I8600: second time is the charm!

[Dusan]

Guys,
I got a replacement I8600 today and it is PERFECT. The screen is PERFECT. I don't know what kind of screen since they haven't put the info. on their DB yet, but who cares? It's PERFECT. No dead pixels and no leakage!

Also, I got a $100 credit for all my troubles after writing a very professional email stating my displeasure with the first machine.

In total, that brings this badboy to a cost of $1300:

New I8600
SXGA+
P m 1.6
256 ram
128 mb ATI
40 GB hdd @ 5400
4x DVD burner
1 years service


Haven't had much time to open her up yet. However, from what i've seen so far---it's great. The screen is awesome----it's actually too bright and i have to leave the setting two notches down. There is no flex on the keyboard---in fact, it's stiffer than what i'm used to. The fan is quiet (although the one behind the top left corner puts out a whoosh! when it starts up). The hdd is quiet too. Definitely a good bargain at $1300. I orginally bought a Sager 4780 for 2k but this machine will more than meet my needs for a while; and it's $700 less!

Now I'm looking into the chasis mod to make it complete. The casing is 'ok' and suitable---there is some flex (esp. around the area near the stickers) and it doesn't feel very sturdy. I want the tri-metal of the Latitudes to give it that finishing touch.

I guess with Dell you either get it bad or you will get it good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope I don't discover something bad.

This is a major contrast from my first 8600.:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=27886

[KCK]

Glad to hear that the replacement is so much better! :D

Since you say the screen is too bright, my first bet is that it is a SHARP. The "whoosh" you hear from the CPU fan is normal.

The price is simply unbeatable. :cheers:

[swimmer]

Hey I am going off to college as a IT major and have been building a few dell I8600 machines and would like to know if I am on the right track.. I have no idea what so ever about what is good in a laptop... Desktops are my thing but due to size restraints and frequent travel the laptop is the way to go...

Pentium M 745 (1.8 ghz)
The 15. wxga screen
512mb ram 1 dimm
the 9600 proturbo
the 60gb 4200 hard drive( I am not thrilled about this but... I think the Hitachi will replace this after i make some $$)
2200 Intel wireless adaptor
plus all the great software that i am going to erase as soon as I get it...

It this a good setup? I am wanting to so some gaming, farcry bf1942 CoD ect., and would like to know if this is a balance between the amazing dell and something that is reasonable.

Thanks!

I have one more quick question... What is dell's policy on Dead pixels??

[Rosky]

I think their dead pixel poicy outside the 21 day return period is more than 6 pixels.

oh yeah, nice setup

[deepak_ramkumar]

Actually, their Dead Pixel Policy is that if there are >6 dead pixels, then the screen will be replaced. This policy holds whether its within the 30/21 Day Satisfaction Period or not.

[Dusan]

Official Part breakdown on replacement unit: I'm guessing I got a 40 gb. Hitachi HD @ 5400 RPMS?

Quantity Part # Part Description
1 2C415 Assembly, Cable, 15.4, LIKA
1 7T774 Liquid Crystal Display, WSXGA+, NO-SPWG, 15.4, Samsung
1 Y4572 Assembly, Base (Assembly or Group), Bottom, BROADCOM CORPORATION, 8600, Cost Reduced
1 1M722 Keyboard, 87, United States, England/English, Single Pointing, D-FMLY
1 F2951 Kit, Cord, FLAT, 3F, D3W/3P, P65, United States
1 4R867 Processor, 848226, 1.6GHZ, 1MB, UPGA
1 1U327 Pipe, Height, LIKA
1 6G648 Dual In-Line Memory Module, 256, 333, 32X64, 8K, 200
1 5P144 Battery, Malaysia Direct Ship, 11.1V, 9C, Lithium, SONY
1 5U092 Assembly, Adapter, Alternating Current, 65W, LITEON, World Wide
1 F3515 Card (Circuit), GRPHC, ATI, 128MB, M10, 8600
1 8267R Connector, Header, 2X22, Female, 2, S, Gold, 35K, Third Height, Chip Set
1 N1166 Hard Drive, 40GB, IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics), 9.5MM, 5.4K, HIT-MRGA
1 J1894 Kit, Software, WP-PRDCT-STE11, England/English
1 N2999 Kit, Software, MNY-2K4, Standard, Original Equipment Mfgr., England/English
1 P2643 Kit, Software, MSENC-2K4, Original Equipment Mfgr., England/English
1 R2553 Kit, Software, Overpack, WXPHSP1A, Compact Diskette w/Documentation, England/English
1 M4841 Kit, DOC/DSK, Software, CYBERLINK, 4.14H
1 M4479 Card (Circuit), Wireless, Mini PCI Card, 1350, BROADCOM CORPORATION
1 T1420 Assembly, DVD+RW, 4X, NEC, DMOD

[GMCloud27]

Swimmer,
Well since I have nearly the exact i8600 you were looking at, heh, I can tell you that it runs absolutely perfect. The preformance is unmatched with ANY laptop I've ever used and as for games: Far Cry (currently playing RIGHT now and minimized, lol) = Very well on medium/high with 512 megs of RAM (my 512 Corsair comes tuesday); BFV=Good and with a few slowdowns once inawhile on high settings; Any other game, rediculously fast. I'd only opt for the 7200 RPM Travelstar because I can tell the difference in a heartbeat between a 4k versus a 7k. Hope this helps!

~GMCloud

[GMCloud27]

I forgot to mention reasonability of the price: For 2550 I think it's a bit too much but I also got 518 bucks off for the 20% coupon :). For 2100 after tax and with nearly all but CPU and RAM maxed, I believe it's a good deal. (Also opted for the CompleteCare Insurance and Backpack case which added to that total.)

Another note is battery life: For gamese it ranges a bit but lets just say I can play games, go to a hotspot and surf the web, go home, surf the web, and realize, hmm after an entire day, i'm at 16%, that's not bad at all! :) *Thanks Intel*

~GMCloud

[swimmer]

Hey thanks a lot!!! I am geting a 10% discount through college.... so the current setup is sub 2 grand... I was thinking about the hard drive... I am kinda in a hard place to decide wether to upgrade the screen from the wxga screen to the + screen or to up the hard drive rpm... What would you recommend...?

[GMCloud27]

Np at all; as for the recommendation, even though I recommend both highly, I would choose the screen and then purchase the HD but it's soley personal preference. Since you cannot upgrade an LCD *easily* and an HD is a piece of cake, that's one route. For myself if I had to choose, I'd take the HD and stick to the still very nice WXGA which looks great on a coworker of mine's 9100.

~GMCloud