Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Ordered E6400 last week.

I wish anyone who will receive their E6400 with US English keyboard will give comments about the quality, like, if flex is also present like the European keyboard John has.

 

Once mine shows up, I will.

 

Another thought on the keyboard flex issue is whether the backlighting option affects the flexibility. The only way to check that is to have the two keyboards side-by-side.

I've been using my E6400 as the main computer for the past day (now I have enough software installed) and I don't find the flex to be significant in normal usage. My main gripe is the navigation keys tucked away in the top right corner.

John

 

Ordered mine last Friday evening when my Dell rep called me to inform me that the Bluetooth module was available.


System:

Brushed Metal Black
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8600
Mobile Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD With Express Card
4GB (2x2GB) 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM
160GB SATA (7200RPM) Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
56k Internal Modem
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11 a/g/n 3X3) MiniCard
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth(R) 2.1
14.1" Widescreen WXGA (1280x800) Display
Integrated 0.3 Megapixel VGA Webcam with Single Digital Mic for WXGA LCD
Internal Backlit Keyboard (English)
6-Cell Li-Ion Primary Battery
Genuine Windows Vista(R) Business 32 bit SP1 (English) DVD Media Included
3 Yrs Next Business Day Onsite Service


Accessories:

E-Module Air Bay
Cool Slice
DisplayPort to HDMI
DisplayPort to Single DVI
RJ-11 Modem cable (AP)
90W AC Adapter - 3 Pin
Dell 14.1" Nylon Case

 

I had previously seen that a full CPU stress test + standard battery recharge takes about 70W from the mains socket so a maximum 65W from the PSU. I finally got round to try the option 65W slim PSU instead of the standard 90W power brick.

Up pops Dell Control Point with this helpful message:




I clicked the OK button, left the slim PSU connected and ran wPrime to get 46s, which is a significant hit (was <33s) while only drawing about 31W from the mains socket. I then look in RMClock and see that the CPU is throttled to 1.6GHz. So, how to outwit Dell? RMClock has a throttling option. I set this to 100% and wPrime is back to a reasonable score.

I also did an overnight stress test of my P8600 running at 1.05V (down from its preset 1.1375V). 9 hours with no problem and the CPU temperature stabilised at just over 60C. That voltage drop only gives 3 or 4W saving at full load, but it all helps keep the heat down.

John

 

So these CPUs do have a little wiggle room to undervolt? I got the T9400 in mine (Precision deal), and I was hoping I could volt it down a little to save battery and heat.

Second, the system draws more power than the 65W brick can produce? That worries me, as my I8600 would charge and run off of a 65W brick. Any ideas as to why the power demand has increased?

 

There may be more about undervolting these new CPUs in the Undervolting guide. I recall something about RMClock (which hasn't been updated since Feb 08) not handling the half multipliers that some of the new CPUs have (one reason why I opted for the P8600).

I suspect that Dell's current software doesn't look at the hardware. I've got a P series CPU and the Intel graphics and the pair are hard pushed to use more than 35W. The standard (not Express) recharge rate is 35W so that's potentially 70W. Most notebooks cut back on the recharge rate if the PSU can't delivery enough power. This will only be an issue if users try to recharge the battery and heavily load their computer at the same time.

A combination of the T series CPU and nVidia GPU could potentially increase the fully load power drain by 15 to 20W. However, the same philosophy of reduced recharge rate if there is no spare power should apply. Dell need to look at this and I will flag it as an issue in my review. The slim 65W PSU is a gem (about 40% of the thickness of the standard brick) and goes a long way to offsetting the disappointment of the E6400 being overweight. Users should be made aware that recharge time may be increased but not that performance will be reduced. That's the way things used to be.

I'm always amazed by the way manufacturers put a lot of effort into reducing notebook size and weight (and charging the customers extra) and then supply a brick of a PSU. My Toshiba R500 review provides a good example of this.

The E6400 Setup & Quick Reference Guide actually lists three PSUs:

The E series 90W PSU won't be too bad, but while you don't see "slim" in the description then expect it to be the 90W D series brick.

Something I have just noticed: It is possible to have the Ambient Light Sensor trigger the keyboard backlight but disabled for the display. A big cloud just came over while I was typing this post, the room went dark and the keyboard backlight came on.

John

 

Time to bump this thread.

I swapped the provided Samsung HM160HI HDD for a Fujitsu MHZ2320BH that I already had. The Fujitsu, which I thought was a quiet HDD, is noticeably louder than the Samsung. It's a ticking noise and not particularly obnoxious.

Something that I noticed yesterday (and not mentioned in my full review which is in the system) is that the PLDS DU-8A2S DVD burner seems to be very fussy about its food. First it wouldn't read a software installation DVD (eventually I connected an external USB burner) and then it gave problems with 2 of the 4 DVDs I asked it to burn. One was a failed burn and another wouldn't verify (but read fine on another notebook).

It looks to be in need of a firmware update.

Who else now has received the E6400 and is joining the lounge?

John

 

My E6500 went from "pre-production" to "production" status overnight, anyone know where UK models are being assembled, e.g. all in Ireland or could it be anywhere in the world?

 

Well I s'pose that I can join this now that mine is being built.

Here is what I got:

So I got this for $1299 + $5 Nova Scotia Envirionmental Tax (the last option ^) + 13% Tax ($169.52) for a total of $1473.52.

I have a 1gb stick of DDR2-667 here that I'm going to pop into it, I don't think that the difference in speed will be very noticable, plus I know that this computer will see a lot more RAM in it's lifetime. I'm going to load Vista Home Premium onto it (I have a retail copy here, hopefully MS will let me transfer it onto this computer)

I was quite surprised at how close the rep came to matching the US pricing, since Canada hasn't gotten a price drop.

Ahh, no more using my mom's POS XPS M140.

Greg