Dell Latitude CPx

The Dell CPx came with one of the best configurations in the

shootout. It had a PIII/750 MHz processor, and 256 MB of RAM. It has an ATI Rage

Mobility card with 8 MB VRAM, which gives a maximum resolution of 1,600x1,200

with 32-bit color depth. It also has a large 14.1" TFT screen.

Another neat feature in the CPx is that it comes bundled with

an 8x DVD drive, and all drives can be easily swapped, including extra battery

packs. So you can put in a floppy drive instead of a DVD drive. Otherwise, the

floppy drive can also be connected externally. Like its mid-range cousin, the

Dell Latitude CPt, this one has both types of pointing devices–a track point

and a touch pad.

The notebook’s keyboard layout is similar to a normal-size

keyboard, and is therefore easy to use. For connectivity, it has two PCMCIA

slots, A Xircom Lan/Modem card is included in the price. It has one USB port,

and an IR port for wireless communication. Apart from the regular Monitor-out,

it has a composite Video-out socket, which can be connected to LCD projectors or

even your TV. It also has an optional docking station. We also found

upgradability to be very simple, with easily accessible RAM slots and HDD.

The CPx weighs around 6 kgs with its bag and other

accessories and was the heaviest notebook in its category. It was also the

thickest notebook .

As expected with such a high-end configuration, this notebook

was one of the top performers of the lot. It achieved the highest Business

Winstone 99 score of 26.6 Winmarks. Even with such a high-end configuration, the

CPx is efficient with power consumption and gave the battery backup of 3:38

hours. The recharge time was the least at just 1:46 hours. Its video performance

was also pretty good. As for multimedia, the sound card on-board is an ESS

Audiodrive and can achieve very loud volume.

At a price tag of Rs 2,60,000, the Dell CPx is obviously meant only for those

for whom price is not a constraint. If its price was reduced to that of the

Compaq Armada’s the notebook could have been the winner in this category. An

advantage with Dell notebooks (for that matter, even their PCs) is that they are

highly customizable. So you can look at different price-performance

configurations and find the best fit for your needs.