Processor battle: 10 high-end notebooks tested

Dell Latitude D505 (Intel)

Dell Latitude D505The Dell D505 has a 15in screen of good quality, and the keyboard has a very nice feedback. The pointing device is a trackpad.

The CPU is an Intel Pentium M running at 1400MHz with 512MB RAM and a 30GB HDD. The video is supplied by an Intel 852/855 graphics chipset. There is also integrated Bluetooth and wireless LAN.

Overall this is a very nice, well featured notebook in a relatively small package -- particularly given the features which have been packed into it. It's ery good to have a serial port, however it's a pity there are only two USB ports. Infrared, wired LAN, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, Firewire, and a modem certainly covers all the communications bases.

 High-end notebooks

 Notebook reviews:
 Acer Travelmate 800
 Acer Ferrari 3000LMi
 AOpen B165
 Dell Latitude D505
 IBM ThinkPad G40
 Pioneer Powerbook AMD 8355
 QDI Alacritas 520-K8
 Sony Vaio PCG-GRT40
 Toshiba Tecra M2
 TPG Widescreen Notebook

 Specifications
 How we tested
 Look out for...
 Sample scenarios
 Editor's choice
 Final words
 About RMIT
Product Dell Latitude D505
Price AU$2655
Vendor Dell
Phone 1300 303 263
Web www.dell.com.au
 
Interoperability
Similar features to the Acer Travelmate, also has a serial port.
Futureproofing ½
Better than average expansion capabilities with its optional docking station.
ROI ½
Very well priced for features. Underperforms slightly in some areas.
Service ½
Three-year warranty is above average.
Rating

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Talkback 3 comments

    I'm surprised that in a 'high- ...Anonymous -- 30/04/04

    I'm surprised that in a 'high-end desktop replacement notebook' category Dell didn't think to submit their new Inspiron 9100.

    To quote from Reuben Lee, ZDNet, 04 March 2004

    'The Inspiron 9100 is probably one of the best notebooks around that can truly replace the desktop PC, offering speed and excellent 3D graphics performance.'

    Having just purchased one I would have to agree.

    I would have truly liked to have seen this cat set amongst these pigeons.

    What was Dell thinking?

    Hi... great review... althoug ...Anonymous -- 24/05/04

    Hi... great review... although a little thin on specific details. I'm just wondering if it is really fair to strip any additional memory if (for the indicated price) that is what is included in the package. In the end, are we not buying the laptop for the package and performance as the manufacturers provide and intend to?

    Also, I'm very interested in the new LG/IBM Xnote series laptops. Are there any specific reasons as to why LG didn't provide you with their latest laptop? Could it be due to the lack of supply (as I have learnt that they have all but been sold out)? Could you please do a review on the LG laptop, separately, and verify their claim of having 10 hours of battery life?

    Thank you!

    I've just bought the A-open B1 ...Anonymous -- 06/07/04

    I've just bought the A-open B165 and am very happy with it. This system can be bought without an operating system, with any size 3.5" hard disk (E-IDE or SATA), any Pentium IV Celeron or Northwood processor and any combination of RAM modules. The Optical drive is removable and can be replaced with a DVD-writer, and the monitor can be removed (for those who just want to carry their work system off-base every night and take it home to plug into an external CRT/LCD). All up, it's an extremely flexible platform and suits my needs very well. As for the lack of Infra-Red, Bluetooth, PCMCIA and Compact Flash: why be paying for these 'feautures' if you're not going to use them? It does have a parallel printer port, Firewire and 5 USB 2.0 ports and that suits me just fine.

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