help me towards the e6400?

rite now im really tempted to sell my xps 1530 and buy a e6400 so i want u guys to help me push more towards the e6400. can anyone comment on the design and the style/looks of the e6400 compared to my xps and the feel of the keyboard. and just the overall quality? i want the e6400 cuz of the business support and their build quality but i cant make the final push for it...
and the faulty gpu that i am scared of... im happy with my xps but just want something better...plus i dont like the top of the laptop its fugly...

 

err, i love my e6400. thats all.

 

The E6400 is definitely not as attractive as the M1530 in terms of physical looks. It's quite plain and some may even say boring. Build quality wise, it does feel slightly sturdier than the M1530 (based on my experience with the floor units at Best Buy), and the business support is superb. If you're deciding on the E6400, I would also suggest looking at the Precision M2400 - it's basically the same laptop, but with slightly more appealing aesthetics IMO.

 

you are going to take a pretty big hit the graphics moving from the m1530 to the E6400 - NVS 160's are very basic cards used mostly by IT staff like myself to put in business class machines so we dont have to worry about having a hetrogenous hardware landscape - they last forever too.

The E6400 is a good looking laptop - but people lose sight that it is still very much a business class machine - gaming is low on its list of features.

before moving from one platform to another, get a peice of paper and write down all the things you like about your current laptop, and all the things you hate.

then formulate another list with regards to the e6400 - matching or exceeding each point made for your current laptop. use the tech specs page on dells website to help fill in the gaps in your "E6400 list"
They are pretty similar in general performance the m1530 destroys the e6400 in games, the E6400 outlasts the m1530 by miles in battery life.

No laptop can ecape build issues i have returned my e6400 due to a loose case and dead harddisk.
I requested an nvs160d dedicated GPU and backlit keyboard be fitted to my replacement so I'm happy.

 

well i ahve the 8400m gs and i heard the 160m is better so not sure about that

and u know how the top of the e6400 looks kind of like wood grainy kind of like below the xps 1530 do u know if thats like that too on the e6400? cuz i really like that look

 

Code:

			8600M GT		9300M GS		NVS 160M
Chip Core		G84M			G98M			G98M
Memory Type		DDR2/GDDR3		GDDR3			GDDR3
Stream Processor	32			8			8
Core Speed		475 MHz			550 MHz			580 MHz
Memory Speed		400/700 MHz		700 MHz			700 MHz
Shader Speed		950 MHz			 1400 MHz		1450 Mhz
Max Bandwidth		12.8/22.4 GB/s		9.6 GB/S		11.2 GB/s
Memory Bus Width	128-bit			64-bit			64-bit
Max Memory		512 MB			256 MB			256 MB
Current Consumption	20 W			13 W			12 W

Im lead to belive the 9300gs is on par with the 8400gs performance wise, however the 9300gs uses less power due to a process shink. dont quote me though

 

Actually, there are two versions of the nVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M- a GDDR2 version (E6400) and a GDDR3 version (E6500). The memory of the E6500/GDDR3 is clocked at 700MHz, compared to 400MHz for the E6400/GDDR2 version.

Obviously, the E6500 setup outperforms the E6400. Here are a few benchmarks comparing the 8400M GS and both varieties of the 160M-

8400M GS- 3DMark03: 5296 / 3DMark06: 1447
160M (E6400)- 3DMark03: 5278 / 3DMark06: 1698
160M (E6500)- 3DMark03: 6544 / 3DMark06: 2278

The E6400 with the 160M scores about 250 points higher than the 8400M on 3DMark06, which is a significant improvement. The E6500 manages 580 points higher than the E6400, though...and about 830 points higher than the 8400M.

 

The E6400 will be less eye-catching than the XPS. While the E series do have distinctive styling, it does look like what it is - a machine for work and not play.

As already suggested, you need to set out your priorities and preferences.

John

 

i actually really like the way it looks, although many people i know do not. i am pretty plain and boring though i think it looks pretty classy. others would say it looks plain and boring.

 

I think it's pretty elegant without all those chrome/leather panels