Dell Latitude E4200 Info

Well, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate RC (32 bit) on my E4200 today. It took 12 minutes flat to get to the final reboot where the configuration was done and another 5 to get to my desktop with internet access. I have a USB key with the 32bit and 64bit install files. Speedy installs indeed. All the drivers are pretty much installed except the Broadcom USH/SmartCard and BT365. There was an exclamation mark for 'base device' which turned out to be BT but since everything is working for me. You do need the touchpad drivers if you want scrolling functionality. I am not going to worry about anything else. The non-functional ALS does not bother me since I use manual brightness settings anyway. Everything just works out of the box, and look ma, no ControlPoint! About the only thing that is bothersome is that the MS Win7 driver for the Intel 5300 card doesn't seem to be doing better than 130Mbps. It appears to be holding the stock-N speed (150Mbps) or close to it. I have no intention of updating the driver to the Vista version at this time though it has cut my speed by more than half.

Very happy otherwise so far.

Edit:

128G Mobility CrystalMark scores (slightly improved probably due to the virgin install):

--------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 2.2 (C) 2007-2008 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
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Sequential Read : 88.190 MB/s
Sequential Write : 71.235 MB/s
Random Read 512KB : 85.236 MB/s
Random Write 512KB : 57.707 MB/s
Random Read 4KB : 10.030 MB/s
Random Write 4KB : 5.130 MB/s

Test Size : 100 MB
Date : 2009/05/07 15:40:21

 

Are you able to adjust LCD brightness with the ALS disabled? That is the thing that I could not do.

 

Yes, I can, not sure why it didn't work for you. I think I mentioned to you very early on that the FN key combinations are OS agnostic (or appear to be). I don't use ALS, it annoys me. If I enable ALS, nothing happens and I am unable to change the brightness, with it off, however, no issues at all.

Note: I have it disabled in the BIOS, as well.

 

Disabling in the BIOS can be overridden, I believe. I also tried that previously, with no luck in terms of being able to control brightness.

Not sure why you could control LCD brightness with ALS disabled and I (or we) could not. Maybe I should try the 32 bit version of Windows 7 RC. You said it installed very fast for you. Did you have to make your USB drive bootable first? Did you simply extract the ISO onto the USB drive?

I burned the bootable DVD, and it took quite a while to install. The 32 bit version probably installs faster, though.

 

I think they are both pretty fast since I have the 64 bit variant on my desktop. You have to make the ISO bootable on your USB stick. It's very easy, you just use UltraISO (I have a license but the trial is free). Here's what you do:

1) Load the DVD in UltraISO
2) Under the 'Bootable' menu, choose 'Write Disk Image'
3) Choose the USB Drive you are making bootable and click 'Write'

That's it! No diskpart, none of that crap. Takes a long time to write to your USB key though so if your stick has slow writes, it could be a long time but the install speed is worth it.

Instructions thanks to Zaphire here. He saved me a lot of trouble.

 

I have a E4200 with Ultra Performance SSD and 3GB ram. I still use hibernate since a WinXP with lots of background apps and stuff to load after login would be even slower that resume from hibernate.

 

I did a fresh install of Windows7 RC x86, and it's worse. I could not control the LCD brightness at all. If I didn't install DCP, then the ALS toggle does not register at all. After installing DCP, it shows state of ALS on-screen, but I could not change the brightness whether ALS is enabled or not. I believe the brightness control is OS dependent, since everything works correctly for me in Vista.

The fact that you could not control brightness when ALS is enabled (!) says that the control is OS dependent. Obviously you were able to do that in your previous Vista installation. Are you sure you did not have the ALS enabled or disabled mixed up? Without DCP, there is no indication which state it is in.

 

Others have posted their impressions of the E4200. I have had my unit for a couple weeks now and here are mine, based on that period of time.

By the way, before reading my comments which might spoil things, check out this stack-o-laptops and see if you can identify them all!


* Physical packaging:
- I like the form factor, and the understated design appeals to me. I wish I could run the 4-cell battery, which would put it into my target weight range (but the battery life is too short). For my taste it just barely makes the grade on weight with the 6 cell. I wish Dell had been able to figure out their power management better -- Toshiba and Sony do way better with lighter/smaller batteries. I have been known to travel with two laptops (and this one I take with me almost everywhere), so light weight is very important to me.
- While it doesn't feel as bombproof as a Thinkpad, it feels pretty sturdy (at least as sturdy as HP's NC line) and definitely more so than some other ultraportables like the Toshiba Portege or Sony. Remember I am comparing this to other machines in its weight range (mid 2 lbs or less w/o battery). Not fair to compare it to a 6 lb Panasonic toughbook!
- I very much like the keyboard, almost if not as much as my old Thinkpad keyboard. It uses 100% of available horizontal real estate, fantastic! What I don't like are that there is no right mouse click key, and that the page up and page down are left/right of each other rather than up/down. I like how Toshiba laid out the Portege's keyboard - they fit in the right click key and then put half height page up and page down keys to the right of the up arrow key. The backlighting is a very nice feature when working in dark places. The case in front of the keyboard is a bit shallow, tolerable for me, but I can imagine some might not like it. I should add that the keyboard is totally solid, and I don't have any issue with bounciness/etc -- note I do have a backlit keyboard though.
- Trackpad is responsive for me (I always had issues with the trackpads on my Portege and X1). The buttons being fully recessed can be a bit difficult to engage at times and sometimes I mistakenly click the right instead of the left button.
- The front corners of the case often dig into my palms, especially the right hand when working the cursor keys. While not a deal killer it does get pretty annoying, and other case designs have incorporated a radius on the front edge of the case to make it more comfortable (e.g. Portege, Thinkpad).
- Status lights are not visible with the lid closed, and should be! When docked, I have no idea when the HD is active (especially since the SSD is silent) and can't see the wifi/bluetooth/etc lights.
- The lack of an optical drive is a bummer when compared to the Portege which had an optical drive, similar battery life, and was lighter even with a conventional HD! I don't use an optical drive often, but there were unexpected occasions when I was glad I had it in my Portege. In a similar config to the E4200 (no optical drive, SSD), the Portege is under 2lbs!! But I am willing to make the trade off for a more robust package (and much cheaper too!). If Dell had been able to get reasonable battery life out of the 4-cell, would have been perfect!

* Display:
- I am totally satisfied with my display. I have the Samsung panel (based on the info in another thread) - not sure if that makes a difference vis a vis other folks with the other panel. But it is more than bright enough, the colors are fully sufficient for my needs, and the viewing angles are perfectly adequate for me. Is it a gorgeous Vaio screen, no, but for a working ultraportable pretty damn good to my eye. Way better than the stupid transreflective screen on the Portege, and also better than the HP NC machines. Also better than some Thinkpads I've had. The resolution and screen size work well for my purposes (and eyesight).
- ALS can be annoying. In general use it is relatively helpful. But sometimes the screen appears to flicker - for instance if there is a light source behind your head and you move about a bit, your shadow shifts and the screen flickers up/down in brightness. In the dark, it seems that even the flashing of the LED indicators can cause the screen to flicker up/down in brightness!

* Performance
- I am pleased with the general snappiness of the machine. The SSD makes it very responsive, more so than other ultraportables that I've had. Note that most of my use consists of productivity applications.
- I have been unhappy with its wireless performance. For instance, when relaxing in my recliner in the master bedroom, it constantly bounces between my N router and my G access point. I have recently uninstalled Dell Connection Manager, which has seemed to be a bit problematic for me, so will see if that makes any difference. (so far so good as I post from my recliner right this moment -- scratch that, still bouncing around but seemingly not as often...). Update: wireless performance seems suboptimal. Doesn't bounce around as much as before uninstalling DCM, but still switches back/forth between the G and N networks. Also, connections to the N network seem inconsistent -- sometimes strong and sometimes unable to connect, from the exact same position in the house.
- As described in some earlier posts in this thread, I've experienced odd glitches here and there (perhaps associated with Connection Manager? hopeful thinking maybe) -- more than I would expect to see with a brand new machine.
- I am thankful Dell kept their build pretty clean, very little extraneous crap to clean out. The Toshiba had no end of crap that I couldn't figure out which were useful or not.

* E-Port docking station: System works really well. I like how when you dock or undock, it automatically activates the appropriate display. With some other machines (e.g Portege), they would default to the last setting regardless of dock status (e.g. I'd have to open the lid and cycle through the display settings to switch to the external display). The E4200 will switch displays appropriately based on the dock status. Also, can run a DVI and a VGA display off the standard E-port, so can do dual display if so inclined. Note my refurb e-Port has one dead USB port - not quite worth the shipping cost to send back for a replacement.

* eSATA: I love it! Makes transferring data to/from external drives so much faster. Wish all my laptops had eSATA interfaces. Combined with the speed of the SSD, it almost seems lightning fast in comparison.

* Fan: My fan does run constantly. It is a low hum but pretty much constant. Slightly annoying if I focus on it, but otherwise I can tune it out. The machine never seems to get very warm, it seems almost orders of magnitude cooler than my old Toshiba or Dell X1.

* Speaker: This is a barely 2 1/2 lb ultraportable, so I'm not complaining about its speaker. Sure it sucks, but it is actually better than my Toshiba or Dell X1. And I would absolutely not wish to make any compromise in the physical packaging of an ultralight like the E4200 in order to get a nicer speaker! A 15" or 17" glossy screen gaming machine sure, but not one like the E4200. BTW, I popped open the case on my Portege R500 and I'm telling you there isn't a single wasted cubic millimeter in there. No wonder the speaker in that machine is so terrible.

But most importantly, the VALUE is unbeatable. Pretty much top of the line E4200 from the Outlet store for $800? How can you turn it down?! Paid something like $2k for the Portege, and I'm happier with the E4200! I am happy with my purchase.

 

keep in mind ExpressCards seem to have weaker signal strength compared to their USB brethren. That's been my experience and some feedback from some of the techs at the Sprint store.

 

And I finally got my e4200 back. They replaced the motherboard and the internals around the battery connection area as well as the battery. They also sent me the DVD burner and eSATA bay. Now that I've had a chance to play, I'm very impressed with it compared to the $300 netbooks I was using as well as the 12" V100 Lenovo I had. My only complaint is the trampoline effect when typing. I like the keyboard itself and the feel of the keys, but the whole thing has this spring effect that makes a hollow sound as well as feel. It's very noticable. So far it's the only real complaint I have. My fan isn't always on, and even when it is it's world's quieter than any other fan I've had on any other laptop.

I did love the build of my old Samsung NC10, and think I like the keyboard better even. But the overall package, better screen res, and better performance in a package with the same weight and slightly larger footprint is well worth the extra $300 (I paid $670 for my e4200).

And the 12" zeroshock is a great fit. That $10 case I got on Amazon I posted a few pages back fit like a glove as well though the overall case had a little extra bulk to it. Both will get use though.

Now I'm thinking that since my XPS M1330 is no longer a traveler, I should sell it and pick up a 16-17" laptop for home use. Since getting the M1330 I haven't used my desktop once.