The 8600 is Dell's flagship desktop replacment system, and it comes packed with plenty of tempting features. Read our First Take.Dell's new Inspiron 8600 does more than just update the Inspiron 8500, the company's flagship consumer notebook. It also introduces a potent new feature: Nvidia's GeForce FX Go5650 graphics card with 128MB of memory. Most consumer notebooks top out at 64MB of video memory.
Upside: The Inspiron 8600 has a spec sheet that reads like a Who's Who list: either a 1.5 or 1.6GHz Pentium M processor, a 15.4-inch wide-aspect display, up to 2GB of DDR RAM, hard drives up to 80GB, optical drive choices that include a DVD+R/RW drive, and integrated 802.11b (Wi-Fi) wireless networking. That's a strong lineup, particularly if you use your notebook to watch DVD movies, play games or music, or edit video.
Downside: At 3.27kg, the Inspiron 8600 is a big and heavy desktop replacement. That's fine if you leave it on your desk, but thin-and-light or ultraportable notebooks are a better bet for frequent travellers. The notebook is backed by a standard warranty that lasts only a year, although you can pay for longer coverage.
Outlook: The Inspiron 8600 is at the vanguard of a new breed of wide-screen, souped-up multimedia notebooks. We're eager to see how it will handle our Labs' benchmarks. Check back soon for the full review.
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