Dell Adamo Desire gets 2.1GHz Core 2 Duo SL9600, 256GB SSD
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 19th 2009 4:19PM
posted Oct 19th 2009 4:19PM
[Thanks, Billy]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
Still not worth the price..
256 gb SSD is over pay, I'd rather go with 320-500 HDD
Man, if they can squeeze a 2.1 ghz Core 2 Duo into the XPS, it'll totally be worth it.
I confirm with you. Dell kept this as a supposedly secret and now that it's been unveiled it turned to be a piece of JUNK!! I rather buy me a Macbook pro.
marinux,
Learn English. Then come back, and try again. Right now it would be like picking on a 'tard to respond to anything you have to say.
Could be if it had a nipple...
@marinux
You didn't read the article did you? This isn't the Adamo XPS which Dell has apparently been keeping "as a supposedly secret", this is last year's model. If you wish to spew your Apple fanboyism, go do it on roughlydrafted or appleinsider.
I think its worth the price. 256GB SSD is fairly expensive.
dude, you've said ..."it's worth the price"..? WHY?? compare this JUNK with the macbook air or macbook pro and you'll see a big difference.
the ssd definitely makes it attractive, but that integrated graphics is a turn off. had they put a nice graphics card with the same price i would have been sold.
I agree. Not only is it actually quite an impressive computer, but this is a more industrial design, and it's nice to see someone going a different direction than Apple in the design department. Design is one of the main reasons I like the Zune HD; it's doing its own original thing, and it's doing it well.
Can somebody explain why SSDs can't be a round 250 GB? Why are they made 32,64, etc...
They go in powers of 2. It's fairly complicated at the low level, but it's the same reason why RAM always goes in 2, 4, 8GB as well.
Finally a reason to buy this overpriced laptop.
To be honest, if they put this stuff into the old Adamo, i would assume they put it into the new one as well. Why would you buy this one if you could buy the new one with same specs and a sexier frame?
Why was the correct reason ranked down?
Don't know why Mark is getting down ranked.
With memory on a chip, it is far easier and more natural to address the memory (be it RAM or SSD) in powers of two. I mean, you could make a 250 GB SSD, but then you'd be wasting a bit of addressing space, and with SSDs and RAM it would be a crying shame (because you'd be adding all the extra stuff to support that extra addressing bit without making use of all the extra addresses it provides). It's less of an issue with disk drives because an address maps to a simple physical location on the disk anyway and any extra addressing only adds additional complexity in one area. (Though in the earlier days of HDs, it was pretty common to see them in powers of two, also.)
I may be oversimplifying it, but that's the gist. Also, since SSDs are so expensive, manufacturers probably want to emphasize as much of the storage space as possible and tout the extra 6 GBs rather than round down (like they do with a lot of the HDs today).
It seems all of Mark's recent comments have been low ranked.
Someone have a vendetta again him?
@Erb: Yes, but I actually kind of prefer it this way. If I get lowest-ranked then it's just because of the person doing this. If I end up high or even neutral or low ranked then it means I made an incredibly helpful/insightful/humorous post. It's basically win-win for me now.
@ Erb,
Well yeah most of the crap and I really mean crap that comes out of his mouth is just stupid. For example his comment up there, and I quote "the same reason why RAM always goes in 2, 4, 8GB as well." ummm lets see for as far as I can remember this has never been true, I really don't want to go into details but lets see I remember ram goes by 128K byte sizes multiplied by whatever exponent to get to that total number. So basically you don't need to have even numbers you can have 1, 3, 6, 9 and so forth the reason why its 256 because it's probably don't quote me on this cheaper just to manufacture 2GB chips or whatnot and instead of one GB chips but I think a 250GB SSD would definately be physically possible.
@Fernando: Wow, you're just brilliant! I never would have thought of that! Let's just ignore the fact that it's more efficient and an easier process to make them in powers of two(my point with the previous comment) rather than trying to force it not to be. Hence the reason why, for example, a 160GB SSD is ~$800 when a 256GB one is ~600. Damn that easier manufacturing process, eh?
@Fernando: Oh and moving past the issue of your nonsensical "multiplied by whatever exponent" and assuming you mean something along the lines of "raised to whatever power", you do realize that 128KB(K here stands for 1024, or 2^10) raised to any power is still a power of 2, right? That said, you're right in thinking you can combine multiple SSD chips together to make non-standard sizes but it's significantly more expensive, with no benefit.
Fernando, punctuation is your friend. and be nice. "the crap that comes out of his mouth?" don't be a jerk, even if he wasn't totally right (he wasn't exactly wrong either, though).
@Mark:
Not quite actually. Several NAND "block"s are tied to some form of controller, which these days is capable of quite a lot. Anyway, each block must be a power of 2 in size. The controller has a maximum amount of them that it can talk to, which is a power of 2 as well, but you can of course, have less than that amount.
The problem however, is that a lot of drivers are written assuming the total is a power of 2, because this makes the math a lot simpler and faster.
Mark. STFU already
^ Mark's jealous ex?
More like Paul Chapel's alter-alter-alter-alter ego.
Seems to me like he's actually got accounts for targeting specific users now. I look forward to his "CJ_sucks" username
Adamo
adamas
admat
adamamus
adamatis
adamant
Finally a reason to buy this overpriced laptop.
To be honest, if they put this stuff into the old Adamo, i would assume they put it into the new one as well. Why would you buy this one if you could buy the new one with same specs and a sexier frame?
1st conjugation?
admiral adama
Dat azzz
Ooooh. Shiny. Too expensive but at least its got good hardware.
Core 2 Duo is almost 5 years old, I think I'll wait for the i7 laptops.
you do that
More like 3, and the 45nm ones like the one in that laptop are only 1 and a half years old. So yeah, you're only off by roughly a factor of three
@Marinux
You can't compare a Macbook Pro to this, that would be like comparing apples and... nevermind.
Since this is way too expensive, why don't you check out the dell adamo?? it's not bad either.
http://www.tvlesson.com/video/34928_new-dell-adamo.html
You link to your shitty site which doesn't even have content you created yourself?
Good thing I use abp so I used your bandwidth and didn't load your ads, screw you.
Huzzah, an incremental upgrade!
Hmm at 1/2 the thickness, same processor, double the RAM, and double the SSD capacity, $500 more than the Macbook Air isn't quite as exorbitant.
Only to sheeps like you!
but the macbook has an nvidia 9400M.
@Fernando: Really? So you're making the argument that having significantly better specs and maintaining the same price is a WORSE value proposition? Interesting.
@justin: Ya, that's why I said it isn't quite as exorbitant, rather than claiming it wasn't at all.
No im just calling you a sheep because of history on Engadget that's all, just trolling like you always do.
People who down ranked him should really check out the meaning of "exorbitant"
@Fernando: Alright, I'll take the bait. In what comment in recent history was I "trolling"?
@Mark
THIS ONE.
@justin, ta for genuine lol :D
@Badger_badger_badger: Ah, didn't realize that comparing the product talked about in this article to a directly competing product in order to evaluate the comparative value proposition of said products was considered trolling. Always figured something along the lines of saying "only to sheeps like you!" was closer to what was meant by that term.
Man that thing is a rip off what a poc WTF D€ll can't you put a better video card in that thing like the much cheaper xps's, I can build my own Adamo for half that price, waaaaa waaaa waaaa.
Can you hear the drums fernando?
I remember long ago another starry night like this
In the firelight fernando
You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar
I could hear the distant drums
And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar
They were closer now fernando
Every hour every minute seemed to last eternally
I was so afraid fernando
We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die
And I'm not ashamed to say
The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry
There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, fernando
Now we're old and grey fernando
And since many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand
Can you hear the drums fernando?
Do you still recall the frightful night we crossed the rio grande?
I can see it in your eyes
How proud you were to fight for freedom in this land
There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, fernando
Oh, and you're also a trolling c***
As I noted above, this is thinner, has the same processor, double the RAM and double the SSD capacity. A 256GB SSD is pretty pricey normally, and I'm guessing this would use a non-standard size of it in order to fit in that small body. So it's not really a "much better alternative", though given that this is $500 more expensive, I'd say it's roughly an equal one.
and it still has integrated intel garbage video card, where's the 9400M?
I bought a Core 2 Duo 2ghz Inspiron over 4 years ago, and it was half the price of this thing.
That's interesting seeing as mobile Core 2 Duos @2 GHz have only been out for just over 3 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Core_2_microprocessors#Notebook_.28mobile.29_processors
Let me guess, it was 2 inches thick and could kill a small child if you dropped it.
My bad, it actually shipped in 9/2006 not '05. But still, 3 years later the Core 2 Duo is nearing the end of its lifespan. Why would you buy a high-end laptop like this with a soon-to-be-obsolete CPU architecture? Arrandale is just 2-3 months away. You'd think they have timed the release better.
If this one has a 2.1GHz Core 2 than what would the XPS be packin' ?? I would expect something more powerful..
Core i7 baby :D
"For that kind of money, the Macbook Air is the much better alternative, at least you'd save a few hundred bucks, and you could still use Windows 7 via bootcamp. "
Ohh goody, someone managed to mention apple. That hardly ever happens! Maybe people don't want an apple air.
Well, the Air is a good laptop. I have a first generation Air and it's great. Nothing wrong with it.
I wonder how sturdy a laptop like this can be? I have a Macbook Air, and for being thin, it really is more sturdy than it looks. If this is thinner, by a margin, I wonder what the flex on the chasis is? It's got to be noticeable.
it might almost not suck
Very Nice but I will still get a Apple :)
no....shit?
Of course. And that is why Apple will continue to put out unreliable crap. They know their user base will never go anywhere else because of this idea that Apple is perfect. And this is why your entire cult fails.
I feel sad for Apple sl*ts
Phil Schiller (not me): Looks nice. But..... it is still Windows :D
Amen
Daaaaamn that is a sleek laptop.
Dell isn't getting my money, but they certainly have my lust.
I was so pissed at Dell for unveiling at the ridiculous price last year. And I am equally pissed today. THey can make a sleek and sexy laptop without making it a MacBook Pro price, they chose not to.
for 2,299 you can get a pretty sweet macbook pro. plus if OS X isnt your thing theres the new hp envy that i'm sure can be pimped out with better specs than the desire for the same price and for almost the same portability and with the hp SLICE battery that extends it past ten hours of life. c'mon... why would you settle for this?
marinux,
Learn English. Then come back, and try again. Right now it would be like picking on a 'tard to respond to anything you have to say.
Unlike apple, we will see either a big coupon( 25%) or bing cash back deal for this one soon. At around 1500-1600 this would be an awesome purchase. Adamo being a premium brand should have a dedicated support line
@A.Welsh
Yup. My memories of Latin class.
Great piece of hardware for fancy office decoration!
Didn't expect this one coming... cheers, Dell.
Still need a dedicated graphic card like MBA before i would consider, and fix the keyboard and mouse to become more tactile, and more battery life. Also a matte option for the screen and that would be the sexiest and most desirable laptop.
I'd like to see you build a laptop that thin. let alone that nice looking. and adamo is not meant for gaming or anything else that requires a good video card. if you want to game, pay the $2300 for something with more beef in it.
CURSE YOU COMMENT SYSTEM!
oh and if this was what macs looked like i'd be a fanboy too. It'll be ok though, im immune to condescending egos and getting butthurt when someone says something bad about something i like. trust me.
Great! More integrated graphics...yet still its an XPS??? Please stop trying to sell $2000+ laptops with integrated graphics! its such a rip-off
This is NOT Adamo XPS you iDiot....... this is just an update on the old Adamo.Did you even read the article before showing your hate?
@deccangroove - no need to get rude, and i am indeed speaking of the XPS version which is to be released but i guarantee it will come out with integrated graphics and be $2000+.
Moral of the story, a nice, slick, well designed PC will cost what a Mac will cost. It just happens that Apple doesn't make cheap K-Mart crap like most PC manufacturers. Dell is making some nice looking stuff lately.
Wait a couple of months and look for the respec'd Adamos to appear on the Dell outlet for around $1,700.
I liked the Adamo before, but with these better specs I'm loving it. If only I had a couple grand just sitting around...
They upgraded the base model Adamo as well. It now starts out at 1.4 GHz (instead of 1.2) and comes with the 256 GB SSD standard. Price: $1,499
ordered mine yesterday. was going with the mac air but came to my senses in the nick of time!