We’ve finally found the D830 substitute!

After a disappointing benchmark of a Vostro 1510, I’ve asked for a Latitude E5500 for try out. It was considerably better than Vostro (I’ll post the experience one of this days), at an affordable price. But it still had some problems:

• no graphic card option other than the onboard
• no connectors on the back! Too crowded on the sideways
• 4GB memory limit
• No 64 bits official support
• No e-sata support

But we had a break and I’ve managed to get a hand on a Latitude E6500. And let’s say I’ve loved it! Compared to E5500:

• there’s a dedicated memory graphic card as an option
• Some connectors are on the back – where they belong
• 8GB limit
• 64 bits support
• e-sata

More important than the benchmarks, the usage experience was great. Working on VMWare Player and Virtual PC was fast enough for our needs. And I didn’t expect any difference here to E5500, the specs are pretty much the same…

We’ve successfully tried:

• Windows Vista Business 64 bits
• Ubuntu 9.04 beta
• Windows 7 build 7077 (here’s an explanation of the base code tree, thanks for the link, Pita)

All I have to complaint is:

• One less USB (only 2). Oh well, everyone should have a stand with an USB hub, anyway
• On the unit I’ve tried, the LCD cover was a bitter unstable – it went back and forward as we pushed it

Here’s one of the simplest benchmarks I value the most (on Windows 7 build 7077):

Cool results!

D830 is dead. Long live E6500 :)