E6410 Owner's Thread

hello to all i need help. if i open idt audio control panel i see only this:



is it normal? no volume sliders or advanced settings for audio?
i have win 7 clean intall with official and latest drivers from dell site. i try latest drivers too, but with no luck.

if i click to the advanced button (in top left icon) nothing will happend.

thank.

 

ok, problem solved i customize latest (6.10.0.6292_R278544) drivers..
now is equalizer and srs premium sound available. let me know if somebody want this driver
sounds are now MUCH better.

 

I'll try.......

 

Well. If anyone could dump their bios chips running linux or windows I would be grateful. Trying to get the raw data I need from an extracted hdr file but it is proving too difficult or not the right data. I flashed an assembled 4096KB chunk to the W25Q32BV but laptop still doesn't want to power on properly. Thinking either the bios is bad and what I flashed isn't right or the hardware actually physically died during the bios flash.

 

here ist the download url:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/caxwnwjrgtultur/6.10.0.6292_R278544.zip?dl=0

 

After a month with this fine e6410 (i5 560m and NVS 3100m in my case) I want to share how I managed to lower GPU temperature a lot in two displays config (internal + external monitor). Something about the CPU control too. All is tested under Windows 7.

1. The problem with nVidia GPU heat (two displays)
There are 3 GPU profiles but with two displays the 3rd, most powerful profile is used all time - 606/790/1468 MHz, 1.0 V. And there is no GPU fan. This setup leads to very high temperatures even on simple desktop tasks. I have broken old HP notebook due to hot nVidia video and I don't want the same situation again.

The solution: the good old nVidia System Tools. NVS 3100m is not listed there but it works ("System Monitor" from these tools is not necessary and useless, no need to install it). I tried also other 3rd party overclock tools, nothing is better than nVidia System Tools.

When we load an user GPU profile with this tool, it replaces the 3rd system profile. We can lower the frequencies in this way. Unfortunately, whatever low MHz we set, it it still at 1 V, not at 0.85 V as other profiles. I did not find a way to set the voltage of this profile. But I found a trick.

After loading of my profile (I place.nsu profile file in the Startup), if the system is with a single display only (no matter which one) for a moment, and then I turn on the second display (Fn + F8), the system continues to change profiles dynamically! It cycles between the 2nd standard profile (which is on 0.85 V) and my custom one. There is one problem though - if both profiles are with different Memory clock, the external display blinks on every profile change. Maybe because of this by default there is no profile changes with 2 displays.
That's why I decided to make my profile equal to the 2nd - 405/405/810 MHz. And profile changes are transparent, it only lowers the voltage when there is low GPU load.

All this reduced the average temperature with 10 C or so on. In addition I use a cheap Notebook Cool Pad with a single fan. When it is turned on, -5 to -8 C more. In a result I have GPU at 48-60 C instead of 65 - 77 C. Now the CPU sometimes increases GPU temperature, instead of opposite (because the internal fan is quiet until 81 C and on high CPU load some heat goes to the GPU).

2. CPU control
- disable Speed Step in the BIOS (SS makes the machine very slow)
- Windows Advanced power settings for the current power plan - Min/Max processor state - they do not work (with or w/o SS)
- use "Throttle Stop 6" - it's great! After some fine tune on low load my CPU stays on lower frequencies, but in other cases my system is up to 30-40% faster (experienced in XP virtual machine with some Java stuff)!

 

A bit in delay since the last conversation regarding upgrading SSD and RAM.
Any new suggestions you encounter through this time?
The last finding for SSD is the EVO/PRO 840 from Samsung. Is it possible to put 512GB instead of the 256GB? Why it is so expensive and is there any substitutional SSDs that will fit the E6410?
Regarding the RAM, is 2X4GB is the maximum the laptop can handle? I read about the Patriot Signature that was purchased for ~$26 but now it doubled. Again, any other manufactures with compatability to the laptop?
Crucial has suggested some of their components but they declare 512GB SSD which seems a bit odd due the fact that the datasheet says the laptop receives only 256GB

Thanks for your cooperation.
Sagi

 

1. You can use any 2.5" SATA SSD up to 9.5mm thick. Most current 2.5" SSDs are 7mm thick but the screw holes are in the same places. In terms of storage capacity you can get up to 1TB in currently available SSDs - they are all compatible. The original specifications were based on what was available 5 years ago. ~500GB is better than ~250GB because you can leave more unallocated space (it is called "Over Provisioning") which helps the drive maintain its performance. Crucial's current offerings are here and they announced some new SSDs at CES.

Regarding RAM, 8GB is probably the limit of the memory controller built in into the CPU. The E6410 that I once owned had an i5-540M which was limited to 8GB. You can easily search for the specification of your CPU.

John

 

Wow!
So much speed......... I only change/add 2X4GB of RAM from G.Kill and I experience a tremendous change in speed.
I didn't even install the SSD yet. Now thinking maybe to return it to the store .

Thanks all of you for your recommendations.

Sagi

 

Hello Guys

In the work given to me a nice second hand E6410

Working relative OK, no performance issues at all, with a small changes...

I change the thermal grease, put a copper shim and a corsair SSD.

Throttlestop for save a little heat and battery.

No issues at all, ehhh only ramdom lockups when go to sleep...

Only two questions:

Any experience with the "OEM" batteries from China? The genuine bats are so expensive.

Your palm rest go hot like hell? OK no like hell but feels unconfortable at all. How can a solve that?

Thanks for reply and have a nice day!