Precision M4500 Owner's Lounge

Hey guys, I've had my M4500 from work for about 9 months now. Yesterday the IT department upgraded it to a Kingston SSDNow V100 128 GB SSD. I know it is not the best or fastest SSD out there, but that is what the company is putting into employees' computers and we don't have much say. On the Windows Experience Index I get a score of 6.7 for HDD. Is this a decent score?

Also I am kind of disappointed with the SSD upgrade because I was expecting a much bigger reduction in boot up and shut down times. Shut down takes about 10 seconds. Boot up takes at total of about 60 seconds = 20 secs (BIOS), 25 secs (Windows 7 OS load to Ctrl+Alt+Del screen) + 15 secs (to desktop, after I enter my password and hit enter). It is not spectacular for an SSD in my opinion, because I also have a personal Macbook Air that boots up in 12 secs flat. Granted it is not the same thing, but unfortunately that is the only reference I have. But once the computer is up and running, opening files and applications and other general operations are pretty fast, so no complaints there.

Could anybody tell me if I can do any tweaks to get Windows to boot up faster on the SSD on my M4500? A reduction is shut down times will be welcome too. TIA!

 

Kingston SSDNow V100 is not exactly the best in class like you already knew. However there are a few tweaks can be done in Win7 to help, but not going to be very impressive.

Check this program out, it should give you a little boost in booting speed.

Elpamsoft.com - Home of the SSD Tweaker for Windows

 

M4500 A10 BIOS:

Fixes/Enhancements:
1. Updated and improved Flash Update Utility
2. Added support for Signed Firmware Updates.
3. Addressed some PCMCIA cards issues.
4. Updated to the X28 (2120v28) version of Intel UMA VBIOS.
5. Updated Intel Arrandale and Clarksfield Microcode patch.
6. Updated to the 3.2 version of TXT BIOS ACM for Clarkdale and Arrandale Processors.
7. Updated to the 3.3 version of TXT BIOS ACM for Clarksfield Processors.

Notes:
1. Please note that if the A08 or before A08 BIOS is currently installed on your system you must first update to A09 BIOS and then flash to the latest A-rev BIOS.
2. Please note that if the A01 BIOS is currently installed on your system you must first apply the P02 patch (M4500P02.EXE) before upgrading to this BIOS.

 

Hi everybody. i own a PRECISION M4500 and use it for gaming and music production. i have some questions:

1. What adapter from DisplayPort to DVI/HDMI ?
( Adapter DisplayPort till HDMI - Inet.se - will this work? )
2. Do i need something to keep it cool?
3. What can i do with it? Ports etc?
(I know its a business model but got mine from trading - just wanted a good laptop with good processor and power)
4. What do you guys use it for? any cool programs?
5. How do i know what BIOS i have? i havent updated it since i got it, is it good to do it? why?
6. Should u allways stick to latest drivers from windows update / nvidia? (Graphics)

Everything there is to know about this computer is interesting, ports, what you could connect to it, everything! Ive been locked up for some time and don't know all the new stuff you could do with it anymore

Thx in advance, much love!

 

Hello,

Just got my M4500 and I must say it is a beauty I bought it second hand and it is absolutely immaculate. Mainly using it for 3D animation plus some general office use. It took me a lot of research and I am still so confused by the graphics card options. Mine has an fx1800 and it confuses me that you can get a brand new dell xps with a 2GB card for what I paid for my second hand laptop with its 1GB card. Is the graphics card the most expensive option on a laptop? It seems that these 'workstation' laptops hold there value extremely well also.

Looking forward to seeing what its capable of over the next months

 

There or no specific needs (what I know of) for an adaptor. However, DisplayPort do not support sound, so don't expect sound from your TV-set using a DisplayPort-to-HDMI cable.

 

Maybe some one here might be able to help me.

I currently have a M4500, with FX 880m.

Would it be possible to install a Quadro 2000M? Would the BIOS recognize it? If not, i think i could go with the FX 1880m right?

Thanks,

 

Hi all, does anyone know how to make the BIOS relinquish control of the fan?

I have tried various things to control the fan speed under linux (dellfand, i8kfan) and although they allow me to temporarily change the fan speed after about a second, it changes back to what it was before. Basically, any setting applied using Dell Control Point in windows (power scheme) will persist into linux.

I have tried the Fn+Shift 15324 trick but no menu appears. I guess it might be fixed by a BIOS update but I am on BIOS A05 and I can only find A10 on Dell's site. When I try to install it I am told I have to first upgrade to A08.

So, how can I get permanent control of my fan in linux?

 

I was wondering if anyone knows if the M4500 can support dual monitor use (through a docking station) and still use the laptop screen? Thanks!

 

Hello,
I am the owner of a Dell Precision m4500. The screen resolution is (1366x768). It has NVidia Quatro FX880M. The screen is cracked. Is it possible to upgrade the screen to (1600X900) or (1920X1080).
Thank you!