E6400 from Dell Outlet Purchase Help

I have no explanation for this, but I too had this same experience. My original total was about $560 before tax, which should have been about $40. Only $220 was deemed "taxable" by Dell, halving the original tax amount. Dunno what's going on here, but hey, nothing wrong with saving $20...

EDIT: Also in California if that makes any difference.

 

That's interesting. I look at my E6400 invoices from Dell Outlet, and they all have taxable values a lot less than the purchase price. So it's like a tax holiday of sorts. I'm in California, too.

I also looked at the M1330 that I bought last April from Dell Outlet. The full purchase price was taxed. So something changed in Dell's policy.

 

Lol 'Tax Holiday' haha. Perhaps it's a 'Dell Stimulus Plan' who knows! If anyone decides on doing the research for the real answer as to why only a portion of our outlet purchase price is being taxed, I would love to hear the findings. My thoughts are they either have a glitch in the system and/or terrible accounting department, or more likely, it has something to do with the fact that it was originally sold at one point and now since it's being re-sold they cannot collect full 'double-taxation'. Next time I see my accountant I will ask him if no one comes up with the answer before then.

 

hey guys I just got my latitude e6400 today... i'm upset/dissapointed b/c i got the wxga+ 1440x900 and thought i was doing good but all the fonts are so little looking. i've been using a 12" dell laptop the past 2 weeks and right now im looking at them side to side and it's much easier to read the 12"!!! i went in and adjusted the settings to change dpi size to large, etc. but that just makes everything look blurry. am i the only person who thinks 1440x900 is too little looking? im in my late 20's and have excellent vision and never had a problem seeing anything but this looks tiny to me, and when i try to tweak it it looks blurry and not clear. at factory settings its too small for me, i am frustrated b/c im trying to see if there's something else i can do before having to call them monday to return/exchange it, id rather make a tweak now so i can use it and make it work for me instead of waiting another week to get another one haha. please let me know...also, the overall screen size (including the border and frame, seems pretty big) can't tell much of a dif. between this and my old 15.4"... i would of thought newer laptops have more streamlined frames/thinner borders,,, im almost thinking about getting a 13.3" since this seems big...

also.... i got the nvidia card, P8600 2.4 processor.... and on the front/left of the laptop i hear a constant sound, SINCE startup, its been going on for 15 minutes now and hasn't stopped, its like a LOW fan sound, constant sound. i didn't think the fan should be on that long?? what's that all about too?

regarding return/exchange, i bought this through dell outlet, i guess if i can't make the screen work for me i would just call them up on monday and ask to swap out with a 1280x800? if we can find one within my specs?

also with this sound stuff, of the fan, is it quieter if i get the intel graphics card? i cant understand the fan should be running since im not even browsing net or creating system load at all right now im just staring at desktop. also with the 1280x800 lcds, are they any less brighter than the 1440x900 units? i mean this one is bright, but not incredibly bright, and if the 1280x800 ones aren't as bright that might not be so good, but i just can't deal w/ this small font stuff of the browser address bar being tiny, the desktop icons tiny, start menu bottom/right area tiny, etc.

Also a couple side notes...
the touchpad does not seem to respond well at all, i didn't know what the reviewers meant by that but i guess to explain it.. when you try to move your finger around to get to different sides of the screen, you can't do it all it a small movement, you have to move your finger and then lift it off and put it back down again to move it more, it doesnt reach all around the screen even after setting to fastest speed, which i find very very weird/annoying! also with touchpad being located in the center of laptop (measuring from left to right), i find it a lot less ergonomic when using left hand to scroll and maneuver touch pad.. feel tension in my shoulder and palm more compared to slightly left aligned

screen clarity is very sharp though i do have to say that it looks more clear than those hd/glossy screens, without the annoying shine/glare!

and i got xp pro installed on it w/ vista biz cd, but xp pro came with service pack 2 but the backup/restore cd says xp sp3, and i go to microsoft updates to confirm it is just xp sp2 installed, weird

also, if i have to return this (if no solution to making fonts/text/etc bigger w/out getting blurry... i may get a 13.3" screen with the dif dpi to be more portable as this 14 inch unit is a little big for a 14 incher...any recommendations on specific 13.3" models? dont think i saw good reviews on the e4300? anything else? or if e4300 what do u think)

 

>>i went in and adjusted the settings to change dpi size to large,

That sounds like a font change. Instead, change the DPI from 96 to 120. And then use it a bit to get use to it.

>>also.... i got the nvidia card, P8600 2.4 processor.... and on the front/left of the laptop i hear a constant sound,

That's the hard drive. It will settle down after Windows settles down. You may need to update the Intel Matrix Storage Manager/Driver. But use it awhile first to be sure you know what is what before making changes.

>>also with this sound stuff, of the fan, is it quieter if i get the intel graphics card?

The sound on the front left is the HDD. The fan is middle left. GPU heating and fan cooling will cause more air to flow from the left vent. So be sure you know what is happening before worrying about the GPU being hot.

Remove the center screw ONLY and slip the bottom cover off to see these things.

>>the touchpad does not seem to respond well at all,

Tweak the settings and update the driver.

>>and i got xp pro installed on it w/ vista biz cd, but xp pro came with service pack 2 but the backup/restore cd says xp sp3, and i go to microsoft updates to confirm it is just xp sp2 installed, weird

Get to know things first before massive updating.

GK

 

i changed the resolution, tweaked it from 1440x900 down to 1280x800, and it just makes the screen blurry BUT biggger, but too blurry, doesnt look right.... then i fool with the dpi and change from 96 to 100 to 106 etc and it makes it a little bigger, but then it makes the font shape/look weird, like more of an arial look to it, more rounded, not as times new roman looking, if that makes sense, then i tweaked the font size from regular to large, and have tried just about everything i can think of...

and when changing to 1280x800 and viewing webpages, the webpage content extends a little wider out and higher up and it looks a lot easier to read over-all whether graphics, text, layout, it just seems to take up a little more screen and bigger overall, however blurry as anything... and the 1440x900 i see how it gets more screen real estate but in doing that it makes everything so little and i don't think it's easy to read and you have to put your eyes/head close to the screen... SIDE NOTE---- i have 20/15 vision (slightly better than 20/20) so I know it's not my eyes lol...

i really think its just an issue of the 1440x900 being too small for my comfort. i dont like to put my face real close to the screen so when i lean back and type it is harder to view than being 1 foot away from the screen....

i think i might have to get the 1280x800 and return this unless someone knows a solution? i wish there was a way instread of having to send back ugh such an inconvenience...

also with regards to the noises bottom left of laptop, well i did get the 'faster' HDD.. and was warned it could be 'a little louder' man i didn't know it would make a constant noise like this!!! does the standard HDD make nearly as much noise? i mean i don't think u should hear the HDD the entire time of the system being on? doesn't make sense to me...

regarding xp sp3, i know what u mean, actually having sp2 isn't a bad thing, i noticed a lot of issues with sp3 on my old laptop. i may just stay w/ sp2 until more updates come out or they improve it...sorta like vista, im sticking with xp pro for a while until i feel its drastically improved or if windows 7 becomes mainstream.

 

You can't use 1280x800 resolution on this LCD and not expect blurriness. Stay with the native 1440x900 resolution. Play with DPI if necessary, and you can also use different font sizes in the Windows appearance menu's. Make sure to set Effects to Clear Type. On browsers, you can easily change font sizes by using control+ and control-.

Do you have a 7200 rpm HD? Those tend to be louder. I thought I had a second fan, too. There is a BIOS setting to force the HD in the "Quiet" mode, although it didn't really do that much.

I have two E6400's. The one with Intel graphics and 5400 rpm HD is much, much cooler and quieter. The other one has a 7200 rpm Seagate drive, and Nvidia card, and it runs hotter and I can hear the hard disk. You'll probably get used to it, though, and it's not really that bad in an absolute sense. I was just spoiled by how quiet and cool the first E6400 was.

I would recommend that you try it out for a few more days and see if you can get used to the display. You can return within 21 days. For the price you paid, you are not going to get a better deal. You can probably sell it easily.

 

yea well i changed the font size and it helps a little and increased the dpi but still i think the best way to describe the resolution of 1440x900 vs 1280x800 im used to is like looking at a microsoft office document at 100% versus looking at it at 75%, the 75% to me is the 1440x900, while u can fit a ton more stuff on the page and see everything without having to scroll around or decrease a window, it is just too little of font and i need to be more zoomed in like at 100% or what would be 1280x800.

7200 rpm HD, sure do!!! : ((( so mad i got it, wish i would of stuck with the standard one. and i got the nvidia card so it's a double whammy!! i really wish i would of just got the stock/base layout, it would of been another $150 cheaper too!!!! regular resolution, standard HDD, and intel graphics card... and better battery life with that set up too i would assume!

There comes the problem.... i can't get it for a better deal... i got it so cheap, i can only hope that monday when i call up and i can finagle a deal and get them to allow me to apply the extra 20% coupon i used that expired march 4th toward an exchange item? im sure they would, if not, and if after this weekend i cant deal w/ the 1440x900 i am going to have to just straight up return it if they don't allow me the discount on new item... it's a shame... i really thought the 1440x900 was a good idea after reading all the tremendous reviews of it...

to me it doesn't help me in my routine of web browsing, microsoft office applications, and occasional video viewing.. i don't need screen space for CAD programs or engineering stuff..

another side note, the frame of the laptop is very 'squared' off, and the typing area/wrist rest area, along the edges, it is not so comfortable, anyone else experience issues with the left side/end cutting into you and not being so comfortable? i have to curl my left hand around to use the touchpad effectively, it really is a small touchpad, more appropriate for little fingers.

sorry for the buzz-kill guys, i seem so negative here, don't mean to, just pointing out a lot of fallacies i didn't previously anticipate.

 

>>i changed the resolution, tweaked it from 1440x900 down to 1280x800, and it just makes the screen blurry BUT biggger, but too blurry, doesnt look right.... then i fool with the dpi and change from 96 to 100 to 106 etc and it makes it a little bigger, but then it makes the font shape/look weird, like more of an arial look to it, more rounded, not as times new roman looking, if that makes sense, then i tweaked the font size from regular to large, and have tried just about everything i can think of...

Leave it at the native resolution 1440x900 and set the DPI to 120. That's all you need to do. Also set the display setting for Cleartype. Anything more will start causing undesirable side affects. If you don't like it then, then get a different display... imo.

My E6400 set to DPI 120 is very usable... small sizing but efficient.

>>also with regards to the noises bottom left of laptop, well i did get the 'faster' HDD.. and was warned it could be 'a little louder' man i didn't know it would make a constant noise like this!!! does the standard HDD make nearly as much noise?

My 160GB single platter HDD is very quiet... I only hear slight ticking that you hear with most any drive.

Hard to say what you should expect with your setup and an outlet purchase. I would not accept a noisy HDD these days... they should be fairly quiet. I had a 10,000RPM SCSI Cheetah in 1998 that screamed... I installed a 10,000RPM 2.5" 300GB WD Velociraptor last month that I can barely hear with a listening tube from my ear to the drive chassis... amazingly quiet drive for 10,000RPM.

>>regarding xp sp3, i know what u mean,

XP SP3 is just fine. My point was don't change a lot of stuff early on until you've found your way around or else you won't be sure what is causing what.

GK

 

ok great thanks a lot for your informative help, very beneficial! i will let u all know what happens whether or not i return this or get it to work ok enough with the 'tweaks'
after being on the laptop for the last 3 hours, the HD is quite annoying to be honest, my 6 yr old laptop stuffed with dust and spyware didn't make as much noise as this is making, and the crazy thing is it hasn't stopped since i turned it on, it's been a constant noise!

One other bizarre issue I'm noticing...when looking at the desktop, with the factory display (black/greyish color latitude wallpaper) the top left and bottom right look a lot darker than the middle area.... imagine drawing two parallel lines diagonally/upward across the screen.. 1 line like this:
/
going at 45 degree angle starting about 4 inches from the bottom left of LCD and going to about 4 inches to the left of the top right of the display. draw another line like /
going 45 degrees, 4 inches from the left of th ebottom right of the screen going to about 4 inches below the top right of the screen.... all the screen space outside of the middle area and inside of each of those lines out to the corner of the screen is much darker than the middle area of the screen... i know my description was probably super confusing but i hope u understand what i mean... it almost looks like its an effect of the wallpaper, but then i realized after tilting the screen back and forth more it looks the same all throughout, so really it only looks uniform in color when tiliting the screen perfectly straight up, anything about 10 degrees back or forward or more causes the screen color not to be even, this is WEIRD.