Dell Latitude E6430S Business Grade Laptop

Business-class laptops don’t get much love these days, due to all the buzz surrounding ultrabooks and tablets. But there are still plenty of jobs that demand the processing power, storage, and general flexibility of a true business-class machine. If you still use optical media like CDs or DVDs in your day-to-day computing, a laptop with an optical drive is essential. The same is probably true if you travel often to give presentations: you’ll need plenty of video and network connectivity options to interface with whatever technology the meeting room or auditorium has available. Many ultra-portables lack optical drives and offer minimal connectivity options.  With the Latitude E6430S, however, Dell offers up a solid, old-school laptop in a body that has a bit of an ultrabook look but a pedigree that is all business.

Dell Latitude E6430S Specifications & Features

Processor Options Chipset Dimensions Starting at Weight Display Construction System Memory Graphics Battery   AC Adapter Hard Drive Options Wireless Connectivity Webcam Ports and Connectors Included Software OS Options Pricing

Intel Core i5-3360M (2.8GHz); Core i3 and i7 Options Mobile Intel QM77 Express Height: 1.27" / Width: 13.86" / Depth: 9.49" 4.44 lbs (with 4-cell battery) 14" HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare LED 14" HD+ (1600 x 900) Anti-Glare LED Tri-Metal Body, MIL-STD 810G Tested 6GB DDR3 1600MHz. Up To 8GB Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Core i3 Systems) Intel HD Graphics 4000 NVIDIA NVS 5200M (Option) 6-cell 65Whr Extended Li-Ion Battery 3,4,6, and 9-cell Battery Options 65W AC Adapter 95W AC Adapter Option Test Unit: 128GB SSD Options: Up to 256GB HDD Options: Up to 750GB Hybrid Options Gigabit Ethernet Dell Wireless 380 Bluetooth 4.0 Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Other Wi-Fi Options: Intel Centrino 6205, 6250, Dell Wireless 1504, 1540 Mobile Broadband Options: Dell Wireless 5630, 5560, 5802, 5804 Webcam and Webcam Software Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0 (2), USB 3.0 (2), mic/headphone, memory card reader, 54mm ExpressCard, Docking Connector, VGA, HDMI Dell Backup & Recovery Manager, Dell Webcam Software Windows 7 Home Premium/Professional/Ultimate Linux Ubuntu 11.10 Starting at $989

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The Dell Latitude E6430S is a close relation to the E6530 we recently reviewed, but the model we’re looking at today is a little smaller, lighter, and generally more portable. For one thing, it has a 14-inch Anti-Glare LED display, compared to the larger laptop’s 15.6-inch display. The E6430’s 14-inch screen has a 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 resolution, depending on the configuration. Our review system has the lower resolution.

As for its internals, our E6430S packs an Intel Core i5-3360M dual-core Ivy Bridge CPU running at 2.80GHz, smack in the middle of the laptop’s processor configuration possibilities. Other CPUs available for this laptop include an array of Core i3 and Core i7 processors at varying price points. The E6430S includes 6GB of DDR3 memory and Intel HD Graphics 4000 for graphics, which sounds about right for a typical business PC. The system should be able to handle basic gaming in this configuration, but you can jump to an Nvidia NVS 5200M discrete card if you need additional graphics power.
 

There are plenty of storage options for the Latitude E6430S available as well, both in SSD and HDD flavors. On the hard drive side, you can go up to 750GB, and on the SSD side, your max is 256GB. Free Fall and HDD Isolation features protect hard drives when present; solid state drives can include an encryption feature. Dell also makes room for a second SSD, should you want it. Our test laptop arrived with a 128GB Samsung PM830 SSD. For removable storage, the laptop includes a DVD burner and a memory card reader. Fingerprint and SmartCard readers are optional.

The Latitude can handle just about any connectivity options you’re likely to encounter in business travel, thanks to a Gigabit Ethernet port, and several WiFi/WiMAX options. Our test model featured and Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 for 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity. Bluetooth is also an option included in our unit.

Windows 7 Professional is the OS of choice, despite Windows 8's availability, but Dell does offer a Linux Ubuntu 11.10 setup, too. Overall, the specs look pretty solid for a business laptop. Next up, we’ll dig into its design.