D610 Initial Impressions

So I finally got my D610 today after the LONG weekend, and so far I am nothing but impressed!

The base specs that I ordered:
Pentium M 2.0Ghz
14.1" SXGA+ LCD
64MB Radeon X300
512MB RAM (2 256MB DIMMS)

Overall the build quality of this laptop is excellent. It feels solid and I believe that it will be able to withstand college for 4 years with me. The only thing I noticed wrong was I recieved a slight creak on the right side when flex the laptop a little bit. Nothing thats too big of a deal, and it probably will go away after all the new components have settled into their environment.

The keyboard, as you all probably already know, is excellent. It feels solid, is responsive and took no time at all to get used to. I haven't really used the trackpoint much, but if you are used to them, I'm sure this one will suit your needs.

The LCD is great, and I sure am glad I opted for the SXGA+ version. If you run an LCD on your desktop computer at a resolution of 1280x1024 you should have no problem adapting to the native 1400x1050 of the D610. The screen is built solidly and has little flex. Pressing some on the back of the screen does not yield the wavy effect on the screen. With a quick glance through Dead Pixel Buddy I noticed no dead pixels, but I wasn't examining extremely close. If I couldn't notice any on a short look then I don't need to go hunting for them.

Heatwise I have not noticed a problem at all. I ran 3DMark05 once and did not notice any heat problems on the palm rests. I didn't check the underside of the laptop but I am sure that it is within reason. The fan does seem to run constantly, but it is so faint that I can barely hear it, if at all, in my room with low ambient noise levels. No big deal.

As far as issues that I have seen around the internet in the past about the D610:

- The space between the bezel and the LCD screen near the Dell logo seems to have been resolved. Mine does not have any gap that appears to be out of the ordinary.

- The headphone noise still appears to exist. I haven't updated any drivers besides the video card drivers so I cannot confirm if that helps or not. I have a set of headphones with inline volume control and it does allow you to eliminate the noise by turnung the volume down on the headphones.

I haven't really run any games, but I did run 3DMark05. With everything stock except the latest Omega Drivers for the x300, this D610 got 954 3DMarks. Take what you will from that.

I am getting ready to run BF2 real quick for someone from these forums, so I will report back on those findings.

Look for a full review with pictures soon, and if you have any questions just let me know!


FOR PICTURES SEE POST BELOW!

The thickness is about what I expected, perhaps a little thinner. It is no T42/T43, but it is manageable. Because it is hard to express thickness in pictures, I will post a picture that has the D610 compared to DVD cases as it is something we can all relate. Look for them around 9PM EST tonight.

Sorry I am a few hours late with the pictures, but real life can get in the way sometimes. Here are the pictures I have at the moment, including 2 comparing the thickness to 2 DVD cases and 1 showing the lack of a gap between the bezel and the screen. If you want any more pictures taken, feel free to ask!

I ordered my D610 on June 25th. Had I ordered one day earlier on June 24th, I probably would have gotten it one week later, but I would have missed out on $100 of savings (they changed from $400 off to $500 off). If July 4th wasn't a holiday, I would have recieved the laptop then from the June 25th order date.