Dell E6400 XFR: The Toughest Laptop Ever?

Part laptop, part bullet proof vest, the Dell E6400 XFR can handle just about anything.

If you need a laptop that can take more elemental abuse than you can, the Dell Latitude E6400 XFR may be right up your alley.

The E6400 is designed to weather any environment - and the Department of Defense agrees. This newest addition to Dell's XFR family meets the DOD's 810F military standards for heat, vibration, and dust. Plus, with its compression gaskets and Dell's PrimoSeal technology, the E6400 can take direct shots of pressurized water, even when it's open.

With the ability to withstand four foot drops, extreme temperatures, and "explosive atmospheres", the E6400 has some serious R&D behind it. The secret to its ruggedness lies in the chassis material. According to Dell, the case is made from an "exclusive" material called PR481, which is typically reserved for the military and aerospace corporations. This is the cornerstone of the E6400's Ballistic Armor Protection System, which Dell says is twice as strong as magnesium alloys found in other rugged platforms.

The E6400 comes with a 14.1-inch LCD that is readable in direct sunlight. Under the hood, you'll find an unspecified Intel Core 2 Duo. For graphics, the E6400 comes with the Nvidia Quadro NVS 160M (256 MB DDR2) and an integrated Intel 4500MHD. Along with 4 GB of memory and a shock mounted 80 GB drive or 64 GB SSD, the E6400 does come with a 12-cell battery and Dell's ExpressCharge technology. While this newest XFR is 15 percent thinner and five percent lighter, the E6400 still comes in at 2.2-inches thick and starts at 8.6 pounds...pretty beefy for a 14.1-inch laptop. But if the E6400 is as tough as Dell says it is, the extra weight may be worth it.

The Dell E6400 XFR will be available soon, with a starting price of $4,299.

  • sacre
    Wow man, I should buy this then go use it 50 feet in the air during a storm over the ocean with it only being held by my hands. Now that would be a real use of this thing..

    Aside from average home use or business trips, I think an average joe type laptop is sufficient, but hey, this is cool for extremophiles.

    i'd buy it..

    then i'd drop it 4 feet into water filled with sand.. and if it breaks i'd ...well probably wonder why i did it in the first place
    Reply
  • Actually i work for Moran Towing. And we use tough laptops on the barges that we own. On those boats a lot can happen to a laptop. Extreme temperatures, the actual deck men and all the people that use them there, don't take care of them very well, any other laptop would come back in a month.
    Reply
  • judeh101
    I thought the title was about dell building a laptop from C2D E6400.
    Reply
  • jerreece
    iancuActually i work for Moran Towing. And we use tough laptops on the barges that we own. On those boats a lot can happen to a laptop. Extreme temperatures, the actual deck men and all the people that use them there, don't take care of them very well, any other laptop would come back in a month.
    This type of laptop is commonly used in law enforcement applications too. Many times the Panasonic "Toughbook" is used in patrol vehicles. The environments commonly encountered in such a field usually require a more durable laptop than most of us would use at home.
    Reply
  • falchard
    Toughbook is tougher, and its a tablet PC.
    Reply
  • liemfukliang
    CMIIW. This is the world first toughest laptop with discreet VGA?
    Reply
  • jaragon13
    "The E6400 comes with a 14.1-inch LCD that is readable in direct sunlight. Under the hood, you'll find an unspecified Intel Core 2 Duo."
    Perhaps an Intel Core 2 Duo E6400? :)
    Reply
  • tenor77
    then i'd drop it 4 feet into water filled with sand.. and if it breaks i'd ...well probably wonder why i did it in the first place

    lol
    I know a guy who threw his GPS in a lake because it's waterproof. That doesn't change the fact that it's not sinkproof.
    Reply
  • zak_mckraken
    tenor77lolI know a guy who threw his GPS in a lake because it's waterproof. That doesn't change the fact that it's not sinkproof.... or dumbproof!
    Reply
  • christop
    This would be a great military laptop...
    Reply