Dell Intros First Fully Ruggedized Notebook

By Geoff Duncan Published March 4, 2008

Dell Intros First Fully Ruggedized Notebook

Computer maker Dell has decided to enter the ruggedized notebook business with its new Latitude XFR D630 notebook, a new system intended for government, enterprise, and other commercial customers who need tough systems for use in harsh environments and field work. The XFR D630 meets MIL-STD 810F (PDF) for operation in extreme conditions, and shares components with Dell’s existing Latitude line for easier integration into existing IT infrastructures. And, of course, it wouldn’t be Dell if they didn’t tout the machine as faster than the competition: the company claims the XFR D630 is 23 percent faster than the Panasonic CF-30 ToughBook, with up to four times better graphic performance.

"The Latitude XFR D630 represents a tectonic shift towards simplicity in the ruggedized laptop space," said Dell Product Group director Brett McAnally, in a statement. "We are taking a multi-dimensional approach that focuses on simplified deployment, service, and durability without sacrificing performance. Major competitors focus their efforts on ‘rugged’ only."

Recommended Videos

The XFR D630 features a 14/1-inch 500-nit outdoor viewable LCD panel (available in black or desert tan, touchscreen optional), an Intel Core 2 Duo processor (T7250 or 7500 at 2.0 or 2.2 GHz), a thermally-enhanced, shock mounted 80 GB hard drive (solid state drives up to 64 GB are available as an option), supports up to 4 GB of RAM, uses Intel GMA X3100 graphics, 802.11 Wi-Fi networking, gigabit Ethernet, a Type I or Type II PC Card slot (ExpressCard/34 available through a USB PCMCIA Adapter), four USB 2.0 ports, VGA output, and optional optical drives, including an 8×dual-layer DVD burner: the slot can also be used for a non-rugged hard drive, a secondary battery, or even a floppy. With a base configuration, the XFR D630 weights just under 9 pounds.

Even better, the XFR D630 will run in environments ranging from -20 to 140°F, as high as 15,000 feet, and features moisture and dust seals to keep the internal components pristine. Just the kind of thing some people may need in their kitchens or game rooms.

The Latitude XFR D630 starts at $3,899, and is available to U.S. customers today.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

Nvidia’s CEO — yes, one person — is now worth more than all of Intel

Jensen Huang at GTX 2020.

Nvidia is one of the richest companies in the world, so it's no surprise that the company's CEO, Jensen Huang, is quite wealthy. The most recent net worth numbers from Forbes puts into context just how wealthy the executive really is, though. Huang has an estimated net worth of $109.2 billion, which is around $13 billion more than the market cap of Intel across the entire company.

Although Nvidia makes some of the best graphics cards, the obscene amount of money the company has racked up over the past two years stems from its AI accelerators. In 2020, Forbes estimated that Huang was worth $4.7 billion, and even in 2023, after ChatGPT had already exploded onto the scene, the executive was worth $21.1 billion. Now, Huang is the 11th richest person in the world, outpacing Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Michael Bloomberg.

Computing

Nearly two years later, AMD’s RX 7000 GPUs don’t even make up 1% of Steam players

RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT on a pink background.

AMD's latest RX 7000 GPUs may be some of the best graphics cards you can buy, but they aren't popular among gamers, at least according to the latest Steam hardware survey. Only one of AMD's RDNA 3 graphics cards even shows up on the survey, with the RX 7900 XTX occupying just 0.37% -- down by 0.03% compared to last month.

It's worth noting that Steam doesn't list every GPU represented in the hardware survey each month, but it at least lists every GPU that represents a decent chunk of players. For context, the lowest-ranking GPU on the list is AMD's RX 5500 XT at just 0.16% of players. Other RX 7000 GPUs like the excellent RX 7900 GRE are likely represented further down, though with a share of only one-tenth of 1% or less.

Computing

The RTX 5090 will reportedly require 600 watts of power

The back of the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super graphics card.

Rumors have been circulating about the RTX 5090 for a while, but we're finally getting a clearer picture of how Nvidia's flagship RTX 50-series GPU is shaping up. Well-known hardware leaker Kopite7kimi is claiming the RTX 5090, which seems destined to earn a spot among the best graphics cards, will come with an obscene power requirement of 600 watts.

The leaker shared specs for the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 on X (formerly Twitter). We've seen vague claims from Kopite7kimi in the past concerning RTX 50-series graphics cards, but this is the first time the leaker has shared full specs. According to the leak, the RTX 5090 will require 600W of power and come with a staggering 32GB of GDDR7 memory across a 512-bit bus.