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[Short Note: I initially
purchased a used Latitude C800 (the predecessor of the C810) – this had a
1GHZ Coppermine Class CPU and a different motherboard Architecture. Basically
the C810 is an improved C800 with substantial enhancements to power management
and consumption in particular. I returned the C800 after a few days due to a
very noisy 2nd Fan, and they mentioned they had the C810 which I
took for a small (upward) adjustment in Cost. The C800 was originally $840, and
the C810 cost me an extra $120 ($960) – this system was purchased in
Dell Latitude C810, PIII-Mobile Tualatin 1.13GHZ,
512MB RAM, 60GB 8MB Cache 7200RPM TravelStar HDD, 15.1” UXGA.
Recently I purchased a used Laptop for both
Business and Personal use, after deciding to upgrade my ultra-stable
ultra-reliable 60GB ThinkPad 600X. After some deliberation I decided that I
would very much like a system with an UXGA screen (i.e. 1600x1200) although I
wasn’t particularly fussy about the other attributes such as Disk Size (I
replaced the hard drive with a 60GB 8ms 8MB Cache 7200RPM TravelStar) and the
CPU wasn’t important as I rarely play games and thus anything with a PIII would
serve my needs. So when my local computer dealer offered me the DELL (they had
an IBM A21p PIII-M UXGA system but it was non-functionable) I took the plunge
and moved away from a lifelong ThinkPad user to the Latitude C810. I was
initially dubious about moving to a Dell, having had little experience with
their laptops. However, so far, impressions have been very good.
The Inspiron 8100 is the consumer version of the C810 and most of this review probably applies to this machine also (although I have never seen one the consensus is they are identical except for minor casing changes).
[I make some comparisons in this review to ThinkPads as they are the only laptops I have had extensive experience with]
The Latitude C810 was launched back in October 2001 as a replacement for the popular C800, the launch coincided with the Intel launch of the new P-III Mobile CPU with the Tualatin core that the C810 uses (the C800 used the older Coppermine core) – this brought substantial improvements both in power consumption and management, as well as improved performance by using techniques such as prefetch and doubling the L2 cache size. To put things into perspective this system was launched around the same time as the popular ThinkPad A21p (another quality PIII Mobile desktop replacement) – the 1600x1200 TFT version of the A21p was a competitor to the C810 (and I suspect uses the same IBM UXGA panel). The C810 was replaced with the C840 (a P-IV Mobile) in early 2002, this also coincided with the P-IV Mobile launch. I am not sure when the C810 was withdrawn, but I expect it was around the middle/late 2002. My Unit (according to Dell records) shipped on the 8th November 2001, making it nearly 2.5 years old when purchased used.
The C810 was followed later by the P-IV based Latitude C840.
Latitude vs. Inspiron
Equivalent
Latitudes are the Corporate version of the Consumer level Inspiron range (I'm
not about to go into the Latitude vs. Inspiron debate here :) ), the Inspiron
8100 being almost identical to the C810. It’s interesting to see, looking at the
Linux on Laptops page (http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/dell.html)
that the Inspiron 8100 outnumbers the Latitude C810 eight-to-one. The Latitude
C800 and Inspiron 8000 fourteen-to-one. This makes me lead to the conclusion
that the Latitude is somewhat rarer on the market than the equivalent Inspiron.
I believe at the time of
launch the C810 was Dells Flagship machine, being the most expensive, heaviest
and powerful system, offering UXGA and (just launched)
Tualatin P-III Mobile performance.
Dell Latitude C810 Top View (NIC, Mouse and Power
cables connected)
The specification was a Pentium III
–Mobile 1.13GHz (Tualatin Core), 1x256MB RAM (leaving one socket free, I
added another 256MB module),
20GB Hard Drive (which I upgraded – see below), Integral FDD, 15.1” UXGA
1600x1200, GEForce2 Go 16MB 3D Card, IEEE 1394 Firewire, 2xUSB, 56K/100BT, various other ports, running
Windows XP Professional SP1.
Here is the System summary from the Dell Website. During its lifetime the Samsung CDRW/DVD was changed to a Sony CDRW. This machine shipped with 256MB as an option – the usual shipping was a 128MB model and the UXGA (vs. SXGA+) panel.
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NOTE: The information contained below relates to this
system's original configuration as sold when new. |
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The Machine is very bulky, and very heavy (9.1lbs with CD-RW, FDD and battery) although the build quality seems good. The Screen hinge seems acceptably firm (despite some reviewers stating to the contrary) and the multitude of ports is amazing, it looks and feels like a “portable” desktop, and it definitely looks like a Business/Corporate machine and not a consumer system. It looks the business. Big and mean. As a machine to be used on the road I’d have some reservations due to these factors, however, given the multitude of ports and big screen some might differ here in my opinion,
As mentioned build quality is acceptable, perhaps leaning towards good (but not excellent). Dell laptops have always had an unfair reputation for build quality (especially the Inspiron range) but this system whilst not ThinkPad Corporate standard it is pretty close.
C810 Keyboard
The Keyboard is almost as
good as the ThinkPad 600X (that is very
good) – this is important when you type a lot (as opposed to Web
Surfing/Gaming) and I’d rate this solid 7 perhaps 8 out of 10. Having a dedicated function key (which I
dedicate to MYIE2) is a good idea (similar to the ThinkPad button on the IBM T
series, but easier to allocate to a user function).
Screen Shot (excuse curvature due to camera lens) in
1600x1200 32-bit color
Absolutely Superb and the
best screen I have ever seen on a laptop (and I’ve seen many), The IBM UXGA panel is absolutely
incredible, and the C800 display is bright and vibrant… perhaps too bright if that is possible (I use a
reduced brightness setting). With 1600x1200 you get an amazing amount of screen
real-estate and coupled with using Photoshop this blows anything you have ever
seen before away.
The Graphics Card a GEForce2
Go 16MB card handles the basic stuff I do daily – most demanding game is
SimCity 4 Rush Hour – runs fine (and this game requires a 16MB 3D card)
– I think this was one of the first laptops with an integral 3D card.
Makes Web Browsing
exceptional, with high clarity and colors, really delivers something great, if
you are used to a mere XGA screen, you’ll soon wonder how you managed to
live without UXGA.
PIII-Mobile Logo on Case
PIII Mobile 1.13GHZ (512K L2
Cache) is adequate for everything I do – being a Tualatin class CPU it
has good dynamic Speedstep capabilities (vs. a PIII Coppermine such as seen in
the C810’s predecessor the C800, where speed changes had to occur
pre-boot in the BIOS with no dynamic switching, clumsy)
The Dual Fan system seems to work well. Although on occasion with long periods of use they seem to operate frequently (and not quietly)
Intel 815 Chipset (http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/290688.htm).
This subsystem really boosts
the overall system considerably. Upgraded from the original 4200RPM (?) 10GB drive.
This made a major difference.
Probably added another 20-30% overall speed increase to my system.
A 60GB
The
system shipped with a 256MB SDRAM SODIMM. With the 256MB 133MHZ DIMM I have a
spare socket for upgrade to the maximum of 512MB. The DIMM is cheap and readily
available. Although XP is quite acceptable with 256MB this will be my next
upgrade.
This laptop feels faster than a 5400RPM equipped TravelStar 40GB ThinkPad T30 P-IV 1.8GHZ with 512MB of RAM. Its fast, responsive and a pleasure to use under Windows XP SP1. I suspect the fast disk plays a large part in this. Bootup seems faster, as does XP Hibernate/Restore.
Actually in this case faster than a P-IV equipped DELL
Inspiron 2650 (see http://www.techtv.com/news/computing/story/0,24195,3382322,00.html)
to quote from the TechTV review:
“In light of the laptop's cutting-edge components, we were surprised by
the (Dell Inspiron) 2650's somewhat disappointing performance in our suite of
benchmark tests. The 2650 was eclipsed in every category by
a
Sound is quite good through the internal speakers - nicely positioned for spatial spacing. Better than any ThinkPad system I have used. I am not a sound expert but subjectively it's the best sounding laptop I have experienced.
I get around 2 hours which is
pretty good all things considered - this is a hefty system and the battery wasn’t
new.
Big and Bulky (although the
desktop form factor might appeal to some), The (Dual) Fan can be noisy and
irritating. Also the NIC
socket can obstruct the use of the mouse when a cable is connected. I believe
on the C840 the NIC socket has been moved to the other side of the casing.
All Pictures were taken with a
Nikon DC5400 5MPP Compact with the TV/VGA mode setting.
Part
Description