I'm planning to buy a Precision M4400 this week, anything I should know?

It looks like a good deal for a nice, powerful but not too power hungry notebook. Any owners have any tips on configurations or useful extras? Any quirks about the Dell installed software I should know about? I've heard Dell's wireless app can be pretty frustrating, does it only come with Dell wireless cards, or Intel cards also? Bluetooth useful for anything?

Also is there any way to get one with Vista Ultimate or Vista Home Professional installed? The only Ultimate option I see comes with Vista Ultimate on a DVD, but XP Pro installed.

 

I just looked at both configurations of the M400 (starting prices of $1344 and $1469). Both of them have Windows Vista Business with XP Professional downgrade as the default choice, but Vista Business and Vista Ultimate pre-installed (no XP) are shown as options. They're the last two items on the Operating Systems option list, Vista Business is a no-cost option and Ultimate is $50 upgrade.

Is there a particular feature included in Ultimate that you're wanting? If not, the only significant feature from Vista Home Premium that isn't included on Vista Business is Media Center. It might not be worth the $50 extra unless you have a specific reason for choosing Ultimate.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Vista Business 64-bit (and Ultimate 64-bit) aren't available. The Latitude E6500 (which is identical to the M4400 except the lid design and graphics card) offers Vista Business 64-bit along with all the ones available on the M4400. If you don't need the graphics capabilities of the M4400, you should definitely take a close look at the Latitude E6500. It costs several hundred dollars less and has the same rock-solid magnesium alloy construction. The E6500 also offers the Intel P-series processors, but the M4400 doesn't. At the moment, the upgrade from the standard 2.26GHz P8400 to the 2.4GHz P8600 is no-charge, too!

To answer your question about Bluetooth- personally, I've never used it and my last three laptops have had it. If you don't spec your system to include it now, you can very easily install it in the future...if you discover that you need it for some reason.

The Dell Control Point software can be frustrating. It's not very intuitive and, even when you figure it out, it's not very useful. It is still fairly "green" as it was just introduced last fall with the Latitude E-series and the Precision M2400/M4400/M6400. Hopefully, it will evolve into something more useful in time...Dell, are you listening??? On the positive side, it doesn't bog down startup or use a lot of system resources like Lenovo's ThinkVantage and similar products do.

Have you decided what specs you plan to order?
Processor?
Display?
Hard Drive?
RAM?
Back-lit Keyboard?

 

The review on the the first page of this link is very good
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300199

I would suggest that you don't buy the 1700M GPU. It runs very hot and has been causing some problems. The 770M and 1700M are basically the same gpu only they run more 15W more into the 1700M to make it run faster. If you want you can even overclock the 770M a little to increase the performance close to the 1700M.


I know some people where complaining that certain models of screens where grainy looking. I am not sure what models are bad. However, I have the 15.4" UltraSharp™ WUXGA (1920x1200) RGB-LED TRUELIFE Display which looks fantastic but its a $299 upgrade. Hopefully someone else can help out and tell you what screens to stay away from.

As far as Vista Ultimate, the last option "Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate 64-BIT SP1, With media [add $50]" has it installed.

A few other suggestions would be to buy your memory from a store like new egg and install it yourself. You can buy 4 gigs of quality ram for $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134605
Instead of paying Dell $180.

I would suggest the same thing for the Hard drive.
http://www.provantage.com/western-digital-wd3200bjkt~7WND9022.htm
That is a 320gb 7200rpm western digital hard drive with a freefall censor for $95. Dell charges $380 for a similar upgrade. If you do this you can buy the laptop with xp installed and just install Vista on the new drive. This will eliminate all the junk Dell likes to install.

Hope that helps with your purchase.

 

Dell offers a 32bit and 64bit version of the M4400

32bit
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...kc=productdetails~workstation_precision_m4400

64bit
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...kc=productdetails~workstation_precision_m4400

 

I'm still figuring out the specs, all I know is I defnitely want the WUXGA CCFL screen since that's what I've been using for the past six years.

I initially wanted to go 64bit until I found out 64bit Vista doesn't support 16bit apps and won't allow them to execute. I play a bunch of old games (Civ 2, Xcom, Hidden Agenda, Conflict MEPS, Yoot Tower) to pass time and that would be a problem.

I had also looked at the E6500, but the graphics abilities seem really below par, and $200 in the long term wouldn't be worth the annoyance of always having a weak GPU.

If I open up the unit and install my own memory, does that void the dell warranty?

I also definitely want the backlit keyboard, and don't need a large HDD (160gb is more than enough). Also I have no need for a fingerprint reader, which I hear are a massive pain anyway. If someone wants to spy on my SPSS spreadsheets and AIM conversations that's a risk I'm willing to take.

 

To all this excellent advice I'd add that the M4400 does offer some P series CPUs on the configurator and you can probably get higher speed ones if you call and ask. I have an M4400 with a P9600 arriving in a couple of days. With a P series CPU and the Quadro 770m (and maybe undervolting) you should get good battery times and you may be able to use a smaller AC adapter like the 90W E series my E6400 uses.

Definitely agree about getting a large hard drive elsewhere. If you need a lot of space like me note that the new Seagate 7200.4 500GB drive that will be available in a couple of weeks can be preordered from a few sources.

I can't recommend the M4400 since I don't have mine yet. (I did just get an M4300 as a warranty replacement for a dead M70 -- good deal but, man, is that one fugly notebook!)

 

I stand corrected on a few things-

64-bit: It is available on the M4400, but the only way to access the option is to click the checkbox for 64-bit OS in the filter from the Precision Home Page! Unlike the Latitude E6400/E6500, it isn't simply listed as an OS option. It would be very difficult to locate if you didn't know it existed...

P-series CPUs: when I said the P-series processors weren't offered on the M4400, I was looking at the more expensive configuration ($1469), which is the best deal. That model has the T9400 standard and doesn't offer any of the P-series processors. The base model ($1344) has a P8400 standard and can be upgraded to the P8600 or P8700. The P9500 and P9600 aren't listed as options, though. As someone already mentioned, the P9500 and/or P9600 may be available if you call to place your order...never hurts to ask!

 

The 15.4" UltraSharp™ WUXGA (1920x1200) RGB-LED TRUELIFE Display sounds interesting. It's pricey at $299 ($150 more than the WUXGA CCFL), but more options are always a good thing to have.

Your Dell Warranty isn't voided for upgrading the following items- RAM, Hard Drive, Wireless Card and Bluetooth Module. Those are the components that I have upgraded on one of my Dell notebooks and discussed with Dell beforehand.

Another odd thing I just noticed is the available RAM configurations for the M4400. There aren't any 1-DIMM options, even for 1GB. That may also be something that a phone call will fix. It's not really a big deal either way, just peculiar since 1GB, 2GB and even 4GB are available in 1-DIMM on the Latitude E6500.

 

Well since I'm pretty dead set against 64bit barring someone telling me I'm unequivocally wrong about it breaking 16 bit apps I plan on getting 2GB RAM only.

Are there any Precision coupon codes floating around?

 

there are a few threads in the OS forum about the numerous advantages of 64 bit.....

but other than that, good luck with your purchase!