Any Dell Inspiron D810 opinions?

Hi guys, it's my first post on notebookreview.com regarding the D180.

I'm starting university in two months time and I've decided to go mobile ... or at least a desktop replacement, specifically for my studies (which is Information Technology - a lot of programming).

Why Dell ? Their reputation seems to impress me over other makes. So I surfed on my local Dell dealer and the D180 struck me over others, with it's mobility X600. Here comes the questions:

Are there any better models suitable for me which I can ask the dealer for? Portability is not an issue as such (though I will be taking it to campus once in a while).
How about the processor - can it be upgraded? The same goes for the mobility x600 (important).

Last but not least, what do you think of it? I'm interested in the pentium m 1.6ghz, 512 ram, 15.4" WSXGA, 9-cell battery and mobility x600

Thank you in advance.

 

AFAIK the X600 is not upgradeable, at least not from Dell. It is a removeable module, but I don't know if/what other cards would fit it. It's a sweet machine, I've been using one for the past 6 months, although I'd definitely go for at least 2Ghz cpu and 1GB ram, especially for development. Not sure what programming you'll be doing, but the extra real estate you get from a WUXGA is worth it for me.

So, I haven't tried upgrading cpu or x600, but you can't go wrong with the D810 as a workhorse.

Oh, and it's a Latidude, not an Inspiron

 

Actually I do have a budget, so I am going for the 1.6ghz (unless things got updated .... I should go and check by myself at the shop what's currently the best ...).

Another thing .... regarding RAM, does it have to be Dell branded or any other stick would do (provided having the same specifications, of course)?

 

Can't remember what it came with, but you can use any similar ram chips. I've currently got 2x1GB Crucial chips in that work fine.

 

Dell Latitudes are really well built notebooks. Our entire office where I work is a Dell shop (I have the only non-Dell there!), and we have a few of the Latitude D800/810's. Really nice computers. Haven't had a single problem with them. They run really quiet too, and don't get hot.

I definitley recommend one if you are in the market for a reliable desktop replacement.

:centrino:

 

The D810 is a fine business machine but I dont recommend it for your purposes, it certainly is not a desktop replacement as the video card will never hold up to this title.
Try a 9300 which is only a half an inch deeper and an inch wider, you'll get a 17 inch screen instead of 15.4 and you get a 256 meg video card and can get all that for the same price or less than the cost of the D810. The d810 has legacy components like a parallel printer port and serial port, no one uses these at home but they do in the business world which is what the D810 was designed for. The 9300 is well built and has six USB ports and a dvi port for modern lcd monitors.