Latitude For Blowing Hot And Cold

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday May 8, 2001

Review, Darren Yates

In previous years, the loose definition of a fleet notebook computer was based around technology a couple of generations behind the lead built into a platform that vendors guaranteed would be around for at least three years.

However, the demands of e-commerce today requires corporate fleet notebooks to offer more than just budget-priced computing for the corporate employee.

Dell's new Latitude C600 combines features required in a corporate notebook at a price that should make it easier to afford.

The C600's styling is fairly conservative, as you would expect for a corporate workhorse.

The 14.1-inch active matrix screen offers a standard 1024 x 768-pixel resolution and while it isn't as high as other screens of the same size, it's more than adequate for office applications. Intel's 750MHz mobile Pentium III processor, along with 128MB of memory, keeps Windows 2000 chugging along at good speed in fact, the performance of this system is about 30 per cent better on standard office applications such as Microsoft Office than the same system running Windows ME or 98SE.

Windows 2000 is a fully optimised 32-bit operating system that perfectly matches the capabilities of the Pentium III processor. The 10GB UltraATA hard disk drive is also fairly standard given the price tag but it is a surprisingly fast drive with an average 4470KB/second data transfer speed. Hard disk drives are the slowest part of any computer system so a fast drive goes a long way to building a fast computer.

Dell's inclusion of a 24X-speed CD-ROM drive might seem a bit minimalist, but you can upgrade this to a DVD-ROM drive if you choose when you order.

One thing we found with this unit that did surprise and concern us was the location and design of the built-in cooling fan.

Despite improvements in processor design, the 750MHz mobile Pentium III still chews up a considerable amount of power and produces a considerable amount of heat.

The fan's job is to remove that heat; however, its location and design are cause for concern.

It is located underneath the notebook at one of the rear corners which means you need to be careful if you're going to use this one on your lap make sure you keep that fan uncovered.

The other thing was the lack of a grille to protect the fan blades our test unit's fan was quite exposed, far more so than we have seen on any other notebook in recent times.

Other than that, the C600 has a wide range of peripherals, including V.90 modem and Fast Ethernet connectivity, built into the notebook.

The multi-bay at the front allows you to connect up a range of devices, including a second hard disk drive as well as a CD-RW drive, a useful option for data archiving.

It also sports legacy serial, parallel and external VGA ports, as well as an S-video output to connect the display to a VCR or large-screen TV.

The 14.8V 3.6Ah Lithium ion battery is good for about 21/2 hours, which again is fairly standard for a notebook of this type.

While overall the C600 is quite a creditable fleet notebook, the fan design and location are not ideal.

My suggestion to potential corporate buyers would be to obtain one on loan and check how it meets your regular corporate requirements before placing a large order.

dyates@pnc.com.au

THE BOTTOM LINE: Dell's Latitude C600

It has some positive features including a 750MHz Pentium III processor and 128MB of memory but the fan location and design leave a bit to be desired. Corporate buyers should check this out before considering bulk purchasing.PRICE: about $4,600 as configured. WEB: www.dell.com.au