Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge

use the search function. i've already mentioned several times the existence of an overclocking thread for the m4400

 

I'm in the same position as fignuts. I used to have a T43p with Flexview but then went to a T61p. Mine is the 14" 1400x1050 screen, but I've had problems with getting the right brightness and contrast since day 1. I'm finally fed up with it and ordered the M4400 last week with the RGB display. I sure hope I'm not dissapointed, but after reading fignuts latest comments, I'm afraid I might be...I may just have to go back to the T43p.

 

Don't expect the m4400 to run alongside the Sager Np8660 and you won't be disappointed. The Quadro in this thing is a mid range card for gaming. It's a 128 bit card, and will eventually settle down at what it's capable of sustaining I don't get overheated, or 'underclocked', after hours of strategy gaming at native res and med high settings....but try to run Crysis at 16AA and the machine isn't capable. Get a Sager for that, a 17 incher, or build yourself a desktop

I think some people expect too much out of it because you can equip it with a Quad CPU...so it gives a 'gaming' impression that is false. That said, I'm pleased with it but I knew what games I would be running before I bought it. I love the Bright LED screen, and the onsite support as I make my living on this. It's all a matter of tradeoffs when selecting a notebook. That said, I really do love this notebook and it's bright screen...I consider myself a gamer, and love this notebook all the way around. I hope you do too...let us know.

 

Just dont mess up 17"ers with 15"ers...

 

So I've finally decided on getting the M4400 as my next laptop. I've hammered out most of my specs I just have a few questions regarding some of the upgrades. Any advice you guys can give me would be great

1. I'm wondering which screen to get. Is there a big difference between the 1280x800 LED and the 1440x900 LED? My eyes aren't as great as they used to be and I would think that 1440x900 would look pretty small on a 15-inch screen

2. Is the Intel wireless 5300 card worth the upgrade from the dell models or even the 5100 one?

3. I would like at least 2-3 hours of regular use like surfing the web, ms office work, etc... while using the battery. 3+ hours would be best. Is the 6-cell battery fine for this or should I spring for the 9-cell. if it helps, here are some of the other specs:

Intel core 2 duo T9550
NVIDIA Quadro FX 770
4GB RAM
320GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
internal backlit keyboard

4. I'm hung up a bit on the OS. I'm definitely going to get the XP Pro downgrade but the Vista Ultimate upgrade is relatively cheap over the Business one. Windows 7 is just around the corner and I'll probably upgrade after it comes out. So even at the cheap price do you still think it's worth it or should I just wait?

Price isn't too much of an issue as I can get a great discount on this machine via a friend. I already plan on saving on the RAM and HD by getting upgrades from newegg or some other online retailer. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

on a couple of issues:
IMO the 5300 card is worth it...has better signal capabilities
the 1440.900 LED screen is what I have, and with trifocals I find it just about right, but I am used to a 1680.1050 15 inch screen. The brightness of this screen is a joy to tired eyes.
OS? I'd get the cheapest Vista because of drivers for now, and go Windows 7 down the road.
The backlighted keyboard is just plain 'cool'...stay with it

 

Depending on your main use of the laptop, I would go with 1440x900... Resolution is really a personal preference. I personally prefer more stuff on the screen - I do not enjoy scrolling.

My 5300 in my W500 does not have the signal strength my 5100 had in the dell.

If you will use it for any media use - go with Ultimate. 7 is around the corner, but its not that close to wait for what you want to use your laptop for. Make sure you go with the 64bit since you've got 4GB.

2-3 hours, the 6 cell should be sufficient if you don't want the added weight and size.

The back lit keyboard is a must-have.

Good luck with your new machine.

Hope this helps.

 

I don't really want a fast laptop or need good graphics, I just want the best screen possible in a 14" or 15" size. So here I am with the M4400 on order. Any other laptops with a display better then the RGB LED?

 

the 2ccfl and RGBLED screens are the best in class, you wont find a better one elsewhere. having said that, if you dont need the very wide gamut of the RGBLED display, its better to go for the 2ccfl one. its brighter and outdoor viewable, dosent require any calibration. its best if you research the RGBLED display before buying it, as you may be disappointed if you dont calibrate it properly and profile it.

the M4400 is fine for casual gaming, its a decent mid range rig for gaming. but it wasnt designed for that, it was designed to be a mobile workstation, and quadcore is available to satisfy customers who need number crunching power, not extra frame rates in crysis

the m4400 was my choice because of the excellent build quality, and super reliable support.

its my main machine, and if anything happens i cant afford the downtime. the NBD prosupport service is brilliant.

i do play the occasional game, but im not a hardcore gamer, so a mid range card like the FX770 fills my needs well.

for the price i paid for the m4400, i could get a better specced sager or clevo etc, but they are not balanced machines, they dont have very good battery life, the keyboards arnt as nice, and the screens arnt as nice too.

i dint mind paying the extra for the m4400 to get the support, and a balanced feature set thats good for productivity first, entertainment second

there used to be a poster (I RAM) that in the end got frustrated with his purchase, and sold it to replace it with a core i7 desktop, because he bought it for the wrong reasons, for gaming!

 

Got the 4400 with the RGB-LED yesterday.

Did not expect my XP downgrade from Vista 64 bit to be 64 bit as well. Well, so far only Norton refuses to play nicely. Had to install Avast antivirus instead - seems to work fine.

The screen is as expected. Nice colors, bright, but huge TN panel color shift depending on the vertical viewing angle. Can't see any dead pixels. The backlight bleeds thru all 4 edges, but not badly.

Used the i1Dispay2 on it. I'm fairly ignorant as far as finer points of calibration, but the final result seems to be acceptable. The reds are a little stronger than the other colors, but not by much. That's the one thing that frustrates me about laptop calibration. I'm used to doing RGB adjustment on my desktop IPS displays, but here the only thing I can change during calibration is the brightness control. Tomorrow I'll try turning down the red channel in the NVIDIA control panel and then I'll re-calibrate with i1Display2. That may bring the red curve closer to the others. Or the i1D2 may wipe out the NVIDIA changes. We'll see.

By the way, i1D2 thinks brightness should be turned way down.

Color accuracy will depend greatly on vertical viewing angle. Need to figure the optimal angle for best color. Not sure how - maybe print a photo and then move the screen till the sceen and the photo colors match?

The noise level with BIOS A12 is very acceptable with a light workload. I keep the back of the machine 1.5 inches off the desk surface. Haven't tried any real stress testing yet. So far, when the fan speeds up, it wind noise, not anything too annoying.

Anyone out there with an i1D2 want to chime in?