Latitude E6500 -- 1st Impressions

Well, I have had a small amount of time with this machine, Dell latitude E6500 2.4ghz Dual Core, 160GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM Free Fall, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M DDR3 ram - I have 2gb ram, and will order another 2gb chip tomorrow, but so far I am thoroughly impressed I ordered a 2.26, but it seems that I got a 2.4 instead... I don't think I'll be calling in a complaint..

Extremely well built solid construction, keyboard is amazing, the best I have ever used on a laptop (some people say it has flex but I haven't noticed any), feedback is absolutely perfect, with a very soft noiseless click to report a keystroke. I have never been able to type this fast... Impressive... Back lit keyboard - sexy, secure fingerprint access works perfect, 1 swipe read every time I use it... far less screen flex then I have had on any other laptop I have used. Speakers are something to be desired, but I don't listen to music with them, I have 40K in home theater gear, so nothing lost to me..

Hinges on screen are completely solid, not worn in enough yet, takes 2 hands to open it, but I'm sure that will smooth out over time. LED screen is very impressive, resolution 1440x900 is really crisp and clear... colors are brilliant. I haven't run any tests, but 2.4 dual core is plenty fast... I'll know better when I try to extract something... Haven't done that for a long time.. Back of screen is brushed black aluminum, from what I understand, they are coming out with a Blue, which I saw online and it looks beautiful, I preferred that look, but the Black is flawless.... Its really a sleek looking laptop. First time I have used Vista, running 64 bit and so far I have 0 issues with it. Works as fast as my XP if not faster, only running 2gb ram but have 2 more on order.

Gripes, the transition from wrist rest to front of computer could be more tapered or smoother like the HP's, can be a bit rough, but certainly not a deal breaker. The mouse pad is a touch small, I am used to a larger one, but I'll get used to it, also I need to get used to the control of it, somewhat touchy, I find I'm highlighting stuff all the time, but again I'm sure that is something that I just have to get used to. I am happy there is no gloss anywhere on the computer, minimizes fingerprints..

I am just about running out of battery, and I have at least 5 hours on it so I better wrap this up pretty quick.... The Processor is very fast for me... I haven't had this much power in my house for a while, for a laptop to me its impressive... 35 sec to extract CD1 of a 2 disc movie, not sure if thats good or bad... I ordered it with a 8x dvd-rw, (PLDS-DVD DU-8A2S) but I haven't burned anything yet...

Well I guess thats pretty much it... If anyone has any questions or ideas they would like addressed I'd be more then happy to answer them...

Hope this helps for those interested...

 

If you open up the touchpad properties, disable "touchcheck". It improves the touchpad significantly. It's like a new touchpad after that.

Glad you like you new notebook.

Greg

 

Thank you for that sir... right off the bat... improvement...

I have alot of tweaking to do on this machine, but so far... ITS SWEET !!!!!
Best Portable I have ever owned... or is that Pwnd..

 

Which screen did you receive with your laptop?

 

LCD PANEL 15.4” Wide WXGA+ (1440x900)
I had no need for the WUXGA.....

Can't take it on full blast.... dam thing will burn your retina's...

Very nice

 

Is it the SEC (sammy) or LPL (LG)?

 

Would that be with a 6 cell or 9 cell battery?

John

PS: Go into the monitor properties in Device manager to find out the display manufacturer.

 

He has nVidia - it must be with 9cell accu... And what´s the difference between SEC and LG...?
And what about keyboard backlight - how much uneven is you lappy... I´m afraid of it.. From John´s review... It´s easily visible, or you have to look closer... Thanks in advance..

 

Not sure...

Comes up as Generic PnP Monitor... Hmmm... searched around in there and couldn't find any more info... Not sure how to identify it further... Let me know... I am running 1440x900 with the NVidia 160...

I only got the 6cell, as I am rarely away from a power source and I don't travel with it much...

Oh and the Backlit keyboard is freaking wicked.... totally perfect lighting on the whole keyboard, Night time use is much better as I watch movies at night and always had to have the light on or lean forward to see the keyboard off the monitor light...
This is far nicer... Althought I thought someone stated it was adjustable, but on the Keyboard the link seems to be on / off. Maybe someone could enlighten me...

 

you may right click "Generic PnP Monitor" then select "Property"
then go to "Details" tab