Question about D430

Anyone here has the Latitude D430?

Does the palm rest get warm?

Is the screen bright and clear?

Does the 6 cell stick out? How much more heavy than a 4 cell?

Still waiting for a review on this laptop.

Thanks!

 

Just received a D430 with 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo 64, 2GB, 32GB SSD, 802.11 agn, bluetooth, and verizon EVDO revA internal card running Vista 32. I chose the 9 cell battery, but have since ordered a 6 cell because the 9 sticks out in the front. I was told both the 6 cell and 3 cell fit without sticking out. While the 9 cell makes a good wrist rest, I am looking for the smaller footprint to carry. I bought this one mostly for the SSD and wanted a model with DVD in the dock as I rarely use the DVD. I would recommend purchasing one.

Here are some pics...

 

I cannot speak for the D430, but I have the D420 and I'll share what I know about that one. It is a wonderful machine, very light, and runs very well (stable). It does experience some heating-up issues occasionally and I can't really tell you what the cause is, because it does not seem to be related to heavy-processing periods as one might expect.

That said, it is never uncomfortable to type on (palmrests get warm-ish but not hot). Occasionally the fan will kick in and it will be somewhat loud, but that is very rare.

If you search around the Dell forums, you will find quite a few articles dedicated to the heat issues with the machine.

I understand there are very few differences between the current D430 and the D420. Hopefully better heat dissipation will be one of them. That said, in no way, shape, or form do I regret my decision to get the D420. Awesome machine.

Oh, and the 6-cell does not stick out (it is completely flush) and gives plenty of power. I had to run fracturing design programs on it non-stop in a 3-hour lecture a few weekends ago with no power outlets available. I turned off WiFi and kicked the screen brightness down considerably... finished the lecture with about 60 minutes power remaining.

 

@vetnam
you can put to batteries in that thing? where does the 3cell go?

 

No, you can't. You can either use the 3-cell (actually it's a 4-cell) or the 6-cell, and none of them will poke out. Only difference between the both of them is weight and how long it'll last.