E4310 Owner's Lounge

A 16:9 screen aspect ratio gives the E4310 a more compact footprint than the old 16:10 aspect ratio. This is an important selling point now that the E4200 appears to be on the way out.

It's also worth noting that the 16:10 ratio has mostly disappeared from the consumer market. From a manufacturing standpoint, it makes sense to switch to the more common 16:9 ratio.

If you want an anti-glare screen, you have to accept narrower aspect ratios. There are several reasons why glossy screens are universal in the consumer market.

 

Having the GPU on the CPU module should improve the cooling (assuming that the throttling is triggered by the northbridge temperature).

The internal hardware and the docking connector support more ports than can be provided on the notebook chassis. Hence the e-port to extend the port options.

Not sure. The optical drive on the E4300 was not intended to be easily removable.

Is that true? From Dell specs sheets:

ie the E4310 is about 1/2" wider and has the same front-to-back dimension.

Personally, I prefer the E4300 with its 16:10 display. I have had the CPU running at full load for hours without any hint of throttling (but I did undervolt the CPU as a matter of habit).

John

 

Thanks John. Will pull the trigger on Monday ! I am really looking forward to life without throttled CPUs.

 

Neither laptop does, since the optical drive is secured by a screw, which si hidden under an access panel. However, I made one myself, basically cut some cardboard of the same size as the optical drive (of course, include the tab so you can screw it in ) and secured a piece of black plastic to it. It works pretty well, and with the amount of use optical drives see nowadays, the hassle to change it out probably won't be a problem.

 

So from what I'm reading, the E4310 does not have a D-Port? I was considering using a D-Port to HDMI adapter for watching netflix on my tv.

Is there any other way of doing this, short of finding a dock, if the dock even exists?

 

The dock definately exists. Check Ebay, they're around $40.

 

Ok, I found the only one listed on eBay for $50. I've never used a dock before, so please forgive me, but is the laptop just "plug and play" with this? It just snaps into the bottom of the laptop?

And then I instantly have an HDMI port to use? Sounds too good to be true...

 

You need to look for the E-port or e-port plus. They aren't very portable but they are plug and play.

John

 

The front to back depth decrease is slightly more than you would think. The screen hinges / pivot is a little less than 1/2 inch forward. There is also nothing on top of the bezel any more. I know its splitting hairs, but I swear the seats in coach keep getting closer and closer, so every little bit helps.

The optical drive on the E4310 is not exactly the same as the E4300. From what I remember, they more universal with other E series Latitudes. And it DOES offer the travelight module. Drive options from Dell's site - "DVD-ROM, DVD+/-RW, Blu-Ray, Travel Lite Module" You still have to remove the memory module cover to access the screw that holds the drive in place.

I will check for throttling on it tomorrow. Will check the stock 65 watt adapter as well as the 210/240 watt power supply I have on my dock (shared with M6500).

 

Can't find the part number for the Travellite drive. Found the one for the E6410/E6510 but the E4310 is not listed.