Dell Latitude E6430s Pro Reviews

As hot as ultrabooks are these days, business class laptops are still the best way for many of us to get through the workday. And the Dell Latitude E6430S is a well-rounded business laptop. It can handle the rigors of travel and the bumps and scrapes that come with being carried around the office. Of course, performance is crucial, and the laptop has the performance you'd expect at its sub-$1000 price point. We also like that Dell offers so many options for this laptop - it's very easy to tweak the configuration to your needs when ordering one. The E6430S is worth a look.

The original Latitude E6330 was praised for its durable design, easy expansion options, solid keyboard, and fast CPU performance. The E6430s retains all of the positive aspects of its predecessor by using identical chassis and core internal hardware, all the while incorporating a larger 14-inch screen onto the same available surface area. Users who have been on the fence about the original E6330 now have an even better reason to jump on board with the E6430s. The notebook still offers strong performance all-around with incredible Turbo Boost sustainability. Some drawbacks, though minor, are apparent on the E6430s as well. Although the hefty weight shouldn’t surprise, the loud keyboard and fan under load can be irritating to some users, especially in quieter environments. Brightness could have been higher for even better outdoor usability and battery life has been reduced slightly from its E6330 counterpart. The SD card reader continues to be at a less-than-ergonomic position and there is still no integrated UMTS functionality despite the built-in SIM card slot. No higher display resolution is offered either, which we feel is a missed opportunity from bumping the physical screen size. Even so, the Latitude 6430s is just as good as the E6330 with more screen real estate to offer. Previous Latitude owners will know exactly what to expect while newcomers will enjoy the performance and vast customization options available down the road.

Overall, there's a whole lot that Dell gets right with the Latitude E6430s. It feels very solidly built, yet it's light compared to similar business laptops from competitors. And its keyboard is a pleasure to type on, thanks to the raised edges of the keys and a much-appreciated adjustable backlight. Its real-world application performance and battery life are admirable, and its array of ports is adequate (though we can grumble about the USB port placed at the rear instead of on one of the sides). At over $2,000 in our review configuration, the Latitude is undoubtedly expensive. That said, its components are more than most business users need, and Dell offers a fair number of internal options to choose among, so you can get a much cheaper version of this machine in the same rugged shell at a starting price of $799. Those who need a higher-resolution screen than the lowest-common-denominator 1,366x768 panel in this line will have to look elsewhere. But if that's not a sticking point, this Latitude is worthy of serious consideration. Just make sure to pay the $19 extra for the extended battery if you want a solid eight hours of battery life.