E6400 Impressions - Day 1.

Hello there!

Thanks guys for those inputs. Good reviews on the E6400 are hard to find.

I was in the Sager sub-universe with a big 17" gaming laptop but it was time to sell (after many back/shoulder problems - j/k). Anyway it was time to go more portable and the this model was of great appeal to me.

I've been chatting for a couple days with my Dell rep for a price on a fully equiped E6400 (I stick with the P8400 though). And I am just waiting for his call to order.

I hope you did know that Dell has some "margin" when it comes to business laptops right? I was able to get a couple bucks reduction on some upgrades with some freebies as well ;-).

I'll let you know when I get mine. Hopefully it will be next week .

And you should see me more around here lol.

 

You can send it to a company that will put the glossy coating on it for you

 

Glossy screens are actually less color/contrast accurate in many ways than non-glossy screens, and in particular tend to hide detail at the extreme ends of the spectrum, which causes problems when preparing photos for print, because you can easily miss artifacts. Matte screens are also easier to color calibrate. Photographers (not computer companies talking about photographers) generally recommend non-glossy screens, but of higher quality, and with wider color gamut coverage than typical laptops provide. Sadly Dell hasn't made the leap to really wide gamut stuff yet, but a few other companies are starting to move that way. For now it's a trade off - accuracy and detail (editing) vs pleasing to the eye (viewing).

Personally I do most of my editing on my laptop, but I will always proof them to get the contrast and color just right on a desktop LCD before making anything final.

I also work with digital radiographs, and one part of the reason Dell is still providing matte screens on business models is for the medical/dental fields. Glossy screens are more prone to contrast issues at the extreme black/white, and the sharp reflections/glare can be mistaken for artifacts - something you don't want to happen when a doctor is checking out your insides.

I'm not trying to sway you really from whatever you prefer, just trying to provide a bit of context. I hope you find something you like.

 

Hello,
I am also thinking about getting a E6400. I've just a few questions about the overall build quality.

I read the display lid is made out of metal. What about the other parts of the laptop? Is the back made out of metal as well? Is the laptop solid enough to throw it into a school bag with a couple of books? A Thinkpad doesn't have a problem with this. Is the E6400 as solid as a Thinkpad?

What about the material of the palm rest? Is there any flex? A few month ago I had my hands on an D630 and there was quite a lot of flex in the area of the hard disk. I didn't like that.

Speaking of the hard disk: The hard disk of the D630 caused the whole palm rest to vibrate. Is this still the case with the E6400 or did Dell fix that? What about the noise of the hard disk? Is it audible?

Thanks a lot for answering my questions!

 

I can feel the hard disk vibration here on my E6400.. All the way to the other end of the palm rest.

 

Recieved my E6400 a few days ago. I also notice a slight vibration from the HD but not enough to really bother me. So far I am happy with my purchase.

Andrew

 

Which Hard Disk did you get?

 

Seagate Momentus 7200.2 160GB w/ FFS... Apparently the vibration gets transmitted to my table as well and I get a nice humming noise.

Reqeusted for a change of HDD and apparently they screwed up by sending me one without FFS.

 

What HDD is in your E6400?

 

Do you think your Hard Disk is malfunctioning or is this vibration due to the way Dell mounts the Hard Disk to the laptop?