Dell latitude D600 & D610

[KGIII]

The Latitudes have always been well thought-of.

I am not sure if this is still true, but Dell used to use only proprietary power supplies. If your PSU died, you couldn't replace it with a standard PSU. The mobo too used to be proprietary. You couldn't put a standard motherboard in should yours fail for some reason.

Dell was not alone in that Compaq used to do the same thing.

Still, I find those to be valid complaints against a Dell Latitude. (Assuming it's still true, I have no idea if it is or not. If a PSU dies, I remove the HDD and maybe the RAM and send it in for recycling.)

 

[Brickwizard]

but Dell used to use only proprietary power supplies

my 2010 Insperon needed a new psu, about 8 years ago, I got a pattern part and it worked perfectly [and still is] the only problem is at the time of manufacture Del fitted several different connectors to the machines , [that were not interchangeable]

 

[MikeWalsh]

@KGIII :-

TBH, proprietary PSUs/mobos apply across the board. Every laptop manufacturer does it; there is no such thing as a 'standard' laptop mobo OR PSU, in the way that desktop PCs use standards-compliant replacement parts.

That last is why I normally run a desktop, since anything that needs replacing needs far less researching than equivalent laptop parts.....and is ten times easier to replace when the need arises.

But I agree with @Brickwizard ; I, too, have never had problems with Dell 'pattern' parts. The old Inspiron that died the other week, and prompted this purchase went through 4 battery packs and two 'power-bricks' during its 20-year lifespan. All were 'pattern' parts; none ever gave me the slightest bit of trouble......and the surviving PSU is still fully-functional after nearly 8 years.....although I no longer have anything it will work with, due to its odd connector.


Mike.

 

[KGIII]

I much rather people adhere to standards - as there's no reason (other than greed) not to do so, at least in the desktop world. We don't really have much in the way of standards in the mobile sector, though we probably should. That was one of the reasons OLPC was not as good as folks initially hoped.

Heck, that's one of the reasons I use Linux. I can most generally stick to the open standards (with some exceptions, where I deliberately pick closed source solutions). If I found a laptop that used a universal standard battery pack, that'd certainly factor into my purchasing decision.

 

[Brickwizard]

I much rather people adhere to standards

I remember when I took up driving as a profession, I never had the same people in my team, every agency driver would have a different make/model of mobile phone but never carried a charger, so I bought and carried a cigarette lighter adaptor to usb, and an octopus [although mine had 14 legs] I could charge almost any phone form its phone terminal connectors, only within a couple of years new phones came out with yet more different connectors, and after all these years there is still no single standard

 

[MikeWalsh]

Well, I got my 'pattern' 9-cell high-capacity replacement battery pack on Friday. Fits perfectly; works fine. Even got the little LED battery 'condition' meter on the underside.....which also works A-OK.

Touch wood, we'll see how it goes....


Mike.

 

[Deleted member 137406]

I am not sure if this is still true, but Dell used to use only proprietary power supplies. If your PSU died, you couldn't replace it with a standard PSU.

I know at one time Dell used a weird power plug in their laptops.

I believe most now are the round barrel with center pin male power plug.

A trip to any thrift store you can find an oem dell laptop power supply adapter for a $1.00 or less.
You must be willing to dig through the pile of tangled power supply adapters thrown in a basket.

 

[MikeWalsh]

@Bartman :-

That's almost identical to the one that came with my D630. The connector is, as you say, the round barrel one; seems to be what Dell standardised on in later years, because all newer Dells I've seen have the same type. The one difference with mine is that the mains lead, where it plugs in, has a neat 180-degree plug, which routes the lead back across the power-brick.....and this, along with a nice slotted rubber tie-strap, makes it very easy to pack away for storage.

Much tidier than my old one! AND.....it seems to run a lot cooler than my old one, too.


Mike.

 

[Ziggi]

As for the graphics, I HAVE got the Nvidia NVS-135M chip. However, it's running perfectly with the 'nouveau' driver, so I really don't see the need for the official one.

Too right Bro – I have three disparate old computers Dell E6420 i7 8G, Hp-G60 3G and a 4G 3D Cad workstation – I feel blessed as they all have Nvidia Graphics and run nouveau mesa default driver leading to such fast stable reliable machines.

You can do a crazy benchmark graphics test with hardinfo or even crazier test by firing up M.A.R.S. - a ridiculous Shooter – have fun

https://sourceforge.net/projects/mars-game/

5* out of 5* Stars – excuse the pun, according to reviews I know nothing at all about gaming...

https://snapcraft.io/marsshooter

 

[KGIII]

benchmark

See also:

Benchmark Your Linux Box With Geekbench 5 • Linux Tips

Today's article will teach you how to benchmark your Linux box with Geekbench 5. It's a fairly simple exercise, even for a beginner.

linux-tips.us

 

[Ziggi]

@Bartman :-

That's almost identical to the one that came with my D630. The connector is, as you say, the round barrel one; seems to be what Dell standardised on in later years, because all newer Dells I've seen have the same type. The one difference with mine is that the mains lead, where it plugs in, has a neat 180-degree plug, which routes the lead back across the power-brick.....and this, along with a nice slotted rubber tie-strap, makes it very easy to pack away for storage.

Much tidier than my old one! AND.....it seems to run a lot cooler than my old one, too.


Mike.

Here is a photo of the power supply lead that came with my Dell E6420 supplied by local refurb shop? Second picture shows machine details and battery whilst charging up. Most likely not the original lead but works just fine and has that blue light built into connector to remind the old fool that he may have powered off but….

 

[Deleted member 137406]

As for the graphics, I HAVE got the Nvidia NVS-135M chip. However, it's running perfectly with the 'nouveau' driver, so I really don't see the need for the official one.

Too right Bro – I have three disparate old computers Dell E6420 i7 8G, Hp-G60 3G and a 4G 3D Cad workstation – I feel blessed as they all have Nvidia Graphics and run nouveau mesa default driver leading to such fast stable reliable machines.

The 'nouveau' driver does seem to work well on some Nvidia graphics cards.

On some Nvidia graphics cards the 'nouveau' driver doesn't cut it or doesn't work at all and the Nvidia proprietary driver is a must.

The Nvidia graphics driver I need is 340.108 and it's not supported by Linux kernels newer than 5.4 series kernel.

My days with Nvidia are done and anything Nvidia is only good for target practice with the 357 magnum.

 

[Deleted member 137406]

Here is a photo of the power supply lead that came with my Dell E6420 supplied by local refurb shop? Second picture shows machine details and battery charge. Most likely not the original lead but works just fine and has that blue light built into connector to remind the old fool that he may have powered off but…. View attachment 14236View attachment 14237

Yep that's what the Wife's Dell laptop power supply and plug looks like and they're easly found in any local thrift store where I live.

 

[Ziggi]

What are the odds in having three very fast and efficient, random, disparate computers all with NVIDIA graphics ALL working superbly with standard nouveau driver...?
Jeeeeez - Bye Folks Must dash out to buy a first ever lottery ticket

 

[Deleted member 137406]

Jeeeeez - Bye Folks Must dash out to buy a first ever lottery ticket

I play the lottery it's a worthy waste of money and if ya don't buy a lottery ticket ya never have a chance to win.

 

[Ziggi]

There is only one serious winner - the Lottery Company...
Leeching on poor people with gambling addiction.
No - don't tell me it's all a bit of fun....

 

[forester]

Gotta stay away from roulette tables and mile-long horse tracks, myself!

 

[Deleted member 137406]

There is only one serious winner - the Lottery Company...
Leeching on poor people with gambling addiction.
No - don't tell me it's all a bit of fun....

House always wins in gambling.

Nobody is forcing anyone to go out and buy a lottery ticket as you choose to do that on your own.

 

[f33dm3bits]

Nobody is forcing anyone to go out and buy a lottery ticket as you choose to do that on your own.

Some people are easily addicted to gambling.

 

[Ziggi]

Some people are easily addicted to gambling.

Some people are addicted to gaming
Some people are addicted to gaming and gambling
------------------------------------------------
Wo Guys – we are having fun Before we get back on topic let me have a go at clarifying power supply for the 610 and other old Lappys.

If there is no Watt rating eg 50W then look on the original factory supply for the volts which should be 19.5V and the amps which can vary from 3.0amp to 4.7 amps so…

Watts = Volts x Amps – thus 19.5 x 4 = 78W

Some will be less so some will be more – so what do I need…?

Basically your more powerful i7 will have the potential to need 80W+

However if like me you are not into gaming but are still a heavy internet user or video maker or editor this 80W will be fine.

I say fine but can only confirm this with my Dell Latitude E6420 ZorinOS using heavy but beautiful Gnome desktop which rapidly edits videos and can stand many Ffox tabs open plus LO Writer, Goolag Earth etc – with ease – RAM to spare....

So shall we call that a max set up straight out of the box – nothing to do? However you could go in the opposite direction with AntiX-22 Full LXDE where my lightweight efficient setup consumes less power.
I can and do swap my power supply cables with both laptops – any combination works but check to see if unduly hot. Right now I am using the Dell ps plugged into my old HP and the PS is just slightly warm.

IMHO use whatever Distro you like on a Dell Latitude - Light or Heavy
Such a well made rugged Laptop targeting the professional user.