Dell's rugged Latitude XFR D630 wants a piece of your Toughbook

While Dell's tame Latitude D630 just got Penryn-ized, the XFR edition comes ready for operation in seriously extreme scenarios. Built to meet MIL-STD 810F standards from the Department of Defense, this beast not only handles just about anything you throw at it, on it or inside it, but it also promises to provide "23-percent better system performance than the Panasonic CF-30." Furthermore, it boasts a 14.1-inch outdoor readable display (with optional touchscreen technology), a 2.0GHz T7250 or 2.2GHz T7500 CPU, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a shock-mounted 80GB HDD (or a 32GB / 64GB SSD, if you prefer), integrated DVD burner, Intel's GMA X3100 graphics set, WiFi / Bluetooth and optional WWAN for good measure. You'll also find a 6-cell battery with ExpressCharge, a magnesium handle, a smorgasbord of ports and a starting weight of 8.9-pounds. Heck, Dell even gives you a choice of Black / Charcoal and Desert Tan color schemes, but you'll be handing over a minimum of $3,899 to pick up either.

[Dustin @ Mar 4th 2008 10:24AM]

I'm sure I'll be buying plenty of these...with my tax dollars.

[Lazmoe @ Mar 4th 2008 10:31AM]

I dont care how robust that thing is, its one ugly ass laptop

[eggothewaffle @ Mar 4th 2008 10:31AM]

This is the prison roommate that bad MacBook Airs and Lenovo x300s have nightmares about.

[Superprime @ Mar 4th 2008 10:34AM]

Oh man no 8600GT in it?

[Joe Gardner @ Mar 4th 2008 10:34AM]

Yeah, but will it take the abuse of baggage handler gorillas if you were be dumb enough to check it at the airport?

[FRZ @ Mar 4th 2008 10:34AM]

These notebooks ought to be made for children and cost a lot less.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 10:53AM]

I'm reading all these specs and I am not impressed. I mean who designs this stuff? Monkeys on typewriters?

Wow - Dell decides to go after the Toughbook so they buy the entire Intel laptop package "centrino" built by foxconn that they use in 100 other of their laptops and pack it in a tougher case and add $2,000 to the price-tag and expect us to be impressed? WTF?

Business majors making computer decisions: Making a SNAFU of the computer world and Corporate IT since 1982.(TM)

[Dax @ Mar 4th 2008 11:25AM]

The price difference is INSANE! Almost 4k for this laptop is just rediculous.

[Rory @ Mar 4th 2008 10:56AM]

Why can't somebody make something like this (unless there is one I don't know about) with a full-size PCI slot built in? I'm sick of having to lug around a laptop this size + a Magma expansion box that houses a proprietary fiber card for data acquisition.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 11:11AM]

Why can't robotic automation and instrument vendors join the freaking 21st century. "Data Acquisition cards" were so 10 years ago. Seriously - especially industrial cameras for cellular imaging and stuff.

What? They don't know how to use USB at 480Mb/s. What about FireWire 800? Jeez need more bandwidth? Gigabit Ethernet!!!

That and they tout these data acquisition cards saying they need 4.whatever gigabits per second yet the acquisition card is on the PCI bus! Hello, MORONS.

People need to wake the F*&*k up and join the 21st century and stop being so technologically scared of progress.

[Kamokazi @ Mar 4th 2008 12:07PM]

How much do they charge for their data acquisition cards?

I'd keep making them, too.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 12:37PM]

That's true - the companies charge and arm and a leg for a stupid Digi or Lava card. Like you buy a $700,000 instrument and they charge you $7,000 for an old, outdated and anemic Dell. I mean WTF.

But they also charge $3,000 for them to load their software on it. They are crooks, but it isn't my money so I don't really give two craps.

Its the sheer fact that they have something that works and they don;t want to spend the money to update it. Engineers charge too much, so they just build lower quality products. This is what our world is coming to.

[blacklistxhunter @ Mar 4th 2008 10:57AM]

is it just me... or does it look like u can beat the s*** out of someone with it

just close it up and swing it around hazzah!

[Ryan Trevisol @ Mar 4th 2008 12:47PM]

That's exactly what I was thinking. Jack Bauer/Chuck Norris' laptop.

[Jamar @ Mar 4th 2008 11:02AM]

Now, will Dell stand behind their products? When I buy a Toughbook I get myself an extended warranty from Panasonic for about $200 that covers water, fire, and impact damage.

Granted, I bought mine in Japan; they might not be so generous in America.

[Jagster @ Mar 4th 2008 11:31AM]

Look for Dell's "Complete Care". It covers anything.

[Jamar @ Mar 4th 2008 5:37PM]

Hey, thanks.

[NHAnimator @ Mar 4th 2008 11:09AM]

Has anyone tried to blend a toughbook? Not trying to be funny. Just wondering which would win out.

[Down @ Mar 4th 2008 11:13AM]

Laptops have reached a whole new level of ugliness, with this one.

[Jon Doe. @ Mar 4th 2008 11:38AM]

Its about ruggedness. It ain't a fucking beauty contest...Damn Mac freak.

[Down @ Mar 4th 2008 12:06PM]

@Jon Doe.
fuck off, I've never bought an apple product or have one in my house.

Back to my point - Laptops have to look at least decent. The Dell laptop at the top of this page is hideous.

[Think First @ Mar 4th 2008 2:39PM]

Sorry guys, its not meant to be a consumer product. YOU are not the demographic. This is meant for a user who needs a computer that can withstand specific environmental demands.

[Prokanda @ Mar 4th 2008 1:53PM]

back to the fact that this is a military spec, rugged laptop.. how often do you see companies try to beautify a product that's meant for military work? or any hardcore, dangerous, in-the-field work for that matter?

rugged products are supposed to stand up to abuse by the people that need them to be reliable and able to handle the work they do.

these things aren't designed to be pretty... that's like asking for an aerodynamic hummer that has "pretty" doorhandles. doesn't make sense...

if you're looking for a "pretty" laptop, go look at a painted alienware, or one of the colored-plastic dells... the people that would be interested in a machine like this aren't looking in the same categories as you are.

[What?! @ Mar 4th 2008 11:31AM]

Finally Dell goes against General Dynamics and Panasonic. The Dell ATG-series was a FLOP and is an imitator, the XFR series is a better improvement.

Now, if this series has PASSIVE COOLING, then it would compete well against the CF-30.

[Kamokazi @ Mar 4th 2008 12:11PM]

Not sure if it does, but I would be betting passive cooling would be a necessity to meet the mil spec for dust & water resistance, which this thing supposedly meets.

[scott @ May 21st 2008 4:05PM]

The XFR is cooled by a patent-pending thermal management system allows the rugged laptop to use latest generation technology and deliver up to four times better graphics performance than the Panasonic CF-30

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 11:38AM]

I dunno... I just think I could probably design something 100x better and for less or the same amount as that POS.

No offense to Intel but their graphics processors SUCK HORRIBLY...

Think about it this way: You want something rugged. OK.
1.) What is the most rugged screen? CCFL TFT, LED TFT, OLED?
2.) What is the most rugged storage medium? Easy - SSD.
3.) The most rugged battery? A lithium-alloy should fit the bill. Just don't let Sony build it.
4.) Chipset... Hrm... I would say Santa-Rosa platform (for now) with a Penryn because thats easiest but I wouldn't use Intel graphics. I wouldn't use ATI either so that leaves nVidia.

So I buy a motherboard that has the Intel SR platform but uses a decent nVidia chipset. Throw in some SSD action and a LED TFT or hell, lets go with OLED rocking some WUXGA. Case material? Magnesium Alloy? Feh... I've seen some epoxy resin infused ceramics that are stronger, heat efficient and with the help of the resin won't shatter in less of a thickness than any magnesium alloy. Oh, did I mention it was 100,000x cheaper to? How about a top-coat of Kraton G or maybe Zytel? Scratch-resistant, durable and probably $800 cheaper than Dell could make it.


Wow - that was easy. Now why can't Dell do that?

[Joe @ Mar 4th 2008 1:02PM]

Too bad you have no idea what you are talking about.

What's the temperature range of SSD? How does it hold up with EMF testing? Humidity testing? (Besides if you actually read the article, you will note that this is an option--probably adds $900 to the bottom line.)

Rugged screens are expensive.

How would you mount the motherboard? How would you ensure chips won't come loose in shake tests? How would you cool the CPU and ensure it would pass vibration tests?

[sarnzzle @ Mar 4th 2008 11:47AM]

will it blend?

[IndiaTech @ Mar 4th 2008 1:15PM]

Ofcourse it will. What kind of stupid question is that?

[casemoney @ Mar 4th 2008 11:48AM]

rugged meets classy... errr

rugged meets ugly as sin

[silencer @ Mar 4th 2008 12:00PM]

Everyone is commenting about how ugly it may look, or that the graphics chipset sucks, and that it doesn't match their purse. That is not the point of this laptop. It's meant to be taken into a rugged field and used and abused day-to-day. It isn't something you sit at home and play Crysis on and then check your facebook. I wish them the best of luck competing with the similar products out there. If they can build a better one, than hey, more power to 'em!

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 12:20PM]

Your missing the point. They took a $600 laptop and put it in a fancy case, called it rugged and charge $3800 for it. It says its faster than the Toughbook, but not really. It may be faster by a margin tot he absolutely base model Toughbook, but its also $1,000 more than the top-of-the-line Toughbook. So its tough to some pansy ass military spec probably designed by the Army. $50 says it won't last two rounds from my Springfield XD40 nor will it last a week with a Marine unit.

[Joe @ Mar 4th 2008 12:46PM]

Madmike, you have no idea what you are talking about. This isn't simply a repackaged consumer latitude. The MilSpec tests aren't pansy assed. In fact, what the military really wants is insane and still can't be done (like being able to operate at -40 degrees F.) Add shake, drop, weather and EMF tests and pretenders will be exposed really damn quickly.

[tonymrep @ Mar 4th 2008 9:22PM]

So, it being ugly helps it withstand the elements?

[Eddie @ Mar 4th 2008 12:40PM]

Say what you will about the price but each one of these are hand made. It is not passivly cooled and that is the awesome part of it. The cooling fan is ruggedized and isolated from the interior. It is connected to the inside via heat pipes. The cost is not an issue as the Panasonic Toughbook is around the same price and not as much power. Have a look.
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1331667
Also 13.3" display on the toughbook and 14.1 widescreen on the Dell. Looks great to me.

[Joe @ Mar 4th 2008 12:41PM]

It appears that many of you have no idea what Rugged means to those of us who need it and what it means to qualify for military specifications. To be clear, MilSpec covers a lot, but specific parts of it mean a lot. Anyone who says they can do it easily has no idea what they are talking about.

This goes beyond weather resistant (or weather proofing depending on what part of the spec you are satisfying), it also covers vibration (i.e. riding on tank vibration), dropping onto concrete and temperature extremes. You may be surprised how much tough looking components fail these tests quite dramatically. The temperature one, in particular, is brutal to electronics--most the LCD screens you can buy--even the ones that go in consumer vehicles--WILL fail when operated outside a relatively small temperature range.

There is a lot of competition in this field. The demand goes beyond military. What if you need a laptop that can work reliably both inside and out an oil rig in Wyoming? It may have to sit in the cab of a truck in the summer heat and still work in the winter when hauling between the truck and the rig.

I'm currently evaluating rugged handheld and tablet PCs. I've looked at units that could be driven over by a truck, hurled against a concrete wall and operate from -4 Degrees F to 120 Degrees F [they can withstand a wider temperature range when not operating.] Try that with your Sony Vaio.

All those who are so confident you can do better for less. Start your own company. Seriously. The demand is there.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 2:35PM]

Joe

1.) I was in the United States Marines from 1988 to 1996. I've fought in combat - a lot of combat.
2.) I have a degree in computer engineering from Penn State. Cum Laude paid for by the US government
3.) I worked at HP from 2000 to 2004 as an Engineer
4.) I moved to Pharma and became head of Lab Automation Informatics
5.) I am also head of IT for two Fire Departments as well as a HazMat Battalion Chief

I don't know what I'm talking about? Oh I forgot, I just got my Masters from UPenn in Computer Science. That's an Ivy League School. Oh and I have a Panasonic Toughbook that I got for $1,000 less than the Dell.

You best STFU before you get pwned.

[Mike @ Mar 4th 2008 4:30PM]

Hi I'm Bill Gates!

If I had an MS in Mechanical Engineering, would that qualify me to build a circuit board or a processor? No.

So how many vibrations classes did you take for your CS from your Ivy League school? How many thermodynamic classes did you take (well that one you probably did have a few)? How many strength of materials or machine design courses did you take?

No offense, but just because you have a masters in CS doesn't mean you know jack about building a rugged computer. Most of the requirements for doing this are pretty squarely in the ME field. The components are generally just off the shelf crap. It is all in how you design the case, not just the materials. It is all in how you dampen the vibrations, not just as simple as putting it on rubber bumpers (of course maybe it is, but what type of rubber and what shape?).

If you are actually what you say you are then I am ashamed, because you should know better then to shoot off at the mouth about how simple it is to design anything. Every moron thinks they can do something better, it is the real engineers who have any clue what it actually takes to make those seemingly simple things work correctly.

This of course is assuming you actually are any of the things you state that you are and not just some engineer wannabe with Google.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 5:02PM]

Uhm.... Did I say ANYTHING about the case design? No. I was complaining about what they PUT IN THE CASE. I have no idea how well the case works. But I can tell you that magnesium is expensive as all hell.

The case looks tough, I'm sure it can handle a lot. I didn't say anything about the toughness of the laptop. I offered up a single suggestion as to a better case.

For the price charged - they could of added a little better "computer" to the tough case design.

You MechE's need to lay off the Meth.

P.S.: I wrote my undergrad honors thesis on thermodynamics. My grad thesis was on higher base number processing. It was all math - but had some chemistry on it. Like chemical hard-drives, using lasers or electron beams to manipulate molecules in more than 2 states (binary) and the possibility of 16-state gates or more. Instead of having just a 0 or a 1. You have state A, A', A'', A''', etc...

[quomen @ Mar 4th 2008 7:21PM]

@MadMike,
You forgot to include your martial arts training in there.

[MadMike @ Mar 5th 2008 12:03PM]

Quomen,
I was all into that when I was a kid. I did look at this new mixed martial arts class that specializes in Krav Maga. Dr said it would be a good idea to help with my knee and my back and I had to give up weight lifting a few years ago. That and it gets me out of going to my fiance's yoga/pilates class. A room full of tofu-farting upper middle class Mercedes SUV driving 35yr old+ moms, in spandex no less - no, you couldn't pay me enough.

[Think First @ Mar 4th 2008 12:54PM]

Sorry MadMike but,

the D630 starts at $1130, not $600.

The cheapest fully-rugged toughbook laptop starts at $3,533.00(http://www.buytough.com/tb_30.asp) which is actually $366 less not $1,000.

So, does the addition of a full magnesium water-proof case justify a $2,700 price jump? Does a 23% performance increase over the toughbook CF-30 command a $370 premium? I don't know that any of us are really qualified to make that call. There are definitely people that have needs that only this machine will fulfill. This machine was no doubt designed with those people in mind. Dell saw this as a void in their business model and it was a wise choice to attempt to exploit it.

I am interested to see how well this product does.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 2:46PM]

This is for both posts:

Its not uncommon - it's used a lot where you see a lot of industrial solvents like DMSO where glass is too fragile. Makes a great desktop - doesn't scratch and its virtually indestructible and light. My work bench is made from it. Oh, and its cheap.

I didn't say the D630 was $600. The guts are basically from a $600 laptop.

And its claimed it has a 23% increase in speed, we'll see what it does in Real World tests. I was just saying that I need a PC in some nasty situations and it seems a little anemic to me.

[Think First @ Mar 4th 2008 3:24PM]

Could you post a link to some info about Epoxy Infused Ceramics? I am interested in it and haven't had much luck finding information on it on the internet. Even if you can only find a link to a product that is made with it, that would help.

I am trying to imagine how that Epoxy Infused Ceramic would work.

Carbon fiber and fiberglass works by applying liquid epoxy to woven sheets of carbon or glass. It would seem impossible to make ceramic sheets so that doesn't seem to be the most likely technique.

If you wanted to make a plate of this material, it would be reasonable to make the shape out of ceramic and then apply the epoxy to both sides of the ceramic. Since ceramic is pourous, the epoxy may be able to penetrate the material (if the epoxy is thin enough).

While this seems possible, it negates the best quality of composites; Weight. After carbon fiber is formed and the epoxy is applied, great amounts of pressure are used to extract all superfluous epoxy. This wouldn't be possible with complex shapes using ceramics. Also, making ceramics this way, it seems the ceramic would have to be solid before the epoxy is applied. If that is the case, you wouldn't be able to mold it like you can with plastics or magnesium.

MadMike, any help you can offer would be appreciated.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 4:15PM]

Its a ceramic suspension in an epoxy resin like fake teeth. Basically a fine ZrO2 power suspended in the epoxy. This helps make it easier to form complex shapes. Its very rigged and they actually make ceramic knifes with zirconia however it can snap and shatter easily. Mix it with AT-10 and you solve that problem. I don't have any online resources - I also don't know how much is copyrighted or protected. I don't make the stuff, I'm friends with a guy who does and he hooks me up. Like my Euber work bench.

I found an Apple Patent for something similar here: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/06/11/30/apple_seeks_patent_on_radio_transparent_zirconia_ce_casings.html

[Think First @ Mar 4th 2008 4:34PM]

Thanks MM, that makes sense. Now I know enough to look into it more. I am in the product development industry and it is nice for me to know about as many different materials as possible.

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 5:19PM]

No problem! I can be very nice contrary to my name. I just get a little defensive with ass pirates that try to berate me on a simple comment like certain people in the posts above.

Anyway the bench I have is great. Untinted its this off-white color, almost gray. completely water-proof with almost a rubbery feel like Kraton-G infused fiberglass. My buddy tinted the stuff black for me. I have no idea what he used for the tint. It withstands dimethyl sulfoxide, various alcohols, MEK, muriatic acid, etc... I can even clean it with abrasive cleaners doesn't scratch easy.

The bench is heavy - but the base is made from steel. And the top is 1" thick.

[Think First @ Mar 4th 2008 1:04PM]

What practical application have you seen an "epoxy resin infused ceramic" used on? And how could you possibly quantify the cost-effectivness of such an uncommon material?

[MadMike @ Mar 4th 2008 2:48PM]

Oh and I get the Toughbooks from a state bid, so the price I got mine at was $2,800. Sorry about that, forgot my discount.