Latitude 5450 Owners' Thread

I went ahead and upgraded from Windows 8 pro to Windows 10 pro because I got tired of pressing the windows key and having the metro screen pop up (I didn't want to install classic shell or whatever it's called) and the battery seems to be draining more in line with what I expected. If I have any other issues I'll give your suggestions a go and see what's up.

Thanks!

 

Upgrading from Windows 8 to 10 is a no-brainer, but from 7 to 10 less certain.

Windows 10 won't have updated either the BIOS or the Dell Command / Power Manager.

John

 

Updated the BIOS and installed Dell Command.

I went ahead and opened up the bottom cover to get a part # off the memory module (Samsung 4GB 1Rx8 PC3L-12800S-11-13-B4 M471B5173EB0-YK0) and now I cannot get the bottom cover to sit flush in the unit anymore. The front two edges will not attach properly for some reason.

Per adding another module. I would like to add another identical module but I'm seeing a lot of M471B5173DB0-YK0 part numbers for sale. I cannot tell what the significance of D vs E is. Maybe a newer revision? Do you think I'll have any issues running with a M471B5173DB0-YK0.

Edit: Apparently the D is 5th gen and the E is 6th gen.

 

You didn't need to remove the base to see the RAM - programs such as CPU-z or HWiNFO will give enough information. Personally I wouldn't spend time trying to find the exact same module. DDR3L-12800 (1600MHz) is the key information. I would also be tempted to get an 8GB module as more future-proof.

Regarding the base, aave you read the E7450 owner's manual? However, it doesn't indicate any special requirement for putting the base back on. I would take it off and try again. Do you need to slide it into place some something latches?

John

 

The Dell manual is scant on details when it comes to reinstalling the cover.

There is a video of someone on youtube removing the battery and adding new stick of ram on one of these machines, and when he reinstalls the back cover, it looks like the bottom right section is exhibiting the same issue mine is. The bottom left, on the other hand, appears to be going in correctly.



Even thought the cost difference is very small, I think I'll probably stick with adding a 4gb stick rather than an 8gb of ram since I'm sticking with the idea that this laptop will be "temporary" and will eventually be replaced within a year or two (assuming my frugality doesn't get the better of me).

Edit: I also remapped the page up and page down keys to home and end, respectively using keytweak. Very simple change. I'm trying not to do too many installs since I will eventually do a complete wipe when I swap in my 256GB ssd that is currently in my desktop. I'm going to have to take the 9mm out of my old laptop, clone my desktop SSD to that SSD and install the 9mm in my desktop, and then I'll have to take the "old" 256GB 7mm SSD that's currently in my desktop and put it in the new Dell. As for the unused 128GB that will remain, I'm sure someone in my family can put it to use.

 

I think the laptop is going to be a keeper. I just wish this was a glossy screen instead of a matte one. If I wind up changing it out I will definitely be going with a glossy panel.

 

Just ordered an 8GB stick of ram (Crucial CT102464BF160B) to add to the empty slot. Should be here in a week or two.

One thing about the e5450 that I do not understand is the web browsing speed. It seems to have what I would describe as "micro-stutters" when loading pages. I've tried firefox and chrome and both exhibit the same problem. My i3-530/4gb ram/low end ATI video card desktop loads and renders pages quicker and more smoothly than the e5450. Any idea on what this could be? Maybe there is something going on with the wifi card?

 

I think web page loading is much more likely to be a software issue. Are you running the same versions of Windows and anti-virus on both machines? Windows is likely to be checking your web access even if you aren't running a Microsoft browser.

However, you can check your web access performance using Speedtest.net while InSSIDer or similar software will show the WiFi signal strength and other signals on the same or adjacent channels.

John

 

My desktop is running Windows 7 with MS Essentials and the laptop has Windows 10 with Windows Defender or whatever the included antivirus is called.

I am going to plug in the ethernet cord into the laptop rather than rely on wireless to see if it changes anything.

 

I am planing to upgrade the display from the HD to FullHD IPS model, did someone already try that? Am I correct in thinking that it would not require a cable swap?