Time to get new portable and I need a good and silent one. My employer prefers Dell.

Anyone got experience with the new Dell Latitude D Series? Are they noisy? Especially the Dell Latitude D800.

Are there any Dell portables that are exceptionally silent/quiet?

Personally I'm a bit reluctant to go for a Dell since the ones I've seen give a "plastic" feel. But maybe later models are better in this regard.

Ditto. I got the C400 because every gram matters to me: this week I am carrying the external optical drive for the first time in about 30 flights (have to reinstal from scratch for various reasons later today!).

Don't know how relevant this is to the D series, but the C400 is pretty solid - has survived at least 1 serious knock with no noticable damage.

Cooling/noise: all the hot components are on the bottom: cpu has a fan that is tolerable in an office environment, audible but bearable at home at 2am (it is noisier than my signature line system). Also at the bottom the memory (methinks, could also be VGA) gets hot on the case (see somewhere the story of the guy who damaged his family jewels with a Dell ) and also the hdd. I find it best when working at a desk to lift the back with a CD case to allow more airflow (also to the CPU fan intake). Without this cpu fan gets audible in office in summer temps (ambient > circa 25). Overall noise is OK - I can sleep in hotel rooms fine with the Dell folding: I stand it on its edge to keep the bottom cool and the fan on a slower setting.

(There is a Speedfan like utility somewhere for Dell Latitude so I could play with the fan myself: however I figure as it is not mine, and premature failure while I am on the road somewhere would cause serious inconvenience, I have avoided )

ps - have been carrying computers for about 13 years: previously Toshiba, previous to that a couple of IBM, my first was an Amstrad luggable 386. Would consider Dell (or Tosh or IBM - I do insist on a joystick mouse which I am comfortable with and avoids the need to carry a mouse) again based on current experience.

Ok, just got a D400 1 month ago and am very happy with it ...

But, a few things to consider for noise
- Optical drives : is in my docking station as I have the lightest one, but otherwise makes lot of vibrations, maybe due to the docking, but I'm not using it oftern (< 1/week)

- CPU : centrino/pentium-M runs cool and not much fan needed when in battery mode

- HDD - planned to replace it anyway, so I didn't bother about the awfully noisy (seek) default one (was it an Hitachi/IBM). Anyway, buy a OEM Fujitsu and swap it, they are quieter (for me) than a 'cuda V

Get a Pentium M if you can afford it.

As far as PCs go, I've heard Dells are really quiet, but I was talking to a local the other day who told me Hewlett Packard was the better. Not recommending them, just suggesting that you compare the two.

Feldt, this is off topic, but why do you put the EU down as your location? Is it evolving into a sovereign state?

Ooh, that's scary

Thanks to all; good suggestions and advice! I think it'll be a Dell Latitude D800 with the 1.4 GHz Pentium-M.

Trip: I put EU in there for folks who don't know where Sweden is...

Good to hear, reading about the drafting of the EU constitution had bothered me a little...

most people have heard of Sweden though, right? Y'all are famous for your women

Good luck with that quiet laptop.

Few other details :
* the keyboard 'clicks' well, grave, but I like it
* sometimes, when battery is loading, I have electrical noise (coil whine ?)
* again, be prepared for eventuall HDD change,
* RAM and HDD are user-replaceable (read warranty still ok), and, if dell pricing is same as here, you can save lot of money/ have much more

and also, the D800 is a desktop replacement, not something you'll take on the road to work.

I made the mistake of choosing the fastest/bigger latpop as my first laptop and he finished staying 100% on my desk @work.


[offtopic]



Well, more scary would be that Europe would be same as before world wars.

And a constitution is also usually a good thing to clarify things, the evolution of constitutions in Europe have a tendency to empower democracy more and more, for example, it introduces referendum powers to the ppl (note : not applicable to Liechstenstein).

<cynical/humor>scary ... or ist because US won't be the master of all anymore</cynical>




And for Sweden situation : it is usefull ... I wonder how many USians* tell the difference with Switzerland (and for that matter, see this CNN map)

*(note, some (french) ppl already situated Belgium around Austria, for that matter, not typically US, but still ...)

[/offtopic]

It is true, sometimes I forget that there are countries other than the United States

My friend just got the most expensive Dell laptop (designation escapes me now) as a desktop replacement. Upon powerup I was shocked at it's silence. HDD noise (both idle and seek) are extremely quiet, and there was NO other noise. Later he had it running on the coffee table and the fan kicked in, so at least it's speed controlled. It was difinitely noisey, but livable. It kicked off after awhile.

It seems that the 2 following programs are missing from the web link section and are very relevant to dell laptop's.

i8kfan gui


SpeeSwitch XP

hahahaha. We will always be the "world's only superpower" Unlike every other hegemon that came before us, somehow history will not repeat and we will not lose our power

The EU concerns me, but so does the US... Large, aloof, central governments are bad (in my opinion)

And hey sorry to get off topic like this, if any of y'all want to discuss this startup a thread in the off topic section. I'm pretty open-minded, love to hear what you had to say.