My praise for DELL Latitude Laptops

[cdanj]

I have had about 8-10 laptops over the years and the most durable machine I have had is the Dell Latitude.
My feedback on most other machines is that they have week hinges, power ports and the cases are mostly plastic. They tend to crack on even the smallest drop.
Why it is a good machine:
The case is almost 100% metal. I have dropped these more than couple of times. Most drops were pretty minor. There were a few slip out the car door when stopped, one was slipped from unzipped bag while walking.
Not produced more than a scratch.
I am currently running a Latitude e6400 ATG, which is ruggedized. It has a spill resistant keyboard, an impact proof lcd (basically a hard screen with a liquid resin buffer) and a hardcore titanium/magnesium lid.
If you don't need the ATG I would just go for the regular because the resin screens tend to loose their seal if left in a hot car and the screen gets bubble and the resin leaks out very very slowly.

You can buy these machines on ebay for about $200 to $300.

When buying any computer you MUST check the CPU specifications. If the seller cannot provide the exact model number of the CPU don't buy it.
The reason is that if it doesn't have at least 6 mgs of level 2 cache or what they now call Smart cache don't buy it.
The level two cache is like the granny gear.
I can have 8 internet explorer pages up and open about 4 win total reports before my system gets bogged down.
you can check CPU specs at ark.intel.com
You can compare CPU speeds at a site called passmark.com go to the searchable cpu list.

If your laptop breaks, buy a small screwdriver set and the part and install it yourself.
There are numerous videos by partspeople.com on youtube that walk you right through it. I have replaced LCD screens, internal antennae, installed new wifi cards, ram, internal card readers, power jacks, Mouse pads. I even reseated my video card heat sink when the laptop was acting up when it was hot out.

 

[Joe-NC]

I have had the exact opposite experience.

I've owned laptops by Gateway, HP, eMachines, Acer, IBM/Lenovo, and Dell. Dell was so bad that I vowed never to buy anything made by them again. My Dell Latitude went through 3 hard drives, a cooling fan, and a power supply, then the motherboard went bad just after the warranty expired. Their customer no-service was as bad as it gets too. No more Dells for me.

 

[Pilgrum]

How much is Dell paying you?

 

[cdanj]

How much is Dell paying you?

You got me!!

Dell is paying me $400 for every $200 used dell laptop bought on ebay as a result of reading this post.

That being said.

I haven't bought a new Dell Latitude. Only used ones. The most I paid for a fully functional was $299 for a latitude e6400 ATG. It has the T9900 CPU and blows the doors off of the new lower to middle ranged laptops.

If you do buy one of these be sure to avoid the CPUs ending in 50. IE the T8550.

Research the CPU and make sure it has at least 6 mgs of level two cache.

Intel is also paying $400 per intel CPU bought as a result of this post.
Microsoft is also paying $400 for every install on windows on a computer bought as a result of this post.

Have day!

 

[stangtime]

I hear you. I'm currently using, while mobile here, an ancient Dell Latitude D510 that I got used from a friend for free about 4 years ago. The hard drive had been removed and it needed a new cooling fan. I ordered a used fan on eBay as well as a hard drive and the thing has been bullet proof ever since. It's been used heavily in a mobile environment, taken on trips to the beach, to the mid-west, banged around in airports, left in the sun, left in the cold, bumped, shoved, and generally used hard and put away wet (sort of - it ain't waterproof of course). I did have to also replace the "H" key - it popped off somewhere along the line.

As noted by the OP, since there are so many of these things around parts are readily available and if something breaks you might as well try to fix it with cheap eBay parts because if you mess it up it really doesn't matter. Just back up important data either off site (I use Carbonite) or with a simple thumb drive in case the thing does bite it. I also use this beat up old thing with NCV Appraisal Software - still works great. NCV is very gentle on computer reserves and can fly fine on old machines as well as new ones.

Dan

 

[Joe Flacco]

The IBM ThinkPads used to be the class of windows based laptops but I am not sure if they still are after IBM sold the PC business to Lenovo. They were the only true competitors in build and quality to Macbook Pro.

 

[Tom Woolford]

The Latitude series seems to be more of a Business class, and have performed well for me and taken a lot of abuse. I bought a new Inspiron for around the house. A hinge broke in about 6 months (not repairable), then the number pad quit working. My old Latitude 620 is still plugging along despite daily trips in the truck (I use it as a GPS), weather and poor maintenance.