1.5 Years and Still Going Strong
Written: Dec 27 '04 (Updated Jul 07 '06)
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Pros: Stable, durable, long battery life, fast and lightweight
Cons: Audible audio hiss when using headphones in a quiet setting
The Bottom Line: I would recommend without hesitation to anyone seeking a good laptop computer.
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| jackstraw's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 600M (600MBS1) PC Notebook |
I've used this notebook at least eight hours a day for the past eighteen months, and it's performed like a champ. I've brought it with me on tons of business trips, and on its daily commute to the office.
I would highly recommend the 600m to anyone looking for a laptop. Even if you spent $5,000 on a laptop, it wouldn't offer the very best in performance, weight and battery life. Designers can always extend battery life, for example, by increasing weight (more batteries). Performance, naturally, consumes more power, which affects either battery life or weight (more batteries). To get the very lightest weight, a designer needs to reduce battery life, performance, and screen size.
And, of course, there are the budget laptops, which are heavy, have terrible battery life and run slowly. I wouldn't recommend a budget laptop to anyone.
The 600m uses Intel's Pentium M (Centrino) processor and chipset. This processor is faster than Intel's other Pentium 4 processors; a 1.3 GHz Pentium M is as fast as a 1.8 GHz Pentium 4. If you want the fastest possible laptop, you would still opt for one with the standard Pentium 4 CPU - but you'll get a very heavy laptop. You might, however, consider opting for the 600m's "sister" model, the 8600, which is identical in every respect except for the 8600's larger widescreen display.
I'm what you'd call a "power user." I've had computers since 1987, and I've been a developer of computer hardware and software since 1989. I've installed and used all of the MS Office software, including Visio and the Visual Basic and C compilers, plus a UNIX environment called Cygwin. I often use 10 applications at once. Stability has been fantastic. I haven't found any incompatible software, and that's saying a lot. I've used the same installation of Win XP Pro that came installed on the unit, through dozens of driver and service pack updates.
My unit has the high-resolution, 1400 x 1050 screen option. This took some getting used to, but now that I've enlarged all of the fonts, I think it's fantastic. 12 point type in MS Word is much more crisp and clear than a 1024 x 768 screen.
The 600m has a modular bay that can accept an optical drive, floppy drive, 2nd hard disk, or a 2nd battery. I opted for a DVD/CD-RW drive and a second battery. I almost always keep the spare battery installed, which gives me five hours of battery life. The 2nd battery increases the weight of the unit from 5 pounds to 5.5 pounds - still a few pounds less than P4-based laptops.
Since I've used it so much, I've been able to learn all about its flaws. The worst problem is that the STAC audio chip makes a buzzing sound that is very audible when listening to music via headphones in my quiet office. Linux users report that this problem doesn't occur on their OS, which suggests that a driver upgrade could solve the problem. If you're an audiophile, I'd call this fatal, because the sound card is non-replaceable.
Many users have reported problems with the USB ports failing to work with Dell's optional docking unit, so I've avoided purchasing that unit altogether. Without the unit, the USB ports work just fine.
The upper-right corner of my screen ripples if I tap on it. This doesn't bother me a bit.
Without a doubt, I think this laptop is outstanding. It has lasted through a lot of daily use without fail. It offers the best, most sensible combination of performance/weight/battery life that today's technology can produce.
(Update) It's July, 2006, and the laptop has aged nicely in the past three years. Thanks to my three year warranty, I was able to get the hard disk replaced when it crashed. While they were at it, I got the keyboard and motherboard replaced for free. Last month, just as the warranty expired, I got the LCD screen replaced - I told them it looked dim. With all of these repairs, the 600m is still a fine laptop - nice and solid. Alas, fortune has come my way and my employer let me purchase a brand-new notebook. The venerable 600m now has Linux installed, and it is being replaced with a sleek, black magnesium-clad Latitude D620.
Owning this product has taught me the value of buying an extended warranty, for a laptop computer. My only regret about the warranty is that it was a mail-in warranty. Often times, a warranty repair is needed for a system that is workable, and losing the computer for a week is a major headache. I ordered the new Dell with an onsite warranty.
Stay tuned for my upcoming Latitude D620 review.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1400
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 21-30
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jackstraw
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Reviews written: 4
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