New M6500 Discussion Thread

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I saw this, which HP do for about the same price:

Core i7-720QM 4x 1.60GHz • 8192MB (2x 4096MB) • 500GB • Blu-ray (BD-ROM) and DVD+/-RW DL • NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M 1024MB • 4x USB (2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0)/Modem/Gb LAN/WLAN 802.11abgn/Bluetooth/eSATA • DisplayPort • ExpressCard/54 slot and smart card reader • card reader • Fingerprint reader • Webcam (2.0 megapixels) • 17" WUXGA non-glare LED TFT (1920x1200) • Windows 7 Professional • Li-Ion battery (8 cells) • 3.57kg • 12 months warranty

So I set about throwing the net wider... luckily I have the luxury of time, I'm not buying for another month or so. Do you think the M4500 price is set too high?

Lenovo also do a rig for £250 less only the gfx card seems to be the main reason it's cheaper, they look interesting, know anything about Thinkpads?

Intel Core i7-820QM Processor (8M Cache, 1.73 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
15.6" HD+ Anti-Glare Display with LED Backlight and WWAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M Graphics with 1GB DDR3 memory
8 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (4 DIMM)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)
6 cell 2.6Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
ThinkPad WiFi (BGN)
Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network upgradable

Also, this, which looks awesome, for only £200 more, with only 2 gigs onboard, which I could update with my next paycheck...

Processor: Intel Core i7-820QM Processor (8M Cache, 1.73 GHz)
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
Display type: 17" WUXGA RGB-LED-BL 1
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M 96-core CUDA parallel computing processor 1GB (dedicated) 1
Base: W701 Base for Planar eSATA, USB3.0 1
Total memory: 2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM) 1
Keyboard: Keyboard UK English 1
Pointing device: Ultranav + Number Pad + Fingerprint Reader 1
Storage subsystem: Internal RAID - Not Enabled 1
Primary Hard Drive: 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm 1
Optical device: Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm) 1
System expansion slots: Express Card(54mm) + Express Card(34mm) 1
Battery: 9 cell Li-Ion Battery 1
Power cord: Country Pack United Kingdom with DT Line cord & 230W AC adapter 1
Bluetooth: Bluetooth w/ antenna 1
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: ThinkPad WiFi (BGN) 1
Language pack: Language Pack UK English 230W AC adapter

 

Sure it is. But you'll hardly notice it. If you take one battery in each hand you'll feel it. But I doubt weather you can still tell the difference if they are mounted to two identical M4500 and are asked to point at the heavier one.

According to the weight, this is 15" too. The Bluray, graphics card and display (1200Px vertical) make it tempting compared to the M4500. But I'm not sure if a 2800M can be properly handled by that machine.

As a Linuxer I'd always call a Thinkpad a good choice.
What is the 1st one? is it 17" (W701)? I guess so because of the 4 RAM sockets. But the graphics card seems to be underpowered for such a machine. That wouldn't bother me, I'd go for it. But maybe it should bother you.
The 2nd one looks more balanced. Frankly, I would have gone for it if it were out in January and available without Windows.

 

I'm now looking at this config, I pay £500 more than for the M4500, but it seems worth it - don't know why I didn't shop around to begin with!

Intel Core i7-820QM Processor (8M Cache, 1.73 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64bit)
17" WUXGA RGB-LED-BL
NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M 96-core CUDA parallel computing processor 1GB (dedicated)
8 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Ultranav + Number Pad + Fingerprint Reader + Pantone Color Sensor + WACOM Digitizer w/ Stylus
320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)5
9 cell Li-Ion Battery60
Bluetooth w/ antenna
ThinkPad WiFi (BGN)1

 

Sorry for the delay in responding, I needed to confirm some items with our engineering team. Here are some troubleshooting steps if you are having issues with USB 3.0.
1. Ensure that the 2 USB ports on the left side of the system are blue inside. If they are black inside, like the right side, then you do not have USB 3.0.
2. Boot into the BIOS and ensure that the USB 3.0 feature is turned on.
3. Once the system is booted ensure that the USB 3.0 driver software is installed. If you are not sure, then download the driver software from the Dell support site and install after you have done step 2.
USB 3.0 is not supported for boot, when booting to an external device connected to the USB 3.0 ports you are booting using USB 2.0. USB 3.0 is not enabled until after the system reaches the OS.
If you are still having issues with USB 3.0 then please contact Dell tech support as you might have a bad USB 3.0 daughter card.

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you for getting us the steps to check.

 

I installed the USB 3.0 drivers, and almost started thinking why I actually chose USB 3.0 -- now I just have a small process running all the time waiting for something 3.0 to be connected; which I don't own ;D

 

Okay, now I checked all the manuals I could find without spending too much time on it, but I am curious... underneath the M6500, one the square panel you take off to access the hardware inside, there's a small button-like thing on the right hand side at one of the corners. It's hidden under a small rubber cover, which is already breaking off on mine.

But... what is it?

Too tired to take it apart to find out today, but unless someone knows, I might just end up doing it to get that curiosity to stop nagging me

 

Hello, I need urgent laptop.I bought refurbished m6500 from ebay. so far so good. can someone please tell me if any tool/sw to check if any defect in the machine. I want to test all the parts of the laptop.

I also have other question, I earlier had xp professional installed but i installed win 7 professional. after installing win 7 professional, my screen looks darker and dimmer.
I have RGB led LG screen.

in XP prof, screen was looking very good but now looks dimmer and dull.

any idea how to improve the screen dullness? I see win7 itself is very dull and blueish which is giving dullness.

Any question - how do I install another hard disk?? I have only one harddisk.

Appreciate for the help.

 

I need some help guys.

I just bought a M6500, and I've installed many things on it when I realised it was in RAID mode

I tried to put AHCI in the bios but I have a BSOD when win 7 64bit loads. I tried to do the trick that microsoft describes to get windows to boot in ahci mode but it doesn't work (it seems that it is because of the INTEL driver).
I also tried to instal manually the ahci driver, but you can't force driver install anymore on win 7 64bit. It tells me the drivers are not compatible with 7 64bit, although I know they are.

Do you have a solution which does not involve full reinstallation ?