E6420 Owner's Thread

First Drive Caddy

E-Modular Bay Caddy

Both will accept 9mm (normal) thick laptop drives.

 

excellent thanks for the info. Now I just need to find out for a particular drive whether it is equal to or below 9.5mm in height or thickness. But wow, that is a lot of money for what amounts to be a small bit of plastic, I will try and find it elsewhere for cheaper, perhaps even off of dell itself.

 

Seems like a few users are having issues with the thermal paste/pad contacting the heatsink. You should notice that the QM67 Chipset controller/Nvidia 4200M chipset requires a thermal pad (differ height), using alot of thermal paste isn't the ideal solution just to make them touching.

I would suggest using Copper shims, currently using 2cmx2cm sized shims.
QM67 Chipset (top left) = 1mm height
Nvidia Chipset (top right) = 0.8mm height

Currently idling:
i7-2720 CPU: 48-50oC
Chipset : 43-45oC
GPU: 44-47oC

Will be stress testing it later....

 

Minor nit-pick; the system actually uses the QM67 chipset, rather than the P67 (which is a desktop chipset).

As for shims, you're still in warranty. I'd make Dell fix it, rather than risk voiding your existing warranty to do it yourself.

 

Indeed. Thermal compound is for improving the thermal contact/heat transfer between two mating surfaces... not for chaulking the gap between surfaces that do not touch.

GK

 

I have also noticed exactly the same issue in my E6520 when I have headphones plugged in. I couldn't find the reason for this or how to fix it. If you have any more information, please share them with us .

 

I haven't had a bleep noise, but I've had an annoying Internet Explorer-like "click" noise that I've been trying to track down. If it's a software/program thing, you don't really have any choice but to start disabling startup programs until it goes away. Only started recently, though, but I think PowerDVD might've been doing it. Not sure.

 

My company just ordered me a E6420 with the i5 processor, 8GB of memory, 256 SSD drive and a 1366x768 screen. All the specs seem ok to me except for the fact that they went with the lower res screen.

Is the screen all that bad? I will be using it mostly for progra,ming work, spreads sheets and watching the occasional movie. I am coming from a D630 with a 1400x900 screen which has been ok. Would this new screen be somewhat comparable?

How difficult / expensive would it be to swap out with the 1600x900 screen (or even possible). I am not sure what video card option I am getting though.

Thanks for any input!

 

You lose a lot of desktop space. I generally dislike 1366x768 since it's effectively a 1024x768 with more space on the sides. The extra height is very handy in a lot of places. The difference between a 1366x768 vs 1600x900 is quite noticeable (~27% less pixels)

Not sure you can swap it later. IIRC it was a bit less than 100$ difference going from a 1366x768 to 1600x900 on the configurator.

 

Looks like your company needs a better IT department

Best case: If they didn't order it too long ago, tell them you need the 1600x900 screen above all else, and to cancel the order. Tell them you'll pay the difference (they might not make you pay the difference anyway though). Usually Dell Business is great about cancelling orders (Unlike about Dell's Consumer line. Cancelling an XPS order is a nightmare).

I don't think the swap is too hard. Try to find the LG LP140WD2-TLB1 which is the LG screen used in the T420 (one of the better quality ones), the connector should be the same. No guarantees, but it should be the same. I don't think Dell pulls any of their single-channel LVDS cable BS in their business-class laptops, so you shouldn't have issues swapping it with a higher-res.

Another display that might work, if you prefer glossy, would be this one:
14.0-inch LG LP140WD1-TLA1 Laptop LCD Screen 1600x900 LED Glossy - US$87.00 | HooToo.com
Again, no guarantees on compatibility.