Latitude E6510 Owner's Lounge

hey chris,

i'm currently using a D630 T7300 and was looking to upgrade to the E6510. can you please comment on the trackpad, size (dimensions), keyboard, screen, speakers, and heat relative to the D630? thank you!

P.S. a side-by-side comparison picture would be way over and beyond of you.. =)

 

Keep in mind I have only played w/ my new 6510 for a couple of hours last night...I had a user group meeting after work and I was wiped out, so I only played until my eyes were screaming for sleep.

That being said...

trackpad - seems as good as the one w/ the D630, the multi-touch is WAY COOL though. there are settings to do 'iphone' like zooming, rotating, there is even a privacy feature that allows you to lay your hand on the touchpad and the screen goes blank. But, in the end, it's a trackpad and it works but a mouse is always better. I use a small bluetooth mouse and typically don't use the touchpad unless I'm on the couch.

size - i was concerned about this but after getting it, i think i can EASILY live w/ it given the screen realestate i'm getting w/ it. weight-wise it doesn't seem that much heavier than my D630 w/ the media bay battery. i haven't weighed them both, but the 6510 is just over 5lbs w/ the 6 cell (specs) and the D630 w/ 6 cell + media battery is probably within ounces of that 5+lbs range.

keyboard - will take some getting used to, it's not bad, just different than the D630 in how typing feels. very solid, very good, just have to adjust to it.

screen - wow, if you got the FHD (1920x1080)...wow. can't say enough about this. to switch to LED from the old world is like night and day (literally). no dark corners, even lighting, bright bright bright. i'm running it on 3 out of 15 on brightness...you'd have to be outside in sunlight to need anything above 10 (imo). it's just too bright and hurt my eyes above 10. The resolution is fine, I was concerned about small text, but even at 100% it's OK. If you don't need that much on the screen, the out-of-the box display setting @ 125% is beautiful and super crisp.

speakers - no contest, these are hands down better than the D630 garbage speakers...i kept my D630 muted unless it was docked, they were so bad. these may not be as good as larger media-centric laptops, but for a business laptop, they are awesome.

heat - no issues w/ the i5 at least. i am very happy. running in balanced mode or the custom 'dell' mode (didn't try performance yet) it runs about the same as the D630 in my lap/leg test...but I haven't used it enought to say w/ confidence. i specifically didn't get the i7 for this reason (heat/battery), so here's hoping the i5 is going to be tolerable.

i will try and post some pics this weekend and maybe i can speak more confidently about the opinions i shared here...but at this point, i'd have to say I'm pleased w/ it out-of-the-box but I need to use it more to really draw direct/valid comparisons to the D630.

 

When I placed the order on 5/5, the lead time for FHD panel was 9 days and now Dell sales rep is saying 15 days. Am I going to get this delivered by their EDD, 6/1? I've been really hoping to receive it much earlier than the EDD...

 

If you get it that fast you'll still be very lucky. People ordering Lenovos with FHD have been waiting for them since Feb.

 

Yeah, I read stories. In this market where prices drop quite fast, if I don't get my laptop for over 2 months, I'd get quite pissed...

 

I've received two E6510's in the last couple weeks, both with FHD displays, separate orders. Both arrived in about a week to 10 days from order date, and about a week ahead of their EDD's. Ordered through Small Business Division. i5-540 processors on both.

 

Are you sure that your processor score is right? On my 6410 i get a processor score of 6.7 with an i5-520m. The gaming score seems to be a little to low too.

 

If you sit in a totally quiet room and listen very carefully do you notice any high-pitch noise?

Also, when just reading mails and surfing the web, does the fan sometimes turn off or does it run all the time?

In other words, if I put an SSD into that laptop will it be completely silent (as in: silent like a book)?

 

Ordered mine on 4/28 as a normal citizen with 3-5 shipping. My purchase ID on the order status page has been a dead link from day one, and it says 7 Day shipping. EDD is 5/18.

I noticed that others who ordered in the same timeframe already have theirs. Did I screw something up? It's a pretty standard config. (see below).

I'm leaving town on 5/16 and was really hoping to take my new toy with me. Dell CS has not been helpful. Any insights?

1 224-8070 Latitude E6510 Notebook
1 317-3585 Intel Core i5-520M Dual Core 2.40GHz 3MB for M6510
1 317-0137 3.0GB, DDR3-1066 SDRAM, 2 DIMM for Latitude
1 330-7359 Internal Backlit English Keyboard, Dell Latitude E
1 330-1652 Documentation (English) Latitude E-Family/Mobile Precision
1 320-8805 Intel HD Graphics for Latitude D6510
1 342-0479 250GB Hard Drive 9.5MM,7200RPM, Dell Latitude E
1 330-7391 No Fingerprint Reader and No Contactless Smartcard Reader for Latitude E6510
1 320-8809 15.6" HD (1366 x 768) Anti-Glare LED Display for Latitude E6510
1 468-7565 Vista Home Basic Service Pack 2, 32-bit, with media, English, Dell Latitude
1 310-8759 You have chosen a Vista Basic System
1 330-8716 Dell Back-up and Recovery Manager for Vista SP2, MUI, Latitude, Precision, OptiPlex, Vostro
1 313-9914 Regatta Blue, Mobile Broadband Ready, Dell Latitude E6510
1 313-6507 No Modem for Latitude E-Family
1 330-0876 90W 3-Pin, AC Adapter for Latitude E-Family
1 330-0879 US - 3-FT, 3-Pin Flat E-FamilyPower Cord for Latitude E-Family
1 313-6508 8X DVD for Latitude E-Family
1 421-1459 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3,with Media, Dell Latitude/Mobile Precision
1 313-9310 Noise Cancelling Digital Array Microphone for Latitude E6510
1 430-0797 Dell WLAN 1501 (802.11b/g/n) 1/2 MiniCard, Dell Latitude E
1 330-7461 No Intel vPro Technology Advanced Management Features, Dell Latitude/Mobile Precision
1 330-7385 Resource DVD with Diagnostics and Drivers for Latitude E6510
1 421-9856 Latitude On Reader for Latitude Notebooks
1 312-7412 6-cell (60Wh) Primary Battery for Latitude
1 909-1318 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus Return To Depot, Extended Year(s)
1 909-1327 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus Return To Depot, Initial Year
1 923-1292 Contract - Mail-In Service, 24x7 Technical Support, 2 Year Extended
1 926-2240 Contract - Mail-In Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
1 900-9987 Standard On-Site Installation Declined
1 330-7465 Intel Core i5 Processor

 

Can someone check whether the fingerprint reader shows up under the Windows 7 Biometric Devices? Or is it pretty much useless like the one on the E6400 and E6500?