M6400 Reviews (post here)

Mine has stayed plugged in so far. With Maya "stable, but on probation" I think I can give it a try, but not tonight... Need to make a deadline tomorrow.

 

I have taken photos of my Covet screen in a typical (for me) work setting, in case anyone is interested to see how the glossiness plays in to things.

Note this pic is being sent to Dell to try and explain to them why it is that I cannot use a glossy screen (and why I am not so happy they all told me it was matte) so it is slightly biased, but all I did was pick up my camera while I was working and take photos. So it's real.

 

Dell Precision M6400

My Precision M6400 arrived yesterday.

• Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz,1066MHz,6MB)
• Graphiccard: NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M (with 1GB dedicated memory)
• Display: 17“ Widescreen WUXGA (1920X1200) with RGB Edge-To-Edge (E2E) Silver LCD Panel
• Webcam: Integrated 2 Mega Pixel Camera with Microphone for Edge to Edge Panel Silver Only
• Memory: 4096MB (2x2048) 1067MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
• Storage: 2x 320GB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
• Optical Drive: 8X DVD+/-RW Drive Slot
• Power supply: European 210W AC Adapter
• Battery : Primary 9-cell 85W/HR LI-ION in silver
• Wireless: EMEA Intel Pro Wireless WI-FI 5100 (802.11a/g/ Draft-n 1X2) MiniCard
• Keyboard : Internal German Qwertz Backlit Keyboard with number pad

I didn't choose the quad-core. I'd rather spend the money on the E2E screen and the Quadro FX 3700.

Built and Design

I didn't like the orange of the covet version. So I needed to wait till the silver version of the E2E Display was available.



Both versions differ only in their painting. The overall built quality ist great. Nevertheless, my M4400 seems to be better built and a bit sturdier.





The size of the M6400 (M4400) are:
Width: 393mm (358mm)
Depth: 280.5mm (257mm)
Thickness (front) 34.5mm (27mm)
Thickness (back) 38.5mm (33mm)






Display

The Covet-Version only has the E2E-RGB-LED screen. The silver standard version is available with 4 different screens. Additional to the basic wxga+ (1440x900 pixel) screen there are 3 different WUXGA (1980x1200) screens.

WXGA+ 1440x900 100 DPI matte (CCFL-backlit)
WUXGA 1920x1200 131 DPI matte (CCFL-backlit)
WUXGA 1920x1200 131 DPI matte (RGB-LED-backlit)
WUXGA E2E 1920x1200 131 DPI glossy (RGB-LED-backlit)



For most of the users the matte screens are the better choice. Nevertheless I use the M6400 in unproblematic settings so I choose the E2E glossy screen.
The anoying thing about the E2E screen aren't the reflections. If you buy a glossy screen you think you get better contrast as a trade-off for the reflections. Then why the hell did they built a matte screen under a glass plate??? So you get both disadvantages, reflections + worse contrasts of a matte screen. Very dissapointing!!

After all I like the E2E display. Compared to the matte LED screen in my M4400 I think the price is to high. Brightness is equal, the M440 has better contrasts, the M6400 a bit more naturall colors.






Keyboard, Touchpad and Trackpoint

The keyboard is LED backlit, feels gool, but has a flexing. The M4400 keyboard has a more direct typing. The trackpoint is a advancement to the D-Serie Latitude trackpoints, they are very usable, but still not as good as a Thinkpad trackpoint.
I really like the touchpad. I normaly don't use it, so Dell did a great job in adding a jog-shuffle-feature to the touchpad. It works well and really feels good.


Connetions

Extern:

• 1394 Powered 6-pin
• USB 2.0 (x4)
• VGA and Display Port
• PC-Card, Express-Card and a Smart-Card-Slot
• RJ-45
• Audio
• eSATA
• 8x Multicardreader

Intern:

• 3x Mini PCIe Fullsize
• 1x Mini PCIe Halfsize
• 4x DDR3 SO-Dimm Sockets
• 2x SATA for hdd
• Sim-Card-Holder

Mobility and Battery

I didn't have much time yet, but first tests gave me a battery time between 1-2 hours. The M4400 lasted in the same settings twice as long (with the 6-cell battery, the M6400 comes with a 9-cell battery!!)
Therefore the M6400 is a real desktop replacement. The huge power brick is another complain against a mobile usage. The M6400 definately looks smoother and smaller as it actually is. With the power supply it's twice as heavy as the M4400!!

Conclusion

Display, a bit disappointing. Built quality, good, but not as great as the M4400 built quality. Keyboard has a bit flexing, nevertheless very useable. If you're sometimes on the road, get the M4400, if you need pure power (and can deal with less battery life, less mobility, less built quality) get the M6400.

 

Great review...Its really interesting that you find the display disappointing but from the pics it looks abosolutely goregeous. I am sure everyone agrees that the price point for the E2E display is ridiculously insane. Well might hold off the upgrade for later then.

 

I personally don't think it is fair to compare the screen of the M4400 to that of the M6400. They are different sizes. a better comparison would be the E2E v matte screens of the M6400. I'm really looking forward to seeing what difference the E2E makes against the 6400s matte screen.

Incidentally, it looks like those two screens above nede to be calibrated. The colour range looks too different to make a definitive comparison, no?

My screen out of the box was set to 50 across the board. I dropped brightness and gamma to 35, leaving contrast at 50 and was happier with the display

 

The colors aren't "a bit more natural": Your standard laptop display such as the one on your M4400, out of the box, has god-awful color reproduction, with strong blueish-greenish tint. If you calibrate such a screen (using, say, a Spyder 2) so that you get at least a vaguely natural color reproduction, you'll loose of the order of 30% brightness at least. The screen on the M6400, on the other hand, is heads and shoulders above that. In other words, it is far, far more natural than anything else that Dell has ever offered...

P.S.: The "better contrast" of the M4400 is an illusion as well: It just appears that way, due to the wrong colors.

 

Got mine today. Haven't done any software testing yet. Basically the machine itself is pro, no complaints. Solid thru & thru. No annoying fluff, just the stuff you need.

Yes the E2E screen is fantastic, and believe me I can complain. I've got an HP DV8000 with the 17" Ultra BrightView 2-lamp gloss screen, which for me had been the best contrast & brightness I've seen on a laptop til now. Just browsing the web, ad banners, photos, icons POP with super vivid but accurate color, I noticed immediately. So yeah screen is great, don't even worry about it. People that hate on gloss in general will never go away but has nothing to do w/ this specific screen. Honestly I couldn't deal with another dulled out grainy matte screen after having this one for a day.

Same full size keyboard w/ numberpad just like my HP, works great, having the keyboard backlighting & the lightup-when-u-need-it jog shuttle is sick, love it. Sliiightly more sponginess on the keys when typing, but only noticed when I thought to lean down to look for it. Types great, fast as always so its a non-issue IMO, if anything more comfortable than the brick-solid clicky keys on the HP.

Everything has pretty much been said, but just wanted to add that the color of the machine is actually pretty cool, it's like car paint that changes depending on the lighting. Direct camera flash from 3ft, looks totally orange. In shadow it looks red, at other angles it's more rusted copper. Cool stuff, lots of little flecks in it. Not another sleep-inducingly boring early 90s grey/black standard thinkpad design or an ostentatious juvenile plastic logo'd thing yelling lookit me. Different but subtle about it, won't feel like a doofus carrying this around.




yeah, power brick is silly-big. the 2 Dport adapters in pink & blue bags




Displayport cord to HDMI lcd tv, works like a charm




"free" 19" monitor was pleasant surprise, fully adjustable, real nice




beside the hp dv8000




can't tell in this crap photo, but the E2E actually makes the ultra brightview look DULL




wider




lower

 

Great pics.

Glad to hear all is well for you, and that the build quality is good. Intoxicate mentioned the quality on his was ok. I have to say it is pretty good on mine, except for the small niggle that the area by the hole for the right latch on the palmrest has some travel in it, so when I lean my palm on it there is some travel accompanied by a popping sound caused by the plastic flexing. Only a minor issue, but it is bugging me, so I'll have to see if I can wedge the area somehow. Other than that the build quality is as good as my M90 and M6300 if not better.

 

Hm that might be annoying yeah. I was looking for dead pixels, scratches, squeaks... nothing. (knock on wood)

The exposed slot on the bottom kinda weirds me out, doesn't look normal, but saw other pics with the same thing. Odd.

 

My review which I'm also trying to post on Dells product page:

As a product development engineer, I think I well represent a target demographic for the M6400 (actually, I've designed similar products for a living). I use demanding engineering applications and travel daily to remote clients packing and unpacking the system multiple times every day. I’ve used my M6400 for 3 months now.

(A side note. Having experience in the design field, I tend to be not-so critical of challenging product designs. On the other hand, I immediately recognize and appreciate products that are designed well. This is my first workstation-class laptop computer. My observations are relative to other smaller form-factor laptops.)

Bottom line: I find myself looking for reasons to justify the cost of this machine. It does have performance and display quality going for it. I guess I’m hooked on the mobile performance because the system is rapidly deteriorating in ways that don’t inspire confidence. I hope it lasts a year.

Pros:
- Performance. The machine screams.
- LED display is hands-down brilliant. Only a slight lowering in brightness with angle otherwise viewing angle appears 180° (only very slightly uneven illumination noticeable when screen is all black)
- The dedicated 1280x1024 DB-15 video connector is very handy for presentations.
- Good layout of keys -- arrows and number pad made possible by wide screen.

Cons
- Price
- The power adapter is HUGE. Just massive.
- Many dell driver updates spanning a month before the system was acceptably stable (XP32). This was mainly due to anti-helpful technical support -- telling me not to install storage drivers which, when installed, fixed things.
- 500MB of RAM is not available to the system regardless if you have 1 or 4GB of RAM installed (possible deceptive advertising if RAM is indeed shared with video).
- The over-all quality of construction is poor. Although the internal and external alloy chassis pieces are impressive, the overall feel of the product is flimsy with respect to weight & size.
- Tremendous keyboard flex.
- Speaker grill above the keyboard is flimsy and poorly snaps in place, perpetually wavy.
- The PC/SC card eject button disappeared. Pulled out and lost? The likelihood of this eventually happening was probably high because it’s located on the very corner of system. (Or was it missing when delivered? hmm)
- The slot-load DVD player sounds like a mechanical cookie monster! It emits an astonishing amount of clatter when loading and unloading. (or am I too critical?)
- The systems corners at the bottom left and right of the palmrests are, well, sharp and unkind to forearms.
- Paint showed showing sings of wear at the outside edges and corners after 2 months of use.
- A Display Port to HDMI adapter is not standard. Which would be handy as Display Port is not (yet?) common.
- Dell’s Control Point Software appears redundant and often in conflict with many existing system utilities.
- Why is there a wireless smart card reader logo molded into the palmrest just right of the touch pad? I didn’t order the option. The option isn’t installed.
- Lack of adequate documentation. For example, I have been unable to determine, easily and with certainty, the following: (I challenge you to do the same)
-- Does the system use shared memory with the Video Card?
-- What resolutions are available through the Display Port?
-- What is the mating docking port product number?
-- Specifically, what type of memory does it use? (for a third party upgrade)