Dell Latitude D420 with Core Duo and Windows Vista Review

<!-- Generated by XStandard version 1.7.1.0 on 2007-01-22T00:07:05 -->

The Dell Latitude D420 is the smallest notebook currently offered by Dell. It is a fusion of the discontinued Dell Latitude D410 and X1. It combines notable traits from both and offers great portability, power and versatility. Starting at $1199 it also offers great value featuring an Intel Core Duo ULV processor, 12.1in widescreen LCD, ExpressCard slot, a host of wireless options, and great battery life.

Specifications of the D420 Reviewed:

• Processor: Intel Core Duo U2500 ULV 1.2GHz
• LCD: 12.1in WXGA (1280 x 800) Matte
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, up to 224mb shared.
• Memory: 1GB DDR2-4200. 512MB soldered onto motherboard
• Hard drive: 60GB 4200RPM Toshiba 1.8'
• Wireless: Intel 3945ABG
• Optical: External D-Bay 24x CD-RW/DVD Combo
• Dock: MediaBase with 24x CD-RW/DVD Combo
• OS: Windows XP Professional SP2
• Input: Full-size keyboard with touchpad and pointing stick
• Battery: 6-Cell with ExpressCharge
• AC: 65W AC Adaptor
• Dimensions: 11.63&quot;x8.27&quot;x1.00&quot;

Reasons for buying:

As a college student portability is extremely important to me. I purchased a Dell Latitude X1 in March 2006 with the intention of carrying it around frequently. The X1 was a great notebook that is extremely light and small. However, the 1.1GHz Pentium M ULV felt sluggish at best. This was especially apparent when multitasking. The X1 just could not handle the load of many programs running at once.

Another major factor was heat. While the D420 is no where near perfect in this area, the X1 was a lot worse. The fan-less design is great for quietness. However, after using the notebook for a period of time the keyboard will get uncomfortably warm. This was very annoying when a cooling pad is not available. Furthermore, the heat caused a number of malfunctions on the notebook. Needless to say the D420 with a small fan is a great improvement.

Besides the D420 I considered the Lenovo Thinkpad X60. While the quality of the X60 is undoubtedly better, I could not justify the price of the X60.

Where and How Purchased

The D420 was purchased from Dell Outlet. I have been a great fan of Dell Outlet as it offers much lower prices on basically new items. Many of the refurbished laptops were never used or returned under the 21-day return policy. They carry the same warranty as new and do not take forever to build. The major downside is the lack of customization but with so many available one can easily find the perfect match. I purchased this laptop on 12/9/06 and received it on 12/15/06. Overall the experience was excellent. So far I haven't been able to find a single defect.

Design and Build

The build quality of the Dell D420 is great overall. It feels very solid and the steel hinges are very tight though not as tight as the X1's. The magnesium alloy casing felt rigid and when pushing the back of the LCD it did not cause LCD distortion. Unlike the X1 which uses the hinges to keep the LCD shut the D420 goes back to the more common latch design.

Another major change was the placement of the battery. On the X1 it was placed to the back of the notebook. This offered a number of advantages. When using the extended 6 cell battery the battery protrudes a little and can be used as a grasp for holding the notebook with one hand. On the D420 the battery is placed in the front. The 9 cell battery sticks out a bit. Unlike the X1 battery the D420 battery does not serve a secondary function. There are some benefits however. I for one like to have my ports in the back and the front placement of the battery enable you to open the LCD with one hand which was very hard to do on the X1.

Aesthetically the D420 is a smaller version of the current line of Dell Latitudes. I prefer the darker, more business-like feel to this laptop however it is nothing to write home about. An interesting difference between the X1 and D420 lie in the placement of the power, hard drive and battery indicators. On the X1 they were placed at the bottom of the palm rest. When the LCD was closed the LED were hidden which was rather inconvenient. On the D420 the indicators are on the right hinge which is a small but definite plus.

Size comparison:

Lenovo N100 vs D420 (view large image)

D420 vs X1 (view large image)

D420 vs Toshiba Portégé R100 (view large image)

D420, X1, R100 stacked (view large image)

Above view of D420, X1, R100 stacked (view large image)

Performance:

Even without benchmarks the performance difference was obvious compared to the X1. The D420 runs everything I throw at it fine including some light gaming. The Core Duo U2500 at 1.2GHz processor is very fast for its clockspeed. In fact, it is comparable if not faster than the Pentium M 2GHz in my Inspiron 710m for everyday computing. I can easily run a virus scan and watch a HD movie (720p) at the same time. The other two options for processor are the Core Duo U2400 at 1.06GHz and the Core Solo U1300 at 1.06GHz. The U2400 is a sweet spot for those looking to have a Core Duo system yet also wants the lowest power usage and heat output.

Memory is extremely important in today's computing. The D420 offers up to 2GB of DDR2-4200 (533mhz). This, however, is an extremely expensive option. 2GB is achieved by using a 2GB stick in addition to the 512MB soldered onto the motherboard. Due to motherboard limitation only 2GB instead of 2.5GB is addressable. A more realistic upgrade is 1.5GB of RAM. This is highly recommended for running this system under Windows Vista due to the integrated GMA950. 1.5GB will cost an extra of around $90 if upgraded aftermarket which is a very reasonable price.

The D420 uses Toshiba's 1.8' hard drives. The spindle speed is 4200rpm. While this is rather slow it is not a huge drag on the system. Hard drive capacities come in 30GB, 60GB, and 80GB. 100GB may be an option soon.

In terms of optical drives the D420 is very similar to the X1. It features no internal optical option but does provide an external D-Bay. To some the lack of an internal optical drive is a deal breaker, however it lowers the weight and size of the system significantly. For important discs I use imaging software to copy it onto the hard drive as an ISO. This way I can access these discs even if I don't have the D-Bay on hand. The MediaBase also has an optical drive and with the D-Bay the D420 can be turned into a 3 spindle system.

Benchmarks

SuperPi

*note SuperPi is single threaded

Notebook	Time
Dell Latitude D420 (Core Duo ULV 1.2GHz)	1m 57s
Dell Latitude D420 (Core Solo ULV 1.06GHz)	2m 11s
Dell Latitude X1 (1.1 GHz ULV Pentium M)	2m 40s
Dell Latitude D410 (2.00 GHz Pentium M)	1m 36s
Lenovo ThinkPad X60s (1.66 GHz LV Core Duo)	1m 23s
Dell Inspiron 710M (1.70GHz Pentium M)	2m 04s
Fujitsu LifeBook P7120 (1.2 GHz ULV Pentium M)	2m 32s
Dell XPS M1210 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo T7200)	1m 02s

 

PcMark05

PcMark05	Dell D420 (1.06GHz Core Solo)	Dell D420 (1.2GHz Core Duo)
HDD -- XP Startup	4.42 MB/s	4.43 MB/s
Physics and 3D	39.98 FPS	49.2 FPS
Transparent Windows	137.27 Windows / s	135.68 Windows/s
3D -- Pixel Shader	8.51 FPS	8.42 FPS
Web Page Rendering	1.05 Pages/s	1.6 Pages/s
File Decryption	23.08 MB/s	29.77 MB/s
Graphics Memory -- 64 Lines	270.88 FPS	299.68 FPS
HDD -- General Usage	2.66 MB/s	2.67 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / Audio Compression	-	1162.47 KB/s
Multithreaded Test 1 / Video Encoding	-	180.86 KB/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Text Edit	27.19 Pages/s	54.39 Pages/s
Multithreaded Test 2 / Image Decompression	5.54 MPixels/s	14.14 MPixels/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / File Compression	1.12 MB/s	2.68 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / File Encryption	6.09 MB/s	14.33 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / HDD -- Virus Scan	3.98 MB/s	11.16 MB/s
Multithreaded Test 3 / Memory Latency -- Random 16 MB	5.61 MAccesses/s	6.12 MAccesses/s

 

HD Tune Hard Drive Results

Minimum	2.5 MB/sec
Maximum	21.2 MB/sec
Average	16.7 MB/sec
Access Time	19.6ms
Burst Rate	61.8 MB/sec
CPU Usage	3.0%

 

Keyboard and Touchpad:

D420 keyboard (view large image)

The D420 features a full size keyboard. The feel of the keyboard is great. There is no flex and the key travel is great. However compared to a Lenovo N100 keyboard the Lenovo keyboard is still superior. The touchpad is good and the pointing stick a nice bonus. I would have liked to have a firmer pointing stick.

(view large image)

Connectivity and Docking:

Compared to the X1 the D420 has an extra USB port, an infrared port, and PCMCIA slot. The built-in CompactFlash reader that's featured on the X1 is missing on the D420.

 

Dell D420 left side (view large image)

Dell D420 right side (view large image)

Dell Latitude D420 back side (view large image)

 

Dell D420 in media base right side view (view large image)

Dell D420 in media base left side (view large image)

Dell D420 in media base back view (view large image)

The MediaBase is great for using this laptop at home or office as a desktop replacement. It has DVI, VGA, 4 USB ports (1 also serves as the D-Bay port), Parallel, Serial and an optical drive. The docking process is simple. You pull a lever for the notebook to be popped off the base and then pull the notebook out. To dock simply align the notebook and press downwards.

Screen:

The Samsung screen on the D420 is great and noticeably better than the screen on the X1. It features a matte finish and offers good brightness and contrast. There is some light leakage however it is generally unnoticeable. The built in brightness sensor is a nice novelty but hardly useful. In general the screen is adequate for the purpose of the notebook.

D420 vs Lenovo N100 vs Acer 3000 (view large image)

Speakers and Microphones:

D420 Speaker and microphone

Like the X1, the D420 only has one speaker. The speaker is located at the top left of the keyboard. The sound, while not horrible, lacks bass. This is a problem in nearly all notebooks. For system sounds and some casual music it is adequate though headphones are strongly suggested. The sound device in the D420 is Sigmatel STAC HD Audio. It provides decent sound through headphones. For better sound quality an Audigy 2 ZS soundcard can be plugged into the PCMCIA slot and will offer superior audio experience.

The D420 features a small microphone about an inch below the speakers. It is very useful for chatting over Skype or similar services. Because of the closeness of the microphone to the speaker, reverberation can be heard in conversations. However this can be dealt with by changing the microphone sensitivity and speaker volume (or by wearing a headphone).

Communications:

The D420 came equipped with Intel 3945ABG WiFi Card, Dell 350 Bluetooth and built-in IrDA. There are options for mobile broadband solutions via an empty mini-pci express slot. The Intel 3945ABG is adequate for most users however frequent travelers who use WiFi extensively may opt to upgrade to an Atheros AR5006EX WiFi card.

A WiFi finder is built into the notebook. It is a nifty feature for finding WiFi hotspots while the computer is off.

Heat and Noise:

Unlike the X1 which is dead silent, the D420 is rather loud. In a quiet room the fan is noticeable at medium speed. However it is no where close to being an annoyance. I can work comfortably in the library with the fan on max without being a disturbance. What is an annoyance is the placement of the vent. The vent blows hot air directly at the hands of a right handed user which becomes uncomfortable rather quickly. When the notebook is doing intensive work, the right side of the notebook gets much hotter than the left. However, it is a lot better than the X1 even though the Pentium M ULV on the X1 ran a lot cooler. I tested the temperature of the CPU under load with CoreTemp and it topped out at nearly 90C while the highest the X1 got was around 70C. Still, working on the D420 is a lot more comfortable over an extended amount of time than on the X1.

A problem I encountered with the Intel Core Duo processor is the poor underclocking. The lowest that the voltage can go is .925v while the Pentium M ULV can go as low as .725v. It appears to be a limit set by Intel rather than how much the CPU can actually be underclocked.

Battery:

The battery life with a 6 cell battery is good. I average around 3 hours which is more than enough to get me through the day. With the 9 cell battery life should be around 5 hours. While this is adequate for my needs, the X1 offered superior battery life. With a 6 cell battery and underclocking, the X1 managed nearly 5 hours. However the dual core processor and other performance enhancements more than justify the loss in battery life.

The charger included with the D420 is small though larger than the one that came the X1. There are options for either a 65w or 90w charger. The 90w charger should offer faster charging time though the 65w that came with my D420 worked quite well. Furthermore the MediaBase comes with its own charger. This allows you to keep one charger with you while leaving the other hooked up to the MediaBase at all times.

Dell D420 with Windows Vista:

Dell D420 running Vista (view large image)

Finally I thought I would share my experience upgrading my D420 to Vista. I obtained a copy of Windows Vista Business from my college and installed it. The installation with the D420 was exceptionally smooth. ALL the hardware was detected and correctly installed. In fact, the only software to get the notebook as I wanted was Dell Quickset. I had some problems getting the Quickset to work until I found a version of Quickset for Vista on Dell Support.

I had some worries on how well the D420 would handle Vista and the higher hardware requirements which were quickly dispelled. Aero Glass is enabled by default and works great on 1GB of RAM. I did find that the 30GB hard drive would be insufficient for Vista. The 60GB is adequate for system and program files. Overall upgrading from XP to Vista cannot be easier and the D420 runs very well under Vista.

*A note to those who are looking to benefit from Vista's ReadyBoost. In order for this to work the BIOS setting on the internal USB hub has to be set to High Speed (USB 2.0).

Conclusion:

The Dell Latitude D420 is a great notebook for those who want an ultraportable design without sacrificing computing power. The build quality of this notebook is excellent and the price very competitive. Despite some design flaws, notably the location of the vent and the useless brightness sensor, this notebook excels in its primary function as a business ultraportable. Compared to its predecessor the Dell Latitude X1, the D420 is a great upgrade that will be all ready to handle the demands of newer software and Windows Vista.

Pros:

• Fast
• Light weight at 3.0lbs with 4cell battery and 3.2lbs with 6cell
• Good battery life
• Widescreen matte LCD
• Lots of wireless options
• Excellent MediaBase and compatible with Latitude Docks

Cons:

• Runs hot
• A bit noisy with fan running at max
• Slow 4200rpm HDD
• Placement of vent on right side of notebook
• No internal optical drive

 

 

Hey lixuelai

Nice review, love the pictures.

I think this my first time seeing a laptop with Vista on it in a Review.

How is Vista working for you? Do you Like it more than XP?

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Woow...30GB HD isn't sufficient for Vista(Business)? What kind of softwares come with it?

 

Vista eats at least 15 GBs of space. If you have a 30 GB hard drive, you can't do much else after a Vista install.

 

I am surprised to read that the D420 runs hot and the fan runs at max. I have access to D420s with the single core U1300 and the dual core U2500, and both systems are quit (except for a high-pitched noise which is audible but not disturbing), idling at around 45 degrees C, fan off, even after hours.

So why is it that yours runs hot? May it be due to Vista?

 

Good review! Nice to read one with the Vista OS.

 

It's great to hear that the D420 runs the Aero feature with that ULV processor, I'm sure the amount of RAM really helps out to allow that to run, but I think many people had thought it would take dedicated graphics to run that aspect.

I'm also a fan of the D420, I've only used the Core Solo processor based D420 but the performance is just fine and I love the build and design. Also do not have problems with the D420 related to heat and noise -- with the Core Solo it's very quiet.

 

great review, thanks.

 

Did you do a battery life benchmark between XP and Vista?

 

I got around 3 hours on both. Battery life is a bit better on XP though not by much.

As for noise I wont say the D420 is loud, just much louder compared to the Lenovo and Latitude X1. Main problem is that the vent is pretty small so the noise is sounds high pitched. This gets worse when placed on the MediaBase because airflow is further restricted. I often work at night to do MPs for my compsci class and the noise is clearly audible (and can get distracting). Even then it is still much quieter than beasts like the Gateway MX7515 I also use.

The heat is definitely not due to Vista since I measured the temps before installing it. Iv seen a couple D420s here at college and they all run hot so I dont think Im an isolated case. Ambient temperature may also be a factor here. The D420 doesnt have enough airflow to keep the temperature down if the ambient temperature is high. The D420 is still alot better than the X1 that just gets toasty since it doesnt have a fan. Most ultraportables run pretty warm these days so I wont consider it a big minus. As long as the keyboard doesnt get too warm (which it doesnt) then it shouldnt be a problem.

Also the ReadyBoost feature for Vista is great. It improves boot time quite a bit and speeds up frequently accessed programs. I used a 1gb Sandisk SD card to compensate for the slow hard drive speed and its working very well. Overall Im pretty impressed with Vista. The hardware requirement is rather high however it was the same with XP when it came out. For the average user upgrading to Vista should be very easy. Main problems I found with Vista are the driver support for more "exotic" hardware. Still overall the driver support and reliability of the OS is superb. There were some problems and quirks that I had to get over but so far the transition has been exceptionally smooth.

 

That's awesome because I'm thinking of getting the Lenovo X60s when Vista comes out, which has an internal SD reader.

 

I just wanted to say that the Soundblaster Audigy you mention is PCMCIA, which won't fit in the expresscard slot in the Dell.

 

lixuelai, is the location of the vent a problem for you because you use the notebook with a mouse? Does this mean the vent wouldn't pose a problem if you keep both hands on the keyboard? Also, you mentioned ambient temperatures may play a role. How high is the temperature in your work environment?

 

The D420 has PCMCIA not ExpressCard. I checked alot of places online and also Adaptive's review of the D420 also stated that it is a PCMCIA.

Anywhere here is an excerpt from Dell:

PC Card:
One Type I or Type II
(Support 34mm ExpressCard via a USB interface through PCMCIA adapter)

Fred if you dont use a mouse you wont feel the hot air. The ambient temperature is around 70F where i tested. Here in college my D420 is near the windows and I leave a crack open so the room doesnt get too steamy. Temp outside is like 20F and the notebook is nice and cool lol.

 

Ah, there is where I became confused... in addition to having read new Dell's only ship with Expresscard slots.

 

My bad when I started the review I too thought it was a ExpressCard slot. However later on I found out that it was a PCMCIA.

 

I got 6 six and 9 cell battery
for 6 cell battery I got 4+ hr battery (lowest light and wifi on)
and 6:30 hours(or close to 7 hours) for 9 cell, (lowest light and wifi on)

I found the lowest light is pretty sufficient enough,
And I installed the Notebook hardware control, as well as turn off all the unused software, services...

turned on the maximum battery optimize in Intel Graphic setting

I also take the battery off when I am using it as a desktop, elevated it 1.5cm above the table for better ventilation, (I don't have the docking station, but a DVD-RW external drive instead)

taken off unused USB also help in reducing heat.

 

My choice was either IBM X60 or Dell D420
My choice is D420 becoz:
1. Cheaper, I have a discount in this laptop, tho my friend can get me a cheap X60 since he worked in IBM
2. Magnesium alloy casing
3. 1280X800 Wide screen instead of 1024X768
4. Touchpoint + Touchpad vs Touchpoint only. (I am a touchpad guy)
5. Next business day pickup warranty service which also includes accidental damage coverage. (They'll replace the LCD if I accidental break it w/o charges)
6. Wifi catcher is handy =)
7. It charges battery w/in a hour to 80%

 

I remember being apalled at the 1.5GB install of Windows XP. Now Vista takes FIFTEEN FREAKIN' GIGS?!?! For what? No, really. 5GB, okay, 8GB kinda pushing it, but 15GB just for an OS is way past ridiculous.

Good review. This laptop is nice for the money. But if I could afford it, I'd most certainly spring for the IBM instead. Alas, the life of a broke student

 

I have a D420. It's really good for the money. Get the 1.5 gig of ram, it helps. Otherwise, this is a real good laptop for travelling and getting stuff done, a nice portable workhorse.

 

I'm using Windows Vista myself on my Gateway NX100 which is pretty similar in specs to the reviewer's D420. The difference is that I only have 1 GB of RAM installed. Windows Vista is running with fine with Aero 3D on. I am not experiencing any slowdown. Although I didn't notice how much HD space it uses, I'm not very worried (I have a 80GB hd installed).

Vista is definitely going to take some time to get use to. The OS is very "flashy" compare to XP. It's kind of annoying since I'm not a big fan of these stuff.

 

It s nice to see any laptop with Vista. Congrats.

 

I'm also using Vista business on my latitude D420. I have 1.5 GB Ram, CoreDuo U2500, and a faster 80 GB HDD.

The heat from the bottom is a common problem from all D420 with U2500. Due to it's small vents, the tiny fan doesn't really work that effectively. That's why the heat is building up on the bottom. The palm rest has no heat at all though, so I don't think it's too much of an issue.

I installed vista and office 2007 professional, MS Groove, Acrobat reader 8, avast antivirus installed. It's taking up 15 GB of my C drive.

About the responsiveness of this OS, I disagree from users that are saying it is snappy and quick. I think it is a very poor & slowwwww for even regular internet and office 2007 applications. It takes more than 2 full minutes to boot up completely with minimum softwares installed. I love the new Outlook 2007, but it takes 30 seconds to load from idle. About 8 seconds to start word 2007. Not that bad for word 2007 but outlook 2007 is too slow.

It feels like using a OS X with all the effects enabled on a very cheap mac with not much RAM (this is how my schools' library macs are like). I use a slow (no speed information on SD) 1GB SD card, inserted in to my card reader, which qualifies for the readyboost feature. Even having that enabled, it feels like my laptop is struggling. The hard disk is beign accessed much more often compared to XP. It's just so frustrating that my laptop seems to suck.

A lot of compatibility issues made me install VMware workstation. Don't know why, but my internet is not working in the virtual xp session. Oh, just popped up in my mind how to explain the vista experience. It's like running windows xp in your virtual machine with all effect enabled, but even slower.

I love how the vista looks but I think it is too much for a lappy like D420 to handle it.

 

Thanks for an excellent review! As a user of X1 I especially appreciate a comparison between D420 and X1.

It appears to me that the author's comments that X1 and D420 are hot are
due to his location in the south of the US. Am I right?

I read a number of complains about hot X1 before I purchased mine. However,
my X1 with 80GB/4200 is never hot! Well, it gets to 65C when I run smth like virtual machine on it, which is still not hot. At least there is no any discomfort
related to that. My X1 is being used in Germany, where it is not as hot as in
New Mexico or TX.

I remember, that X1 and another ultraportable (with ULV processor and a fan)
got pretty hot when I tried to use them under open sun in the hot summer days. It probably confirms my assumtion that the reported heat issues are due to the environment.

PS: I still would prefer X1 to D420 for its smaller size and weight, better battery life, and silence. However, a better screen of D420, PCMCIA, and a dual-core ULV processor make me think.

 

Hi

I must agree that this was a very nice review indeed. Thank you for the huge effort.

I have one general question to the D420 and the DELL media-base versus Docking-station approach .. how the "#¤%"%!"¤!" do I use the Docking-station AND the optical drive of the media-base at the same time? I need the Docking-Station for hooking up a keyboard and a mouse .. but then there is no use for the media-base .. so do I really have to buy an external optical device to use with the docking-station????

/Jan