Vostro line is a WalMart-like quality laptop. The vostro 1500 is so bulky its a complete joke. If you have the $$$ stay away from the vostro line and buy a latitude.

This configuration seems to be the best value for money. For $30 more (well, $32 after tax!), you get the D620 with the Quadro NVS 110M card (vs. the Intel GMA 950 with the $599 deal).

For those of you asking about the weight, the D620 with the 6-cell and CD-RW/DVD drive comes in at 5.00 lb (from here). Not bad for a 14.1" notebook.

g0dMAn said:But isn't the cheapest Latitude much slower than a Vostro line??

A Vostro 1500 in a similar price range was a hot deal a couple times that had...
-BIGGER HDD
-MORE RAM
-Vista
-Bigger Battery

I don't get why SOME of the latitudes are considered a good deal? Are they BUILT BETTER or something? Curious what the advantage of a LAtitude over a Vostro is... pardon my ignorance.

Thx.

Most typical everyday tasks like Office and Internet aren't very CPU intensive. Any Core Duo can do those with aplomb.

Latitudes are better built than Vostros which is why they sell for a premium. The have a three year warranty standard. Support is also US based meaning when you call support you'll get someone who speaks English as their first language, always a plus when discussing technical stuff.

Lanyap said:Just want to point out that the 3 year warranty is mail-in and not onsite. Not sure if you have to pay shipping to Dell or not. Does anyone know? I have never had to mail-in a Dell PC for service.from what i hear they ship you a box and you ship the laptop to them. so no you don't pay for shipping.

I just noticed the D420 is a ULV 1Gh processor? Crap. I might as well get a X61.

any luck returning the 3 year warranty?

Ugh! I have a 2 1/2 year old 600m with a docking station that I've been really happy with. Well just yesterday I realized that it no longer charges the batteries. A little research reveals it's most likely a motherboard issue. I'd rather get a new one and saw this deal. I see that the D620 also uses a dock and it appears to be the same as the 600m. Can anyone confirm this? I called Dell and they couldn't tell me!!

Nope.

stanners said:Is it possible to upgrade the video card on my own?

borisnotthespider said:Yup they are compatible.

Also, to solve the charging problem, do the following:

1) REMOVE all sources of power. (both battery and unplug ac adapter)
2) Hold the power button down continuously for about 15 secs.

This will reset the charging circuitry.

3) Put the battery back in and plug in the ac adapter.

You battery should start charging. Let me know if this worked or not

Charlie said:Ugh! I have a 2 1/2 year old 600m with a docking station that I've been really happy with. Well just yesterday I realized that it no longer charges the batteries. A little research reveals it's most likely a motherboard issue. I'd rather get a new one and saw this deal. I see that the D620 also uses a dock and it appears to be the same as the 600m. Can anyone confirm this? I called Dell and they couldn't tell me!!

My fingers are CROSSED!!! I will let you know if it worked... part of me is hoping it doesn't so I can buy a new one but the other part of me ($) is hoping it does work!

in case anyone may be interested, you can upgrade to 2gb or ram (Value Select) for $32 (AR) and some change from ZZF for the 820, just my 2...

512MB. No thanks.