My D430 review and thoughts [pics]

Ordered 8/2/07 recieved 8/27/07

Specs:
Latitude D430, Intel Core2 DuoU7600, 1.20GHz ULV, 533Mhz, 2ML2 Cache
12.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCDfor Latitude D430
2GB DDR2, SDRAM, 2 Dimms (1GB Integrated) Latitude D430
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Latitude D420
80GB Hard Drive 8MM, 4200RPM for Latitude D420
Windows XP Professional, SP2 with media, for Latitude English, Factory Installed
Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) mini Card Latitude, Factory Install
9-Cell/68 WHr Primary Battery for Dell Latitude D420

Cost: $1149

My thoughts:
I bought this as a strictly mobile coding machine for my college campus and I must say I am more than happy with the purchase. So this review is coming from a coders perspective. I didn't want this for media viewing,

Keyboard:
Great coding keyboard. Smooth and responsive with zero flex. I had no problems coding on this.

Battery:
I got the 9 cell so I could have ridiculous battery life, and I really do. I often push around 6-8 hours on the machine without needing a recharge. I don't even carry a charger with me in my pack and I can code anywhere on the fly whether it be in class, in the cafeteria, in the library...

One reason I bought the 9 cell and this small laptop is so that I could code anywhere with huge flexibility -- I hate staying in one spot for too long.

The battery also acts as a great addition for the wrists to rest on, very natural.

Drives:
Obviously 4200 rpm isn't very fast, but I generally just use this for writing the code (for big compilations I upload my works to a repository and execute them on a normal machine). I do a lot of web applications so this is perfect for my needs.

This has no internal CDROM but it doesn't matter. I get all my code from the web and upload back to the web... all the applications I run are open source thus downloadable, and I have usb thumb drives. I love the slim factor since it is missing a drive.

Heat:
of course the small factor outputs a lot of head, but I dont notice it. My laptop is usually on a table and not on my lap.

Trackpoint/Mousepad:
They are both pretty good. However I use an external Logitech VX Mouse so I don't really use these two features.

Build:
Sturdily built. I've put serious pressure on various parts of the screen and got no distortion. It is definitley more than capable of suffering in my backpack.

Pros:
+huge battery life
+great screen
+no internal cdrom
+great keyboard
+so damn light!

Cons:
-whine from the core2 duo chipset


Final thoughts:
LIGHT AND LONG LIFE! YES! I'd buy another in a second if I needed it, and would recommend it to friends. This is an excellent machine for portable writing of any sort, whether it be papers or codes. Probably wouldn't use it for heavy multimedia/gaming use though.

 

How did you get it for such a good price???

 

Does the palm rest feels warm after a while?

 

a. i got the discount through my university
b. nope the palmrests don't feel warm at all.

update:
im actually considering returning my unit due to this whining noise.

 

It may be settings or it may be hardware, but definitely bring it up with Dell as to what it could be. My wife's D610 recently got swapped out for a D430 with the exact same specs as yours (except she has the 6-cell battery) and I worked on it all weekend to configure the machine. No whine on AC or battery.

I agree with your review. It's a stunning machine for it's size, and functioning without spyware/virus programs, you wouldn't even guess that it ran a 4,200rpm drive and 1.2GHz ULV processor.

Regards,
Paolo

 

Whining noise from what you think?