Considering a refurb Precision M4400. Few Questions.

I sold my Asus G1S last week and now i am looking to replace it with another more modern 15.4" laptop with decent graphics card and good screen. Dell m4400 and lenovo t500 both fit the bill. I am leaning more towards a refurb dell from the outlet. I am lookign for answers to a few questions to help me make up my mind:

I heard good stuff about both WXGA+ LED and WUXGA RGB-LED panels on this model. What about WUXGA CCFL panel. Where can I find specs on it? Is it any good or terribly dim like the one Lenovo uses?

Is heat a big problem with m4400? My Asus was heating up to the point that it was uncomfortable to keep on my lap and was very noisy and I kind of want to avoid that again.

How good are Dell refurbs? Am i going to get something that has been trashed before or are these just open box returns? Also is it possible to get them to give extra discount over the phone? There was a 15% off coupon a few weeks ago which is over now. What are my chances of convincing them to give me a discount?

Also, If I do order new, would it be possible to convince Dell to price match the M4400 to a T500 or W500? Did anybody ever have any success with that?

 

Hi zenit

I have the WUXGA Dual-CCFL display and it's beautiful. It's also eye-searingly bright, so I (and everybody else I've read about) don't run it at full brightness You can compare the specs at:

http://www.dell.com/content/learnmo...reen_precn&~lt=popup&~series=precn&~tab=other

As for heat, the M4400 runs cool and quiet during everyday use. Some parts, particularly the left side, get warm to the touch, but it's never uncomfortable. The only time it gets very hot is under serious load, such as playing games. It would be uncomfortable to use for long periods, but it soon cools down after you've finished.

Regarding the refurbs, I've never had one, but I hear Dell essentially makes sure they are as new. Maybe they are returned open boxes, maybe they are damaged and repaired, but whatever the case, it should look and work as new unless otherwise stated.

As for the other questions, I'm sure the others will have more experience on striking a bargain, so I'll let them answer. Good luck!

 

I've also got dual-CCFL and it gets far brighter than my Asus or my Compal Toshiba. I'm sure the LED versions are even nicer, but as it is, dual-CCFL is still better than most of what's being sold out there, esp the 1920/1200 resolution!

I've got a refurbished M4400, and I don't have any problems with it, not even cosmetic issues!

However, for me at least this laptop gets hot even on mild loads, but that's due to the whole external acting as a heatsink for a parts inside, so it's a okay tradeoff to me. I don't set it on my lap most of the time anyways, I have a little wire mesh table I always use whenever I sit on the couch or on the bed.

If you find any problems with your refurb, know that Dell will take it in just like any new business laptop and fix it within the first 3 years!

 

You mean: come to your house to fix it for the first 3 years, right?

 

is there a way to get extra discounts from dell outlet?

 

Hi zenit

I'm not sure about special deals, but I just want to say my Dual-CCFL was nice, but today it died after only two weeks of use The colors have gone haywire (like a 256 color palette) and the screen flickers, rendering it barely usable.

Hopefully yours won't suffer the same problem, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.

 

I think the Heat is relative to the processor you have. I have a T9800 in mine and I would say under load (Gaming, heavy compiling, pushing my SQL server) it does get hot. Everyday surfing and working it stays nice and cool and I rarely hear the fan.
I think with a lower processor like one of the P8XXX series you might see less lead (my e6500 was cool and quiet with a P8700).
As for the screen, I have a RGB-LED so I cannot comment.

All in all if i had 1 thing to change on my notebook it would be a different wireless card. I have nothing but trouble with the 5300 from intel. It works fine at times, but when it does not, what a pain.

 

how do you like the RGB-LED screen? Would you say its worth getting?

 

Yes, yes and YES!

 

The RGB screen is amazing. I dont think i'll ever settle for anything else after owning this screen. My laptop gets extremely hot though.. but its because i have the 1700m and quadcore.