Dell D600 review

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Weighing just under 2.5kg, Dell has still managed to fit some very nearly cutting edge hardware inside the case. And did we mention that it costs less than £400? When you consider that you can get a machine like this for so little, refurbished laptops have never looked so good.

The sample we saw had clearly been used before - it wasn't pristine like the Acer, Advent or Fujitsu-Siemens. The lid had a few scuff marks on it and the trackpoint showed slight signs of wear, but the hinges on the lid felt firm and the keyboard is still one of the best in the business. If the trackpoint doesn't appeal there's always the touchpad instead.

Beautiful screen

Promisingly, the screen was in great shape. Viewing angles were good, and the colours we saw in our test photos and DVD tests were excellent, too. Our only complaint is the low resolution - just 1024 x 768. This is a little low for a laptop these days, particularly when you consider the higher resolution widescreens on offer elsewhere in this group test.

At the heart of the D600 is Intel's Pentium M processor - the 1.4GHz version. This didn't produce a spectacular benchmark result, so you won't be playing 3D games or editing videos, but it will breeze through everyday jobs like surfing the internet.

A brief look at the feature table reveals that the D600 isn't the best-featured machine this month. The 40GB hard disk is a little on the small side compared to most of the other laptops, but unless you're the type to obsessively hoard data, videos and large multimedia files, it will be big enough. If push comes to shove, you can always archive to CD-R using the built-in CD burner.

It's the added extras that push the D600 into award-winning territory, such as built-in wireless and a VGA port. Yes, other systems in the test come with larger hard disks and DVD writers, but they also sport price tags that push the £800 mark - not really a bargain.

Value for money

The D600 isn't the cheapest system on test either, that accolade goes to IBM's ageing ThinkPad A31. It is, however, just £50 more and is only around a year old. The next cheapest PC is the Acer, which is in as good a condition as a brand new PC, but only comes with six months on-site warranty, compared to a year for this system. The Acer is also substantially heavier, making it less attractive for frequent travellers.

Seeing the D600 made us realise exactly how good Dell is at building laptops, although its two hour and 40 minute battery such as Dell BATDW00L Battery, Dell 1X793 Battery, Dell BAT1194 Battery, Dell Precision M20 Battery, dell F5635 battery, dell YF976 battery, dell C5974 battery, dell U4873 battery, Dell Inspiron XPS M170 Battery, Dell Inspiron XPS M1710 Battery life is nothing to get excited about. Our only other misgiving is that our model didn't have Service Pack 2 for Windows XP installed. This is hardly a major complaint, since this important update for Windows XP is a free download, but since it's been available for over a year, you'd think that it would be installed by default.

All these minor reservations are, however, swept aside by the D600's price. We'd never have suspected that you could buy such a good laptop for less than £400 and if you're after a top quality portable PC at a bargain price, snap this one up while stocks last.