D531 vs. D630

I need to purchase a notebook for the boss in our very small business. I haven't purchased one in 3 years, so I am a bit behind on all the technology.

Between the D531 and D630, what are differences, pro's/con's to each one, besides the obvious AMD vs. Intel. To me they look about the same.

The boss will only be using this for traveling. I've tried to get him to use a docking station, but he "only" uses desktops. Also, for the 9 cell battery, do they both stick out in the front or no? And the memory slots are located on the bottom and under the keyboard on both? Any issues only ordering 1 DIMM and sticking another one in when it is delivered or even using it with one DIMM for awhile?

Sorry for all the newbie questions, but I hope that someone can answer these.

1. What are the differences?
2. Battery life comparison and extended battery size?
3. Docking stations for each?
4. Memory issues?

 

Check out these reviews from right here at NotebookReview.com:

Dell Latitude D630 Review ( link)

Dell Latitude D531 Review( link)

Edit: I fixed the links as the forum automatically highlighted my links and overrode them.

 

The D531 isn't a real 14". It's really a larger 15.4" notebook like the D830, but with an AMD processor instead of Intel. It's mainly meant for people on a tighter budget. If you choose the 14" screen option, they just put a smaller display panel in it, but you still have the bigger unit. At least that's my understanding. So based on that, since this is a travel-only system, I would think you'd want the D630, which is smaller and lighter since it's designed only for a 14" screen.

 

Really? On Dell's website when you click on the specs, it doesn't list two sets of specs, like one for 14 and one for 15. But looking at the pictures, the 14" does appear smaller.

Just got off the phone with a Dell rep, and they confirmed that the 14 and 15 were both indeed the same size. So looks like D630 for me.

 

I had noticed that the picture for the 14 inch screen looks smaller and I was curious as to if they were actually the same size, which I would assume they are. That is kind of sneaky on Dell's part.

 

Yeah I don't think they should do that... at least not without a big warning message or something.

 

It's definitely very misleading. The pictures shows an obviously smaller notebook, not of the same dimensions. Evidently, it is the same size, just with more plastic around the screen. I nearly ordered it, thinking it was the same as the D630 only with AMD.