Precision M4500 Owner's Lounge

Anyone else seen performance degrade after self installing RAM? Is that GSkill incompatible?

 

Thank you to everybody who replied to my question about the SSDs used by Dell.

From what I could find, based on that information, the Samsung PM800 is a good SSD drive, but no competition for top of the line SSDs like the Intel X25 or recent Sandforce-based SSDs.

Does anybody have experience how Dell handles SSD problems within the warranty period, even though these problems could be attributed to "normal wear & tear"?

 

Hello all,

Thanks for all the great information that I have been reading on this thread, as after nearly 5 years of reliability, I am planning to replace my D810 with an M4500. I definitely can't afford this notebook new at the config that I want (820QM, 4GB, FHD, backlit kb+webcam), but the outlet prices are very reasonable and attractive for me. However, the one thing that I'm concerned about is, if I were to get one of these notebooks from the outlet with an intel 6200(they all have them), will the M4500 still have the third antenna so that I can purchase an intel 6300 for it and install it without hassle? Also is there any use for the fingerprint reader (swipe/FIPS) beyond login purposes? I also take it that I will not be able to install a 56k modem unless it was originally configured at the factory? It's not that I need one, it's just one of those things that I always thought was nice to have around.

 

hey the user debguy said for me to consider a M4500. Good idea?

 

How loud is a M4500 with an i5 CPU? How noticeable are the fans when the laptop is idling? Certainly I would expect them to come on under load, but how about when you're just surfing the web?

 

I think so, depends on what you think and what sort of a deal you can get compared to the equivalent HP 8540w and Lenovo, support in your country etc etc

The fan doesn't come on when the notebook is idling with an i5-540m/FX1800, the cpu has to reach 76 degC before the fan comes on, it has to be loaded, sometimes it might come on when playing a youtube video if it's been on for hours, but generally it's off unless loaded, the fan is quiet on the first and second speeds, which is the fastest I've heard it go except for when changing the bios it will go full speed while flashing for a few seconds.

The fan isn't used anywhere near enough imo, too much heat is allowed to sink into the exterior shell.

 

I am thinking of a buying a M4500 but I have a few concerns-
Some complain about heating and over heating- I will probably be getting a Core i5 which I expect will tame that problem. I only rarely ever tax a computer so I think it will be ok.
I type a lot and I am concerned about the "flex" I hear about in the keyboard. I am not interested in the illuminated keys so I hope that will eliminate that possibility.
So how flexible is the keyboard and how hot do things get?
I will probably get the Quadro FX 880M. If I rarely do the high powered graphic stuff will I even notice not having the better card?

 

Over heating is news to me with this model, I only mention heat because it's mainly on my legs, although the palmrest and keyboard get warm, it's mainly the bottom for me, when the notebook is under load and the fan is going, it's cool, the problem is, the fan isn't on enough when it's not taxed and my legs start getting hot.Its easily fixable by dell releasing bios with different fan profile that brings the fan on at a lower temp, the M4400 early bios's were more aggressive with fan usage and the later ones much like the M4500, problem with that is i series cpu's run a lot hotter than C2d, especially idling
I have no problem with keyboard flex

 

hi,
i'm looking at picking up an m4500 from the outlet, but am having trouble finding the exact configuration i'm looking for. instead, i'm looking at getting the "core" features i need, and upgrading certain components myself. i'm trying to determine which features should be included in the core feature set, and which are easily upgraded. i've read through this thread completely, but quite hastily, so i apologize if any of these questions have been asked/answered before.

cpu is the primary "core" feature (i'm looking at dual-core only, preferably the i5-540 or i7-620) .... i know the standard stuff, memory, hard drive, operating system are easy upgrades, it's the pickier details i'm curious about.

screen: I'm assuming this would be both difficult, and prohibitively expensive to replace? i'd like to get the fhd model (not the easiest to find on the outlet).

webcam/microphone: this looks like it should be possible, but perhaps problematic. would i need to replace the screen bezel? or do they all have the openings for the camera?

backlit keyboard: does this use the same keyboard as the e6400/e6410/e6500/e6510/m4400?

network card: should be able to install an aftermarket 6300 easily enough, right? now, as mofogx mentions, there are antenna connections to be made:

first off, they all have the 6200? many i was seeing had "no wireless option". which makes me wonder if they'll have any antenna connections at all. does anyone have any input on upgrading the wireless card? am i better off looking for an m4500 which has some sort of wireless card built-in already (for sake of the antennas) versus the "no wireless option"?


thanks for any input you might have!

 

Does the M4500 support two finger scrolling, just like on a Macbook? I've used HP's two finger scrolling on an Envy and wasn't impressed.