I have one of these for work, exact same model sans the SSD. I LOVE it! Pros and Cons:

Pros:
1. Fast - SSD would make it even faster
2. VERY solid build!!! (almost Thinkpad quality)
3. fairly light, especially for build quality
4. good battery life (4 hours on max settings, 5-6 hours on battery saver)
5. very good Matte screen
6. High quality keyboard - great for long typing sessions (although it can be a bit squeaky at times...)
7. good port selection
8. runs cool and silent, even on highest settings
9. nice looking machine
10. solid screen hinges and locking mechanism - for me, these are essential in a business machine. Easy to open with one hand, but resists enough where screen won't flop around. Screen will also lay back 180 degrees!

Cons:
1. not easy to upgrade - you have to take the entire bottom piece off the laptop to upgrade anything except the hard drive. (which is ok because the build quality is fantastic, but a bit of an annoyance regardless)
2. no USB 3.0
3. no dedicated graphics card or Blu-Ray drive (but, this a work laptop, not an entertainment machine, so this is understandable)
4. squeaky keyboard (quality is great, squeakiness is a minor annoyance)

eatheror wrote:Anyone know if this supports the Dell e-dock? I already have one with an aging Core 2 Duo system so this is a tempting upgrade if it does.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, my name is Mark and I work for Dell.

Yes, this supports the current generation E-Port Replicator.

@m00z44

Drunk much? I do believe you mean finite, not "infinite" on the number of writes to the ssd. In any case it will not be a problem for 99.99% of users.

Just thought I'd ask if this puppy has a backlit keyboard? I always work with Dell and see this line of latitude in my office a lot lately. They're very nice machines!

Example of Dell's bad past:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/projectfailures/dell-lawsuit-pattern-of-deceit/10165

I am currently using a 5-year old Dell laptop which has held up well over time, but I wouldn't purchase another. Toshibas and Acers have a better repair rate, I'm pondering them for my next one...

Strange, same model number over at Tiger Direct and it says it comes with Windows 7 Pro.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1990178&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

wesrob66 wrote:Just thought I'd ask if this puppy has a backlit keyboard? I always work with Dell and see this line of latitude in my office a lot lately. They're very nice machines!

Mine has a backlit keyboard (typing on it right now!) and it is excellent - One of my favorite features. Not sure if the backlight is standard on all of these or an upgrade option.

I would disagree with this. I also use mine for 8+ hours of work every day and the screen is one of my favorite features - much better than the standard high-gloss laptop screens on 95% of the laptops coming out these days.

No, it's not an IPS or FHD screen, but for a standard screen, it's excellent!

poopey wrote:I stare at an E6420 for 8 hours a day for work. The led-backlit screen is crap. Very poor colors and very bad shift in color/brightness with viewing angle. I got out of bed just to tell you this. Good night.

P.S. To the one wondering about fan noise. It's fairly quiet, but when taxed and placed on an inappropriate surface (ie. mattress), the fans are audible. They are not completely silent, but fairly quiet, especially compared to some earlier Dell models.

Woot! Can we get some more pictures of this laptop when it's open? You have like 6 of it closed...


[Thunderthighs: Probably not but I'll pass that on for future sales of laptops. The TigerDirect link (posted above) has more pics.]

I have this comp as a mandatory purchase for school, but no SSD and lower-resolution monitor. However, it does come with a semi-active discrete graphics card that seems to activate when needed. Doesn't appear that this version has it, but it still seems like a decent buy.

Anyway, been pretty happy w/ this laptop and with my previous Dell laptop. Previous one had a really cheap feel w/ its plastic keys, but this one seems way more polished. Only gripe is that the CD/DVD drive is a little hard to access since it's on the right side and I like to use my mouse there, but then again I don't really pop in a disc that often. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a non-gaming/graphics-intensive laptop.

Hot Deal! It's a Latitude (business line) E6420 with 3 years warranty to boot.

For those who are unfamilar with Dell's support tiers, the business and XPS support is MUCH better than standard consumer support. Having owning multiple Dell's unit from Inspiron, XPS, Latitude, Alienware... you get what you paid for on support.

Yes, Dell's support is self-help. So if you are not tech savvy, get something you can get help with locally.

Other than not having discrete graphics, I'd say the specs for this are almost perfect for a non-ultrabook. Lightweight, 1600x900 resolution, good stuff.

But then again, it's a Dell, and my number one rule is to never buy a Dell, even despite its 3 year warranty

jrupe wrote:anybody know if this thing is loud? Every dell laptop I"ve owned has had a loud fan and got hot. I need a virtually silent, cold running laptop with SSD and about this size. could be a match if it runs silent and cold.

I have used this and the beefier 6520 with i7 CPU. I've yet to notice the fan on either noise-wise. Heat wise they can get a little warm, but nothing compared to my old penis panini making MacBook Pro.

For the money this really is a awesome deal. The 256 GB SSD is worh abou half the cost of the laptop alone. Only real issue is no A band on the wireless for those in crowded Wifi areas.

rill2503456 wrote:Other than not having discrete graphics, I'd say the specs for this are almost perfect for a non-ultrabook. Lightweight, 1600x900 resolution, good stuff.

But then again, it's a Dell, and my number one rule is to never buy a Dell, even despite its 3 year warranty

It is a business class laptop. Qualifies for business class support out of OKC. I have had awesome support on these in the past year from Dell. They have made good strides support wise in the last 4 years or so on the business end of the house. Consumer support still comes out of India.

chaoskid42 wrote:Woot! Can we get some more pictures of this laptop when it's open? You have like 6 of it closed...


[Thunderthighs: Probably not but I'll pass that on for future sales of laptops. The TigerDirect link (posted above) has more pics.]

Jus go to Dell and look up Latitude e6420. It is still a current model.

philipthegreat wrote:For about $80 you can upgrade to 8 gigabytes of RAM. It's easy to install (takes about 4 minutes including watching the instructions on Youtube). Then, you'll be unstoppable!

$80 is a rip off! You can get 4gb modules for $20 a piece!

*shakeyfist!* Why did you do this to me, Woot?!
Why did you have to post a laptop with almost the *EXACT* specs I've been looking for?! I have a Vostro 1400. It'll be 4 years old in April, and it has been the single-best laptop I've ever owned. It's never given me a single problem, I'm still using the original 9-cell battery (and still getting 4+ hours off of it)... but an i5 with a rather large SSD is hard to pass up!

I'm torn between selling my old one, or just enshrining it and sacrificing HPaqs and Toshibas on an altar for appeasement.

beatmix01 wrote:Strange, same model number over at Tiger Direct and it says it comes with Windows 7 Pro.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1990178&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

e6420 is more of a series than model. It has variable configs. I was ordering them 10 at a time w/ ultimate pre loaded.

lukesed wrote:Anyone know what SSD this is? Can make a huge performance difference. Sandy Bridge CPU is a sign that it might be a recent one.

I have a 128gb ssd in mine. It's a LiteOn drive. Didn't even know they made SSD's till I got it.

endybajr wrote:*shakeyfist!* Why did you do this to me, Woot?!
Why did you have to post a laptop with almost the *EXACT* specs I've been looking for?! I have a Vostro 1400. It'll be 4 years old in April, and it has been the single-best laptop I've ever owned. It's never given me a single problem, I'm still using the original 9-cell battery (and still getting 4+ hours off of it)... but an i5 with a rather large SSD is hard to pass up!

I'm torn between selling my old one, or just enshrining it and sacrificing HPaqs and Toshibas on an altar for appeasement.

Qualit wise it is a big jump up from the vostros. Build quality is good so far. Only lost one to a drop at work. And even then it still ran. Just needed external display.

xavoc wrote:Qualit wise it is a big jump up from the vostros. Build quality is good so far. Only lost one to a drop at work. And even then it still ran. Just needed external display.

I'm not terribly worried. My vostro fell off of a five foot tall filing cabinet onto a concrete floor and... the casing chipped. Yeah, I know, I was lucky. :-p
The 1400's braindead-simple to service -- I can tear one down and re-assemble in less than 10 minutes. These are likely even easier. Are they the unipanel design like the newer Latitudes? Those are *AWESOME* for upgrades, repairs, replacements, etc. Two screws, slide, lift. That's it.

Thank goodness I am the only non-tekie on these forums otherwise; well, we don't want to think about that, do we?

SSD is a great feature, but it's not worth the cost of this notebook.
An i5 setup can be had for A LOT less than this, sans the SSD. Sub $500 if you look around.

Sorry, but the performance gain is not worth an extra $300. You're better off putting that $$$ towards a graphics card, more ram, better processor, etc. And with $300 you can very nearly upgrade all of those.

endybajr wrote:I'm not terribly worried. My vostro fell off of a five foot tall filing cabinet onto a concrete floor and... the casing chipped. Yeah, I know, I was lucky. :-p
The 1400's braindead-simple to service -- I can tear one down and re-assemble in less than 10 minutes. These are likely even easier. Are they the unipanel design like the newer Latitudes? Those are *AWESOME* for upgrades, repairs, replacements, etc. Two screws, slide, lift. That's it.

actually you have to take the entire bottom off of this to upgrade anything except the hard drive. 9 screws total, then it slides off. A tiny bit annoying, but not a "huge" deal.

Not a bad deal, but... 14' LED screen? that's scary.

endybajr wrote:I'm not terribly worried. My vostro fell off of a five foot tall filing cabinet onto a concrete floor and... the casing chipped. Yeah, I know, I was lucky. :-p
The 1400's braindead-simple to service -- I can tear one down and re-assemble in less than 10 minutes. These are likely even easier. Are they the unipanel design like the newer Latitudes? Those are *AWESOME* for upgrades, repairs, replacements, etc. Two screws, slide, lift. That's it.

These ARE the current model for the 14" screen until next month when the new Ivy Bridge CPUs drop.

gtmaster303 wrote:SSD is a great feature, but it's not worth the cost of this notebook.
An i5 setup can be had for A LOT less than this, sans the SSD. Sub $500 if you look around.

Sorry, but the performance gain is not worth an extra $300. You're better off putting that $$$ towards a graphics card, more ram, better processor, etc. And with $300 you can very nearly upgrade all of those.

Not on a business class laprop that gets business class build quality and support. I can't even think of a laptop worth worrying about discreet graphics quality in this price range. If you want consumer grade that falls apart easily, and want to talk to Rakesh for support by all means go cheaper. Literally I talked to Rakesh in India to get support for an XPS today. The Latitude e6520 and Latitude 13 I had serviced 2 days before had shorter wait times, better service quality and only an Oaklahoman accent to deal with.

lxl wrote:Not a bad deal, but... 14' LED screen? that's scary.

I had an e6420 before my current e6520. If you dont need the 1920 x 1080 display the 14" is a hell of a lot smaller and lighter.

This is a good deal. Some may claim you can get sub $500 i5 laptops out there, but those are consumer grade. This is a business laptop, and has the following features:

• Three year warranty
  
• Magnesium alloy casing (look it up)
  
• Docking port
  

rill2503456 wrote:Other than not having discrete graphics, I'd say the specs for this are almost perfect for a non-ultrabook. Lightweight, 1600x900 resolution, good stuff.

But then again, it's a Dell, and my number one rule is to never buy a Dell, even despite its 3 year warranty

This is the first time I've seen someone use "discrete" correctly (as opposed to using it in place of "discreet") in well over a year. Thank you for restoring my hope for humanity.

Just confirming what others have said, that this is a good laptop and deal especially with the SSD. The new Latitude line is nice and all their accessories are interchangeable. Build is pretty good, better than any consumer version, of course.

I don't have this computer, but I have an XT3 with basically the same specs. Performance wise, I can run L4D and L4D 2 just fine. Not the newest and greatest games, but it can play some games. I primarily use it for personal work. With the 9-cell extended I get about 8 hrs of word processing and internet browsing. using the "Cool" dell power setting.

Depending on which Dell power manager version you have, you may have the "Quiet" power manager choice, too. No burnt laps or palms to worry about.

Also, just to reiterate, many people seem to not realize the different support levels. I've never had a problem with Dell hardware. None of mine have failed, even the consumer level Inspirons (knock on wood). But, I did notice, if you use the Latitude line and call tech support, you get someone in the US. With the consumer computer line you get India.

I'm not sure where they draw the line.. vostro, xps.. etc.. but definitely Latitude and Precision get US tech support, as those are their premium business computers.

Also, keyboard is a bit mushy in my opinion and not as responsive. Sometimes I have to hit a key twice because I didn't push hard enough. I have two ThinkPads... so if you're coming from those, you'll be disappointed with the keyboard on the new Latitudes.

hehersontan wrote:This is a good deal. Some may claim you can get sub $500 i5 laptops out there, but those are consumer grade. This is a business laptop, and has the following features:

• Three year warranty
  
• Magnesium alloy casing (look it up)
  
• Docking port
  

Good idea to point this out. Most consumers are unaware of business grade laptops and assume what you get at Best Buy is top of the line. Although, to be fair, Best Buy does sell Macbook Pros, which for all intents and purposes is a consumer laptop designed to the level of business grade laptops.

Hmm.. I wonder if Macbook Pros undergo the same ISO and Mil-Std tests many business class laptops go through and tout for marketing? I never see any Apple marketing highlighting those features.

rill2503456 wrote:Other than not having discrete graphics, I'd say the specs for this are almost perfect for a non-ultrabook. Lightweight, 1600x900 resolution, good stuff.

Agreed, if only it had a Nvidia graphics in there. I don't get why laptop resolutions seem to be stagnant or even getting lower while our smart phones are doing 1080p + gaming in the palm of your hand.

I want a 14" laptop I can play games and/or hook up to an external monitor and game w/ discreet graphics.

Dell. I do not like Dell.

I once purchased a Dell Inspiron XPS laptop.. from Dell ($3k laptop). I could never get support for it. They claimed my laptop was flagged in their system as "stolen" and the fraud department was only open for 2 hours a day.

After several months of calling them long distance (I was stationed at a base in Japan) at the specified time, which was terribly inconvenient with my work schedule, and never reaching anyone that worked in the department I gave up even though I had purchased the extended/cover all warranty. I never did get any support from them.

Eventually I ordered the parts I needed to repair what I could without replacing the motherboard. I sold that system while it was still worth something and I will never own another Dell.

Also, don't let the 256gb SSD blind you. This is, at best, a mediocre system. The graphics are a major dud and at this price point, it leaves quite a bit to be desired. I bought a system with much more plus numbers than this one for a hundred bucks less over a year ago and it wasn't even on sale.

Business class or not, and contrary to some previous posts, this system isn't worth the price. Dell is all we have at my work place and I'm in the aerospace industry. I for one would never choose the word "quality" to describe this brand.

Like you've probably told one of your female family members/close friends in the past, you can do better.

gtmaster303 wrote:SSD is a great feature, but it's not worth the cost of this notebook.
An i5 setup can be had for A LOT less than this, sans the SSD. Sub $500 if you look around.

Sorry, but the performance gain is not worth an extra $300. You're better off putting that $$$ towards a graphics card, more ram, better processor, etc. And with $300 you can very nearly upgrade all of those.

I couldn't agree more.

today on dell.com they are offering a special deal that seems to be better than the current woot deal, at first glance: $599.00 for second generation i5, 6 GB memory,1 TB Sata hard drive,free shipping.screen is 15.6". same video card. they say this is a special down around 33% from their usual price. the main difference is size and type of hard drive.

Bluetooth?

Great advice...thanks for the heads up.

doc362 wrote:Dell. I do not like Dell.

I once purchased a Dell Inspiron XPS laptop.. from Dell ($3k laptop). I could never get support for it. They claimed my laptop was flagged in their system as "stolen" and the fraud department was only open for 2 hours a day.

After several months of calling them long distance (I was stationed at a base in Japan) at the specified time, which was terribly inconvenient with my work schedule, and never reaching anyone that worked in the department I gave up even though I had purchased the extended/cover all warranty. I never did get any support from them.

Eventually I ordered the parts I needed to repair what I could without replacing the motherboard. I sold that system while it was still worth something and I will never own another Dell.

Also, don't let the 256gb SSD blind you. This is, at best, a mediocre system. The graphics are a major dud and at this price point, it leaves quite a bit to be desired. I bought a system with much more plus numbers than this one for a hundred bucks less over a year ago and it wasn't even on sale.

Business class or not, and contrary to some previous posts, this system isn't worth the price. Dell is all we have at my work place and I'm in the aerospace industry. I for one would never choose the word "quality" to describe this brand.

Like you've probably told one of your female family members/close friends in the past, you can do better.

jseureau wrote:Dell's Customer Support is second to none! I love those guys

do you drink much?

jrupe wrote:anybody know if this thing is loud? Every dell laptop I"ve owned has had a loud fan and got hot. I need a virtually silent, cold running laptop with SSD and about this size. could be a match if it runs silent and cold.

I have this laptop as my business computer. It is very quiet. I cannot stand the sound of a fan. It rarely kicks on and when it does it is not bothersome even to me.