Dell Precision M6300 laptop

Dell Precision M6300 Review

Look The Dell Precision M6300 is a powerful workstation notebook designed for demanding applications especially addressed to 3D designers. The Precision M6300 offers a bulletproof chassis, high-end graphics card and a wide variety of configurations.

The Dell Precision M6300 is a powerful workstation notebook designed for demanding applications especially addressed to 3D designers. The Precision M6300 offers a bulletproof chassis, high-end graphics card and a wide variety of configurations.

Precision M6300 as Reviewed

* Screen 17" WXGA+ (1440x900)
* Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7500 @ 2.20GHz
* 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM Memory
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M
* HDD Seagate 120GB 7200 - ST9120823AS
* DVD 8x +/-RW (LG/HLDS)
* 9-cell battery
* Internal Dell Bluetooth Card WXP 360
* Intel 4965 Wireless card (a/g/n) - EMEA
* Finger Print Reader
* Windows XP
* Warranty: 4Y NBD International (Next Business Day) On-site + CompleteCare 4Y Accidental Damage Cover

Price: £1369

Set

So whats new in comparison to the predecessor of the of the M6300, the Precision M90?

* New range of Intel Core 2 Duo processors - up to X7900 (2.80GHz 4M L2 Cache, 800MHz) in the USA and T7800 (2.60GHz 4MB L2 cache 800MHz FSB) in the UK
* NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M replaced nVidia Quadro FX 1500M
* 802.11n generation of wireless networking

Reasons for Buying

I am a web developer/graphic designer and was looking for a desktop replacement that would most of the time stay on my desk. I sometimes also play games like Warcraft III, Counter Strike etc. That is why I was ready to sacrifice its mobility and focus on a high performance machine. I wanted something robust and powerful that will last for another 5 years. In the very beginning I didnt see a big difference between consumer and business laptops. I was lucky enough to receive comments from people explaining that, as the laptop is my business tool, I should concentrate on business lines of HP, Dell and Lenovo. The last brand was not an option as good Lenovo ThinkPad laptops are above my budget (£1,300) in the UK.

I wrote down my priority list:

1. Performance - dedicated graphic card (256MB) with high quality screen, min. 2GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM
2. Reliability - good warranty options and customer support
3. Robust - bulletproof construction
4. On budget (£1300)
5. Windows XP - this was very important to me as after many Vista-horror stories I decided that I dont want to waste time on dealing with problems and sacrificing laptops performance for bells and whistles.

As Dell have a very good reputation in terms of customer support & warranty service and you can get a bit more for money than with HP, I decided to choose something from the Latitude or Precision series.

The biggest challenge for me was finding the right screen and resolution. I know many people have a headache here as well.

I had the following options:

1. 1280x800 - not a high enough resolution for me
2. 1440x900 - I picked this resolution, right in the middle
3. 1680x1050 on 15.4" and 1920x1200 on 17" - too high a resolution for me, small text, too far from my target web design resolutions and wouldnt be able to play in native resolution in some games.

I was ready to consider 17" 1680x1050 but it was not available in Latitude/Precision series and I finally decided to go with Precision M6300 17" 1440x900.

So, Dell offered all the options I wanted for this very specific configuration (with XP on board to avoid any downgrades).

Where and How Purchased

I was recommended to call the Dell sales line as there is a possibility to get some discount compared to an online option. Overall I was able to go down to £1,369 including shipping (around £90 cheaper than from the Internet). I know some people managed to grab more, but it was all right for me.

I am a bit disappointed that with a laptop for such a price Dell doesnt offer any freebies - a mouse or a cheap bag would make a difference. People buy experience as well as the product, right?

Build & Design

The build & design of the M6300 in my opinion is a 10 out of 10:

1. Design - I like aluminum-like lid, grey, black and silver finishes. I am aware the design is outdated and a lot of people find it ugly but I like this Spartan look.
2. Build - magnesium-alloy chassis, patented Strike-Zone technology to protect your screen, very solid especially on the bottom (the surface there is like a stone).
3. Others
1. all LEDs are in the right places and they dont cause disrupts
2. media keys on the front panel are useful especially for watching DVDs
3. there is also a fifth rubber foot so you can keep laptop stable when working with a battery taken out (some people from the forum put it in the fridge to keep it cool while working on AC:-)
4. charge indicator on the battery is a nice feature
5. fingerprint reader is well located.

With its weight (8.5 lbs/3.8 kg), it is a tank, but I dont think anyone buying a 17" laptop will care much about its portability (AC adaptor is a brick too).

Screen

As I mentioned before, the 17" WXGA+ (1440x900) screen was my pick as WUXGA (1920x1200) has too high a resolution and WSXGA+ (1680x1050) was not available. I have heard people complaining on the screen of my choice in the previous model, the Precision M90, but I decided to take a risk... only to be very disappointed. I was still lucky enough to receive an LG-Philips screen - brilliant colors, sharp, no grainy issue but with poor viewing angles and the right side much darker that the rest of it. There was also a light bleed all the way at the bottom and dark bottom corners, but it wasnt an issue for me. An LCD screen should be the strongest point of a laptop targeted to designers audience. In this case it was opposite.

I spent a few days working on it, mainly in Photoshop, and decided I needed to try a screen replacement. I cant understand why they had decided to put such screens in a high-end laptop for designers. There were more people asking the same question regarding the M90 and the issue is still unresolved. For games this screen is perfect - angles did not bother me at all, but when working in Photoshop I could feel a difference. I had to sit down comfortable on a chair, choose the perfect position of the screen in which I would see 70-80% of it nice and clearly, but with every move of my head the brightness location was changing, it was very hard to make sure colors were picked correctly etc.

I called technical support and they replaced the screen the next day. Unfortunately I couldnt witness this operation and when I came home I realized there was an AUO grainy screen inside with a very dark left bottom side and poor colors.

What happened next? You will find out below in a Customer Support section.

Speakers

Good quality sound makes my work more comfortable and I can enjoy time spent while working on my laptop. With M6300 you receive a nice sound system - more what you can expect from inbuilt laptop speakers and crystal clear sound coming out from even standard headphones. This is a real multimedia laptop and even watching DVD does not require external speakers.

Processor and Performance

As the laptop has a Windows XP on board there are no issues with booting and waking up from a sleep mode. The hard drive spins at 7200rpm and I would say it is quite noisy. I used many laptops before and barely noticed the HDD working. I chose the Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz with 2GB RAM on XP there is a maximum comfort while working with a few applications opened (Photoshop, a few Firefox windows, Winamp, FTP etc.). Unfortunately I couldnt test its performance on any 3D application which is a shame as this model is dedicated for this sort of applications.

From a spec perspective, this laptop is a monster, I wouldnt expect anything more. Even for gaming it delivers brilliant results (see benchmarks below).

Benchmarks

* Super Pi - 52s
* 3DMark05 - 10,163
* 3DMark06 - 5,438

Heat and Noise

I havent experienced any problems with extensive heat (palm rests etc.) or noise apart from a HDD thats a bit too loud, but this is something you just get used to. The optical drive works without any extensive noises. What is the most important, even with the fans turned on the noise is really low - it is hard to notice sometimes.

Keyboard and Touchpad

I dont use the touchpad much, but this one seems alright and with the third middle key programmable it gives an additional option making your life easier. The only disadvantage I can see regarding the touchpad is a small scroll area, especially if you compare it to HP laptops.

I am very petty when it comes to keyboards. I like comfort for my fingers and wrists. The one in the M6300 is alright, although I am not a big fan of it, comparing it to an HP laptop keyboard, I would say the HP one is a bit better. There is no flex issue at all. I like the way keyboard is situated - as there is no numeric pad it is right in the middle and there is a lot of space around it.

Some people may find a lack of a numeric pad as a disadvantage.

Input and Output Ports

The M6300 is a masterpiece when it comes to input and output ports. The greatest point about Input and Output Ports is their placement. Desktop replacements usually have many things plugged in and when working without a docking station it really helps to have all cables and ports under control.

Left side - two USB ports (great for memory sticks and cameras) and a DVD drive - very convenient when using mouse (right-handed users). Nice and simple.

Left_side

Back - here you can find all ports that you wont swap too often so you can plug in many devices and just forget about cables - AC adapter connector, DVI/VGA port for external screens, 4 USB (for a mouse, scanner, printer etc.), network and modem cable (many laptops have them on the left or right side which is not a perfect solution), S-video TV-out.

Back

Right side - all card slots in one place - smart card, ExpressCard, media card; IEEE 1394 and audio connectors

Right_side

As you can see above, you not only have all I/O ports you need but they are also perfectly placed.

Wireless

I chose Intel 4965 Wireless card (a/g/n) but as I have a standard router I couldnt have test its full capability. Generally, it worke find without any problems.

Battery

The Precision M6300 had a 9-cell battery in standard. On the maximum brightness it works around 3 hours - watching DVDs, working on a few not very demanding applications. I suspect that when running 3D programs it will go down to 2 hours.

Operating System and Software:

I decided to go with Windows XP for maximum performance and reliability. I didnt want to take part in a "public beta testing" of Microsoft Vista. I decided I dont need Vista. Most people want new things, Id rather concentrate on maximizing something that works well. For me, operating system should be a background - like a desk I work on. Applications and what I do on the screen is what matters.

I received three disks with the laptop - a copy of Windows XP, Roxio multimedia application and drivers & utilities. The M6300 does not come with a Recovery partition (although there is an instruction in the manual how to recover your system from it). There is only an EISA configuration partition with diagnostic tools on it.

I did not find any unnecessary software on it. PowerDVD & Roxio application were the only ones other than drivers / utilities. Even Google Desktop wasnt on the HDD.

Customer Support:

I took a CompleteCare Accidental Damage for 4 years to protect my business for years - as a freelance my laptop is my workshop.

As I described in the Screen section, I wasnt satisfied with the LCD, so I called the technical department and asked for a replacement. They arranged it and a technical guy arrived a day later. They replaced it with an AUO screen which was even worse including grainy issue, bad colors, very dark left bottom side of the screen. I am quite surprised that the technician did not put the LG back. But he was asked to replace it and not to do quality tests. I called the techs again and explained that the new screen is even worse. They said they can replace it again but they cannot decide which brand of an LCD that will be. I was informed I can call Sales to find out if they can send a screen manufactured by a company of my choice.

The tech guy also asked if I wanted to try with a higher resolution (WUXGA 1920x1200) but I said it was too high for me.

After being tired of all the calls I decided to return it. I wouldnt be so petty with the screen if I used this laptop for gaming or if it was cheaper but for £1400 I expected something more than just an average screen. If there are generally problems with WXGA screens, then they should have start fitting WSXGA and save some pain to their customers.

It was 14 days since the laptop had arrived and I was glad that they allowed me to return it with a full refund (business customers in the UK have 7 days for it). They sent a courier on the next day and collected the laptop. On the another day I had a call from a customer service confirming my money should be back on my credit card within 3-5 days and I would be called after that time to make sure everything is fine. The same day I got a call from a technical support staff member and then again from a supervisor to find out if the case is resolved and if I have any additional questions.

To summarize, I am really surprised with the Dell Customer Care. Although my problem wasnt resolved, I was able to return the laptop. I couldnt have expected more. I bought a Dell laptop after reading recommendations that they have the best customer service on the market and I can confirm that. They gave me all support I needed. Higher resolution would have solved my issue, if I had decided to go for it.

I am a bit disappointed that WXGA screen was not as good as expected as all other aspects were perfect for me. I really liked M6300. It is a solid laptop and great value for money.

After returning the M6300 I am considering the HP 8710p. It has a WSXGA+ (1680x1020) wide-angles screen available, is fitted with a numeric pad and is a bit lighter and thinner. I wont get the same value for money and customer care but I hope I will be satisfied with its screen.

Conclusion

The Precision M6300 is a high-end desktop replacement with many available configurations and one of the best customer service and warranty terms on the market. 3D designers will appreciate its performance, sound quality and reliable chassis. It is built to last and gives maximum satisfaction as long as a specific build and design is not an obstacle and WUXGA screen is picked (WXGA will not be acceptable for most professionals).

Pros

* Great value for money - hardware & warranty terms
* High performance - a powerful laptop for 3D, video editing, graphic design
* Robust construction with well designed Input/Output ports
* Brilliant audio system

Cons

* Poor WXGA screen
* A bit bulky
* Lack of numeric pad

http://www.dellreview.net

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Dell Precision M6300

The Dell Precision M6300 is a 17" desktop replacement targeted towards businesses that need a full-featured workstation with exceptional build quality. This notebook competes against such notebooks as the HP Compaq 8710p, HP Compaq 8710w and Fujitsu LifeBook N6470. The M6300 offers a wide range of hardware configurations, as well as a 64GB Samsung SSD for the businesses that require extreme ruggedness and extreme performance. Processors range from the T7250 all the way up to the X9000, RAM from 1GB to 4GB, display resolutions starting at WXGA+ up to WUXGA, and either NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M or NVIDIA Quadro FX 3600M discrete graphics.

Buying Choices for the Dell Precision M6300 Mobile Workstation Computer Workstation (Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.40GHz, DDR2 SDRAM 2000MB, 80GB) Dell, Inc. | $2,169.00

Our review model came with the following options, bringing the price up to $2,738 as configured from a base of $1,849.

• Windows XP SP2
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7250 (2.00GHz)
• Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset
• Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
• 64GB Samsung SSD
• 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• 17.0" diagonal widescreen matte TFT LCD display at 1440x 900 (WXGA+, matte)
• 256MB nVidia Quadro FX 1600M (512MB dedicated and shared memory)
• Dimensions: 1.6"(H) x 15.5(W) x 11.3"(D)
• Weight: 8.5 lbs
• 130W 100-240V AC adapter
• 9-cell (85Wh) Lithium Ion battery (1lb 1oz)
• 3-Year Basic Limited Warranty and 3-Year NBD On-Site Service

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Build and Design

Like most of the Latitude and Precision notebooks, the Dell Precision M6300 is a simply refined "down to business" look. The chassis lacks any user configuration such as a custom top cover paint, but companies interested in outfitting their workforce with these workstations arent concerned about attractive paint jobs. In fact "system envy" (when one employee becomes jealous of another employees workstation) is something most companies want to avoid ... and the simple exterior of the M6300 conceals an impressive level of performance.

The simple look and feel is matched with an even stronger and more durable chassis. During testing no plastic creaks or squeaks could be heard. In fact, even with significant (excessive) force applied to the LCD lid the lid refused to flex. The entire bottom shell is a metal alloy which gives the laptop a strong footprint on your desk, and is gives enough strength to resist bending if you hold the laptop by the edge of the palm rest walking around the room. The only downside to the chassis was the lack of a second hard drive bay ... unusual for a 17-inch workstation. Overlooking that fact, the chassis is strong enough to hurt your knuckles if you try to punch it without giving up less than a millimeter of flex in the process.

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One additional benefit of not having a customized paint option is long term durability. The review models of several Dell Inspiron consumer notebooks had paint defects out of the box on the customized the LCD covers. The M6300 has no such problem and the chassis will likely withstand years of significant use and abuse before showing its age.

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Screen

The matte WXGA+ (1440x900) screen on the Dell Precision M6300 is absolutely beautiful. No dead pixels were found during testing, and backlight bleed while noticed on some dark screens was minimal. Colors were vibrant despite the matte screen and the additional benefit of matte screens is the lack of reflection in an office environment. Wide viewing angles made the screen look sharp even at oddly contorted angles. Backlight adjustment was very broad, allowing me to adjust low enough for darker room settings, and bright enough to still be readable in sunlight or a bright office.

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Protection for the screen through the rear cover prevented any rippling when you press in the cover. The release latch was smooth and unlike most latches on budget notebooks required little effort to release.

Speakers

The speakers on the M6300 were better than average for most laptops, comparable to speakers found on most midrange televisions. While lower bass was lacking, volume levels were quite loud, and distortion at peak levels was not present. Combined with the 17" display, it would not be hard at all to entertain a small group of businessmen with a multimedia presentation during a meeting.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard and palm rest structure matches the strength of the bottom panel of this laptop. Pressing down very firmly, the keyboard suffers from virtually zero flex. The palm rest is just as firm, supporting my wrists or elbows pressing down with barely a hint of flex.

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The keyboard is very comfortable to type on, and gave just the right amount of response for each key press. Key travel is similar to most business notebooks with just a bit less clicking sound than what we hear on ThinkPads in our office. The keyboard layout was not cramped at all, and the control key was in the correct (outmost) position on the left-hand side.

One odd omission is the lack of a dedicated number pad. Most 17-inch notebooks make sure of the additional footprint of the larger form-factor and include a dedicated number pad. While this isnt a major problem, some corporate jobs that involve significant amounts of data entry will find the lack of a dedicated number pad quite depressing.

The touchpad is reasonably responsive, but could be improved. Lag time was minimal when starting each time, but accuracy was less than perfect. The size of the touchpad surface was large enough for comfortable control, and the surface texture had a smooth matte feel. The threes touchpad buttons spanned the full length of the touchpad, and each had a responsive click when pressed. One thing I appreciated was a third touchpad button to allow easier control of tabs during web browsing.

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Performance and Benchmarks

The Dell Precision M6300 as configured has more than enough speed and storage space to handle most users needs. The base-level Intel T7250 and nVidia Quadro FX 1600M combined with a blazingly fast SSD make this laptop an excellent performer, for both multimedia uses and number crunching. Below are benchmarks to give you an idea of how this laptop might compare up against other notebooks on the market.

WPrime 32M comparison results

WPrime is a benchmark similar to Super Pi in that it forces the processor to do intense mathematical calculations, but the difference is this application is multi-threaded and represents dual core processors better. Lower numbers indicate better performance.

Notebook	Time
Dell Precision M6300 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, Windows XP)	46.797s
Toshiba Satellite L355D (2.0GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60, Windows Vista)	39.732s
Gateway P-171XL FX (2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo X7900, Windows Vista)	30.359s
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.50GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, Windows Vista)	31.108s
Toshiba Qosmio G45 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Windows Vista)	42.085s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7400@ 2.16GHz, Windows XP)	41.40s
HP dv6000z (AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 @ 2.00GHz, Windows Vista)	38.913s
Sager 9260 (Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E6700@ 2.66GHz, Windows XP )	33.718s
Dell Precision M70 (Intel Pentium-M 780 @ 2.26GHz, Windows XP)	78.992s

PCMark05 overall system performance comparison results (higher scores indicate better performance):

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Dell Precision M6300 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M)	7,070 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1720 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT)	5,377 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1420 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,925 PCMarks
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,377 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,591 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	4,153 PCMarks
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,987 PCMarks
Lenovo T60 Widescreen (2.0GHz Intel T7200, ATI X1400 128MB)	4,189 PCMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	4,234 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony VAIO SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks

3DMark06 graphics comparison results (higher scores indicate better performance):

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
Dell Precision M6300 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M)	5,335 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1720 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT)	2,930 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1420 (2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,329 3DMarks
Sony VAIO FZ (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	532 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,408 3DMarks
Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and nVidia 8400M G GPU)	1,069 3DMarks
Asus F3sv-A1 (Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, Nvidia 8600M GS 256MB)	2,344 3DMarks
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB	2,183 3DMarks
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66 Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)	2,144 3DMarks
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700 256MB)	1,831 3DMarks
Asus A6J (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,819 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks
Sony VAIO SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	794 3DMarks
Samsung R20 (1.73GHz T2250 and ATI 1250M chipset / GPU)	476 3DMarks

SSD Performance

Unlike traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) with moving parts that are prone to failure and data loss when they receive an impact, Solid State Drives (SSDs) are flash-based storage drives with no moving parts. Notebooks tend to get "torture tested" in most corporate environments when the sales force tosses their laptops inside their cars or staff drop their notebooks off the edge of a table during a crowded meeting. The Samsung 64GB SSD in our test configuration (an $849 upgrade) helps eliminate the risk of data loss due to rugged treatment.

The other benefit of these SSDs is the extreme level of performance and reduced heat output compared to traditional HDDs.

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Below are the results from our standard storage drive benchmarks (HDTune and Atto) which indicate impressive read and write times and well and minimal data access times (the amount of time wasted while the drive searches for specific data on the drive).

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Input and Output ports

Port selection was not a problem, although I would have enjoyed seeing a HDMI port, but the inclusion of a DVI port is a reasonable compromise and probably more useful in a corporate environment. Going around the notebook, we find the following ports

Left: Kensington lock slot, two USB ports, optical drive.

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Front: Media buttons and volume controls.

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Right: Smartcard reader, ExpressCard slot, HDD/SSD bay, Firewire, Headphone/Mic, Firewire, memory card reader.

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Rear: S-video, LAN, Modem, four USB ports, DVI, VGA, Power connector.

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Heat and Noise

The M6300 handles heat as if the notebook is barely working ... even with the processors are crunching numbers and the SSD is actively reading and writing data. Even after running PCMark05, 3DMark06 and wPrime multiple times during a one-hour period the exterior of the M6300 barely reached the triple-digit range in degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature of the heat exhaust was surprisingly cool and the most impressive thing we observed is that the WiFi card reached temperatures that exceeded either the RAM or the SSD.

Simply put, the M6300 with Samsung SSD stays remarkably cool even when the system is being heavily stressed. The images below show the external temperature readings in degrees Fahrenheit:

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The fan noise was rarely loud enough to be heard in a quiet room unless the notebook was under extreme stress such as benchmarking or serious gaming.

Battery

Under normal web browsing use the 9-cell battery performed quite well, pushing out 3 hours and 42 minutes of life before going into hibernation mode at two percent. Screen brightness was two notches below max, or about 80 percent, and other items were set to XPs "Portable/Laptop" power management settings. This gives more than enough time for taking notes (surfing the web) during a couple of classes throughout the day away from an outlet.

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Conclusion

This Dell 17" laptop is a great performer and extremely well built laptop. It seems to be built well enough to be thrown around in day to day use, and hold up throughout a reasonable life cycle in a corporate environment. The SSD option, while expensive, significantly improves both durability and performance of this workstation.

Buying Choices for the Dell Precision M6300 Mobile Workstation Computer Workstation (Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 2.40GHz, DDR2 SDRAM 2000MB, 80GB) Dell, Inc. | $2,169.00

The only problems I found which dont relate directly to the function of the laptop are the lack of a second hard drive bay, which would be helpful given the relatively low capacity of the SSD. Additionally, the lack of a dedicated number pad will be a issue for some users and the weight and bulk of the M6300 make it a desktop replacement workstation and not the best solution for corporate road warriors.

(source http://www.notebookreview.com )

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