Latitude E and Precision M Satisfaction thread

To consumers of the new Latitude E and Precision M series, how satisfied are you with your purchase? If possible please also post your model and reasons.

 

Take a look at this thread, it's basically identical.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=304831

Please note that since that post, the DVD burner issues have been fixed. No one is sure now, but it is fixed. Here is the post I made in the said thread:

1. E6400, specs are in my sigature (was ordered with 1gb RAM and Vista Basic, I upgraded those myself)

2. Probably about 8.5. I would like the touchpad to be a bit better (though with some tweaking it's close to perfect now), and the screen isn't perfect. The touchpad issue will likely be fixed via a driver update.

3. Build Quality is excellent, no creaking or flex
Excellent Keyboard and the backlight is great
Runs cool and quiet
Good port selection
Excellent webcam quality
Excellent battery life
Stylish, but not flashy design.
Screen hinges and latch system
Easy to work on with the single access panel
Bottom not being clad with stickers and a half dozen panels.
Few visible screws.
Good weight balance front/rear

4. Screen contrast and viewing angles
Less than perfect touchpad (though again, tweaking the settings is a huge improvement
DVD-RW troubles, though I have not yet had anything fail to properly burn, after burning 2 data CD's and making 2 copies of a DVD movie.

5. I would definitely recommend this notebook. The pros outweigh the cons by far for me. Notice that I didn't mention the weight, while Dell did lie about the weight, in reality, I wouldn't consider it heavy. It is much lighter than my old XPS m140 and has a better balance than my father's Sony SZ4. The laptop is slightly heavier in the front than the back, making it easier to pick up than rear-heavy notebooks.

Greg

 

I am very satisfied with my E6400 and my user opinion is posted here:

http://www.notebookreview.com/price...62&productFamilyID=1157&display=opinionDetail

 

Not satisfied at all. The issues are outlined here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=4086338&postcount=695

 

It's a two-sided situation.

These are very powerful systems in my eyes. They just have issues to be wrinkled out that everyone seems to experience. Possibly in a few months from now they will be very popular systems.

 

Pretty satisfied with mine,a couple of things they could have done better but overall its been problem free for me.

 

I am fairly satisfied. It is strange to find that the parts everyone raves about on the E6400 are what I dislike most on my E6500. I don't find the system all that sturdy. The screen has flex in it, especially noticeable when I am holding it between the hinges. The bezel on front is poorly fitted and is even bulging in some parts slightly. The latch is very flimsy. The touchpad and Trackpoint are also sub-par for what I was expecting, though the A05 BIOS helped with the Trackpoint and keyboard issues lot for me.

The hinges on the system are very sturdy. Though I feel they are TOO sturdy. I can't open my E6500 lid with one hand.

 

Horrible horrible build quality (1/5). The Precision M2400 I purchased back in September was replaced TWICE. The first unit had a faulty Power LED so never got a chance to use it extensively before getting a replacement.
The second unit, however, was the worst notebook computer I have ever used. It didn't sit level on surfaces (rocked back and forth), ran quite hot, and I was getting choppy Aero effects in Vista. My old HP nx8220 is better at coping with Aero. Not to mention the keyboard flex and the general flexy feeling in the entire body.
After seing that the third unit that was shipped was even more unbalanced, I returned it for a refund. Unbelievable that people are saying how sturdy their M/E series laptops feel. I can tell they are no match to even my 3.5 year-old HP in terms of build quality. Never buying anything from DELL ever again.
HT

 

I replaced my Inspiron 8600 (Pentium M 1.5, ATI 9600 PRO Turbo, 80GB, 2GB, DVD-RW, 1920x1280, Bluetooth, Wireless ABG) with the M4400 in my signature- alot of what I liked about the 8600 is in the M4400, some of what I didn't like is carried over as well. I love the 1920x1200 on both; the M4400 does seem brighter though. The keyboard on both is very nice, love the backlit keyboard, pointing stick on M4400 has more functionality (probably just drivers) and the M4400's case is far better. The M4400 obviously has more features and is just a 4-year newer machine than my 8600, just giving my perspective.
Features that sold me on the M4400-
-Cheaper than the M6400
-15.4" 1920x1200 display
-GbE (would've pulled the trigger on an XPS except no GbE)
-1066 FSB/800 Memory
-8GB RAM support
-Analog AND Digital Video out (I would've been happy with DVI-I)
-More than 2 USB ports (don't laugh, the 8600 had only 2)
-Phenomenal value

This is the first laptop from Dell that I know of that carried the entire feature set and more.

I ordered my laptop with the swipe fingerprint sensor, after playing with a Microsoft KB with built-in 'jelly oval' fingerprint sensor. The KB sensor was slick, always worked and made logging-in fun! I built it for my sis-in-law to take to college, and her friends do NOT trash her computer. I chose the swipe fingerprint sensor thinking I would have the same experience- sadly it is not the same. Most of the time the sensor does not wake-up, now it simply can't remember who I am. I scanned most of my fingers, created the backup, set the TPM, did the whole thing and now I have to type my username and password anyways, because it doesn't know who I am. Dunno it is is software, hardware, or (probably) both, but it is not fun to use anymore. The buttons for the trackpad are not user friendly- I think it is a combination of their hinge-point and stiffness. They are a little better than the buttons on the 8600, but not by much. I think the trackpad is far too small with small buttons to boot. If I had my way, I would make the trackpad about twice the size, delete the pointing-stick buttons and tap on different halves (thirds) of the trackpad instead for the same functionality. I'd also light the area around the trackpad and the volume buttons. A proximity sensor would be nice to trip the lights instead of hitting a key. The Ambient light sensor is the first thing I disabled. I see how it could be useful in presentation settings, or if given some settings such as sensitivity, or just learned what the user preferred.

Performance is pretty darn good- I don't have any current games, but I was able to play Half-Life2 with all the pretty @1920x1200 above 60fps at all times. There was some hot air coming out the side, but the keyboard did not get hot and the computer did not slow down.

I haven't had a chance to do a real battery test- I have the 9-cell battery and have seen about 3.5-4 hours. I was hoping for a little more, especially when just surfing, but I don't have an exactly miserly CPU.

I'm overall happy with mine. I would recommend it to professionals who appreciate power and features over flash.