Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge *Part 2*

I think so. I installed the latest driver (even though it was installed) and I haven't had any more problems. I will post back if I have anymore information on this. Now to compile the list of upgrades I want to do:

1. CPU - Either a Q9200 or P9700
2. 8GB DDR2 800
3. WXGA+ LCD
4. Broadcom HD BCM70012

That should make my system smoke. I am leaning more towards the Q9200 because that would let me run 4 threads. I already have an SSD in here, so next would be the RAM, then LCD and finally HD decoder card (not sure if it's necessary or not). The upgrades were listed in the order I plan on / would like to do them in.

 

Hi guys. Long time lurker, first time poster.

I got my E6500 a couple years ago and I fell in love with it. Today I replaced the base and motherboard of it with a Precision M4400 with the FX1700M. I still have my T9400 2.5GHz C2D but I plan on getting a Core 2 Quad. Specs:

Core 2 Duo T9400 2.5GHz
64GB SSD and 250GB HDD in the module bay
1920x1200 screen
4GB RAM

The new motherboard came with a Bluetooth and WiFi N 5GHz cards which is really nice. It also came with a fingerprint reader but for some reason I simply can't get it to work. I installed what I think I needed to and the reader shows up installed in the device manager but there's nothing about it in the Dell Control Point thingy. Anyone got any solutions? (Windows 7 64 bit and Windows XP 32 bit are installed on it.) Also, I can't find out whether or not I can use an msata SSD in it.

Also, anyone wanna buy a working E6500 motherboard and base with a 160M?

 

You cannot use an mSATA drive in that machine. The M4500 and newer yes, the Precisions older than that generation, no.

Nice way to upgrade your E6500. I love my M4400, hope yours works out nicely for you.

 

Well, you can if you do something silly like use a SATA to mSATA adapter in the primary bay... or one of those double mSATA adapters in the optical bay!

 

You are correct.

that solution is...creative. But it would work.

 

I am considering M4400/E6500 as a backup notebook. Of course, I'd like to upgrade it heavily if I do buy it. Please correct me if I'm wrong about my expectations.

CPU - QX9300 - is it overclockable, and how's cooling handling it?
MB - as far as I understand, I have a selection of Intel X4500MHD alone, and combined with either FX770M (Quadro counterpart for 9600M GT) or FX1700M (Quadro counterpart for 9650M GT), thus any of it is Optimus-enabled, and they're identical otherwise? Are all these motherboards the same in terms of CPU and LCD support? How about bluetooth? Is igpu-only version worse in terms of cooling?
Memory - 2x4GB DDR2? Will eGPU work with 8GB RAM?
Storage - single HDD slot and single ODD slot, also esata port?
LCD - would go for LTN154CT04-D01 certainly - will it work with any M4400/E6500 motherboard?
mPCIe - single for wireless network adapter? is it whitelisted?
Keyboard - does backlighted work with any motherboard?
Sound - is it the same between E6500/M4400?
Other - expresscard/34 and older cardbus slots, nothing else of interest?

p.s. my internet connection is very poor at the moment, I can't download the service manual and even NBR is barely working for me, thus I expect direct answer without links if possible.

 

You can't get a M4400 motherboard with just the X4500 (unless you want to get an E6500 motherboard, in which case you can't use a quad)... all M4400 are dGPU. There is the 770m and 1700m as you have mentioned, but neither are optimus enabled.

2x4GB RAM should work, don't know about eGPU.

The dual CCFL screen will work with any E6500 or M4400 provided you have the right lid, bezel, display cable, etc.

No wifi cards are whitelisted.

Backlit keyboard works with all motherboards.

 

Commander Wolf, thanks a lot for your answers. iGPU+dGPU is indeed Thinkpad W500 feature, however unlike M4400 it doesn't support quad-core CPUs, which makes them of no interest to me.

 

I have an M4400 in active service with a P8600 CPU, 4GB DDR2, and an SSD with the low end 1280x800 LCD. It can get rather warm going full tilt. If you do go with the QX9300 which is a great CPU be prepared for some serious heat. Of course when installing the CPU you would do a proper cleaning of the cooling system and use a quality TIM. Still though if you are planning on using it on you lap, I would highly suggest a notebook cooler of some sort. There is thread in the acessories forum for this. The heat is one of the reasons I moved my M4400 to backup duty and my Thinkpad T410 to primary duty. That and carrying it different customer locations everyday. It's a heavy, but powerful beast. I wish you luck in your quest. I love my M4400 and hope you love the one you get.

 

Hey guys,

A couple days ago while I was cleaning the exhaust and changing the thermal paste on my M4400, I noticed that towards its center a thin portion of one of the thermal pads on the northbridge/VRAM (?) had flaked off. I put everything together and it seems to be running happily, even under strain, but it’s left me feeling uncomfortable ever since. Should I worry about replacing it, or will things be fine?

And on that subject, what serves as a good replacement for those thermal pads? I can’t imagine that they transfer heat particularly well and they’re rather thick, so finding a copper shim to fill the gap may be difficult.