Precision M6400 & M4400 ; Should the lid cover have been thicker and more rigid ?

On my precision M6400, I can enduce some minor ripples in the LCD by pushing on the lid.
Should the lid cover have been thicker and more rigid ?
I think so, even though it would add to the weight, but I want protection for the LCD.

 

I don't think being able to ripple the screen is necessarily a sign of a weak lid. Until the E6400 (and I think this may just have to do with how the screen's built?), I've been about to ripple the screen of just about every Dell notebook I've had, including that of my D620 which I think has a pretty tough lid. I wouldn't worry too much about it... unless you get in an accident like that guy who fell on his M6400, I doubt it'll give way.

 

I'm concerned about pressure damaging the LCD, when I put the laptop in my backpack. Sometimes I carry some groceries/books in the backpack too. So I'm wondering if I should just keep the backpack lightly packed.
I think this is how I screwed up my T43P lcd

 

it depends. with my configuration it doesnt make ripples pushing on it not very hard, though it does seem a bit too flexible.

 

Which screen do you have in your Precision 6400? Is it the glossy or matte RGB LED, or the CCFL screen option? I am strongly considering purchasing the 6400 and I had assumed this was a stout case. Also is the palm rest/keyboard area metal or plastic? How solid would you rate the rest of the case? Are the sides plastic or metal?

I am also trying to determine which OS, ie. XP or flavor of 64 bit Vista is most reliable with this model. Would welcome any thoughts or links related to this...

Thanks

 

This IS a stout case, but I want a really stout case, where the lid can withstand pressure from misc stuff put into a backpack. IMHO, the lid is not rigid enough; but note that I'm demanding very high standards of it. I can produce some very minor ripples, but I have to press hard. I basically want to be able to carry my laptop in the backpack, with groceries thrown in there (frozen vegetables, milk jug etc). The M6400 is not upto THAT standard.
For comparison, I have not seen a better case on any laptop I have seen (Thinkpad T4x, T3x, T60, Dell M90, E1705, D820, Sony vaio, HP NC8000).
Only the HP 8730w MAY have a more rugged design.

The M6400 has a metal layer wrapped around it, the top, bottom layers are metal, as are the long side surfaces (front and back). The side surfaces (where the ports are) seem to be plastic. The palmrest and keyboard areas are plastic, but they seem to be good quality plastics (they dont creak). I dropped a CD case on the palmrest, and it made a scratch. The keys are very nice and cushy, but the keyboard has significant flex. The flex doesnt bother me, but it may bother some people. People have put in something to support the keyboard underneath to reduce the flex.

I also dont like that there are only two small rubber bumbers on the sides of the keyboard (for keeeping the LCD beel at a distance). There are no rubber bumpers on the LCD bezel itself. It was suggested that I can buy rubber bumpers and stick them to the bezel.

I have the RGBLED, I think its matte. An apt description for this screen is that its colors look as if they are on steroids

I chose Vista business 64 downgrade XP 64 bit; because I wanted to have two OS instal options. Currently I have XP 64 bit - it hasnt given me any problems. I also have Linux Debian 5.0 installed on it. Wireless does not work by default as Debian Lenny uses an older kernel, but Ubuntu 9.04 etc should have everything working.

Battery life: battery ran down by 50% when I was gave a talk for 1hr 20 min; not sure how it would fare under load.

So, overall while this is an excellent laptop, it does have its flaws. IMHO, this could have been a great laptop with a few design tweaks (and adding a switchable graphics option).

For the $$$ I spent on it, I'm 100% satisfied, and this is the best laptop I have used. The HP 8730w and the Thinpad w700 both cost a lot more.

 

I think it's more a matter of how you load your backpack than if you load it at all. If you distribute the pressure on the lid evenly across it's entire surface, it's very unlikely to break. If you've got pointy stuff jutting into it, that'll probably leave a mark, even if the lid was more robust. And of course, if you trip and fall on it, there's probably not much that can save it from denting...

I think your best bet is to load your machine into your backpack such that the lid faces your back. Thus your back, which is relatively flat, applies even pressure across the lid, and your groceries and books can poke into the base (which is probably more robust).

 

Yes, thats what I've been thinking; just have to keep that into account from now on.

 

Don't know about thicker,but some additional ribbing cast inside the cover would help,as would a decent [yes thicker] screen bezel that is attached by screw's...there's enough room for it looking at the 3 or 4mm gap between the bezel and the palmrest when closed.
Definitely need more bumper's also,mine fell off and the screen just rocks around on the latch until you squeeze the gap,then the other side lift's up using the latch as it's fulcrum,so the whole bezel,bumper,latch thing need's looking at because it's pretty cheap and nasty imho

 

Weegie, I'm guessing you are talking about the M4400 ? The M6400 does not have most of the issues you mentioned.