Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge *Part 2*

Did get it working with latest NVidia drivers with instructions from here and here. I've used only PerfLevelSrc=0x2222. The card runs now with constant speed. The drawback - more power usage on battery and plugged in

 

I've got a T9600/FX 1700M and heartily recommend repasting. Even some cheapo Coolermaster IC Value V1 (was the only paste in the nearest shop) did the trick for me and now I can game till the morning. Giving the laptop a few cm breathing room with some spacer(s) is a must though considering the puny fan on those hot guts.

 

Hi all.
I'm wondering if there is a way to mount a small SSD in the WWAN slot of the Dell Precision m4400
Has anybody direct experience of this ? In the case it is possible, should I buy a
msata or a mini-pcie model ?

(I already upgraded my Windows Vista Ult. 64 bit to Windows 8, and my HD to a SSD,
but I liked the idea to have a smaller SSD in WWAN slot to boot Linux,
even I have little hope this is possible).

thanks,
g.

 

Which SSD are you running as the main drive in your M4400? I've checked out several, but can't seem to make a decision on which one is the best for this Dell.

 

Intel 320 Series, hands down. Keeping in mind the M4400 is 3gbit SATA, anything more is a bit of a waste. Intel 320 series has extra flash so a bank of it can fail, whereas the 330 series does not. Rock solid stable, much better than the OCZ Agility, Crucial C300, and Crucial M4 I've had installed in it at various times.

Off topic, my TPM chip seems to have died or is dying. System won't boot with it enabled. I'm saddened by this. I use drivers (security and others) from M4600 (video drivers from the M4400 though).

Michael

 

I have a cheap Samsung 830 128Gb which seems to work fine. I do not need a lot of space since I'm not
in games or multimedia: currently the program I use most under Windows is Remote Desktop to connect to one of my
linux machines...

 

Well, here I am ....Santa didn't bring me an SSD for Christmas.

Of course, I didn't write him a letter asking for one, so maybe I am to blame.

I did end up with some extra $ in my stocking...and still on the lookout for one of those Intel 320 series that was recommended.

I was tempted to buy myself a Crucial M4...because they seem to readily available and quite affordable. But I will keep looking.

 

Help!

I have a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter cable plugged into my M4400. The HDMI port is plugged into a 50" Panasonic Viera Plasma HDTV that shows the M4400 video perfectly. Windows 7 (Pro 32-bt) recognizes the Panasonic HDTV and gives me the correct options for graphic resolutions on that screen.

So far, so good.

On the audio side, I AM getting the M4400's IDT HD audio (speakers) automatically channeled through the DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. However there are a couple of problems:

1) I cannot control the volume level on the PC. It apparently is passed at either 0% or 100% volume. I have to use the TV remote to control the audio level.

2) I've seen screen shots showing a Dell IDT audio driver that has the "HDMI" device displayed in the Windows Control Panel screen. My IDT HD Audio Control Panel only shows the Speakers and the Headphones. The HDMI device is not there.

Does this require a different driver? I've downloaded the latest version for the M4400 from the Dell support site, but it does not ever show HDMI as an option.

I've search the threads looking for an answer. If I am missing it, please give me a pointer!

Thanks!!!! and Happy New Year!!!

P.S. - Should be a separate post, but I've already started typing. My M4400 was working great as an "HTPC" (Home Theater PC) this holiday season. Mainly streaming HD movies off Netflix and Amazon Prime, but also watching live TV via a Diamond ATI USB tuner.

Then something caused a "glitch" and it suddenly would not boot for me.

I was getting the dreaded "blinking num lock" LED signal. (Look that up using the search feature here and you will find it's a sign of a terminal CPU or motherboard failure.)

Before melting down, first I did some more reading and troubleshooting. I went to the DELL support web site, read up, and followed their advice to "reseat" my P8700 CPU. I also added some thermal paste, to the CPU and Nvidia Quadro chip, while I had the fan and heatsink out. That did NOT fix my problem though.

However, before going into total panic mode, I did some more searching on this site, and found a vague reference to "clearing the CMOS" as one more potential solution. That did the trick!

So, my advice is...if you have an M4400 that is exhibiting the dreaded "flashing num lock led" error, BEFORE you freak out...try clearing the CMOS memory. You have to disconnect the button battery and let the CMOS memory run down or short the pins to speed up the process. Then, reconnect the battery, close the case and reboot. May instantly fix your problem, as it did mine.

 

Hey guys, I have a used M4400 that I picked up a couple months ago. Got it for $325 and while the CPU isn't as powerful as something brand new in that price range, the 1920x1200 screen absolutely DESTROYS pretty much anything you can get brand new for less than $1,000-$1,300. I was originally running Linux but I now have it hackintoshed which works quite well.

I'm looking at investing a little money into it and I'd like to have the thoughts of some other M4400 owners. My main goal is to reduce heat and improve battery life.
Planned changes:

- Swapping out the machine's T9400 for a P9600
- Applying some good thermal paste on the CPU (likely Arctic Silver 5)
- Installing an Intel 330 SSD
- Buying a new battery or two

Would it be worth the money? How does the P9600 perform compared to the T9400?
Also, is it reasonably easy to apply new paste on the GPU heatsink?

 

If you're not aware, the M4400 supports the QX9300 (quad core). You might even want to consider that if you're going for bang for buck power.

Be careful on the Arctic Silver, because it's conductive, and the places that need it on this system, it would be very easy to cause problems. Perhaps a non-conductive thermal greases is preferable.

I highly recommend the Intel 320 SSD over the 330. The 320 series is just a better design over all (such as having on-board backup power to flush the cache to disk, as well as the extra NAND allowing a full chip to fail).

Batteries can be a bit pricey for the M4400 (new, original). That said, they also make a battery slice (an external battery), but it makes the system too bulky, I've honestly never used mine.

Michael