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Our verdict
The Dell Latitude E6320 combines stylish looks, strong performance and a comfortable keyboard in a robust 13-inch chassis.
To the
Slim, durable design
Good performance
Comfortable keyboard
Long battery life
Against
Mediocre pointer
Relatively difficult
No USB 3.0 ports
Combining style, performance and durability, the Dell Latitude E6320 is a 13-inch business laptop that impresses. A solid metal body, an Intel Core i7 processor, a great keyboard and six hours of battery life mean you'll last even the longest Survive PowerPoint presentations. The E6320 starts at $929, but our powerful configuration will set you back a cool $1,529. How much bang do you get for your money?
draft
The Dell Latitude E6320 is both stylish and sturdy thanks to its tri-metal frame. The lid is made from a durable slate gray brushed anodized aluminum surrounded by a gray magnesium alloy and steel hinges connect it to the base. Unlike the rest of the chassis The base is made of plastic but is powder coated to better protect against nicks and scratches.
Inside, the E6320 exudes understated style with a matte black rubberized soft-touch material. The matte black keyboard deck is surrounded by the same slate gray aluminum as the lid. An orange frame surrounding the keyboard deck adds a nice pop of color. The bezel picks up on the keyboard's design with a matte black finish.
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Measuring 13.2 x 8.8 x 1.0-1.2 inches and weighing 4.2 pounds, the E6320 easily fits into our shoulder bag and we were able to wear it for long periods of time without any discomfort. The 13-inch -
HP ProBook 5330m
weighs 4 pounds, and the
Lenovo ThinkPad X1
is a lighter 3.8 pounds, but both of these machines lack DVD drives.
As
HP EliteBook 8460p
and the Lenovo Thinkpad X1, the Dell Latitude E6320 is MIL-STD-810G tested, which means it can withstand vibration, extreme temperatures, dust and high altitude. In addition, the E6320 features a spill-resistant keyboard, a protective rubber gasket around the display and a bumper that protects the screen from sudden impacts.
keyboard and touchpad
Large, responsive concave keys combined with a soft palm rest made typing on the E6320 a comfortable experience. We were able to type effortlessly with few errors. Our configuration of the Latitude E6320 didn't include a backlit keyboard, but you can get it as an option for US$49 - Dollars received.
The E6320's 3.1 x 1.6-inch touchpad was smooth and friction-free. Multi-touch gestures like pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scrolling were responsive and fast. Our favorite multi-touch gesture, Quick Launch, allowed us to to map a specific command (minimize all, blank screen, and lock computer) to a three-finger gesture. However, Dell has disabled multi-touch gestures by default.
In addition to a touchpad, the Latitude E6320 has a pointing stick between the G and H keys. While it was accurate, we always felt like our finger would slip off the concave, slippery knob. The slippery feel prompted us to press harder, than is required for a pointing stick. The textured, raised knobs of ThinkPads continue to be the gold standard in pointing sticks.
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heat
During our testing, the Latitude E6320 stayed reasonably cool. After 15 minutes of full-screen video streaming from Hulu, the touchpad measured 87 degrees Fahrenheit, the keyboard measured 90 degrees, and the bottom center area measured 92 degrees. However, the bottom left side of the notebook registered a hot 104 degrees We find temperatures above 95 degrees unpleasant in continuous use.
display and audio
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The Latitude E6320 has a matte, anti-glare 13.3-inch LED-backlit display with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Although its brightness of 200 cd/m² is lower than that of the ThinkPad X1 (350 cd/m² ), the images were sharp with vivid colors. Cameron Diaz's blue eyes and bright red lipstick popped throughout our viewing of the
Bad teacher
Trailer in 1080p.When we saw this
super 8
Followers, Fire had vibrant reds and oranges, especially in explosions. However, we did notice some pixelation in night scenes. Viewing angles were somewhat limited, with colors washed out beyond 45 degrees horizontally.
At maximum volume, the E6320 could fill a small room, albeit with a tinny sound. When listening to Kanye West's "All of the Lights," we could clearly hear the piano and violin during the intro, but the bassline sounded slightly muffled. We did too We found that when we placed the E6320 on our laps, the sound was muffled due to the placement of the speakers on the laptop's front lip.
Webcam and ports
On the right side of the Latitude E6320 is a USB 2.0/eSATA combo port, a WLAN on/off button, an ExpressCard/34 reader and a DVD burner. The front of the laptop has an SD card reader, while the back has HDMI, a power jack and an Ethernet socket. On the left side there is a SmartCard reader, a VGA port and a headphone/microphone jack.
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Unlike the E6420, which has a 2MP webcam, the E6320 has a 1MP webcam. During a Skype call in a neon-lit office, we saw blurry images with little detail, and our caller said that was the case the images would have yellowed despite our efforts to adjust the settings in the Webcam Central software. However, we liked being able to upload photos and images directly from the software to PhotoBucket, YouTube and our email. Thanks to two microphones on either side of the noise-cancelling webcam, our caller reported clear audio with little background noise.
perfomance
With its 2.7GHz 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2620M CPU, 4GB RAM and a 320GB 7200rpm hard drive, the E6320 is up to any task. In PCMark Vantage the E6320 scored impressive 8195 points, beating the category average of 5438, as did the HP EliteBook 8460p (6449) and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 (7535), both of which have 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M processors. We've got that Put the E6320 through its paces and watched a 1080p YouTube video with 13 tabs open in Google Chrome and 8 tabs in Internet Explorer while running a virus scan. Our video played unabated despite all the background activity.
The 320GB 7200rpm hard drive in the Latitude E6320 took a quick 51 seconds to boot the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Professional during the LAPTOP file transfer test where we duplicated 4.97GB of mixed media files , the E6320 took just 2 minutes and 47 seconds for a transfer rate of 30.5 MB/s - much faster than the thin average of 25.2 MB/s. However, the ThinkPad X1 achieves a slightly better 31.6 Mbit/s transfer rate.
In our video transcoding test, the E6320 maintained its strong scores. It took just 39 seconds to convert a 114MB file to AVI format using Oxelon Media Encoder, 20 seconds faster than the category average.
graphic
The Latitude E6320's integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 chip ensured smooth video playback. Its 3DMark06 score of 5,229 broke the thin and light average of 3,622. The ThinkPad X1, which also features an Intel HD Graphics card, only posted a 3,763. The Latitude E6320 also beats the EliteBook 8460p's AMD Radeon HD 6470M score of 5,032.
When playing World of Warcraft, the E6320 managed a solid frame rate of 43 fps at a resolution of 1366 x 768 on the Good setting. While well below the thin-and-light average of 92 fps and slightly below the EliteBook 8460p (52 fps), but significantly higher than the ThinkPad X1 (30 fps). At the maximum settings, the E6320's frame rate dropped to an unplayable 21 fps.
battery life and WiFi
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The 6-cell battery inside the Latitude E6320 ensures strong endurance.During the LAPTOP battery test, in which we continuously surf the Internet via WLAN, the Latitude lasted 6 hours and 2 minutes - just over an hour longer than that Category average, on par with the EliteBook 8460p (6:01), and 20 minutes less than that
Toshiba Portege R835
(6:22). The ThinkPad X1 could last 8 hours, but that was with its Slice battery, which costs $150 and adds 0.8 pounds to its weight.
The E6320's Intel Centrino Ultimate N-6300 Wi-Fi radio performed decently. We saw transfer rates of 30 and 17.6 Mbps at 15 and 50 feet from our router, respectively. Both numbers were below the Category averages of 35.6 and 22 Mbps, respectively.
configurations
Our $1,529 Latitude E6320 review unit is the top-of-the-line model, but Dell offers six pre-configured versions. The base $959 model comes with a 2.1GHz Intel Core i3-2310M processor, 2GB RAM, a 250 GB hard drive with 7,200 rpm, an integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics card and Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit).
For $249, consumers can extend the E6320's battery life with a 9-cell battery slice. A fingerprint reader and contactless smart card reader can be purchased for $29, while a backlit keyboard costs $49. For on-the-go connectivity, consumers can choose between the Dell Wireless DW5550 Mobile Broadband Card for AT&T (HSPA) with GPS and the Dell Wireless DW5630 Multi-Mode HSPA-EVDO Mini Card (Gobi 3000), both priced at $125.
software and warranty
Dell maintains the software load on the E6320. Dell utilities include Backup and Recovery Manager for creating backups. Dell Access gives users the ability to set up a range of security measures, including fingerprint recognition (when the optional fingerprint scanner is included) and passwords. Power Manager features several presets to extend battery life (Balanced, Dell, High Performance, Power Saver and Quiet). Finally, Dell Device Manager allows us to configure hotkeys, as well as check our memory status and display settings such as brightness and notifications.
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Third-party applications include CyberLink DVD, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Roxio Creator Starter, Trend Micro 30-day trial, Windows Live, and Windows Office Starter.
The Latitude E6320 comes with a three-year basic hardware warranty with a three-year limited onsite service after remote diagnosis. See how Dell performed in our latest release
Technical support showdown
and our annual
Report on the best and worst brands
.
Verdict
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The Dell Latitude E6320 offers stylish looks, strong performance, and a great keyboard. The price of $1,529, while steep, is in line with competing systems on a similar configuration. A 12.5-inch HP EliteBook 2560p ($1,499 For example, $1,489 gives you an Intel Core i5-2520M processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB 7,200-rpm hard drive, and the E6320 beats the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 ($1,489 with slice) on everything other than endurance and portability. Those looking to save on price and weight should consider the Toshiba Portege R835, which can be configured with the same specs as the E6320 for $1,389. However, if you're looking for a Core i7 -Power in a robust and easy on the eyes design, the Dell Latitude E6320 is a good choice.
Dell Latitude E6320 specifications
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 3.0
brand
Dell
CPU
2.7GHz Intel Core i7-2620M
card slots
ExpressCard/34, Smart Card, SD memory reader
corporate website
http://www.dell.com/
screen size
13.3
graphic card
Integrated Intel HD graphics
disk size
320GB
hard drive speed
7,200 rpm
disk type
SATA hard drive
native resolution
1366x768
operating system
Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
optical drive
DVD /-RW
Optical drive speed
8X
Connections (except USB)
eSATA/USB, VGA, headphone/microphone combo jack, Smart Card Reader, Kensington Lock, HDMI, ExpressCard/34, Ethernet
R.A.M.
4GB
size
13.1x8.8x1.0-1.2
touchpad size
3.1x1.6
USB ports
2
video memory
1GB
Warranty/Support
Three year basic hardware warranty with three year NBD Limited Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis
Weight
4.6 pounds
Wireless Internet access
802.11a/g/n
WiFi model
Intel Centrino N-6300
Fewer
Sherry L Smith
Sherri L. Smith has been creating product reviews for Laptopmag.com since 2011. In that time, she's reviewed more than her share of laptops, tablets, smartphones, and everything in between. Resident gamer and audio junkie Sherri was previously senior editor for Black Web 2.0 and a contributor to BET.Com and Popgadget.
