Dell Latitude E6510 15.6" Review

With a range of rugged builds and heaps of features, Dell's Latitude series is geared towards mobile business users. The Latitude E6510 packs a huge amount of power and features into a reasonably solid chassis for excellent business performance.

The E6510's design has all the grace of a 1960s tower block. It's very large, measuring 373 by 33 by 253mm, and heavy too, weighing a bone-crunching 2.5kg. Dell has added a metallic grey paint job to the lid, but, when you open the laptop up, you're met with lots of boring, matte black plastic. Attractive it certainly isn't, but, on the plus side, this laptop does feel like its sturdy enough to go ten rounds with Mike Tyson and come off none the worse for wear.

The E6510 has the following specifications:

• Intel Core i5/i7 dual-core and i7 quad-core processors
• 15.6" anti-glare displays (16:9 aspect ratio, 1366x768, 1600x900, or 1920x1080 resolutions)
• Up to 8GB DDR3 RAM
• Up to 256GB SSD or 500GB 7200RPM HDD
• Intel HD integrated graphics or dedicated Nvidia NVS 3100M 512MB DDR3
• 4-cell (37Wh), 6-cell (60Wh), or 9-cell (90Wh) batteries; optional 12-cell (88Wh) LATITUDE E6510 battery slice
• Starting weight: 5.53 lbs w/ 6-cell
• Dimensions: 14.74" (W) x 9.97" (D) x 1.1~1.3" (H)

The 15.6-inch 1600 x 900 matte display provided plenty of screen real estate for our documents and Web pages while outputting sharp, colorful images at fantastic viewing angles. Whether we were watching a 1080p WMV file we downloaded from Microsoft HD Showcase, a DVD of Dark City, or a 720p episode of Fringe, video was smooth and free from visual noise.

When we listened to both a rock tune, The Heavy's "Sixteen," and a jazz song, "Morning Dance" by Spyro Gyra, the E6510's stereo speakers provided sound that was accurate, if not overly rich. At maximum volume, the Dell Latitude E6510 battery was loud enough to fill a large living room, though music became a little bit tinny.

The Latitude E6510 is based on the QM57 Express chipset from Intel, which supports diverse processors from the Core i family. In Dell's online configuring tool, one can choose between Core i5 processors and Core i7 processors up to i7-820QM. Our test candidate offers the highest level of equipment in terms of the CPU, that means the Core i7 820QM (-> Manufacturer). It is thereby a native quad core processor produced under the codename "Clarksfield" in 45mm lithography. Thanks to hyperthreading, up to 8 threads can be handled simultaneously. With the Turbo-Boost technology, the clocking speeds of the individual core can be modulated according to their respective performance demands and individual cores can be overclocked. You can read more details on the Clarksfield processors in our comprehensive review.

In contrast to the Arrandale Core i processors, the Clarksfield processors do not offer an integrated graphic chip. One therefore has no choice on this on the top model. But if one chooses a model fitted with Arrandale CPU, then the CPU integrated GMA HD graphic chip is offered. On these models, one can thus choose between a configuration with GMA HD or Quadro NVS 3100M from Nvidia. The top model with i7-Quad CPU is in contrast only offered with Quadra NVS 3100m.

The Latitude E6510 enclosure is approximately the same size as the Latitude E6500 it replaces, though there are some changes (it's slightly heavier, wider, and shorter) because of the move from a 15.4-inch 16:10 display to a 15.6-inch 16:9 display. Along with the Latitude E4310 and E6410, the E6510 has a new brushed aluminum ("Slate Silver") cover. The Dell LATITUDE E6510 battery uses the same power supplies and docking solutions that the E6500 used.

A supplement to the Dell Latitude, Dell Latitude E6510 is one of the latest offerings from Dell for business groups of mind. For 800 pounds, more or less, save you a lot for a gadget which is long and reliable in design, durability and functionality.

Thanks to LED technology from Dell, consumers not only a mobile force to withstand everyday use get, but they also exceptionally thin widescreen. Its strength is also demonstrated by the installation of Dell critical data that allows you to worry even if you accidentally fall or system failures.

The Dell E6510 battery is Dell's top of the line 15.6'' business laptop. The second iteration of the Latitude E series 15'' laptop brings a new screen aspect ratio of 16:9 which is becoming the norm for laptop screens.

Dell has also included its basic Latitude ON operating system, which can be accessed using a quickstart button. This is designed for simple tasks, such as web browsing, and uses less power than the Windows OS.

We were highly impressed by the power, features and excellent display offered by the Dell Latitude E6510. Business users with the cash to spare really have no need to look any further.