Precision M4600 Owners Lounge

If Dell has anything like Thinkpad's "Power Manager" there is a very easy "set it and forget it" way to ensure maximum battery life, and it does NOT require constantly running the batteries at 40-60% of capacity. I checked one little box on Battery Management in Power Manager, and I have done *nothing* else to prolong the life of my battery which is a nine-cell now exactly FIVE years old and still holding 75% of its original charge capacity.

Whether Dell has such an animal like "Power Manager" is beyond my pay grade, so I must defer to those who actually own Dell laptops to confirm or deny the existence of such a software.

Best of luck to all!!

 

Well, sadly there is no IPS display option on the M6600, but I am certain that the FHD display will be at least as good as the one on the Sony F. It will be high gamut, matte and pretty high contrast, so I can see how you can go wrong. I know you're wishing for side by side pics, but it's very doubtful that you will find someone who has both a Sony F and an M6600.

And, by the way, I thought the good Vaio F matte display wasn't even available in the US, per: http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/455078-sony-vaio-f-series-display-gamut.html

 

Thanks...I jumped over to those Sony forums and saw that the dates were last years...Sony just recently updated their F models (2011)...could it be that now they do have those displays in US?

Also, what does it mean to not have the IPS option? How does IPS make a display better? Do you know if the Sony one has the IPS?

 

The Sony is most definitely not IPS. The M6600 should have a better screen if it continues to follow up with the M6400/6500. Most consumer laptops use 6-bit TN panels (including Apple). The Dell Precisions have used 8-bit TN panels in the past. IPS panels are a step above TN panels and can be 8-bit like in the case of the X220 or 10-bit like the current HP Elitebook 8560w and Dell Precision M4600. Read here for more info on different panel types:

Monitor Specifications

 

Time for a stupid question:

If I want to replace the regular 500 GB hard drive on the M4600 with an Intel SSD 320, do I need a 1.8" drive or a 2.5" drive. If both are valid options, what are the pros/cons of going with each?

Thansk

 

Dear All,

if battery life is top on your list...then go for the M5950 oder Quadro 1000M???? Considering only light GPU usage and NOT using Optimus technology.
I just would like to compare the two GPUs as such, but was not able to find out which one is more efficient during internet surfing (for example the hp workstations do not have Optimus at all , even with non IPS screens)

Thanks,
Tom

 

If you want to replace it, just pop out the HDD on the right side. It's 2.5". You can use a 1.8" drive but you need a caddy or adapter to fit it into the 2.5" slot. 1.8" drives are typically more expensive but as an SSD there are no downsides other than that. The benefits is that it is lighter and consumes slightly less power. If you don't use the ODD, consider getting a caddy and keeping both the SSD and HDD.

 

Good idea, where do I get a (DVD drive replacement) caddy that fits the M4600 and holds a 2.5" SSD?

 

If you really want long battery life, you almost surely have to go with the integrated, NOT discreet, GPU. I believe the difference between the AMD and the nVidia GPUs will be marginal. I know the W520 allows for the choice: integrated, discreet, or Optimus; you decide in the BIOS. They are using the nVidia chips.

 

Besides afhstingray, how do you like your numeric pad? Does it help productivity?