of magnesium. Reviews of the Inspiron 1420 indicate Dell is using magnesium now even on the Inspiron line. If the Vostro 1400 turns out to be plastic, there's a good chance it's going back.

I'll report back here when/if I get my Vostro.

BTW, the Inspiron 1420 wasn't even on my list, once I saw the pricing and the all black design of the Vostro. That same config on the I1420 will probably be over $1000, and that's with the neutered 667 FSB CPU, instead of the Vostro's T5470 1.6Ghz with 800 FSB.

 

Nope, nary a peep.