the "Latitude with Dock/Port Replicator" feedback thread:

Are you using one or two external monitors?
That seems to be the caveat.

 

I'm using one 22'' external display.

 

"I have an M2400 on the standard E-dock 99.99% of the time, using internal LCD with an external 1080p display. The fan almost never comes on. The idle (idle as in playing music on itunes and web surfing) temps are 41 deg C for my CPU (P8600) and 60 deg C for the GPU (nVidia Quadro FX370M)."

I have the standard EPort, too, hooked up to a Samsung 940BW. Docked or undocked, the nVidia chipset runs consistantly warm -- I have a feeling that that's what's causing the fan to run. It's not particularly troublesome or intrusive, really, but a bit worrisome in the long term. The graphics driver also has trouble "waking up" when "re-docking" after being untethered, but I assume this is a driver issue, since Vista just restarts it a couple of times until it 'takes'.

All in all, I've had very few problems or compatability issues.

 

I'm running the following:

D820
A09 BIOS
Port Replicator
Geforce NVS 120 (256MB)
4GB RAM
Vista X64 Ultimate

When my keyboard and mouse are connected to the port replicator USB ports I'm getting a very annoying pause that lasts anywhere from half a second to 5 seconds with my mouse. When the issue occurs with the keyboard, the last key I press repeats itself until the pause goes away.

When I have the mouse and keyboard connected to a USB port on the laptop, the issue goes away.

Anyone know what might be causing this? It was not an issue when running Windows XP 32bit.

 

The 100% CPU usage seems to be a common issue as shown on the Dell forum - http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19247293/19391037.aspx?PageIndex=1

I'm also now experiencing this with my E6400 now that the warmer weather is here. I strongly believe the docking station and the GPU whether it's the NVS or the Intel chipset are the culprits. Please let me know if anybody has found a solution for this yet. Otherwise Dell needs to issue a fix immediately.

 

Im on my 3rd unit now with another 160 and im starting to get higher temps as the weather warms. This worries me.
I know first hand what extended periods of use with insufficient airflow does to the hardware/software of a Latitude.

I believe DELL has some sort of "3 lemons" law?
This would be considered my 3rd lemon as I am not willing to wait for the hardware to degrade again to return this unit.
I think I am going to try and get a refund and just buy another unit with the Intel ship. Unfortunately they dont swap GPU's...

 

Damn. I was kinda hoping that SOMETIMES they got the cooling right.

 

This doesn't give me too much hope as I'm about to ship out the laptop for repair. Will keep everyone updated on how everything turns out. I'm hoping if enough people complain, they'll eventually find a fix.

 

I bought a refurb e-port replicator for my E4200. One of the USB ports on the dock does not seem to function at all (the other four ports work fine). Going to contact the retailer but wondering if anyone has experienced this sort of problem?

 

I have a E6400 w/ a T9600 and Nvidia GPU (i.e. theoretically lots of heat) and I plan on getting a E-port Plus dock with (eventually) two monitors.
I see this heat issue becoming very important to me. From the pics I can find the E-port plus seems to only cover the back (closest to the battery) of the bottom.
What I'm wondering is if there a way to slide a cooling pad (either bought from the store or made myself with thin computer-tower fans) under the laptop when docked?
I'm not too worried about noise from fans. I figure when you use a laptop like a desktop, it's okay if it sounds as loud as one. I am worried about heat slowing down things down (via built-in underclocking or whatever) and/or damaging components.
Users with an E6400 & E-Port plus dock, please advise.