With netbooks and ever-slimmer notebook computers attracting the most consumer attention this holiday, Dell apparently believes there’s still room for workhorse PCs, even if — at about 9 pounds — they defy current fashion.
Enter the Precision M6500 “mobile workstation.” Workstations are just that: monster-spec machines intended for high performance and powerhouse applications. Dell’s just-released package, priced to start at $2,750, is structured around an advanced Intel Core i7 quad-core processor — among the first mobile PCs to use that chip — and a 17-inch LED backlighted screen, 1920 by 1200 pixels.
There’s a gaudier variation, the Covet in hot copper orange ($4,220).
While the base version is loaded with only 2 gigabytes of memory, it will accommodate up to 16 gigs in four memory slots, a feature normally found on desktops, not on laptops.
The nine-cell battery should perform strongly. Stephen Williams
