Looking to get a refurb Dell - D420 or D430?

I am looking to replace my aging 700m with either a Dell D420 or D430. The laptop is 90% for travel so I am mostly concerned about battery life. I'd like to make it cross country on one charge if possible. I usually load up a bunch of DivX movies/TV shows on the drive and entertain myself on flights, etc. I do use it a bit for work on the road, but I'm not doing anything crazy so processing power is not much of a concern. Email, remote desktop, etc.

From those with either a D420 or D430, what kind of battery life can I expect from a 6 or 9 cell battery? I would prefer the 6 cell since it does not stick out, but 9 cell is ok since the machine is so small. I'm not opposed to taking a second battery as that is what I do with my 700m right now.

Which OS is going to yield more battery life? XP, Vista or 7?

Are there any major advantages on one to another. I have seen a few reviews out there where the D420 gets 7+ hours and the D430 gets 3. I would rather hear it from real users....so any input is most appreciated!

 

I have a D420 running XP, and I don't get anywhere near 7+ hours. On my six-cell battery, get in the neighborhood of 1.5-2 hours; with the 9-cell battery, I get about 4-4.5 hours.

 

It is very unrealistic to expect 6-8 hours from the D4x0. The two models are the exact same computer, except the D430 carries 1GB of embedded RAM as opposed to the D420's 512MB of onboard RAM.

If you take a good look at my two D430 reviews (1, 2) you will notice that the dual core version does enjoy a better battery life but runs hotter. I was never able to top 4:30 in battery life with either model.

If you are dying to get this specific notebook, I would encourage you to stock up on one or two spare batteries to achieve the battery life you want. Otherwise, I'd look at the newer Latitude E notebooks on Dell's Outlet site and consider the slightly heavier 13.3"-14" machines. The 14" E6400 (my current notebook) is able to achieve 8+ hours without a problem. The E4300 (13.3) might hit a similar battery life, I'm not sure.

 

How about a refurb E4200 for under $600

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4647539&postcount=392

My E4200 lasts about 5 hours with a six cell battery and moderate power usage.

 

Now I just need to wait for a coupon! I'll probably bite when there is a coupon. Might as well go with the E4200 then....there are a ton in the outlet.

 

Check eBay as they usually have good coupons for the Outlet. Saved around 10-15% when I got my D430 if I remember correctly.

HOWEVER, if you see a good deal at the Outlet just get it and don't worry about the coupon. Sometimes you'll get really lucky searching, and you'd lose out by waiting for a coupon. Identify what you want in the laptop and what price you'd be willing to bite at.

 

I did check eBay for Outlet coupons....nothing! I was a little surprised. I did come across this though: http://twitter.com/delloutlet.

I don't NEED it, but I would really like to get one.

 

The cross country trips - are these in a car?

Why not get a power inverter?

 

Latitude notebooks are built so much better...I'd stick with your original game plan with the Outlet if I were you .

The eBay coupons come and go, so if there aren't any now just sit and wait.

 

I love the Latitudes. I have had 10 or so of them starting with the C series. I recommend them to my clients and they are rarely disappointed.

My cross-country trips are in a plane. I can't be in a car more than about 8 hours. I would go bonko. I do have some international flights coming up so I will probably go for a 6 cell + battery slice.