Latitude E6510 Owner's Lounge

Yes, that is what I mean.

 

My machine lists 6 different drivers for the chipset, but there's also a BIOS update out there.

Do I just download the BIOS update, install it (not uninstalling version A05?), and assume it's fine?

I'm considering just going for a factory reimage.

 

You can't uninstall a BIOS. Assuming you can, what will happen is simple. You turn on your computer and nothing happens, meaning you have a black screen, the fan spins at full speed, and every hardware component in your computer goes "Soooo... do I boot? No answer? ok I'll wait...".

Your Dell system doesn't come with a factory image. You only have Windows and your drivers.

There is only 1 chipset drivers that you get. You can get.
If you want on the site, you can enter your Service tag, and it will show you only the drivers relevant to your laptop.

 

I was messing with the display settings, but was trying to be very careful not to save anything. Nevertheless, I messed up my display settings and it looks TERRIBLE now and I can't seem to fix it. Contrast is pretty bad though I was able to get it a little better. Text is really bad and I can't fix it - tried with and without cleartype, but can't get it back to normal.

Is there any way to get back to factory display settings?

 

What is your graphic card (Intel or Nvidia)?

 

It's the Intel graphics card using system memory. Messed around with the settings some more to try to get the laptop display to look good without success. But now my external monitor (at the office) also looks bad.

 

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to get a new laptop after more than 5.5 years with my current machine. After getting some recommendations from the "what should I buy" forum, I'm currently leaning toward the E6510 (my initial post is here). It took a few days, but I've read though this thread and got a lot of useful info. But before I pull the trigger on anything I wanted to get some input from the folks here on a couple of things...

1. I’ll mostly use the laptop for web browsing, office programs, watching movies (including hooking up to my HD TV with the Display Port), and photo editing. I may rarely do light video editing and run video game emulators as well. Given this kind of usage, what would be the best CPU/graphics combination? If I go with the i3, will integrated graphics be enough? I want as little heat and noise as possible, but I also don’t want movie playback to suffer.

2. How is the noise level? For example, how close to you have to be to the laptop to hear the fan in a quiet room? From what I’ve read it appears to be pretty quiet, but I just want to be sure.

3. I’ve read some people complaining about CPU whine. It seems like it’s impossible to predict whether or not this problem will occur, but does this particular model seem to have this problem a lot?

4. Are there any known issues with using the 1333mhz RAM with dual core processors or should I not be concerned about this at all?

5. From reading this thread, it seems like a lot of the problems people are having are related to drivers being bad, out of date, etc. Will I have to constantly fix bad drivers and do manual updates just to keep the system running? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I just want to make sure I get a system that’s not going to be a chore to maintain.

6. Does the surface of the palm rests tend to wear down and get discolored over time? That happened with my current laptop and bothered me so much that I put duct tape over the palm rests to cover it up. I don’t know if mine just has cheap plastic or if this kind of wear is inevitable in all laptops.

7. Is it true that you can ask Dell for a no bloatware install when you place your order, and would this be possible when ordering online? I guess a better question would be if there are any advantages to ordering over the phone vs. online?

8. If I get a customized system from Dell’s site, how quickly can I expect to receive it relative to the estimated ship date? Normally I wouldn’t care about something like this, but I would like to have it for a trip I’m taking in early January.

Sorry for the wall of text and if any of these have already been answered thoroughly in the thread (it's hard to remember everything I've read over the past week). This is a large investment, and I just want to be as informed as possible. Any extra advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

The Intel GPU is the better choice for low heat and noise and, in the latest version, has quite good performance for any except 3D graphics. You can get the Intel GPU with any of the CPU options. An i5 CPU may be better than the i3 because of the extra performance that TurboBoost offers.

The Latitude fans purr, not whine, and are not very obtrusive.

I can't comment on the E6510 but I haven't noticed any whine from my E6410.

There should be no issues. I think all the 133MHz RAM have timings to run at 1066MHz which is all you will get with a dual core CPU.

Dell drivers do not automatically update. However, it is not a big chore to enter your service tag number into the Dell support site and check for the latest drivers. There have been far fewer issues and updates than with the first generation E series.

The black palm rests on my E6400 stayed black for the two years I was using it. It's a pretty stable colour.

Latitudes don't come with pre-installed bloatware.

I would expect the shipping dates to be reasonably reliable. However, I would recommend that you check the Dell Outlet stock for anything suitable. They come with the same warranty, have a significant price discount and ship within a few days.[/QUOTE]

If you are travelling then you may also want to look at the E6410 which is about 1lb (0.45kg) less heavy.

John

 

The 15.4" E65xxs are a scrunch less portable than the 14.1" E64xxs. But you may want more screen real estate for media work.

GK

 

As I don't have the laptop.. I can only answer you the questions I know: (I have the Latitude E E6400)

Assuming that by "video game emulator" you mean NES or SNES and MAYBE N64 console and not a Wii or GameCube, the Intel solution should fit your needs fine. If you plan to run a Wii/GameCube Emulator, then you need SERIOUS CPU and GPU power (mostly CPU to convert the the operation codes from the Wii processor to our laptop/desktop one and execute them, and using the GPU CUDA/OpenCL to assist the process of operation code conversion).... and that is with Wii graphics level, and not enhancing them to Wii HD type of thing, where you would need a high-end gaming desktop computer to handle that.

Of course, you always get what you paid for. A free GPU is a free GPU. Don't expect to run anything above Google Earth at default settings (assuming you want a 60fps experience and not a slide show). Yes you can play old games at minimum settings somewhat fine at 30fps.

Then again, as the Intel is a minimal GPU of sort, heat will be minimal even under stress.

To be exact, this is Intel CE1 technology fault. Since the arrival the Core 2 Duo, Intel specification for the power management, and license prohibits anyone from doing anything about it. The poor component quality specified and design makes the whine noise. This problem also affects desktop Core i series computers. But as with computers today, as we don't have a power issue, and that Vista/Win7 can already manged the system power including CPU clock properly, everyone disabled it. The only true fix is getting an AMD CPU.

Now, it's not as bad as I make it sound. Don't worry.
The whine from Intel CPU is minimal.. you have to be up close to your keyboard and large amount of people above age 25 can't even hear it, due to loss in hearing due to age or environment. And you need to be a in a very quiet room. I seriously don't notice mine, same for my desktop. The only reason why I hear it on my desktop, is because I use some hyper quiet fans (Noctua), and in a ultra quiet room. Basically it's impossible for me to know if my desktop is on or off.

Installing RAM faster than what your CPU can handle provides no harm, as it will slow down to specification. If you plan in getting your own RAM, like every computer you might have compatibility problems, so just expect to return it and try a different RAM module.

Once you get your system, I suggest to uninstall all the crap (if any - varies from where you live), and update all the drivers. Be sure to uninstall the old drivers, restart your computer and install the latest one, when updating the driver, don't write over (while it's not always a problem and annoying, it's just to minimize any potential issues).
Dell buisness crap, is minimal if you have some.. it should be some A/V trial and Office trial. In Canada, when I ordered my system, the system came with no crap at all. Super clean system. In my case, I had the latest drivers installed already, Roxio full version (not trial) - nice to have a burning software... they provide you with the disk, so you can uninstall with ease if you prefer a different program, and install it back if you change your mind anytime. And Power DVD, As Vista Business didn't have any DVD codec's, having PowerDVD full version, was very nice. But it's useless now, as Windows 7 already comes with superb DVD codec both in 32 and 64-bit flavor (64-bit codec for Win7 64-bit only, and you must use a 64-bit media player, like Windows Media Player 12 64-bit included in Win7 64-bit).

Unless Dell changed the plastic, my over than 2 years old Latitude E6400, is still the plastic is very very black.

This will depend on your where you live, you might need to ask the sales rep to ask his superior. On the phone you can negotiate free upgrade and price. If the rep says that you can't, or doesn't want to move much other than something silly as free shipping (which they always give you when you call), then end the conversation (say you are not interested), wait 5 min, and try with someone else. You need to fall on a senior sales rep who knows the system well.

Over the phone or online, it's about 2 weeks. Well Dell says 2 or 3 weeks, but I got mine and other Dell purchases much faster, from 1 week to 1 week and a half. This is assuming that their is no back-ordered parts. Dell has "Fast Track" service, where it's computers that are pre-build and ready to ship, you can't customize them, and they come as is.

Sorry for the wall of text and if any of these have already been answered thoroughly in the thread (it's hard to remember everything I've read over the past week). This is a large investment, and I just want to be as informed as possible. Any extra advice would be greatly appreciated![/QUOTE]