D630 --> Mission Impossible?

Hi Guys, first time poster long time reader.

I purchased a 2nd hand pristine D630 about 4 years ago and have since grown to really enjoy it for several reasons already mentioned on this forum (eg excellent build quality and readily available parts).

I have been searching extensively on this forum and others for a laptop that would satisfy my requirements but have so far failed. Indeed I am not sure that such a laptop exists but perhaps someone can prove me wrong.

So what am I looking for? Well in essence a D630 with these additional features that I have ordered from most to least importance.

- USB 3 (USB 2 is such a pain when I copy large files to an external drive)
- SATA 3
- 2 speakers (rather than the one on the D630)
- backlit keyboard (preferable but not a total deal breaker)
- Can install 8GB of ram (although I could live with a max of 4GB)

I also like the 16:10 aspect ratio on the D630 as it works much better on a 14” panel. Mine is a 1280x800 as having seen the 1440x900, icons and text were too small, for me at least.

I have upgraded my D630 with the following:

- Samsung SSD EVO 850 (from 5,400rpm HDD)
- Penryn T9300 (from Merom T7250)
- Now has 4GB of Ram

The SSD and Penryn have dropped the heat generated by this laptop quite considerably and the Penryn has reduced the fan from being irritating.

My D630 is still pretty fast with boot time 42 secs (ready to use on line) and programs open quickly too.

BTW, any recommendation(s) must include a laptop having an internal optical drive and with components that can be replaced. I did read on this forum that some laptops nowadays have some of their internal components, ie cpu, soldered in which prevents replacement.

I generally just use this laptop for the internet and some basic applications so no gaming and hence don’t need one with a performance vga which will merely add heat and reduce battery time.

I am well aware from my extensive searches that no recent laptop will fit my bill so any recommendations will likely be older pre 2014 machines which is fine.

I would consider a 16:9 15” model so long as all (or at least most) of the other features that I wanted are present.

Any ideas much appreciated.

Cheers

 

I agree with the M4800 recommendation. That will get you 4 USB 3.0 ports, SATA 3, dual speakers, backlit keyboard is available, and you can do up to 32 GB RAM with quad-core processor. It has an easily-replaceable optical drive; you can use a Panasonic UJ-272 Blu-Ray burner which is not that expensive. Recommend you get the 1920 x 1080 screen and i7 quad-core processor (e.g. - i7-4900MQ). You won't be sorry. I have a couple older Dell Vostros that I have Windows XP on for old times' sake, but I haven't used them in forever. I liked the 16:10 screen as well but when I went to the 16:9, after awhile I didn't miss it. The USB 3.0 alone would be worth it, but the better processor and screen are excellent upgrades. Oh, and I would get an mSATA drive for the boot drive. You won't need to do any gaming to appreciate the performance boost.

 

D630 is pretty old-skool. I used to have a D620 which was my first laptop, purchased used quite some years ago and then sold before I got my E6320 which, overall, was much better. The D620 was great at the time but couldn't imagine using it today. D630 is similar only it has like a firewire port or something and is one platform newer--Santa Rosa v. Montevina IIRC. Yes the 16:10 was great and I don't think there is a PC user out there that would not prefer that on a monitor to 16:9 but alas the market has gone the way of 16:9 now.

On your D630 I think you'll have a CardBus slot instead of more recent ExpressCard (which itself is pretty much phased out as well now) so while you could probably get a USB 3.0 Cardbus adapter it wouldn't give you full USB 3.0 bandwidth.

For SATA 6Gbps you will typically need something that is Sandy Bridge (Huron River platform) or later. As for 2 speakers, well, most laptops do have that albeit they are more than likely pretty crappy speakers but that's typical of laptops.

Regarding the soldered (BGA) CPUs this typically only happens with the smaller or slimmer laptops, including most that are Ultrabook-certified. It's honestly not that big a deal. Both my E6320 and E7240 have BGA CPUs and I've never had any real desire to upgrade them. The key would be just to buy an example that has the CPU you want (or the best CPU offered) to begin with. That way you're not worried later. My E6320 only has a midrange i5 on it but it served me well for many years and I never thought the CPU needed any big upgrades. When I bought the E7240 I made sure to get the i7 but it's still a DC i7 so not like it makes a huge difference from the i5 version anyway. Funny enough I did upgrade my D620 way back when but that was because it had a Core Duo when I purchased it (not Core2Duo) so I upgraded it with a faster C2D which also let me upgrade it to x64 Windows (original Core Duo did not have x86-64 support). But I think the "CPU upgradability" aspect is less required now since, in general, CPUs are quite fast and don't leave much to be desired. Upgrading the RAM, adding an SSD (if there isn't one)--these are more effective upgrades.

In the end, I'd honestly just recommend you get a newer Latitude. You'll get the familiar Dell design (though it's changed quite a bit since the D series), all the features you want (save for maybe 16:10), and it'll be much faster and offer longer battery life. I wouldn't get hung up on the D630 just because you've used it so long. When I sold my 620 and upgraded to the E6320 I did have fears that "the newer Latitudes aren't built as well" and other such stuff that was thrown around on the intarwebs. The reality was the E6320 was overall much better, more enjoyable, and I had it for what was probably 5-6 years before buying the E7240 (all were used purchases BTW). The E6320 also lasted the test of time because it's still perfectly usable today.

Just get yourself a more recent Latitude (or a Thinkpad or similar--any business-class laptop), one that is Haswell or newer, and call it a day. Pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

 

Many thanks for all your replies and info

That Precision M4800 seems like a good candidate especially since it has USB3.0 (which the M4500 does not) and SATA3.

As regards the cpu eg i7-4900MQ 2.8GHz. I note that the TDP of that cpu is 47W which presumably means that it must get pretty hot? What's the cooling like on the M4800 and does the cpu fan come on irritatingly. I suppose I could undervolt the cpu with TS.

Also is there any issue with the GPU overheating and causing issues. I had a friend who a few years ago had an XPS (I think) and the GPU got so hot it melted all the solder which was a well publicised issue.

I know but as I said I really like it. It is fast to boot and all the progs that I use open almost immediately. It's not like I do any serious stuff on it and if I need to edit some video I use my desktop pc.

I did look at that one but it only has USB 2.0 which is a deal breaker for me as otherwise that or the E6440 would have been candidates, although I did read on this forum that the E64xx's had heat issues.

 

The M4800 fans only kick on strong if you are using the processor and/or graphic card heavily. By "heavily," I mean doing tasks like video rendering, for example. I use my M6800 more than the M4800 but either one will get warm if you place it on your lap (interfering with the cooling grilles on the bottom of the laptop). The fans and heat sinks are very heavy duty and designed to remove heat. I added a couple rubber feet to the bottom of the machines so that the rear end was raised a bit. Not only helps with typing and screen placement but also keeps the bottom of the laptop from resting on the surface, which helps airflow. The fans are by no means silent but they have never been an issue for me as far as being so loud as to be irritating. If your intentions are to only do web surfing and watching videos/dvds/blu-rays, the fans should rarely if ever have to go to top speed and become an issue for you.

I have never (knock wood) had either the M4800 or the M6800 GPU get hot enough to cause damage. The Dell Precision series is "built" which means they're typically solid and have more than adequate means to effect cooling of the components. These are business-class machines and they're designed for reliability and longevity.

 

Many thanks for your added thoughts.

I have been doing some intensive reading on your suggestion of the M4800. Found the M4600 Owner's thread on this forum which was very useful as I think that this model could also be a candidate.

Looks like that Precision M range will do the job. I don't know how I missed it as I must have read hundreds of reviews from several manufacturers

84Lion said:
If your intentions are to only do web surfing and watchingvideos/dvds/blu-rays, the fans should rarely if ever have to goto top speed and become an issue for you.

That is virtually all that I will be doing with this laptop. If I need to do anything intensive I use my desktop pc.

I am not sure that I will be able to use the FHD 1920x1080 panel as I fear that everything will be far too small for my failing eyesight.

I already have to turn down the resolution on my desktop pc panel [Dell 24"] from 1920x1080 to 1600x900.

Any ideas what the M4800 1920x1080 panel looks like when resolution is turned down to 1600x900? My 24" desktop panel is fine.

Shame the M4600/800 doesn't come with a 16:10 panel in 14" size as this is ideal to take when I go away. Still, I am always going to keep my D630 as I absolutely love it, old as it maybe.

Cheers

 

Here is one possibility:

https://www.pcliquidations.com/p74819-dell-precision-m4800-15

It has the 4800MQ quad core processor and 1280 x 720 resolution.

Here's another:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Preci...m2876f53423:g:Gl4AAOSwWKpcZeUp&frcectupt=true

That one has a 4810MQ QC processor and full HD resolution. It is used and may not have an OS. You'll probably have to swap out for a backlit keyboard but that's not too hard to do. The biggest issue with the keyboard replacement is the little ribbon cable - it's a bear to fool with, at least I think so. You could probably take it to a computer store and have someone do it for you if you don't feel like fooling with it.

Any computer you buy (even a used one) will likely have Windows 10. If you go to Settings, System, Display, there is a setting where you can change the size of text, apps, and so forth so that you can see them better. You can go up to 175% and everything will look huge. That's what I'd do, rather than going to a lower resolution screen. (In fact, that's what I did on my mom's computer, she's got one of my old M6600s, which still has Windows 7 so I believe you can do it with that OS as well.) I got some M4600s for my kids years ago and they had the lower resolution screen. I wasn't thrilled with it and I don't think they were either. The other thing is that the M4600 and M4700 only have two USB 3.0 ports. The other three are USB 2.0. If memory serves, the M4800 was the first one that used a true USB 3.0 served by the motherboard. I believe the M4600 and M4700 used a Renesas chip as a sort of emulator. I believe that any one of the M4X00 series is a great machine. Be aware they've been out of production for awhile so any you buy are either going to be used or refurbished.

Good hunting!

 

Replacing the K/B will not be an issue. I am used to taking these things completely apart (and also building desktop pcs). All I need are the parts, drivers and a tear down manual or a YouTube video. That is why I prefer Dell laptops.

Buying used is fine. I have no issues with that. Interesting about the USB 3.0 set up that you described.

As regards the resolution, increasing the text as you described via Control Panel is not a viable method as it never comes out right. I will just have to wing it and drop the resolution down and hope that works.

Many thanks for your comments and those of others in particular WindowsRevenge for pointing out the Intel architecture which I know little about since all my desktop builds are AMD.

Cheers

 

Fair enough but 47 seconds is a bit slow in this day and age. Now maybe that's on W7 (W10 boots faster) but still, laptops today are faster and better overall IMO, with the exception of your desire for a 16:10 screen. However if you're not doing anything serious, I don't see how 16:9 is a big hindrance either then.

I wasn't actually mentioning it to suggest you get one but just to say it was indeed better than the D620 it replaced. It's easy enough to add USB 3.0 with a $10 ExpressCard (which is what I did) but if you wanted the same laptop with native USB 3.0 you'd simply get the E6330 which is Chief River and therefore has an Ivy processor and USB 3.0 (it's sort of like comparing a D620 and D630--the E6330 is one gen newer). However that's a 13" and if you wanted a 14" you'd look to the E6340.

The one downfall of the E6320/E6330 is the screen is only available as 1366x768 which is pretty poor in this day and age and was never great even when it was new. E6340 OTOH is available with the option of a 1600x900 screen which is a step up, though still not FHD. As a side note when you have a higher res display the trick is just to increase the scaling which will make your text/icons larger, while still having the benefit of a higher res display. With a lower res screen there's nothing you can do for the lack of "space" and claustrophobic feel you get from it. That's why I much prefer the screen on my E7420 (FHD) which is a smaller 12" laptop, compared to the 13" 1366x768 nonsense on the E6320.

The E6440 is again more of the same and again is one gen newer with Haswell processors instead of Ivy. As for the heat issue, I dunno many, probably even most, laptops do get warm during processor-intensive operations. They've unfortunately got only so much room with which to fit a HSF too cool the processor. It's typically not that much of a concern though sticking to an DC i5 is probably a better idea for you than a DC i7 (higher clocks) or a QC processor (which will be 50-100% more heat output, for same-generation processors).

 

Many thanks for the added info WindowsRevenge.

I think that I will just focus my hunt on the Precision M series M4600/4800. This series looks good and also have built in optical drives which I like since I have a number of boot cds which I am reluctant to replace with [unreliable] usb drives.

Cheers