Another Laptop Arrives...

New Dell Latitude E6500 15.4" Demo Laptop

First thing I did was wipe XP off it and install Win 7. Now yet again I am struggling with drivers as well as the initial setup. One would think I would learn after awhile...

This machine scores a 4.0 on the Experience Index, lowest performance is the Aero Graphics. Everything else is a 5 or above. I think it is usable. It only has 4G RAM and a 160Gb HD, but so far the laptop isn't too bad. It is heavy though, and size has its advantages as well as disadvantages. There is plenty of audio (more about full-duplex later) and I kinda like the keyboard. There is a really slim power adapter, whose led power-on indicator is a blue led ring around the power plug where it connects to the laptop. Cool, but more glitz I can live without. Probably necessary for those idiots who cannot tell if there is power coming outta their adapter...

The WI-FI adapter is an Intel 5100 AGN, and I am not impressed with its performance. Seems it only connects at 52 mps, where an Intel 4965 will connect from this same spot at 130 mps. I will look into that. It has the obligatory fingerprint swipe device, which I chose not to install drivers for. Biometrics is nice, but I have yet to find a device that doesn't act like a TSR and leak memory like a sieve. Oh well.

Bigger is generally better, but in this case I think it may be a big drawback. If you are looking for a desktop replacement, then sure, this is your baby. If it won't leave your desk (or kitchen table) except for Sunday dinner, then you won't mind how heavy it is. But if you have to carry this to meetings, and then home each day, I think the size and weight is a showstopper. Sure a 15.4" widescreen laptop is nice when you play a movie, or edit a photo, the resolution (1920X1200 WUXGA) makes it shine. But walk a hallway every day with this beast, and I can guarantee you will prefer to take notes with a pencil and paper rather than drag this monster to another meeting.

If I had to buy one for my own use, I would equip it with 8G RAM (doesn't support 16G), the WUXGA display, 500Gb 7200RPM drive and the nVidia NVS graphics adapter. Maybe then I could eek out a 5.0 on the EI, as long as I had the T9800 Core2 Duo. Even better yet, configure an E6400 like that and shed a pound or two minimum. 9-cell batteries, even LI-ION add quite a bit of weight. The E6500 STARTS at 5.17 lbs, with the 4-cell battery and no optical drive. Load it up and it makes a great door stop...

The wireless works better now, I adjusted the 802.11n settings and I consistently get 120-135 mps connect speeds now. All I need to do is test the thruput. That, and test the audio. I will need to get full-duplex working in some sort of fashion in order to use it with the ham radio equipment. I will TRY the default 'listen' control before I start hacking the registry. I promise. All I need to do is find the time...