Dell Latitude E4200 Info

I received my e4200 with the Mobility 128 SSD. I have been trying to figure out if I should swap it out for the 64GB Ultra Performance SSD. Colin just posted his HD Tune results from the 64GB Ultra Performance SSD. I also ran HD Tune. I have attached screen shots of both results and includes some info below. The results are attached. I am not a real techie so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Dell 128GB Mobility SSD Results:

Transfer Rate
Min. 72.6 MB/sec
Max. 142.8 MB/sec
Avg. 116.7 MB/sec

Access Time: .2 ms
Burst Rate: 130.9 MB/sec
CPU Usage: 10.6%

Dell 64GB Ultra Performance SSD Results:

Transfer Rate
Min. 75.1 MB/sec
Max. 146.8 MB/sec
Avg. 112.0 MB/sec

Access Time: .2 ms
Burst Rate: 124.9 MB/sec
CPU Usage: 6.9%

 

I'm doing some battery monitoring tests, so far I can tell you it takes about 4 hours to fully charge the 6 cell.
while the laptop was running but not being used

I have installed BatteryMon a piece of software that records how long the laptop runs on the battery, Ill post back once its drained.

Colin

 

Hi everyone, new member to the forums, looking for some advice.

My current notebook is a Sony Vaio X505. I'm sure most of you are aware of how small/light this notebook is. I have the import (carbon fiber) and I upgraded the CPU (requiring a motherboard swap) to 1.1 GHz, and swapped the 20 GB HDD for a 32GB SSD which yielded huge results. I also swapped the import keyboard for a US one. I have it running XP. Besides the fact that the RAM is maxed out at 512 and the system is starting to really show it's age, I was sick of carrying around a PCCard Verzion card and having BT via USB.

I originally ordered a Lenovo, X300 figuring I finally found the replacement for my notebook. It was a bit too heavy and large and when I heard Dell was coming out with the E4200 I canceled my order.

I placed an order for the E4200 though my Dell Gold contact from work. My config is as follows:

1.4 GHz
3 GB
64 GB Ultra (I'd rather have speed over space)
BT (Dell 365)
24x CDRW/DVD
Intel 5300 (no longer option on website?)
4 Cell (I'd rather light weight over time)
Verizon
3 Year Pro Support
3 Year Accidental

I had asked when I placed the order about the backlit keyboard and XP. I was told the keyboard would be backlit and XP wasn't available. I placed the order in September.

I got the notebook a few days ago. As I'm sure you know, I don't have the backlit keyboard. I spoke to my salesman who threw in XP for free, but doesn't have set info on the keyboard.

For me, the keyboard is a deal breaker. I don't think this feels like a notebook of this price, especially the screen lid. I don't see anything special, and to top it off, it's really slow. Boot times are just unacceptable. I'm going to reserve judgment until I load XP, Vista is just terrible on this unit.

My thought process is this; I got a smoking deal on this notebook. I paid much less then I should have, and I don't know if that opportunity will be there in a few months from now (when the keyboard is released). I read in the service manual that the backlit keyboard requires two cables, one for the keyboard, the other for the light source. I'm assuming that if I open my notebook and see the connection that at any given time I can swap the keyboard and it will work. I hightly doubt there is a revision of the motherboard. Thoughts?

I checked and it seems like the option on other models is $49, which means the part is most likely $149-249 on it's own. I'm pretty sure I could argue to get them to match the upgrade price, I just wanted to know if this is a route others are taking or has it been proven that you can't add it afterwards.

I'm not worried about doing the hands on work, as I said I did a MB swap on my X and prior to that, my TR I upgraded the WiFi, added BT, and swapped the DVD-RW as well as the HDD.

Any thoughts/advice would be great.

Erik

 

I've not tried a Dell Vista pre-install on this but I have installed Vista Business SP1 and it boots to a useable desktop connected to a wireless network in about 53 seconds compared to a clean install of Windows XP Pro that takes 44 seconds again connected to the a wireless network.

How does this compare to your out of the box boot times.

Colin

 

I have not timed it, but I'm almost certain it's slower then that. I'll do some boot testing today.

Erik

 

6 Cell Battery details

This is more anecdotal than scientific.

From 100% full charge I used the laptop for 2 hours then put it in suspend mode with 71% of capacity remaining.

It was in suspend mode for 12 hours during which time the capacity dropped to 61%.

Then I continued to use it for an additional 3 hours 40 mins before the battery drained.

So actual total runtime 5h:40m

I would hazard a guess that it would have made 7 hours of constant business type use if I hadn’t put it to suspend overnight.

Notes:

No dell power management software was running. This in theory should improve the runtime length.

During the 5h:40m it was connected to a wireless network and was used for various office tasks like e-mail, web browsing etc.

Colin

 

It's actually much worse then I thought:

Dell E4200 (Vista)
Boot - 35 seconds
Shut Down - 11 seconds
Hibernate - 55 seconds
Resume (from hibernation) - 27 seconds

Sony X505 (XP)
Boot - 22 seconds
Shut Down - 59 seconds
Hibernate - 12 seconds
Resume (from hibernation) - 11 seconds

As you can see, the only time the Dell was faster is shutdown, and that doesn't really matter and I throw the notebook in my bag while shutting since it's solid state. This is deeply concerning...my 4 year old 1.1GHz P4 with 512 RAM is much faster. I really hope this is a XP vs Vista issue.

An update to my order...I was told by the rep that the keyboard is coming around the 18th and that they would just swap my system then. Good resolution.

Erik

 

both system are identical in specification?
Starting SATA controllers for more then 1 HDD usually takes time (as it detects HDD's), in your care the E4200 has a eSATA port.
Also the RAM speed and quantity could be higher on your Sony system.
The sweet spot for Vista 3-4GB of RAM, XP it's 2GB of RAM.

Also your Dell laptop could have other devices such as a TPM chip and stuff like that. You should also try XP vs Vista 64-bit.

Also you have the hardware driver... as we get more powerful computers.. optimization is not being first priority by many device manufacture.

 

Nowhere near identical. The Sony is an ancient Pentium M 1.1, 512 RAM, 32 GB SSD. It's also IDE, not SATA.

My Dell shouldn't have a TPM chip, but I can open it up and see.

Erik

 

I am in exactly the same situation. Waiting for the backlit keybaord.

My Dell rep asked some questions, and told me that you cannot upgrade to a backlit keyboard - it will not fit.... this is the reason apparently it is taking so long, cos it's another "custom revision".

However, he has guaranteed me that the availablity date (for Asia/Pacific) is 17th Nov.


The waiting... the bad reviews... the felling of "meh" I got after spending a few hours with both a E6500 and an E4200.

....this is not looking good :-(