Latitude E-Series Anticipation Thread

Probably early to mid september, tetris.

Does anyone know what kind of battery life the M4400 gets?

 

No idea, seanbow.

Anyone have any idea if the docking stations would still fit the E6400 and 9-cell battery? Because the battery does stick out...?

 

RTFM

Here's the E-port.

John

PS: All the dock manuals.

 

Ah, I couldn't find that! Thanks!

Read The Fun Manual...how appropriate. Not.

 

I always thought it was "Read The Funky Manual" *disco*

I really want one of the advance docks (the $200 ones), as I think these laptops are currently more powerful than my desktop, and use less power. The only down-side I've had before is the inability to do dual DVI with my D-dock. With an E-dock, I could shut of my desktop, except for gaming, and save quite a bit of money on electricity and cooling.

 

How long would you have to use your laptop before you broke even on the amount you're saving in electricity vs. the cost of the laptop?

It's like using solar to heat your house or to make electricity. They want you do go that way, but it's 10 years before you break even. By then, your equipment is old and not working at top efficiency anymore! (not to turn this into an arguement for renewable resources!).

If you need a laptop, that's one thing. But to get one to replace a desktop and save electricity, I think your laptop will be old and useless by the time you start seeing the net savings!

 

I doubt they're buying a laptop just to save electricity, but even if they did, the savings would add up pretty quickly depending on the desktop. If the desktop was a 750W or a 1kW workstation, the savings would be HUGE. If it was a 160W SFF OptiPlex, then there would not be a big difference.

 

If his desktop had (and was using most of) a 750W or 1KW power supply, I'd guess the new E-series would NOT be anywhere close to as powerful as his desktop. Even my XPS 720 H2C with 1KW PS only draws around 300W when on (and nicely loaded!). I was assuming he had a "normal" older desktop.

 

My machine is a home-made AMD S939 2.2ghz dual-core (4400+ I think) with a 400w PSU and a 8800GTS (320mb). It was built about 3 years ago, and upgraded along the way. Idle draw, according to my UPS, is around 175 watts. Considering the Dell Slim power adapter is 65 watts, that's quite a drop in power. I think I figured it up, and it costs me ~$15 a month to run my computer, plus extra in the summer time for A/C. I began putting the desktop asleep when I wasn't using it, which dropped my bill $10. It would be nice to see that drop a little more after I get the laptop.

Anyway, the main reason for USING the laptop as a main machine is less power draw, less heat, more power (better than my desktop), and the fact that I don't have to copy files back and forth any more for school. The main reason for BUYING the laptop is the fact that I need power on the go, and my I8600 is getting rather long in the tooth. Before I built this desktop, I used my I8600 as my main machine, which I loved, except for the fact that it wasn't that good at gaming. Now the laptop struggles running VS2008 and other dev tools, which is what I do a lot of in school, and my desktop doesn't quite qualify as portable...

 

And that power is enough for full load + slow battery charging. Under light to moderate usage the power draw is more likely to be around 20 to 25W. I get around 25W with my current Santa Rosa (T7300 + X3100) powered Zepto. Penryn + Montevina should be a little more efficient.

John