Rate your E6400 / E6500

Thank you for the education John... appreciate it...

 

1. Model & config
Dell Latitude E6400
2.40GHz Core 2 Duo P8600 - 2GB RAM - NVS 160M
160GB HDD - 14.1" WXGA+ LED - XP Pro SP3
Webcam - BT - 6-Cell Battery - Dell 1397 Wifi Card

Ordered with 1GB 1 DIMM, upgraded with a DDR-800 1GB

2. Scale of 1 (not satisfied) - 10 (perfectly satisfied)
I'd give it an 8.5. -1 for its weight. -.5 for crackling audio issues when volume is at maximum

3. Pros - Things that impressed you - work very well.
I was impressed by the build quality, the sturdiness of the machine in general.
Battery life is great, even with the NVS160M, though ~30 to 45min less than with a 4500.
Ability to change screen brightness at the touch of two keys
Tactile Keyboard
The NVS160M was more powerful than expected. - I do some casual, very light gaming. Runs Guild Wars just fine.
Stylish, but not too "consumer-ish"
Runs smoothly and quietly
Balanced well - weight distributed proportionally
Has a single screw for the bottom panel for easy access.
Strong hinges and latch

4. Cons - Things you don't like / don't work properly
Crackling audio at maximum volume
The zoom-in/zoom-out feature that isn't labeled on the touchpad - turned off.
Ambient Light Sensor isn't all that great - turned off
I ordered it with SP3.. at least it was listed in the email confirmation when I made the order, however received it with SP2, so I upgraded it myself, but it's not a big deal. But if it's listed, it should have been there..
Keyboard picks up greases/oil quite easily.
Grooves along the sides of the keyboard are an excellent place for dust to collect. Gotta have that compressed air at hand.

5. Would you recommend this notebook ?
Yes, I would, especially over the E4300/E4200, which is quite expensive at the moment compared to the E6400. The notebook is heavier than Dell advertised, but with the weight distributed well, it actually doesn't feel as heavy as it actually is.
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1. Model & config

P9500 2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 200GB 7200rpm, Intel Graphics, 1440x900 LED, Backlit Keyboard, Intel WiFi 5300, web cam.


2. Scale of 1 (not satisfied) - 10 (perfectly satisfied)

let's say 6-7.

3. Pros - Things that impressed you - work very well.

The LED-Screen - very bright and good colors.
Backlit keyboard - nice feature - but bad for fingerprints!
Design ++

4. Cons - Things you don't like / don't work properly

I definitly don't like the touchpad. I had a Lenovo T61 and t41p before. And i also have a Latitude D630 - any of these notebook has a fantastic touchpad. But the touchpad on the E6400 is just horrible. Somebody mentioned that there are ways to improve it - but how? I tried every option in the Dell Touchpad tool. If anybody has an solution - please post it.

The second point: When my E6400 arrived the battery really did move a lot at the back of the notebook. so i called dell and one of there "specialists" came and exchanged the whole inner frame of the notebook ( i also got a new battery). now the flex of the battery is nearly gone.

I hate this 1-screw cover at the bottom. Bad for over-all build quality.
When i touch the edges of the bottom at the front i can feel that it's moving a little bit, it's not really closing perfectly. it feel's a little bit "cheap". If i put the notebook on a table you can also hear it a little bit.
If they only would have used 3 screws.

Control Point Software - really really buggy!!! i tried to create a new power scheme: the effect was that the CPU only worked at 120 Mhz - i'm not kidding. The System was so slow.... Under "System" it also showed only 120 Mhz!

RAM-Timings are only 6-6-6 @800! That's bad..... Anybody else with 6-6-6 timing?

Another thing: At the screen frame where the Light-Sensor is: There is no place for the sensor to go - so the frame has more space to the display than on the right side. Is this ok? You can see the sensor from above - if you look close.

5. Would you recommend this notebook ?

Yes, i think so. I exchanged my T61 for an E6400. I hope it was worth it - and think alone because of the screen it was ok
But i would think about buying an T400 instead now. For now i have my E6400.

Just my 5 cent

 

You are the only one who has had that problem with the ambient light sensor, mine is inset into the bezel.

I also would have prefered a couple of more screws in the bottom, it's plenty secure, but I'm thinking about just putting some electrical tape in a few spots to stop a very little bit of vibration.

Greg

 

@ SpeedyMods

I have just received my E6500 and I really do not like the Touchpad. The reaction is very slow and it is very unprecise.

I have been looking for alternative ALPS Drivers for it but cannot find any. The webpage of ALPS does not provide any.

Can you give us a hint what tweaking you did to improve it, thanx alot.

 

Newest drivers in this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=308594

Also, update to the latest BIOS.

Greg

 

Guess I could comment on it as well.

1.
E6400, P8600, 4GB RAM, VB, WXGA+ screen, Intel 5300, Dell 5530 WWAN

2. Scale of 1 (not satisfied) - 10 (perfectly satisfied)
5

3. Pros - Things that impressed you - work very well.
Bonus points for the trackpoint, keyboard, battery life and general performance of the machine.

4. Cons - Things you don't like / don't work properly
The screen. Bright as hell, but the colours are off, the contrast is bad and the viewing angles are among the worst I've seen in a very long time.
It's a deal breaker for me, and the reason this laptop is going back.
Some other gripes include the dell software, which is buggy, especially for the WWAN stuff. It's also a little on the heavy side.

5. Would you recommend this notebook ?
No, and that's based on the screen alone.
With a decent screen and better sw, it would have potential.

 

Colors are easily corrected, though the contrast isn't.

I do agree with you on viewing angles.

Greg

 

Turn down the brightness and the screen will, most likely, look a lot better. I normally use about half brightness with my LG panel (which model screen is yours?).

Make sure you have the latest WWAN software. It was updated a few days back. Also get the latest BIOS.

John

 

1. (See Sig) E6400, etc.

2. 6

3. Super fast machine, brilliant display, nice form factor

4. Very unstable. Many freezes or "lock-ups" on the 3 machines we ordered. Windows Reliability Monitor pegs these boxes at 50%, and that doesn't record the blue-screens. Hopefully new drivers will stabilize these issues quickly.

5. Maybe. If folks are ordering Windows XP or Vista x32 installed things seem to be pretty solid. Dell's support is very sub-par right now. I'm optimistic things will improve. (I'm a glass-half-full type person)