New M6500 Discussion Thread

phew! I was able to dig through the BT setup folder and find the DFU (direct firmware update) and update the firmware again and things went through, I suppose it got corrupted on the last update from my phone trying to connect via BT and I'm sure surfing the web and chatting while it installed weren't too helpful either.

Just an FYI if anyone decides to check out the m6500 driver page and you click on the Applies to: "Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module" link it says the release date was 2/23/2010 which isn't the 12/2/2009 on the main drivers page.

Edit: Just so everyone knows the reinstall and firmware update helped me with pairing devices and dropping connections, it seems much more solid now.

 

I have a question about the processor, is everyone using the processor setting and drivers as they are out of the box or is there somehting that can be done to help make it perform better?

Just a question, its not that I am not getting the best speeds I just wanted to make sure I'm not missing out on anything.

 

The only thing I have done is set the power settings to High Performance. Can't think of anything else other than regular reg/defrag etc cleanup.

 

uh nbr lost my post so ill say it again:
get as much of the fastest ram you can afford (MHz) I hear cas latencies don't matter too much and since the 920 has the unlocked fsb or whatever the faster the better. As for software just get a program like ccleaner to keep windows fresh.

 

My Bluetooth light can go off easily by right clicking the bluetooth icon in the desktop tray and selecting "Turn Adapter Off". I had to install the Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module driver from: Drivers & Downloads

 

that's the same one I downloaded today. you wouldn't happen to remember when you downloaded yours would you?

 

About a month back I think. I posted here and when everyone just said that I should right click on the bluetooth icon in the desktop tray to turn off Bluetooth, I figured that I needed to install the driver to see the icon so I proceeded to download it from Dell's website and it is working fine for me now. The icon doesn't show for you?

 

I have the icon and it does turn off the radio when i disable it, it seems, the BT just will not go out, even if i disable it in the bios the light stays on.

 

Hello folks, I'm very slowly considering replacing an aging M90 with a M6500. I'll have more questions as I spec it out further, but for now can you tell me a few things? I use it for enginerding stuff; Solidworks CAD and ABAQUS FEA and digital photography; Photoshop and Lightroom. Thanks so much! Questions:

1. Can I get non-glare in the LED screen? Can you show me how non-glare the screens are? I won't buy a glossy screen, this is a biggie for me. If you're up on color calibration, don't miss my last question below.

2. I was thinking of getting a SSD as the boot & programs disk and a HDD for data storage. For just boot and programs I have 60GB in my current computer today, so could go with 128GB... but what is best? I'm not at all up to speed on the latest with SSDs. Left to my own, I'd might choose the 256GB offering.

3. Is there any configuration that allows the use of SAS laptop drives?
Newegg.com - Fujitsu MBD2300RC 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SAS 6Gb/s Enterprise Hard Drive -Bare Drive
otherwise I'd get a 500GB 7200rpm SATA
Newegg.com - HITACHI Travelstar 7K500 HD20500 IDK/7K 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive

4. Is the Intel Wifi stronger than the Dell?

5. Read somewhere that 2 of the 4 memory slots are under the keyboard. Is it no big deal to pull up the keyboard? Got instructions somewhere? Figuring on these, price delta is isn't huge:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSQ
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBSQ
I'd recon start with Dell 2GB + my 8GB until prices are smoking.

BONUS Question. So there's no DVI. I'd want to use and color calibrate my NEC 2690wuxi monitor with this, using the NEC spectraview software. How can you calibrate an external monitor with this laptop? Also, I'm wondering from photographers and graphics folks how dim you can run this laptop LED screen before it falls apart? For comparison I run the 2690 at 85 cd/m^2... quite dim by most folk's standards but great for comparison to my Epson 7900 inkjet. I think there's a way to test this by making a gradient image in PS, switch the softproof or whatnot to the monitor ICC profile and look for banding.

Thanks! Ralph

 

If you don't take the Covet design, you'll always get a matte display. (The Covet has a matte display too, but due to the glas pane in front of it you'll have some reflections.)

The M6500 has no external interface that supports data rates of 6Gb/s. Theroretically an adapter via e-SATA, USB 3.0 or ExpressCard might be possible, but I know none. If they exist, they will still slow down the transfer. I'd suggest to simply use e-SATA.

It's pretty easy. Remove the hinge cover by unclipping it on the sides, then you'll see 4 screws fixing the keyboard. Release them and slide the keyboard towards the display. Then you'll see the RAM sockets in the area where the cursor keys are situated. While reinserting the keyboard make sure to put it absolutely flat on the notebook. Don't insert it like RAM modules (holding it in a slight angle). Otherwise the screws on the underside will miss theit'r holes and the keyboard won't be plane.
Somewhere around page 20 of this thread you'll find an archive containing disassembly instructions with images for almost all components of the M6500.

The M6500 has Display Port instead, which is an open interface and 100% downward compatible to DVI.