E4300 or E6400?

Hi everyone I need some advice on picking the E4300 or E6400. The pricing in my country is a little different from the US I guess. I'm stuck on deciding with which machine as the pricing is about the same (see below).

I'm studying in a university where my course is about 50% programming, and can spend about 5 to 8 hours a day in school.


Latitude E4300

Intel Core 2 Duo SP9400 (2.4GHz)
4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1066MHz RAM
250GB 5400rpm SATA HDD
8x DVD+/-RW
Intel WiFi Link 5300
Dell Bluetooth 365
13.3" 1280 x 800 LED Backlit, No Camera
No Fingerprint Reader, No Contactless SC Reader
Internal Backlit Keyboard
6-cell (60wHr) Li Ion battery
65W AC Adapter
Windows Vista Business w/ XP Pro downgrade
3 Yr NBD On-Site

Price approx US$1999.


Latitude E6400

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz)
4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz RAM
250GB 5400rpm SATA HDD
8x DVD+/-RW
Intel WiFi Link 5300
Dell Bluetooth 370
14.1" 1280 x 800 LED Backlit (new release), with Camera
No Fingerprint Reader
Internal Backlit Keyboard
9-cell Li Ion battery
90W AC Adapter
Windows Vista Business w/ XP Pro downgrade
3 Yr NBD On-Site

Price approx US$1888 (upgrade to P8600 for US$170, omg).


I'm not sure if going with the E6400 is better as I have a bigger screen (I'm not getting the WXGA+ as I find the text too small for my personal liking), and longer battery life whenever I need it with the 9-cell. Or go with the E4300 which is much lighter, but smaller screen and shorter battery life.

I estimate the weight of the E6400 with the 9-cell and Travel Lite module to be about 2.6kg, while the E4300 should not be over 1.9kg.

Help!

 

It really comes down to how often you will carry the laptop with you. If it will stay mostly at home, then you might take the E6400 that has more ports and is slightly cheaper. If you will carry it around much, the 0.7 kg less weight will make a difference, so in that situation I would take the E4300.

 

I value portability and decent display real estate. So, for me, the E6400 with WXGA+ is the best compromise. If you aren't getting WXGA+ then the E4300 is lighter and more portable. However, take a look at some 1280 x 800 12.1" displays. They are generally considered to be OK and the pixel size is very slightly bigger than 1440 x 900 @ 14.1". I think you would appreciate the extra real estate when programming.

John

 

I have the same opinion. I prefered E4300 for reason of portability, but for everyday work I´d prefer E6400 with WXGA+.
E4300: small touchpad, only 2 USB, small display resolution - not the best conditions for programming.

 

Thanks everyone I think I'll do some minor changes to the E6400 config. Is it a good choice to opt for the P8600? Or stick with the P8400, considering the US$170 more?

Did some weight calculation, and I think with the LED panel, the E6400 with Travel Lite module with 6-cell/9-cell would weigh in at about 2.11kg/2.29kg as opposed to almost 2.25kg/2.43kg with the CCFL. Should I go with the 9-cell, or keep the weight down with the 6-cell?

 

Keep the P8400, 0.2 GHz isn't worth that price upgrade. (it's only $10 in the U.S. right now) 200 MHz won't make a noticeable difference in everyday use.

 

...what are the GPU's? Id say E6400 though

 

The only reason for getting the P8600 is that it is properly supported by RMClock, which can't handle the half multiplier used in the P8400 and P9500.

My E6400 with Intel GPU, WXGA+ display and 6 cell battery weighs 2.31kg. The optical drive unit weighs 0.15kg so leave that out would reduce the weight to 2.16kg, but the weight saver module will have some weight. I would note, however, that Greg (the mod) has spent several months trying to get a weight saver module that fits (and I don't think he succeeded).

If you need to carry the PSU around, then the optional 65W AC/auto/air PSU is very compact.

John

 

Both the E4300 and E6400 I've configured are using the integrated X4500.

I don't think I would get the 65W, I'll be using the default 90W one.

In your opinion, should I order with the 6-cell, and bring the charger along with me to school on long days? Using the 9-cell would mean I do not need to bring the charger at all, just that you get some extra weight, plus the size (I don't think normal 14-inch notebook sleeves would be able to put that in).

 

The 9 cell option may mean that you can leave the charger at home. This would depend on whether you are happy to use a fairly dim backlight and will not be doing CPU / HDD intensive activities which would tend to drain the battery. The 8 or 9 hours potential run time is for light usage and could drop by half with some periods of heavier usage or you want a brighter display. Is another option to get the 6 cell battery plus a spare PSU so you have one PSU at home and the other at university (assuming there's some where you can lock it away)?

John