What would you change on Dell Latitude E6400?

I upgraded to the newest IDT Audio drivers from Dell, and I don't have those on-screen audio notification issues anymore. They seemed to have fixed them, so now they come up all the time every time.

Though, sadly enough not even any of my friends who have Macs are 100% pleased quality wise. My friend's new MBP already got dented easily, a lot of people with the older macbooks had a ton of issues with hard drivers, overheating, and general build crapiness with the plastic.

Maybe the trick is to stick with plastic like Lenovo. Honestly, I think if I had gone with a T400, I would be so much less worried about build quality and treating it nicely.

 

I think there had to be some compromises to combine the eSATA port with a USB port.

I expected my E6400, as one of the first, to have build problems but it all fitted together very well and I have none of the problems you mention.

John

 

I chose the E6500 over the E6400 because of the better screen in the 15 inch displays over the 14 inch ones. If there's only one thing I could change about the E6400 it would be that, as otherwise I like the form factor of the E6400 better.

I can confirm the same BIOS behavior like Commander Wolf. The fan seems to turn on at 50C and turns off when it drops below 40C. Luckily with a superclean install and the Intel 4500 integrated graphics my machine doesn't hit those temperatures for typical use so my fan stays off. But it would be much better if the BIOS was set to 10 degrees higher before it triggered on.

The trackpoint should just be removed. The trackpoint buttons are redundant to the trackpad buttons and just take up unnecessary space. The trackpoint rubber itself constantly gets hit by accident when going for the G or H key.

The trackpad itself should be replaced with a Synaptics one. ALPS is second rate stuff. It's useable, but Synaptics just flat out makes a better trackpad and writes better drivers. Apple like multitouch gestures would be nice but the reason PC machines don't have them is due to Apple patents, if I'm not mistaken.

The keyboard should also be made more sturdy. The minor flex it has in some areas just makes it feel cheap. Sturdy keyboards are a sign of quality as the uproar on the redesigned and flimsier Thinkpad keyboards has proven.

Magnetic latch would be good. Smaller bevels on the display and all the edges would make it look sleeker. Fan exhaust on the back instead of the side would make it better for left handed people using a mouse.

A MagLev fan like on the Apple Macbooks would be great to reduce fan noise, but again, Apple might have that patented. Magnetic power plug would also be nice.

The battery could also fit more tightly with the case. There is a tiny amount of wiggle on it, and I've seen that on Sony notebooks as well. IBM and even HP notebooks seem to have much tighter fitting batteries.

A rubber lining or at least more rubber pads to prevent the screen bending into the body/palmrest is a good idea too. Maybe a more matte finish all around as well so that the machine isn't so much of a fingerprint magnet.

 

But the Lenovo keyboard does flex as well, the same as this laptop. :/

No, because that will heat-up the battery and make it age faster. I mean I am sure Dell would love that, but not you nor me. The BEST solution, would be to have 2 chassis. Where one of them is a direct reverse of the other one, and give you the option, which one you want. The other motherboard would be the same, just on reverse, and the plugs and processors flip over. Of course they are other components, which may block the path, so additional crazy amount of engineering is required over what is already given (especially that this is a laptop and that the motherboard is already tiny, does not help)

I don't know what MagLev is, Google image shows me identical fans as the one on this laptop. Magnetic power plug is not good, as then the laptop would have it's own proprietary plug over the other laptop form the same company. Thanks to this laptop support for all Dell PSU 65-90W, it already saved me twice from a out of power situation.

 

Apple's fans are made by Sunon, and mine, at least, is as well. By the model no, you can see that my (and presumably everyone else's) fans are already Maglev (Maglev is a system where the fan is held in place magnetically, so there is no friction, and thus, less noise).

As for magnetic plug, I guess that would be nice, but it's not really a priority in my mind.

 

Heh yeah, and that's why I went with a Dell this time around instead of a Thinkpad T400 or T500. A long time ago the Thinkpad keyboard was a huge factor in my purchasing decision. It was the sturdiest, best keyboard I've ever used back in the IBM days. But now Lenovo has ruined that central pillar that was one of the biggest selling features on the thing.

As to two different motherboards that might make support a big headache, especially for the techs that do the in house service having to always stock two boards. Maybe the Apple solution could work - they moved the battery to the front of the notebook and that let them put the fan exhaust at the back instead of the sides.

I wonder why mine is louder than my Macbook fan. Then again when it does come on it's because I'm stressing the computer with heavy tasks, so maybe I don't get to hear it at a low speed that often. It's either off or it's really trying hard to counter a heavy task.

Somehow Apple is able to make the fan absolutely quiet when it's running at idle speed. Unlike my E6500, the Apple Macbook fan is always on, but even when it's on and your ears are right next to it, it can't be heard at all. The only time I hear it is when it ramps up in speed with heavy usage.

 

No problem. The motherboard has 2 different serial numbers, so the Dell technician that send the parts to the technician at home will send the correct one. And because the processors and ports are flip, the screws and base can be the same, as the holes are the same. The only down side is that one model might have a slightly warmer keyboard than the other, as I am sure Dell (like everyone else), won't completely re-engineer the motherboard. And it might lead that the lefty version might make Dell charge the consumer more, as the demand is less.

Putting the battery in front is a bad idea, as how the 9 cell will fit? Unless, the 14inch model has the motherboard of the 12inch machine. But then it would cost too much for a large size machine. Most people won't see the cost justify.

Well, it's probably because the fan on your Mac is broken. ;P
Seriously, I don't know. I opened my laptop to answer your question, and it's already in "suspension" to absorb vibration. I hope you don't confuse your HDD with the fan, cause they produce similar sounds on laptop. If it is THAT problematic then change the fan with a quieter one.

 

Oh yeah good point. Scratch the battery on the front idea as it definitely wouldn't work with that.

Well Apple must do something different, as I have three different Apple notebooks in the house and the fans are all silent when idle and under typical use (and they never turn off, ever).

On my E6500 it's a minor thing as I can go an entire day without the fan even turning on, so it doesn't really affect me. I have an SSD in mine which is dead silent so when the fan does come on it's the only thing on the computer that makes noise. If it's a MagLev there's something different about it than the Macbook as I can actually hear it distinctly when it starts spinning. I could have gotten a noisier fan than normal, that's a possibility. Doesn't bug me enough to get it changed though.

 

My fan is not MagLev.. I forgot what it was, but when I removed the fan, I said to myself it's not one. So I guess it depends what Dell used based on your region. In my case the fan is only hearable at medium or higher speeds, which is rare moment (when I load my system by doing a lot of compiling of programming project, playing a flash video fullscreen or playing a game, as examples).

 

Mine doesn't explicitly say that it's MagLev, but I checked the part number against a database, and it does use MagLev technology. Also, I have to agree here. When the fan is at low speed, I can't hear the fan at all. If I listen hard, I can just barely hear the air wooshing out. It does become audible at high speed, though.

Perhaps Apple uses some unique sound isolation design. I do know that Apple uses fans with an extremely high number of blades, so the fans can operate at lower speeds (because more blades move more air). That means reduced noise.