E6220 Owners Thread

My stuff will be here for the eGPU in the next few days, so I'll post my results here as well as in the eGPU page.

 

I get addicted to new things really easily...my E6220 came with the 250GB 7200RPM Seagate drive and I decided that I HAD to have an SSD to add to the mobility/robustness. Based on research that I've found, the E6220 requires a 7mm drive, so the options were limited. A good many of the 9.5mm SSDs that are available can be used in a 7mm space if you are willing to modify the enclosure, but given that I still consider the solid state hardware to be new technology, I was unwilling to sacrifice my warranty. One of the best SSDs of any size in terms of price/performance/reliability is the Crucial M4, and Crucial has recently announced a 7mm version of their drives. Newegg was actually the only retailer that I could find that has started selling them, so I purchased the 128GB version. If interested, the drives can be found here.

So now I just have to figure out what to do with my 250GB drive...

 

Does anyone notice a slight "pop" noise preceding any sound from their speakers while using the laptop on an E-port replicator (dock)? This is driving me nuts. I've already updated audio drivers to the latest version and flashed the latest A04 BIOS. It's not my dock or speakers because this doesn't occur on the E4200 I just replaced my E6220 with.

 

Haven't noticed that, but I haven't spent too much time with mine on my dock. I'll pay a little more attention and see if I can replicate.

 

Got a couple of questions before deciding on this little beast :

Any info on the expected battery life with 3 cell and i5-2520 ?
Also, the 6 cell battery will protrude from the chassis, right ?
The SSD option is usually a Samsung 470 / PM-810 drive I assume ?

Thanks in advance

 

I have the 3-cell and i5-2520M, around 2 hours watching Hulu videos on balanced, bu I can eek out 4+ hours if I set it on the Dell Extra Battery Life profile in power options.

 

I would guess you get 2-3 hours from the 3 cell. I have the 2520 and 6 cell and with my backlight on at about 80% and surfing using wifi I get like 4.5 hours. Yes the 6 cell protrudes from the body. Not sure about the SSD, I upgraded it to a 7mm Crucial drive myself.

 

Thanks for the replies, will hopefully order one soon

 

Thanks. I'm starting to ignore the pops since they are fairly quiet but I'd feel at ease if others can confirm they have this as well.

 

Picked up an E6220 from the Outlet a couple weeks ago. Got a previously ordered new i5-2520M, 2GB DDR3, 250GB 5400rpm, non-backlit keyboard with an external module and dvd burner for $570 taxed and shipped. I immediately replaced the 2GB DDR3 module with a 4GB stick and the 250GB HDD with a 128GB Samsung 830 SSD.

Overall, I am very pleased with the laptop. The build quality is as I expected from a Latitude-series notebook (I owned a D420 from 2005 (?) through 2010; it was built like a tank). The keyboard is the best I've ever used on a notebook, beating out even the Lenovo T- and X-series keyboards I've used. I miss the trackpoint but didn't want to get anything larger than 12.5". I can confirm that neither available mSATA slot supports mSATA SSDs.

Performance is, of course, pretty spectacular with the i5m CPU and Samsung 830 SSD. It boots to usable desktop in 16 seconds and shuts down in 4 seconds. Wake from sleep is nearly instantaneous. The notebook handles day-to-day tasks like web browsing and office productivity work with ease. Battery life with the 6 cell tops out around 7 hours with maximum power saving features enabled under light use.

All in all I think at Dell's regular MSRP of $1,600+, the X220 is a much better buy at its MSRP, but for the price I paid, I feel like I scored a very good bargain.

Does anyone know of any useful/reliable Expresscard 34 SSDs? Or whether the E-series external module can be used to hold a battery?