Latitude D630 vs D830

I'm finally replacing my Inspiron 6000 since I am just fed up with it. Last night the hard drive died (managed to get a replacement on craigslist for cheap), and the casing and touchpad are slowly falling apart.

My two choices are the D630 and the D830. I'm going Latitude because I need something studier, as I take my laptop to and from class, work, and on trips. I've been carrying around a 15.4" laptop for 2 1/2 years now, so the size/weight doesn't bother me. I have never really worked with a 14.1", so I have no idea the major difference.

One thing that annoyed me, Dell doesn't offer Home Basic/Premium for the D630, so I had to go with Ultimate (as I want some of those features). I also looked at the Vostro series, but for about $100 more I can get a 3 year warranty with the Latitude, vs a 1 year with the Vostro. If you like the Vostro over the Latitude, let me know why. I may consider it just to do 2 year and accidental damage for it, as I wasn't going to add that to the Latitude.

I'm curious if there really is a huge difference I'll notice with the screen resolution: 1440x900 vs 1680x1050. I've always used the 1680x1050 on my laptop now, so decreasing in size would give me a smaller screen (they only offer XGA+ for 14.1").

I do play games on my laptop, a lot of Sims 2 to kill the time at work, and Half-Life 2, CS:S, etc. I don't know if the size difference will affect this.

So if you have an opinion on this, let me know. I hate deciding, and have been putting it off for a long time now. After last nights disaster, I need a new laptop on order by the end of the week. I can't take this machine anymore.

 

Of course you will notice a difference in the pixels and desktop. Going downward on that is always diffiult. That said 1440 x 900 is nothing to sneeze at.

Personally through I would always gow itht he smaller and ligther unit. 15.4 is way past reasonable size for portablitly IMO. I dont even like to go over 3.5 lbs, to be honest.

 

well....i am using the d630 and it is really gud....i dunno what a new one feels like because i bought a broken one from ebay for $50 and changed the screen and motherboard....and since then it has been running flawlessly....
i ve never seen the d830....but from upgradibility point of view d630 is great, upgraded from a t7300 to a x9000....
battery life is gud and so is the screen....
very sturdy and heavy....but the integrated graphics are useless....since u play games go for the one with discrete grafix....that ll be the one for u....

 

I plan to get the 128MB graphic card, they are offering Nvidia right now. I have the X300 ATI card in my currently laptop. I was hoping Dell would be back with ATI by now, but since they aren't, I'm going to have to make due to Nvidia.

The size and weight doesn't bother me. My Inspiron goes everywhere with me and has never phased me. I just worry that going smaller is going to bug me.

 

The lattitude D830 is a business machine with a port on the bottom which allows it to be docked into a optional docking station, unlike the inspiron the latitude is built a little bit more better, the case work certainly doesn't feel so flimsy and the catch is all metal. To work on the machine is quite easy to strip apart without breaking the clips. The strip which conceals the keyboard screws is the only bit you need to be care full about as that can break easily if forced. the latitude has a lower spec than the inspiron as the latitude needs to be a 'highly available' being business orientated it needs proven hardware which is mature, hence you will find that the latitude does not always sport the latest processors and it also contains legacy hardware such as parallel and serial ports. it needs to be said that any laptop which is treated with some due care and consideration is going to break, a truely portable machine to me is a machine such as the fully ruggerised panasonic toughbook but i have seen a few of these back from the field busted

anyway i hope this will help

 

Thanks for your input. I looked into the Toughbook, too pricey for me right now. I was going for a Latitude since they seem to hold up a lot better than the Inspiron. My Inspiron has fallen apart over 2 1/2 years now - the touchpad is peeling and sometimes stops working, the casing looks like a war went on, the hinges suck, and as of yesterday my hard drive failed (512 days on).

I'll hear negatives as well if someone wants to throw them in. I've considered other machines, except I like to be able to spec out what I want. I'm staying away from the extended battery as it sticks out, so other than that I wasn't sure what else is bad about it.

Thanks!

 

You can get Vista Basic if you configure the base model. Vista Business is an option too.

The Lenovo Thinkpad T61p and the HP Compaq 8510p/8510w are similar business notebooks with more powerful graphics cards, if that interests you.

 

I stay clear of HP due to the amount of issues I've seen with them.

I'm interested in Ultimate (or Home Premium) as I'll use those features the most. I've got my own copy of Business, just never installed it on anything.

As for Lenovo, I might look into that some. When I originally considered one I found tons of crap reviews. The off center screen wigs me out though. I'm a nit picky thing..

 

I have a D630 with 1440*900 panel and I'm really happy with it.
However, if you're used to working on a 1680*1050 I believe you will be disappointed as you won't be able to show as much information on a 1440*900 screen.
Furthermore, as size and weight are not an issue for you, I would go for the D830 if I were you. This gives you the option for a more powerful graphics card (NVS 140M) than the one on the D630 (NVS 135M) and the possibility to keep the same screen resolution.

If you don't always use the DVD player/burner, do get an airbay filler, it's great value (a few dollars) to lighten the laptop!

??? You put a X9000 processor in your D630??? You must be frying your laps all day long!
Can you give more information? (why? how? warranty? performance? heat level?)

 

It's a tough decision, I keep going back and forth between the two. I use my drive all the time, so that isn't an issue.

I hate making these kinds of decisions, and I don't know anywhere that actually sells Latitude's to go play with them to decide what I like better.