Dell Latitude D620 Review (pics, specs) Discussion

Does the D620 come with an integrated microphone?

 

I wonder how this one will perform with the Nvidia 110m; especially Aeroglass (not that I will be the first to get the Windows Vista when it comes out). What type of software should I run to determine what this card can and cannot do?

I am going to check what games can be played on the Windows Game Advisor website.

 

Yes It does.

 

I am seriously considering getting a fairly well speced D620. One of the things putting me off at the moment is the only video option available is the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 (Up to 224MB shared).

I understand at one time there was an option to select a 256 MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 110M with TurboCache but this has been removed (for the moment).

Does anyone know why it was removed? The other question I have is it worth waiting until the video card option is reinstated?

Cheers
Steve

 

Where are you located? Dell US and Dell Canada both have the options to upgrade to the Nvidia NVS 110m. Dell UK doesn't have the option though, and it doesn't look like they will be offering it at all.

Ahh, OZ = Australia right? If Dell Australia ain't offering it, your only option might be to get a friend or service to ship a D620 with dedicated graphics from another country. Which, from what I hear about customs and taxes, won't be worth it.

 

Yes your right I am in Australia. And you are correctthat Dell does not offer the dedicated video card to us as an option.

I think I might think about it a bit longer and perhaps consider other options.

Cheers

 

hi, i've just ordered a dell d620 with a quadro nvs 110m and 2gb of 667mhz ddr2 ram. The local dell site of my country (italy) has not the discrete card option yet, i've found it only by phone.
So you can try to phone your local dell business support for informations... bye.

please, do you know if the note's touchpad has the scroll mode? thanks.

 

I just got off the phone to Dell (Australia) though was probably in India nad asked them to clarify whether they offer a dedicated graphics card - the answer is no - there is not a lot of demand for the seperate card.

So I rang off.

I'll just have to keep looking for other notebook options.

Cheers

 

Does the Dell D620 have an integrated microphone?

Actually, I thought the D620 had an integrated microphone too, but it appears that it doesn't. I was very disappointed as this was a key feature for me. The web-site states that this machine does have an integrated microphone, and there is even a hole in the bezel where you might expect it, but I can't get it to work and all the tech support people I've talked to say that Dell no longer makes a laptop with this feature. Anyway, I would love someone to prove me wrong, but so far no luck.

On another point, I am extremely disappointed with the display. I ordered the WXGA display (lower resolution option) and have found the vertical viewing angle to be atrocious. You have to have your head in just the right position in order to see the screen clearly. Tech support gave me these specs for viewing angles:

WXGA
Horizontal 40/40°
Vertical 10/30°

WXGA+
Horizontal 65/65°
Vertical 50/50°

I am considering sending mine back and getting the WXGA+ for the vastly better vertical viewing angle. I wish I had seen this before purchasing my current machine.

Otherwise, I think this is a good machine for business. Wireless works wonderfully and I like the form factor and quiet fan.

Gene

 

in this pdf of the laptop specs there's an integrated microphone...

http://www.dell.com/downloads/emea/products/Latitude_D620_06-03.pdf


please, anyone who had this machine know if the note's touchpad has the scroll mode? thanks.

 

________________________

Hmm, I would double check regarding the microphone if that is important to you... The ad in the US also touts the integrated microphone and I was told this was a mistake. Is there anyone else with this laptop who could clear this up?

The touchpad does have a scroll mode, if you mean that you can set zones for vertical and horizontal scrolling. Other helpful functions (like navigate back and forward) are also supported.

G.

 

ok.. i've asked to an italian user who has this laptop, definitely there's an integrated omnidirectional microphone.

 

Can anyone else clear this up? I've called Dell three times now and each time they've insisted there is no mic on this laptop... I wonder if the US version is different? Or maybe my mic is just broken!

Gene

 

I just verified that there is definitely a built-in microphone in my D620. Opened up sound recorder and recorded a wav file... This one was baught in the USA by the way...

 

Does anyone know if the 256MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 110M video card adds a DVI port to the D620?

 

No, the D620 doesn't have a built-in DVI port, doesn't matter if the graphics is integrated or dedicated. You need to get the docking station/port replicator if you want DVI output.

 

Thanks for clearing this up! I am really pissed at Dell for wasting so much of my time. I thought they had a reputation for excellent customer service...

Gene

 

Great review. Just received my D620 today and I'm very disappointed with the screen clarity! The screen has a silvery, matte appearance that looks out of focus, even at native resolution (WXGA+ 1440x900). I've been using a D600 for 18 months and it doesn't suffer from the same fuzzy, washed out appearance. I'll be returning the D620 as soon as I can, even if it costs me money!

 

Did you had the NVIDIA quadro option?

 

This D620 has the integrated Base Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator 950,
Integrated Intel 945GM Chipset - For UMA.

This is not a graphics card issue, it's the physical screen construction thats producing the problem here.

Example pictures are available on the DELL Community Forum.

http://forum.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=latit_video&message.id=21953&jump=true#M21953

 

i've received my d620 a week ago... the only bad note is about the poor vertical viewing angle of the screen, there isn't very deep black too. The brightness is ok and the hi-resolution very usable (but i don't need reading glasses). It's very compact and light hi-resistant material built. Very fast and silent! not too hot...
I've tested the microphone...it works nice! The mono speaker isn't bad too. I love this machine.

 

Looked up my System Info on the DELL site using my service tag number, and found:

Parts# Part Description
HC948 LCD,14.1WXGA+,VESA,LPL

( http://support.dell.com/support/top...systems_info/en/details?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs )

Also, downloaded and ran Astra32. It reports:

Monitor Vendor: LG Philips
Monitor Panel: LP154W01 Internal Panel
Manufacture Date: January 2005
Minotor ID: LPL0000
EDID Version: 1.3
Gamma Factor: 3.550

Looks like there's some evidence of this type of problem with WUXGA screens in the Inspiron range.

http://forum.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_video&message.id=127857

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_video&message.id=127970

The bad screens in these threads also happen to be LG Philips screens!

It'd be good to know if other D620's have been supplied with brands other than Philips. If anyone has the DELL part number for a 14.1" WXGA+ Samsung screen that would be useful.

Long thread on the D620 screen problems now at:
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=latit_video&message.id=21944

 

can someone with a d620 with the nvidia gfx and a gig of ram go over to the windows game adviser and see if it will run bf2? I will give you a cookie

 

I have to say that the monitor on this notebook is totally awful!

I just puchased 3 of these D620's with the WXGA 1280x800 panel.

- There is very little power in the monitor, even on highest brightness.
- The screen seems washed out (as the review said, but should have stressed more in my opinion) and this is most appearant on white background, but very dissatisfactory.
- The viewing angles are somewhat bad compared to other newer notebooks.

I have to conclude that my 2 year old Inspiron 8600s panel is much better than this. DELL - RE DO IT!

PS: I talked to a Dell tech today, and he said I was right about the monitors bad quality, but he couldn't classify it as an error, so no refund.

EDIT:
My Astra 32 specs are the same as the guy 2 posts above (with the WXGA+ panel) which seems quite weird to me. How can we the same panel, but run different native resolutions, 1280x800 vs 1440x900?
Astra 32 specs:
Monitor Vendor: LG Phillips
Monitor Model: LP154W01 Internal Panel
Viewable Size: Unknown
Manufacture Date: January 2005
EDID Version: 1.3
Monitor ID: LPL0000
Horizontal Size: Unknown
Vertical Size: Unknown
Gamma Factor: 3.550
Display Type: RGB Color
Input Signal: Digital

 

Sorry to revive an old thread but please give me opinion/s on both of the screens sharpness (D620 vs T43). Thanks

 

My d620 has a screen witht he ID: QDS0047. I believe that's a Quadra(?) screen.

 

So how is your screen looking like? And where and when did you purchase it? I think most of the dell notebook lcd screens are terrible these days. They SUCK. Inspiron e1405 (14" WXGA+ True life) and latitude d620 (14" WXGA+) both of them.

 

How many hours would it take for the 6 and 9 cell battery? If I order the 9cell battery, is it still built inside the laptop or something like with a extended case?

 

My screen I ordered was only a WXGA. I see no real problem with it besides the usual light leakage. Viewing angles are limited, but I'm quite satisfied with it really. In honesty, I wasn't expecting too much from my laptop LCD anyway.

 

I'd say 4 hours on the 6-cell, 6 hours on the 9-cell, with WiFi on and the display at 50%. Of course, battery life may be higher or lower depending on what kind of applications you are running.

 

Same here, but no light leakage on my WXGA panel. Overall, the display is bright enough for business use, and decently sharp. I'm satisfied.

 

Has anyone run the machine through windows game advisor or tried any games which did or did not run smoothly? I'm getting this computer with the 2.16 GHz core duo processor, 2GB ram and the 256 MB nVidia Quatro NVS 110M graphics card, and I'm curious as to which games I can run. I hope someone here is able to help me on this issue, as it seems like a lot of you know what you are talking about.


Andreas

 

I am having this exact problem. It also randomly drops the printer and network, which is super annoying. I ordered two new Dell machines at the same time, on D620 and M90 workstation. It took me two weeks to work out the bugs on the M90. I don't have the patience to go through that with my wife's D620. How is Dell when it comes to returning product?
Thanks!
-Ryan

 

Its two months since I have been using my D620. As stated by the members, this is NOT an entertainment notebook, even if some of the overzealous amongst us (like me!!!!) tend to believe otherwise due to the presence of the nVidia option. The sound and the display quality is not "entertainment class"....

having said this, i love my D620, because it feels so rock solid in hand, stellar performance and highly portable. Meets my demanding needs to run the various servers etc. without cringing... but still I believe I am not able to extract 100% performance. Need advise on two options:

1. Ran the benchmarking test for my 2.0Ghz , dual core, 667Mhz(FSB) notebook. Used the tool Sisoft sandra to get the benchmark results. The result were DISAPPOINTING. Abysmally low compared to other processors of the genre.... I am using the "always on " feature in the power management (so no controlling of CPU by power mgmt speed... rt? )

2. There is an option to set the HDD mode in BIOS: One for performance and one for noise......has anybody tried playing with it

 

I just got a d620 and cannot find any options for the scroll function anywhere for the touchpad. Can anyone shed some light on how to activate scrolling with the touchpad?

 

It's under Gestures in the mouse properties.

 

I just received my new Latitude D620 with 14.1" WXGA+ screen. It's really bad, the resolution is high, yes, but the images are blurry if you try to adjust the screen display settings. I can see from the forum that many people are dissatisfied with these screens. Has anyone gone back from WXGA+ to WXGA and been satisfied?

 

Hi,

Can anyone confirm if your D620's BIOS has the option to disable AHCI or enable Compatibility mode?

I just received a newer D620 that comes with a Core 2 Duo processor and I am having a hard time restoring the Ghost image that I made for the previous D620.

See, the Ghost image itself works fine on both systems. It's just that I am unable to make Ghost 2003 (DOS) recognizes the SATA hard disk. Because of this, I am unable to restore the Ghost image in DOS, either locally or through the LAN, and with all types of parameters. Keep in mind that Ghost had no problems with my previous D620.

The only workaround I have at the moment is to restore the Ghost image in Windows PE but due to security reasons WinPE is not a permitted solution at the place where I work.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

All,

When considering the D620 I was trying to find reviews of how well it supported Vista/Aero Glass.

I'm pleased to announce that after receiving my D620 last week I've been running Aero on it and it's quite quick. There is some noticable delay when doing the 3d flipping but only slightly and it's very useable. Otherwise maxing/minimizing windows is very quick, I have all the bells and whistles enabled (transparecy/shadows etc)

When running the Windows Performance Analysis it received a base score of 3.0 with the following breakdown:

Processor: 5.1
Memory: 4.7
Graphics: 3.6
Gaming Graphics: 3.0
Hard Disk 5.0

Note on first installation Graphics was 2.0, upon downloading the latest driver from Dell this went up to 3.0

The specs of the system I ordered are as follows:
Dell Latitude D620
Core 2 Duo 2.16Ghz
2GB RAM 667Mhz
Nvida NVS110
100 GB 7200RPM Hard Drive

All in all I am very satisfied with it so far. It's a little bigger then I was expecting but still pretty sleek (I had a Latitude C400 before which was really small and light)

One annoying feature I found is that the front edge (where your wrist rests) is very sharp, the old C400 and D410 were nice and round. This feels akward and Dell could have rounded it out a bit. When using the 9-cell battery it's a non issue but I prefer the size/weight with the 6-cell in it.

Hope this helps others make an informed decision.

 

The Dell D620 does have an internal and external microphone. One can use a head set or just simply speak. The microphone is located near the top right corner of the system.
We have been having problems with ours and the issue has not been completely resolved. If interested I can keep those who are informed of our progress at isolating the issues, what the issues are and the hacks, tweaks or fixes.
Thanks -smf

 

I have D620. It HAS a mic built in IN ADDITION to the mic port. IT IS IN THE UPPER RIGHT NEAR THE HIGE. If is crappy, but it works for VOIP (skype).

 

Hi, yesterday I bought a D620, after doing some research and trusting on what the salesman told me. The thing is that I need this notebook for work (word processing and internet) and especially (above all), for music creation, with midi controllers and programs. I know the D620 is intended for business and not for entertainment, but i only need a powerful and fast machine to create music (not to hear it, becasue i have studio speakers, nor to watch movies or anything) The thing is that i need to connect an external sound card via Firewire and I don't know it it has (Inspirons have, so i supposed this one would too) I e-mailed the salesman but no response so far, and, on the other hand, i'm VERY worried about the screen quality. I ordered the standard screen (WXGA). Should I cancel this bought and order another one?? please help me asap with this, thanks in advance.

 

hi, nevermind.. i already cancelled the order because it doesen't have firewire and also becasue i read lots and lots of comments about its bad quality screen. Now I'm searching for a notebook all over again...

 

Heya, does anyone know how well the Latitude D620 works with gaming?
(with the nvidia graphics card)

 

can anyone tell me if the d620 works with the PR01X Port replicator?. I currently have one of these running with my D610 (business use) and it is a consideration that i would buy a D620 for private use if i can use the same replicator as i have a monitor , printer , keyboard blah blah but do not want to have to muck around with disconnecting cables everytime i wanted to use another laptop. I have looked around and it is fairly confusing. Dell suggest it is compatible with all D-series laptops but do not specifically list the D620 ?!

Any help or experience apprecaited