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College Lappy-E6400 or E6500?

Discussion in 'Dell Latitude, Vostro, and Precision' started by rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009.

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  1. rock3ralex

    rock3ralex Notebook Enthusiast

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    Well I'm pretty much sold on either the e6400 or e6500 as a basic CAD electrical engineering laptop for college.

    After reading a lot of reviews about weight, battery life, heat and screens. I wanted get some opinions.

    I am for sure getting the quadro 160m for rendering and probably the p8600 since it's plenty fast and will consume less battery life and produce less heat.

    I'm not sure whether to get the 14 or 15" model because of the size and heat and battery life.

    I'd like the 14" since it's a bit smaller and compact and better battery life but it seems that the 15" might have an advantage due to the fact that it weighs only a pound or less more and is barely any bigger in size. Heat is also probably less due to better heatsinks

    anyways, what would you guys recommend for a freshman college student and why?
     
    rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009
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  2. afhstingray

    afhstingray Notebook Prophet

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    E6500, larger screen for videos etc, and u can get the gorgeous 2ccfl WUXGA display on it. plus the heat issues.
     
    afhstingray, Sep 7, 2009
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  3. HerrKaputt

    HerrKaputt Elite Notebook User

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    It is a matter of personal preference. Will you be taking it with you every day? If yes, E6400. If not, will you play games? If yes, E6500, if not, E6400.

    Simple as pie :)
     
    HerrKaputt, Sep 7, 2009
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  4. rock3ralex

    rock3ralex Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thought so, game is reserved for the i7 920 and gtx 285 beasts in my desktop!

    I will be taking it with me everyday so the e6400 seems to be the clear winner!

    Would you recommend the 1440x900 screen over the 1280x800? Only thing is I'm starting college on the 24th of this month and move in on the 20th. The preliminary ship date would be the 21st with the high res screen. Is it worth it? I could always just have it shipped to me at my college...
     
    rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009
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  5. rock3ralex

    rock3ralex Notebook Enthusiast

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    can anyone recommend a screen res?
     
    rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009
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  6. HerrKaputt

    HerrKaputt Elite Notebook User

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    Get the high-res screen. The text is very crisp, and the extra screen real estate is useful to have more windows open.
     
    HerrKaputt, Sep 7, 2009
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  7. skyandspace

    skyandspace Notebook Consultant

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    I like 14.1 for college since I take it on campus sometimes and it takes up less space on desk. However, I do have a 19inch LCD at home on my desk that I hookup to to watch movies.

    I'd look into the Lenovo T400 as well.
     
    skyandspace, Sep 7, 2009
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  8. rock3ralex

    rock3ralex Notebook Enthusiast

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    sounds good but the 1280 doesn't seem too bad anyway. I've found on on ebay with a p8400, 80gb hdd w/free fall, quadro, 1280x800 14" screen and 2gb of ram for $600 shipped. I might jump on that. Not sure.
     
    rock3ralex, Sep 7, 2009
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  9. gauden44

    gauden44 Notebook Consultant

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    I feel that 1280 x 800 is the right size for a 14.1", as anything with a higher pixel density makes things too small for me. It's personal preference though really. I have the 1440 x 900 on my E6500 and it's just right.

    If you want your laptop quick... like, in 3 days, and also want to save a few hundred, check out Dell's outlet store.

    www.dell.com/outlet

    They have great prices and the units come with the same warranty a new one would have (3 years).
     
    gauden44, Sep 7, 2009
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  10. millermagic

    millermagic Rockin the pinktop

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    Does your college have small desks? I learned the hard way that a 15.4'' laptop doesn't always fit on the desk with a notebook haha.

    If the specs are the same on both, I say go for the 14.1'' ... it's not much smaller but I loved having a 14.1'' laptop.
     
    millermagic, Sep 7, 2009
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