Dell Latitude D430 Core 2 Duo 1.3Ghz 80Mb 2048Mb Win XP Pro

The laptop was chosen to replace my broken Acer netbook. The goal was also to find a better screen size.

The computer was delivered quickly and no damage on the box. Within 5 minutes after inspection I had the computer running. The Dell D430 has the appearance of a solid machine and works faster than I expected. The screen is great, the sound a little tinny for watching movies. The wide screen is not 16:9 but the 1280x800 shows web sites and photos nicely. A sign of professional computers is that there are double buttons with the trackpad. There is also a trackpoint but I do not use that as I am geared towards the mouse.

As a "compact" laptop the machine is light, but not to light. There is no space for an optical drive, so they gave me an external USB connected drive. It does not burn DVDs but that does not bother me as I have other computers for that purpose. With the HD capacity of 60 GB, of which 20 GB are taken, there is no room for big projects. I searched for bigger hard disks as backup but 1.8 inch hard disks max out at 120 GB and get expensive (other than my broken netbook which came with a 250GB drive).So I use an SD card as storage extension (like for downloads) and an external drive for my video/audio/photo stuff. The USB ports have enough power to run my external drives. On top, there is a firewire port which I like for an external drive. Integrated Bluetooth runs my wireless mouse.

Dell has a weird power connector and I will be looking for a duplicate power tip because I do not want to be without a backup. The computer gets hot on the right side which I think is not unusual, especially not with dual core processors. So do not use it right on your lap but get a cooling pad.

Talking backup: XP and Dell utilities are on a hidden disk partition and I did not find out yet how to copy that to a hard disk. If the hard disk dies I want to be able to recover XP. My files are backed up on an external drive anyway. There was not a single sheet of paper with the computer so it takes some knowledge to work things out.

But right now: I am happy I bought that computer.

This Dell is a little old but it runs great! Dell used to make really good products. Comparing this to a modern netbook I would say that it is easily the same speed. You get more ram than on a new netbook but the ram runs at slower Hz so close to the same. I got this for about $200 and that was a pretty good deal for what you get. The case is durable and looks good. It has a matt screen which I prefer, less glare and more true to life color. The resolution 1280x800 is the same as the 13.3in macbook all on the smaller 12in screen so you get great clarity. The bottom does get really hot on mine though so that is one drawback. Also on most of these you get the dvd drive separate, meaning its not part of the laptop. Battery life is decent. the power cord is fairly large which matters if you are buying this because this is meant for portability. Overall this is a really good laptop!

Buy Dell Latitude D430 Core 2 Duo 1.3Ghz 80Mb 2048Mb Win XP Pro Now

I've owned this tiny laptop since it was released in 2007 and will continue to use it until it becomes obsolete. I've had a good reference on this line of laptops because I'd previously bought my mom a Dell Latitude D400, which is now approaching 10yr old, yet not one piece of hardware on that laptop has needed replacement (except for the battery). My D430 is pretty much the same. In contrast, my Inspiron 700m 12.1" laptop already required two new inverters, two keyboards, and a new case replacement w/ touchpad. The quality of the D430's keyboard and buttons proved itself after 5 years because not one letter has faded and every key/button pushes like new. If you're thinking of getting a netbook or a small laptop, I would suggest that you consider a D430. You could easily find a refurbished one w/ a Core2Duo & 2GB RAM for less than $200. Also, I would highly recommend any D430 user to get the Media Base dock, which you could find on Ebay for anywhere from $25-$50 (the price depends on whether you want a DVD or DVD-RW drive in it). This would also take care of the heat issues, allowing you to use it comfortably on your lap or leave it on the bed or sofa surface w/o worries of overheating. Whenever you need to go light, just pull it off the dock and leave everything at home.

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We think highly of Dell. This Dell reconditioned computer was described as having XP which is why it was ordered in the first place. It arrived with Win 7. We emailed the selling company but they never acknowledged our email. We called them and a recording said their mail box was full. We will keep the item as we wish to avoid anything with Win 8, but we do not think the seller lived up to the described item. not to communicate was not good customer service either.

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I do my professional scheduling on my laptop and needed a backp system just in case I needed it on the fly should my main system (a Lenovo) require repair for a few days.

This laptop fits the bill and is incredibly light and cheap, including Window 7 installed. They don't make this one anymore and it's the one I wanted because of its lightweight and power combination.