Dell Latitude CPx H500GT

This is another notebook with a mix of good and bad test results and qualities. The Dell Latitude CPx H500GT is attractively priced and has the Dell name behind it, but some of its test results leave a lot to be desired.
The most marked failing is the hard drive, which has the dubious honour of coming last in both the Ziff-Davis Business Disk WinMark 99 and High-End Business Disk WinMark 99 tests. In the latter test it reached only two-thirds of the score of the next fastest drive. It also achieved the lowest score in the Business Winstone 99.
On the upside, its ATI Mobility Ml graphics processor produced a strong showing in the graphics benchmarks. It ranked equal third in the Business Graphics WinMark 99 and equal second in the High-End Graphics WinMark 99. This is an excellent result for a notebook aimed at the business/corporate sector. Although it didn’t get the highest score for 3D Mark 99 Max, it rated well enough for playing games. It was the fastest notebook in the CPUmark 99 test by a slight margin, and equal first with three other 500MHz models in the FPU WinMark.
Dell has slowly improved its notebook designs, and the Latitude CPx H500GT is a very well-designed unit. The keyboard is large and friendly, and both a trackpoint and a glidepad mouse pointer are installed — a great feature.
For DVD fans, there’s a TV-out connection on the side. Dell has done away with covers for the connectors on the back of the unit. According to its customer feedback, they are the first things to break on a notebook.
For a while, Dell seemed to be following the Gateway lead with longer and longer battery life. This notebook, however, did not last as long as expected; its running time was only two hours and 46 minutes.