Our attempts to dent the surface had no effect whatsoever.  This includes the display lid that won”t budge even a millimeter under pressure.  According to Dell, the display lid hinges are composed of tough steel, which is however not visible on the surface—as is the case with Lenovo Thinkpads—but is rather covered up a by a layer of magnesium. The display lid takes a bit of effort to tilt back but barely bobs back and forth after being adjusted.  Like HP, Dell is stepping away from the approach of sticking individual rubber pads along the display to soften closing.  Instead, they”ve gone with a long rubber strip encompassing the entire screen, which should serve to protect the screen and keyboard from dust particles getting in when the laptop”s closed.  A single hook clasps the display shut.

Repairing or switching out hardware is quite easy.  The hard drive is secured by four screws, after removing which it can slide out from the case sideways. The rest of the hardware can be accessed by removing a cover along the bottom of the base unit which is fastened with a few more screws.  The fans and heat sinks, the processor, memory, PCI module and the CMOS battery are all ready to be tinkered with once the cover is off.

Taking another look at the competition (Lenovo T420, HP 8460p), we see that the other contenders for your money also weigh a similar amount.  The standard model of Lenovo”s T420 weighs in at 2.24kg, that is, with a 6-cell battery included.  HP”s model with the smallest possible 3-cell battery comes to 2.07kg, the same as the Dell E6420 with a 4-cell battery.  The particular configuration we reviewed included a 9-cell battery (97Wh), bringing the grand total up to 2.620 Kg.  In terms of case dimensions, E6420 is the widest at 352 mm. The Lenovo T420 is 12 mm less wide and the HP 8640p 14 mm.  The same is true for case depth: the front of the E6420 juts out  about 10  mm when placed side-by-side with its rivals.  The Lenovo T420 is the thinnest of the three at 30mm when closed (E6420 and 8460p both 32mm - all figures based on info from the manufacturers).

Keyboard

With the change in case design comes a new keyboard layout to get used to. Among the changes is the box of special function buttons at the top right corner, including the buttons "insert", "delete", and so forth.  These buttons are now arranged in a single row in which the individual buttons are bit more bunched together than before.  Also, the "page up" and "page down" buttons have made their way down to just above the arrow keys.  Although it might take some getting used to, the new layout doesn”t bring many restrictions with it—although the keys are definitely bunched together more.

Typing on this keyboard is quite comfortable.  Keystrokes are firm, requiring a fair amount of pressure before they plop down, which gives them a very easy-to-feel pressure point.  Even when jabbing away at the keys, the noise they make remains subtle and tolerable.  A great feature is the keyboard backlight, which costs an additional 40 Euro but makes for easy-to-recognize keys no matter the lighting situation around you (convenient on the train, bus, plane, etc.).  Naturally, this includes a water-resistant keyboard cover.

Trackpoint/Touchpad

For moving the cursor across the screen, Dell provides us with two options here: trackpoint (aka pointstick) and touchpad.  A few things have changed here from the previous model.  The color of the keys has changed as well as the fact that the rubber circle of the pointstick is no longer completely black.  The trackpoint works incredibly well.  The trackpoint on the Thinkpad T420 reacted very similarly in side-by-side testing.  Only the shape of the trackpoint on the Thinkpad is (in our opinion) better.

The multi-touch pad measures a conveniently large 8x4.5 cm and has a nice, smooth surface.  The multi-touch functions can be configured to your personal preferences via pre-installed software.  The touchpad buttons are just as comfortable to use, having just the right depression depth and clicking almost silently.

There”s also a lot of selection when it comes to the graphics card.  With the basic configuration, the CPU comes with anintegrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics card.  This configuration should suffice for typical office work.  With higher demands regarding 3D graphics or special software, you can definitely benefit from the power of a dedicated graphics card like the optional Nvidia NVS 4200M graphics card (Optimus).  Dell”s online shop makes things a bit confusing here: the NVS 4200M supposedly comes in two version, one listed as "35W" and another at the same price listed as "512MB (45W)".  Speaking over the phone with a Dell representative, we were told this was a mistake and that only the "35W" NVS is available for the E6420.  This was the version of graphics card in the laptop we reviewed, but the  Nvidia settings identified it nevertheless as having 512MB DDR3 video memory, which according to Dell”s website is only available in the "45W" version.

According to official Nvidia specifications, the NVS 4200M runs at a clock rate (speed) of up to 810 MHz, while the processor can supposedly reach as high as 1620 MHz.  In the system properties menu of the model we reviewed, the clock rates were displayed as 740/1480 MHz.  This seems to indicate that a watered-down version of the NVS 4200M was in place in the particular Dell Latitude E6420M model we reviewed.  During our hardware stress test, we measured a GPU temperature of up to 99°C, which seems to high for the 45W version of the NVS 4200M running at its maximum clock rate (and this seems to go along with what the Dell representative told us over the phone about there not being a 45W version available for the E6420).

You can find more details about the Nvidia NVS 4200M in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards.

Speaking of performance, we were curious to try out a certain new option in Dell”s Control Point software called "Ultra Performance", which claims to "reduce CPU throttling" while raising the fan speed.  We weren”t really able to measure the effect very well, however, considering test results were not significantly different under the "Ultra Performance" profile and since the Intel Core i3-2310M CPU does not have the Turbo Boost function. 

Temperature

Even after several hours of light office use, the surfaces of the Dell Latitude E6420 remain comfortable to the touch.  Only in the worst case scenario with both the GPU and CPU running at full blast for more than an hour does the temperature reach up to 37°C beside the keyboard and 41°C on the bottom of the case, which isn”t incredibly hot.  The hardware within does not stay quite as cool, however.

After an hour of the stress test (100% load on CPU and GPU), we measured 84°C for the CPU and a critical 99°C for the graphics card.  The GPU”s cooling potential at this point also doesn”t seem very high.  Consider what would happen to a model of the Latitude E6420 equipped with one of the new i7 quad-core processors which have a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 45W—10W more than the dual-core CPUs.  On top of that, due to a possible error in the description of the GPU, the online shop offers 45W TDP graphics card, how will the laptop be sufficiently cooled with such powerful hardware in place?  Our particular model”s configuration (i3-2310M / NVS 4200M – "35W") had already reached its limit regarding the graphics card.  The clock rates of the GPU and CPU remain steady throughout the stress test, however, with no throttling observed.  This leads us to the conclusion that the CoreTemp tool must have misread the temperature.

It”s true that our excitement had already come and gone by the time our forums became the scene of a heated debate about the Latitude”s new design.  And even though minds will continue to clash for years to come about which looks better, the new or the old, Dell has crafted a fine case in terms of workmanship, sturdiness and feel.  The case design is harmonious (magnesium-aluminum) and has a first-rate feel to it.

The placement of the ports is quite convenient, most ports relegated to the far corners of the case.  The variety of ports on the E6420, however, still leaves some things to be desired: the combination headphone/microphone port is not compatible with most existing headsets (separate connectors), a USB 3.0 adapter can optionally be built in to replace the DVD drive (or attached via ExpressCard adapter).  And for attaching an external monitor there”s only one way to go, HDMI.

To the likely frustration of current Latitude users, the keyboard layout has changed, the keys a bit more bunched together.  The feel of typing on the keyboard is excellent and the multi-touch pad works flawlessly.

The display in our test model was the higher-resolution HD+ version, which is useful for keeping multiple windows open on the screen at once.  The bright, matte screen makes using the laptop outdoors possible, even in direct sunlight.  On the downside, the poor picture contrast and few vertical viewing angles can be frustrating.

In terms of its performance, the 14" office notebook leaves little to be desired. CPUs as powerful as Intel Sandy Bridge quad-core processors and the optional dedicated Nvidia NVS 4200M graphics card allow for a broad spectrum of use.   Careful though, the Latitude can”t quite manage tougher CAD projects—the Precision series is better for that.

The level of system noise and temperature under light office use is acceptable. Under heavy use, however, the GPU can”t quite stay cool.  Still, this situation won”t arise during everyday office work, though. 

One of the big strengths of the Dell Latitude E6420 is its potential battery life. With the 9-cell battery, it”s possible to get a whole day”s work done without ever having to charge up the laptop—depending on the applications you”re using.

It all comes down to your individual needs and preferences whether the Latitude E6420 is right for you.  The competition, in the form of the Lenovo Thinkpad T420and HP”s Elitebook 8460p, can give the Latitude a run for its money and their reviews will be up shortly.