Would you buy/recommend the M4700 again? How's it holding up?

(seeking actual owners/power users)

I'm looking into getting the M4700, I've watched the board on and off for the past year. I've noticed some quirks that had me a little concerned so I wanted to know if it's been generally reliable(the consensus, I know there's always lemons out there)? I've done quite a bit of research but I want to talk to real users who know the notebook well by now.


Topic Questions:

1. Noise and heat: I remember reading about how it was rather loud and the fan would just kick up and whine really loud, was this fixed?

2. Wireless lan card: How's the Dell 1540 dual band wireless card? Is it really that bad, should I skip and pay the extra for the Intel 6300?

3. Monitor: I've heard that they were shipping with several panels, Philips, AUO(v4?), Samsung, and Chi Mei. I remember a lot of people complaining about graininess and getting headaches which would be horrible.... I asked on the board before and heard that the Philips, AUO, and Samsung were pretty decent, can we still request panels upon shipping? What's to know?

4. Any other issues I should be aware about?


I'd probably configure this with a i7 3740qm and the M4000(I know it does not have optimus, but the K2000 is not worth the upgrade price to me for now... later I can upgrade to the K2100m perhaps since it's MXM-a). The rest of the specs I don't care about as much since I'll upgrade myself(ssd, ram, etc.), but I am debating on the wireless lan card, I'd like to be the minimalist and buy the Dell 1540(upgrade later to a wireless AC card or something), but if it sucks that much then I'll get the Intel.


Also, I'm coming from a Thinkpad T500/(admired the W520), great machines, very quiet, relatively cool, been good machines. Too bad Lenovo thinkpad's have been of crappier quality lately. I used the W530 and I couldn't stand a lot of fundamental things about it(the fans are MUCH louder, a big step backwards, the keyboard layout, general build quality, and other stuff...)


Thanks for any input guys!

 

I have only have my M4700 for about 5 weeks, but I have been very happy with it so far. I can tell you that I have the Philips screen, and I do not find it too bad for a TN panel. In regards to heat and noise, the fans are silent for the most part when doing simple tasks and even when viewing a 1080p video they only run for short bursts and are not all that loud. Compared to some ultrabooks that I own, this M4700 emits less noise as the fans are larger and do not have to spin as fast to keep the unit cool. I cannot answer your question about the wireless card as I have the Intel 6300, but I can tell you that the 6300 gets me good reception.

 

The 1540 is alright, it's no Intel 6300, but it won't give you crap performance either. I'd go for an Intel card if you can, but don't let the Dell card hold you back.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

I guess it sounds like the Dell 1540 isn't bad.

Any thing else I should know before getting this laptop? I'll be quite mobile and use this on the go. I understand that it's not the best for that as it weighs over 6lbs(not including charger or 9cell), but I could use the power. Just hope it holds up physically to the wear and tear of travel, which is why I get business grade laptops to begin with.

 

If you can deal with the weight, these machines are very well-built, should be no problems in this department.

 

In fact the M4700 is so well built that wisely Dell has kept the same chasis for three consecutive iterations of the Precision line: M4600, M4700 and now M4800. M4500 was less bulky and more elegant, but at expense of worse cooling and upgradeability. Personally I prefer two fans, mxm-a slot and 4 ram slots than a slimmer form factor. Those who differ now can pick up the M3800. I would have kept the "ondulated" screen back cover of M4400 and M4500 though.

 

I complained about the Chi-mei screen (absolutley terrible 1920 x 1080) and Dell replaced it with the LG screen. I also have the auo v4 95% gamut one. The LG screen is not bad and the I hear the samsung is ok as well. Be prepared to do a screen swap if you get the new AUO or the chi mei.....

 

Gotcha, I saw how it was built like a tank with it's magnesium alloy chassis. The design does look essentially the same between the 3(minor differences I noticed in the M4600-M4700), which is encouraging-as it seems like a good sign(design..er or they're trying to save costs, jk).

I'm excited, if the price is right, I may get it. Also excited about the release of the M4800(see reviews and also it should lead to a price cut on the M4700's).

 

How is the slot DVD player?

I have heard complaints that it is very loud when you have a disk in there? Can you confirm?

Although it is not a deal breaker either way since I will not be using the optical drive that often.