Dell Pushes Performance With New Notebook

The latest Dell Latitude C600 debuts both a new look and a new processor--Intel's latest mobile chip, the Pentium III-850/700. The C600 is the first notebook we've tested with the new chip, and it takes its place squarely atop the performance heap. Traveling execs and salespeople won't be disappointed by the unit's other features, either. As always, though, bleeding edge comes at a price: The system we tested is priced at $3378.

The Pentium III-850 unit blasted through our PC WorldBench 2000 tests, earning a score of 169, the highest we've seen in a Windows 2000 Professional system. Its score was about 10 percent better than a Pentium III-750 unit we tested in the past. The Dell unit also performed well on our battery life test, lasting 3 hours, 28 minutes.

More Than Just a Quick Performer

The C600 came loaded with 128MB of RAM and a brilliant 14.1-inch active-matrix LCD powered by an ATI Rage Mobility chip set with 8MB of video RAM. It also had a 10GB hard drive, which should be plenty for most needs; if you require additional storage, you can install a second disk in the media bay (or an optional Zip drive, LS-120 drive, or CD-RW drive). Our unit included a standard CD-ROM drive in the media bay; a DVD-ROM drive module is available for $199. An extra battery module is available as well.

Modules are easily hot-swappable, even if your unit's operating system requires a preinstalled utility to enable that feature. Dell gives you a gamut of operating systems to choose from: Windows 2000 Professional, Win Me (available in mid-October), Win 98 Second Edition, Win 95, and Win NT 4.0. All but Windows 2000 Pro require you to use the utility.

The C600 combines elements of Dell's current lightweight CS and CPx lines. It packs its high-end features into a trim 6-pound minimum weight (with AC adapter and external floppy, the weight goes up to 7.7 pounds), in a package just 1.5 inches thick.

While we liked the design overall, we did have some minor gripes. For example, opening the CD drive was a tad awkward because the button was slightly recessed in the front, but we eventually got the hang of it. Also, you must hook up the external floppy drive via the parallel port, which makes it more difficult to have a full setup in a home office equipped with a parallel port printer, a floppy drive, and a CD-ROM drive connected simultaneously. If you need both a printer and a floppy drive, consider getting the $549 docking station, which includes a dedicated bay to accommodate the floppy drive and other modules.

Dell's new design includes a dark gray-purple color for the case, a more textured feel, and a shiny silver button with the Dell logo on the lid. The keyboard layout has not changed much, save for the addition of an Internet access button over the keyboard that defaults to the Microsoft Network site but is user-programmable. The keyboard itself is well positioned for comfortable typing, although some may feel that the keys are a bit shallow and take getting used to. Dell continues to offer its dual cursor-control solution: a pointing stick and touchpad. While we found both pointing devices very responsive, the buttons intended for use with the pointing stick were a bit stiff.

Dell has extended the new look to its high-end desktop replacement line, the C800, which now has three spindles (two media bays plus the hard disk) and will replace the high end of the familiar CP line. Media modules and docking solutions are all interchangeable among the new lines, as well as with older models.