This laptop mod was also featured on OverClockers.com last year, here is the link, some of the text is reprinted from there as I wrote the article/review for them and it all still applies today.....

 Here is the link if you want to check out the whole thing: http://www.overclockers.com/articles1194/

The OverClockers article is a shorter version of this with less pictures basically and not the new ones that are here or the updates adn things I have added since then. It also mentions that I no longer have the laptop, I did sell it to a friend but I did buy it back from him later on.....

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I'll start with system specs as purchased:

Dell Latitude C640
1.8 Ghz P4m
256 Mb DDR RAM PC2100
20 GB Hard Drive
14.1 inch SXGA+ LCD Display
ATI Radeon Mobility 32mb 7600
CD/RW Drive
All the standard ports, 10/100 ethernet, phone jack, usb, s-video, vga, serial etc.
I upgraded to 512 mb RAM and 30 GB HD drive; I also added, a 802.11b wireless card. These laptops were introduced Q1 of 2003. This is a great laptop for business, but also can actually play games. Battery life is excellent - I usually got 3+ hours from it with normal use (non-gaming/movies).

I did go and buy another battery as you can remove the cd burner and use two batteries for lots of running time.... Lately I have found that it is becoming dated, the videocard anyway, some new games I can't even install on this laptop as the videocard can't run them.... ah well, i still like it and it still gets many looks when I pull it out at Starbucks or wherever I go to use it... Also I added an external PCMCIA 802.11G card, it was much cheaper than buying an internal one and the reception is much better with the external card. I also got a nice GPS setup as well for it and a bluetooth mouse!

I like the thin form-factor of this laptop; I've noticed lately that the newer laptops are becoming very thick and heavy. This Latitude only weighs in at 6.1 pounds! The new Dells weigh in at 12+ pounds, and some of them and are twice, if not three times, as thick.

The LCD picture quality was excellent - it made me decide to purchase an LCD monitor for my home desktop; I had the laptop sitting on my desk with it on with the same program running and the difference is amazing.

The laptop was basically used for email, word processing, photo editing and, of course, games and movies! The P4 does a very good job, although it seemed to me that it ran a little hot; it got up to 59Cº when gaming or watching movies. I actually opened it up and applied Arctic Silver 5 to the CPU and the GPU to try and help with the heat, but it was just a slight drop in temps.

I also found that the P4 really underclocks itself when not in use, even if browsing the internet, etc. While some may like that, I personally did not - I always ran it at full speed.

Although these cannot be purchased new from Dell anymore, they are really worth it; if you can find one used/refurb, I would highly recommend it! I did some searching around and found prices ranging from $800 to $1200 depending on features. So these do hold their value pretty well.

Also I have seen quite a few reviews on them and the majority are highly rated the Dell latitude C640

Of course, I had to mod this Laptop. It was originally a Plain Black Dell (BORING!), fine for a suit and tie guy! I dismantled the whole thing and re-painted it. I did some Dremel work on the cover and created a new case badge for it.

One thing to note is that the most of the pictures were taken a while ago with an older camera (on the cheap), there are the new pictures that I actually took today with my good camera.....

I used Rust-Oleum products on it: Plastic Primer, a 'Rust' effect kit (which looks more like Burlwood) and a clear/hard top coat. I also used a silver and red paint marker for the details and a red Sharpie to color the 'Latitude' letters.

I used GE Silicone 2 clear caulk to fill in the dragons, so not only is it guaranteed not to shrink, but it is mildew resistant too. I went with the non-shrinking properties....

I used a Chrome pipe cap for the case badge, onto which I Dremeled the Japanese character for dragon. I rough sanded it to give it a hammered/antique look.

Here is the 'worklog' - I'm not going into a lot of detail as it is pretty much self-explanatory.

I created a template on the computer, transferred it to card stock paper and cut it out with Xacto knife

Plastic Primer applied, 3 coats if I remember correctly, sanding in between...