Precision M6400 Owner's Lounge *Part 2*

ils:

Dell are sending a new motherboard, as well as graphics module, thermal solution, fans and thermal paste. So if it was the motherboard after all of that, it should be covered. Thanks for the advice though.

As for my electrical current sensitivity - I get the same sensation no matter where I go, if I contact the metallic frame of an appliance which is earthed I feel electric current.

Trust me, I'm just strange.

 

Grant, This is just something coming from a relative amateur with computers but I'm almost out of the amateur category at this point. My first laptop was an Inspiron 5150 that apparently was famous for overheating. And I live in a rainforest so the climate is no help. I first read about raising the back of the machine just a little to facilitate airflow and between trips to Dell to get stuff fixed (and because there was a class action suit I didn't know about at the time) they extended my regular one year warranty into a 4 year 'complete care' one. But I started off raising the back of the case on two vitamin bottle caps and bought a little 6 inch table fan that I stationed near it and the temps. plummeted. I still use the same fan because there's smokers in my office (and almost constant volcano ash in the air) and it blows away any stray smoke & dust because it blows under and over the case as well as across the screen. I soon discovered Zalman pads and also wouldn't be without them either. As I keep reminding people, I'm learning as I go and I don't care too much about specs. but 70 friggin degrees is going to wear anything out sooner than it should. Unless there's an internal combustion engine in there I've not yet discovered.

And though it doesn't seem to work on any 64bit OS I've tried it on, 18KfanGUI, a program written specifically for dell laptops is by far the best and most complete temperature control software I've been able to find. And I think I've tried most if not all of them. It's a bit outdated as it hasn't been updated since the M90 but handles everything on my Covet (the 32bit OS anyway) beautifully. This reply isn't specifically aimed at you but at everyone discussing temps., short circuited cases and such. Right now I'm doing a 'deep' virus scan, have Photoshop open (not at work right this minute), see 8 tabs at the top of the Opera window this is in and the CPU is 36 degrees and the GPU is at 43, so I figure I must be doing something right. 18K also informs me the CPU is operating at 2534MHz and the CPU load is 12% for those of you that can make sense of the numbers.

I'll end it at that because I've always got a million questions waiting in the wings.
_________________
Precision Covet | QX9300 | 4GB 1066 | 64GB Samsung SLC SSD & 320GB Seagate | XP Pro 32bit & Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

 

gulfstreamtec - thanks for your input.

When I say the GPU sits in the high 70's, thats when it is under 100% load.

If you have a look at the manufacturer's specs for these CPUs and GPUs, you will see that is well within the thermal envelope they have been designed for. My desktop 280GTX GPU hangs out pretty close to 80deg when its under full load and that is quite normal.

I guess my point is that under the same conditions a year ago, no issues with the machine. It should be well within the design specs for the machine to cope sitting on a desk under full load at standard room temperature, without the aid of external devices. Up until this latest issue, it did just that.

Will report back once I have parts, which is hopefully today.

 

Hi

I hope that will fix all your needs.

To your electrical current sensibility - I also feel that on my M6300 sometimes.
Sometimes is when i run in Battery Mode and have a USB Hub pluged in, that USB Hub has its own power supply. So if i on Battery Mode there is no Ground connected with the M6300. Intern the cassis is connected to Ground of all I/Os, so the currency that comes over the uSB cable to the Hub seems to be olso on th chasis. Disconnecting the USB Cable and there is no such feeling of curency, same is when i plug in the cble from the Power supply of the M6300, now there is a connection to the Ground from the Power Outlet.

with the M6400 i will test that when i at home next time.

regards
Christopher

 

This is aimed at the 'old timers' on the site that have been around here for a while and you've all given me something at some point. Now I have a non-problem but until I get some input I'm sort of stuck in my ignorance. My Samsung 64GB SLC SSD is still running fine despite my doing just about everything you're not supposed to do with them. Due to where I am I can't even find SSDs here and a friend is on the way down from the States and I want to pick up another for further experimenting. I'm leery of the MLC systems only because they're the only ones I read about problems with but what I really need is one that has some kind of trim or cleanup command already in it. That's been my only problem with my Samsung because even they recommend Secure Erase (version unstated) but I haven't been able to get any of them to work. So I lean towards the OCZ 60GB SLC because of the SLC part and the price ($400) but I'd get anything with a cleanup feature included. But again I've been unable to find that either. OCZ seems to be OK quality wise and I already have faith in Samsungs but am trying to make a decision with little knowledge. Any help would be appreciated.
__________________________
Precision Covet | QX9300 | 4GB 1066 | 64GB Samsung SLC SSD & 320GB Seagate | XP Pro 32bit & Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

 

I've got a question for everyone.

I've just downloaded and installed the latest NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M video drivers from Dell. On occasion, the screen leaves graphic "artifacts" on the desktop (like parts of overlapped windows that have been closed, etc.) that cannot be cleared by either an F5 or a context menu screen refresh. However, if I use the translucent selection rectangle to draw over the area in question, the desktop will "redraw" to normal. (In a perhaps related issue, the LCD screen will sometimes not "wake" from a hibernated state.)

Anyway, the really simple question I'd like to ask is: what are the best available drivers for the machine? And I suppose I should ask: is this a sign of anything else?

It's more of an occasional annoyance than anything else, but, well, it's nice to have everything working as it should, if you know what I mean. Thanks.

 

No doubt there's someone here that probably knows the answer you seek but this is the M6400 Owners Lounge so maybe if you tried posting the question in something closer to the model you have you'll have a better chance of an answer.
_____________________
Precision Covet | QX9300 | 4GB 1066 | 64GB Samsung SLC SSD & 320GB Seagate | XP Pro 32bit & Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

 

Oops! Shows what lack of concentration can do; I'll re-post this in the E6400 or E6500 threads. Thanks.

 

Oops again. Sigh.

 

Returning to the "electric/electrostatic" current that I can feel while on batteries. I hadn't been using my (replaced) M6400 on batteries, but now I have. I put it on hibernation, took it away and when I picked up it, it was burning, all of it (I could just touch it by the plastic side!). I couldn't restart my PC until next day... Are you sure that soft current-that-almost-feels-like-electrostatic is a normal issue?
Maybe is not related but both the current and the burning has happened when on batteries...