E6400 from Dell Outlet Purchase Help

thanks for confirming that bit of info!
so really, if someone does not play video games there is little purpose to pay the extra money for the nvidia video card versus going with the installed intel graphics card, correct?

also... not sure if this relates to the graphics card or not... but what do i need to look for when configuring my e6400 this weekend to ensure that when trying to view youtube HD videos (not regular youtube videos) they display quickly and without a lot of lag or pre-loading time on the progress bar before being able to play? Also, will the intel graphics card still produce just as good video quality for youtube videos or dvd movies? or does it help to have the nvidia for that? I do not play video games at all and mainly use my notebook for business applications but do however view/upload youtube videos and make VERY SMALL edits of uploaded videos in either movie maker or whatever program they will be putting on my unit... thanks for your tips all.

 

Well, I decided to go all out and sooped this baby up! I have included the specs below which is what I just ordered from Dell Outlet. Let me know how I did! Total Price including s/h + tax + CA recycle fee LOL= $696.74 after FREE S/h and a 20% off Dell Outlet coupon!

The only thing I didn't get on this that I was debating on getting is the webcam...but since it's only 0.03 MP and I heard not that great I decided to go without it (and opt to buy a seperate webcam) and go with this unit I found because I don't think I could've got all these other options again if I tried... Backlit keyboard, upgrade 9Cell Battery, dedicated graphics card, WXGA+ LED backlit screen, XP Pro w/ Vista Biz, bluetooth.... what am I missing here?!?! haha pretty excited, would like to hear your thoughts... I will post in the applicable forum after receiving my item to give my review:

Latitude E6400 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB) Genuine Windows XP Pro with Vista Business License 1 $799.00
Latitude E6400 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Certified Refurbished
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
Power DVD Software
No Fingerprint Reader
Back-lit Keyboard
Operating System DVD
14.1 inch UltraSharp WXGA+ LED Display - Brush Metal Black
Brushed Metal Black
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs)
90W AC Adapter
NO Intel vPro Secure Advanced Hardware Enabled Systems Management
125V Power Cord
9 Cell Primary Battery
No Camera
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M With Express Card
160 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
Genuine Windows XP Pro with Vista Business License

 

Seems like a solid deal but I would have gone with 2dimms rather than one.

With "Certified Refurbished; what does that mean exactly? Can it have scratches or dents on it? Whats the warranty like?

Any by the way-where did you get a 20% Dell coupon from???

 

Why would you have gone with 2 Dimms? I specifically did it because of 1 dimm thinking I could just go off on another website or best buy and pick up 2more GB for much more cheaper than through Dell, so then I can have 4gb....

20% off coupon for all DELL OUTLET items EXPIRES March 4'th:
8BGMRK5FJ?P$3C

 

You cant "add" 2gb to a 1 dimm computer (with existing 2gbs).
In order for you to get to 4gb's, you need to get rid of your 2gb card and replace it with a 4gb card since you only have 1 dimm.

2 dimms gives you two slots for memory cards which gives you a whole bunch of options (i.e. 2+2 or 2+1 or even 4+2).

 

ahhhhhh I thought I was doing good by getting the 1 dimm : (
ah o well, all in all for what I got I am very happy.
I thought 2 Dimm meant it came with 2, 1GB memory modules!
Well you live and learn haha. At any rate, with the price of memory today, it won't be a big hit to my pocket down the road when I decide to upgrade.

Side note about the memory DIMM setup... if it has 1 DIMM versus 2 DIMMS are there any performance benefits missing w/ just 1 dimm?? Or does it recognize the memory the same and the only difference is upgrading is a bit more of a pain? thanks.

Also, does anyone know what the exact brand/model/type of memory is for the Dell E6400? With past negative experiences in installing 'cheapo memory', I want to get the right type that will not fail the system. Please advise.

 

Don't all laptops have 2 memory slots?

I think "2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs)" means 2GB in 1st slot and empty in 2nd slot. Is it not correct?

 

You are correct, Akwit was wrong. I just re-confirmed this through Dell Technical Support. I thought I was right originally but after hearing Akwit mention that I second-guessed myself.

The correct answer is:
All Dell Latitude E6400 (like most notebooks) have 2 memory module slots. By me ordering 2GB of memory (1 DIMM) I DID do a good thing because now I can just purchase 2 more GB of memory to put in the empty slot. If I selected 2gb memory (2 DIMMS), I effectively would of been limiting my expansion options because I would of received 2, 1GB memory modules in total, 1 in each slot, so no empty. So for people out there, best recommendation is order the memory (1 DIMM) if you think you want to upgrade/expand in the future.

 

See the dual channel RAM guide plus some benchmark results for different RAM configurations in part 2 of my E6400 review: 1 module will be a little slower but you will struggle to notice the difference.

Dell gets its memory from various sources. My E6400 is currently running on 2GB of expensive OCZ RAM plus 2GB of the cheapest 2GB DDR2-800 RAM I could find. It is unbranded but matches the OCZ's timings and has caused me no problems.

John

 

Dell wants $40 to bump 1GB to 2GB. Order 1GB from Dell and use the $40 to buy a 2x2GB matched set elsewhere without having to think about it.

GK