Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge

at madengineer

don't be too impressed with the military standard test blabla...i read an article on that (dunno where) but they did about 3-4 test (out of 20 something) and those were passed....just marketing crap. Judge build-quality etc based on user reviews and hands-on expierence

 

Hey LPTP-LVR.

All of my testing was with no audio interface hooked up -- it was on the stock hardware with no peripherals attached. With the Pro Tools MBox2 Micro (a USB device) attached (and eSATA on), Pro Tools wouldn't play back tracks without throwing an error. Now with eSATA off, Pro Tools appears to work well (without disabling the onboard audio). But if I run into a problem with the Pro Tools device, I'll try your suggestion.

 

I'm new here but have referenced this forum several times about issues - got here from Google each time. Great forum and hugely helpful in pre and post purchase issues with M4400.

I have had my M4400 for 2 weeks now. Running 64 bit Vista (Bus) and all software works great. Had to do some digging to find 64bit versions of everything or 32bit version that worked well on this OS. Purchased thu Dell Australia so some options different to US but got close to top spec in most things (2.8Ghz, 4Gb ram, 1920x1200 display, 250Gb hd, FX770M, 9 cell, etc). Had to ring up to make order because many options not on web such as 64 bit. Bios A06.

This is my fourth Dell notebook (before that a few Toshibas) and its an awesome machine in ALL respects. A few comments about some issues I have seen in this forum:

. My sound is excellent. Either external PC speakers or cable from headphone port to hifi. Sounds great. Using Windows Media Player and mp3s. No drop outs or any glitches.

. External eSata is fast. More than double USB copying speed.

. Bluetooth included and works fine on 64bit Vista

. Display excellent - Samsung screen.

. I don't play any games. Software the usual plus vmware, Oracle and Toad, Nero 7, Acrobat 8 writer.

Only thing so far that I am not happy with is FAN Noise. When I have external 22" Dell monitor connected (extended desktop), after a short while the fan goes up to highest speed and stays there. Noisier than my high spec desktop next to it (well on the floor anyway). I have the back of the notebook sitting on a book so air flows under the cpu fan area. It runs quite cool to the touch. If I put it flat on a desk it runs a lot hotter. Graphics card must have to work harder to drive 22" monitor but I can't feel it getting hotter. Fan just decides it is required. Could be the issue I saw early in this forum where thermal paste has not been applied very well. If this continues then I'll call Dell.

 

lol yeap, i read the same article you are referring to right here in NBR, under HP section for their elitebook series.

I am aware of the "marketing gimmick", well....some test are better than no tests

Unfortunately dell owners can only "accidentally" test the features like sand test or water test....unlike other manufacturers who actually get the test conducted themselves or third party.

 

i think its a problem with your BIOS version, downgrade to A03 and the fan speed issue should be resolved

 

@ DougOz

There is still a weird problem indeed with some systems. I had the same issue on my old system before it was replaced. In BIOS A06 the fans just stayed at 100% after any type of stressing the GPU...BIOS A03 fixed it.
With my replacement system however i'm in A06 and no probs at all!! I have a 27" screen hooked up so the 22" shouldn't pose a problem. My thought is that it isn't just the BIOS, it's a combination of the used hardware (though i have the exact same as before) and the BIOS. I'm actually a bit surprised to hear you're having this issue on a recent system...others that we're built in the same period seem to be fine, though maybe they're not built in Malaysia. I'd press Dell for a replacement as it should be a known problem for them by know and they have no way of solving it (techs don't see going back in BIOS as a problem solver mostly). A different system is the only thing that could fix it altogether.

@madengineer

yeah that's the article i meant. And true....some tests iso no test is good but i just wasn't that impressed. Btw....i'm not going to use my lappy on the beach or anything and if i would i wouldn't put it in the sand...lol.

 

so we should generally at the moment downgrade the bios from A06 to A03?? till A07 is released?

 

yeah....or tell dell you want a replacement because of this problem that they can't fix

 

I bought my system from a shop in Berlin that buys on a discount from Dell, so it might be an early model..
t9400 2,53, 4gb, mem 200gb 7200 hd, bluetooth, webcam fx770 and the wxga+ and windows xp pro


I have had all of the above problems with mine.. Downclocking under a06 and the fan not slowing down after I exit my games (wow and oblivion) This was solved by A03.

Sound works fine with my headphones when i untag the pcspeakers sound on pc speakers very bad

And mp3/itunes has a regular click while playing back.. This seems to have been solved by shutting of esata usb in the bios

I cant decide whether to make a storm about it or not...

I now dont have any esata port, and the sound from the speakers is till bad although headphones are acceptable
and i run an old Bios version

all minor problems that i can live with, but should i at 1700 euros???

my questions:

Does an external soundcard remove the soundproblems and would i be able to use the esata output again?

Does anybody know if dell are working with these problems at all, any news of a07?

Thanks to all the people who have taken the time to do so thorough research on how to solve the problems

 

@ mfr

you do have an eSata port...it's the top USB port on the left of the laptop, doubles as an USB2.0 port

Though the price seems good (do you still have 3 years next business day service from Dell?) i think the system should just work on all fronts. An external soundcard would solve the onboard audio problem if you disable the onboard card, but that's not the way to go i think.