Great Deals on Dell Laptops w/ Win7
CNET editors' buying advice
We have not reviewed this product but here is CNET's buying advice on Laptops. This content was chosen based on the features included with this model of laptop.
Thin-and-light laptop computer
A thin-and-light laptop computer offers the optimal combination of portability, performance, features, and cost. Power-tuned mobile processors deliver enough power to keep you working smoothly, and unlike ultraportables, most thin-and-light laptops have a more reasonably sized keyboard and display, a larger hard drive, and a built-in optical drive. Yes, they're more expensive than slightly larger, heavier mid-size laptops, but if you need maximum productivity in a portable package, this is the best choice.
Read more in the Laptop Buying Guide
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Business laptop: Power user
If you rely on the same notebook at work, at home, and on the road, you need a well-balanced system. And it has to deliver the performance to keep up with a wide range of applications. A thin-and-light laptop is just the ticket.
Read more in the Laptop Buying Guide
Microsoft Windows 7 system requirements
Ready for Windows 7?
If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here's what it takes:
- -1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- -1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- -16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- -DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- -Internet access (fees may apply)
- -Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory and advanced graphics hardware
- -For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional hardware may be required
- -Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
- -HomeGroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7
- -DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive
- -BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
- -BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive
- -Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
- -Music and sound require audio output
from windows.microsoft.com
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Home user laptop computer
Home users are increasingly turning to notebook computers as their primary PCs, as they like that laptops can offer similar performance and features to those of a desktop PC, and can be easily moved from room to room. Though of course almost any notebook computer will do for typical home use, there are two types of laptops most suitable for home users: mid-size notebooks, which tend to be budget-friendly, and desktop replacements, which are usually packed with features.
Read more in the Laptop Buying Guide
Student laptop computer
Students and others on a tight budget should look for a cheap laptop computer that delivers the most bang for the buck. In particular, students need a notebook that is small and light enough to lug back and forth across campus but rugged enough to withstand bouncing around in a backpack.
Read more in the Laptop Buying Guide
CNET product brief
Description: This configuration of the Dell Latitude E6400 is a 4.4-pound, thin-and-light notebook computer.Compared to other thin-and-light notebooks on the market, it is very inexpensive at around $930.The 14.1 inch widescreen has a native resolution of 1280 x 800, which is fairly standard among notebooks.Runs on the Intel Core 2 Duo chip.This unit comes with a 160GB hard disk and 2.0 GB of RAM.Features nVidia quadro NVS graphics with 256MB of video memory.
Pros: Has a 2.40 GHz CPU speed, which is faster than some similarly priced notebooks.By way of comparison, the average cost of a product with this speedy a CPU speed is $1,310.The External Serial ATA port (ESATA) will transfer data to an external hard drive much faster than USB 2.0.An anti-theft security tether can be fastened into the built-in lock slot.
Cons: Has only a 160GB hard drive, which is somewhat smaller than some similarly priced notebooks.For example, the Dell Studio XPS X1340-024B, a 4.9-pound notebook at around $900, has a 500GB hard drive.The poor battery performance of this laptop means it has to be recharged more frequently than other laptops in its class.
Suitability: A thin-and-light notebook, suited for business computing.If you have a wireless network at home, wirelessly browse the Internet from any room in your house with this Wi-Fi enabled notebook.Enjoy movies while in transit with this laptop's DVD player.Share photos with friends on dial-up modems: put them on a disc with the CD burner in this notebook.With 256MB of dedicated video RAM, this machine will do quite well compared to most other notebooks when it comes to multimedia applications and games.
Value: Overall, this notebook's features are as expected for this price.However, the average price of thin-and-light products with a comparable screen size is considerably more -- right around $1,330.
Suggestions: (1) Given this device's Wi-Fi capability, you may want to get a wireless access point for your home, so that you can browse the Web more conveniently from any room.(2) Using this PC's Firewire (1394) port, you can connect to many digital video camcorders and other equipment to rapidly upload data to the computer hard drive.
CNET's Product Briefs are generated by a software tool that combines product specifications with knowledge of our editorial experts. They do not reflect hands-on assessment or labs testing. For more information about how we create Product Briefs, contact us.
Dell Latitude E6400 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 250GB/2GB):
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