Dell Precision M2400 User Review

by David Li

The Dell Precision M2400 is the Latitude E6400’s identical twin sibling. Built from the same chassis, the only differences between the two lie in the NVIDIA Quadro FX 370M graphics card and the metallic wave design screen cover. While the M2400 is marketed as a mobile workstation and geared towards video editing, animation and CAD manipulation users on the go, the reinforced magnesium alloy chassis and an equally impressive security system makes this particular laptop a great companion not only for road warriors, but for anyone seeking a robust and reliable machine.

Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9600 2.8GHz 6MB L2 cache, 1066 FSB
• Graphics: NVIDIA Quadro FX 370M 256MB
• Operating system: Windows Ultimate 64-bit
• Memory: 4GB DDR2 800MHz 6-6-6 (2GB+2GB) [Tested with 2x2GB 800MHz 5-5-5 memory; Max RAM supported-8GB]
• Display: 14.1" WXGA+ LED Back-lit Display (1440x900) Matte
• Hard drive: 120GB 5400rpm SATA 2.5" [Tested with 500GB 5400rpm hard drive]
• Optical drive: 8X DVD/RW Double layer Super Multi Drive
• Ports: 3x USB 2.0 (one with powershare), eSATA/USB combo port, Express card, 5 in1 media card reader, VGA, display port, microphone-in, headphone-out, Ethernet, IEEE 1394
• Wireless: Intel 5300 Link 802.11a/g/n
• Battery: 9-Cell 85 Ah
• Other features: Bluetooth 370, fingerprint reader, webcam, back-lit keyboard, smart card reader and contactless smart card reader
• Warranty: 3-year basic limited warranty and 3 Year NBD on-site service.
• Dimensions: 13.18” x 9.33” x 1.26”
• Price: USD$ 1,007.14 (Refurbished, tax + shipping included)

Build and Design

As I briefly mentioned in the introduction, the M2400 is constructed with a magnesium alloy chassis which helps minimize overall flex and heightens durability. Similar to the Latitude E6400 series, the hinges are extremely robust which gives a strong notion of a brawny build quality. With a durable matte plastic exterior, the M2400 isn’t prone to fingerprints like many of the glossy consumer-class notebooks, yet stands out from most business-class units with a fashionable metallic screen cover.

The selection of ports is excellent and certainly sufficient for most mobile users. There are also docking options available, the E-port replicator ($129) and E-port Plus replicator ($199), for those whom require additional USB ports and/or dual monitor support.

Front: Screen latch, 5 in 1 media card reader

Left: Kensington lock, VGA, USB powershare, eSATA/USB combo port, smart card reader

Right: 2x USB, wireless toggle switch, wifi catcher network locator, microphone in, audio out, optical drive, express card slot, IEEE 1394 firewire

Back: Ethernet, display port, A/C in

One of my main concerns regarding the build is the lack of a hard drive caddy that could effectively provide additional protection to the drive. I am a little disturbed knowing that I am only two screws and a small nudge away from releasing the hard drive from its bay. Even when the hard drive is securely locked in place, there is still a little wiggle room and I would have preferred some physical barrier where my hands can not affect the position of the hard drive during normal operational use.

Screen

Equipped with the LG-Philips LPL0140 (aka LP141WP2) LED screen, the panel offers admirable luminance, average contrast ratios and typical viewing angles.

Despite listing an above average contrast ratio of 500:1 on the spec sheet, the screen appears to be slightly washed out, especially when the brightness is set at maximum. Vertical viewing angles are average while horizontal viewing angles perform slightly better. Graininess is non-existent and all text and images can be produced with high clarity. Although the screen isn’t quite perfect, it’s adequate for most mobile CAD users.

In terms of build, the screen suffers from no wobble and trivial flex. Applying pressure from the back does not cause any color distortions either. Like the Lenovo T series laptops, the M2400 is sturdy enough to be confidently picked up by the screen. Compared to the Latitude E6400, the screen on the M2400 feels more robust. On the other hand, the screen bezel feels frightening delicate and can be pried from all four sides with little effort. This however, doesn’t seem to jeopardize the overall build quality of the screen since most people will rarely run their fingers or sharp objects across their screens.

The ambient light sensor works flawlessly and unlike some of the Asus units I’ve used in the past, the sensor dims and brightens the screen perfectly for my taste. There’s also the option of disabling the light sensor for those who are not accustomed to the automatic light adjustment.

While this particular unit uses an LG-Philips panel, Dell also uses a Samsung screen for the M2400. The Samsung panel (SEC5442) is a tad more washed out, but still provides excellent luminance and similar viewing angles. The differences between these two panels are minute and are only noticeable upon close inspection.

Left-Dell Latitude E6400 with SEC5442; Right-Dell Precision M2400 with LPL0140

Speakers

Using the same integrated IDT high definition stereo speakers as the Latitude E6400, acoustics are average for volume and sub-par for quality. As expected from a 2 channel built-in speaker system, the speakers lack bass, and the treble-heavy audio can easily disgust any audiophile. As John Ratsey mentioned in his Latitude E6400 review, the large speaker grills are primarily decorative and the speakers itself are small ~12mm circular units that sit near the middle of each grill. If anyone should require better quality sound, a pair of headphones or external speakers would help overcome these limitations and suffice most people.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Being a night owl myself, the one feature I fancy most is the back-lit keyboard. It is shameful that many notebook manufactures still don’t offer this wonderful option. Needless to say, my overall typing experience is very pleasing. However, putting the fancy lights aside, the M2400 offers a full-sized keyboard with decent tactile feedback and good comfort. Flex is concentrated mainly on the upper right corner, but is not noticeable with normal daily usage since that particular section is used mostly by your pinky and uses less pressure than other fingers. It would be nice to see more dedicated hotkeys for media controls, but these features are often lacking in business-class laptops.

The touchpad is remarkably small (even the touchpad on the 12.1” Asus U6 has a larger surface area) and difficult to use. Tracking with the touchpad will often require multiple finger movements and can get annoying at times. Luckily, the M2400 offers a track-stick (similar to Lenovo’s trackpoint pointing device) centered between the G, H and B keys which allows easier and more versatile cursor movements. The touchpad buttons can only be described as soft and mushy and has slower tactile feedback than other laptops I have used in the past; it took me a little while to get used to.

Processor and Performance

Configured with the 2.80GHz T9600 Intel processor, NVIDIA Quadro FX 370M graphics chip and 4GB of memory, the M2400 can rip through programs with ease and provide enough multitasking power for most folks. Graphics intensive tasks may suffer somewhat from the GDDR2 graphics memory and a 64-bit bus width, but still be able to handle casual gaming and light CAD applications without issues. Below are benchmarks and CPU/GPU specifications to illustrate a more quantitative analysis of the M2400’s performance.

CPU-Z:

EVEREST, GPU Description:


Windows Experience Index:



3DMark06 comparison results:


PCMark05 Comparison results:


wPrime Comparison results:


HDTune:

Battery Life

The 85WHr 9 cell battery is able to provide enough power for 310 minutes of basic web browsing, instant messaging and word processing with the back-lit keyboard on and screen brightness set at minimum. Although this is less than what Dell has advertized, the figure is still fairly modest for a laptop with this particular hardware configuration. With the 84WHr extended battery slice, I suspect the battery life would double to ~600 minutes under the same conditions.

Heat and Noise

The cooling system on the M2400 is questionable. While the CPU can maintain its own temperatures effectively, the GPU is open to discussion. Unlike the CPU, the GPU and motherboard chipset uses a thermal pad instead of a copper plate for transferring heat to the heat pipe. Since thermal pads doesn’t conduct heat as efficient as copper metal, the Quadro FX 370M can spike up to 95°C during load while running graphics intensive software such as 3DMark06. On the contrary, idle temps run shockingly cool. CPU and GPU temps hold steady at 31°C and 48°C respectively. Operating with an E-dock Plus with an external monitor will increase idle temps by ~10-15°C for both the CPU and GPU.

Thermal pad contact:


Idle temperatures (on battery and without dock):



Idle temperatures (on A/C and with E-Dock Plus):


External temperatures are excellent and the M2400 can be used comfortably on the lap. Basic word processing and web surfing are well below the triple-digit temperatures.

Temperatures measured in Fahrenheit:

The noise from the fan is audible and can get a little irritating at times; especially when the M2400 is parked on the docking station running nothing but the necessary tasks for operating Vista and antivirus software in the background. During normal use without a dock, the fan isn’t as noticeable and runs at lower speeds.

Security Features

Being a business-class laptop, the M2400 is designed with several security features tailored to fit the needs for most businesses. If entering a password is not your preferred mode for logging into your system, the M2400 also offers fingerprint, smart card reader and a contactless smart card reader for your choosing. Every security feature can be accessed and configured in Dell’s ControlPoint Security Manager (already pre-installed and also available on the driver disk). Of course, the industry security standard, TPM (Trusted Platform Module) is also part of the package.

Pictorial Comparison Between the Precision M2400 and Latitude E6400

Left: M2400
Right: E6400

Top: E6400
Bottom: M2400


Customer Service and Support

Within the past month, I have purchased 2 Dell laptops from the Dell outlet store. Although for each purchase there came minor issues, Dell was able to express ship a battery replacement and a missing restore disk that I received the very next day. I was reminded by the rep that the NBD (Next Business Day) warranty service was not part of my protection plan for my Latitude, yet I was still given the “NBD” treatment. Rumors say Dell’s marketing strategy is to under-promise and over-deliver; I won’t argue with that. Dell has also taken a step further to ensure customer satisfaction in which a rep will actively call to follow up on the delivery status and answer any questions or issues you may have with your laptop. I am very impressed with the quality of Dell’s after-sales service and the only negative words I can say is the 15-20 min wait to get an actual human customer rep behind the other line and the inability to view your tracking number and status online.

Conclusion

The Precision M2400 is an excellent match for business professionals and light CAD users. It is a distinguished laptop that offers brilliant processing power with a hint of style. The ruggedness and strapping build is expected from a business laptop, and the M2400 surely lives up to that standard. Although there are some minor setbacks, the M2400 is still a well-made system and can easily survive the daily bumps and bruises encountered by most frequent travelers.

Pros:

• Excellent build quality
• Impressive input/output port selection
• Provides terrific power and performance
• Wide variety of security features
• Cool exterior (in terms of both aesthetics and temperature)
• Exceptional customer service

Cons:

• GPU runs hot and fan operate loudly during load or when attached to the E-Dock Plus
• No switchable graphics option to provide better battery performance
• Cheap plastic screen bezel
• Poor built-in speakers
• Hard drive does not feel secure enough

 

Very good review, supplemented by plenty of great empirical benchmark data.
I also like the fact that you honestly conveyed all positive and negative aspects of the laptop, without being overcome by the exitement of a new laptop.

What are the exact dimensions of the "remarkably small" touchpad?

 

David probably isn't as excited as others when he gets a new laptop, considering how he purchases a couple every month

 

I have the M2400 and am happy with it except that I can't get a decent frame rate when I run my Real Flight Simulator.

I could get 80 fps running Real Flight on my Latitude D620, but can't do better than 30 on the M2400.

 

Why did you get a 3.4 for Aero in WEI? That seems kind of low.

 

is this one of most powerful sub 15" there is?

Am I right?

and, I am also dont understand why you only get such a low WEI.

 

2.78" (6.8cm) x 1.57" (4cm)

I'm always excited whenever I get a new laptop
But in all fairness, the "magic" sorta dies down a little after a while.

Are you playing in the same settings and resolution as your Latitude D620? A 30fps and 80fps is a huge difference. Try using newer drivers from laptopvideo2go and see if there is any improvements.

Keeping in mind that WEI is terrible for benchmarking a system's performance, the low WEI score is due to the FX 370M graphics card -similar to the 9300M GS. The FX 370M is really an "entry" level card and most likely not be able to play Crysis or run graphics demanding CAD applications.

If you are referring to graphics performance, then, not really. As mentioned above, the FX 370M is similar to a 9300M GS. The most powerful or one of the most powerful sub-14" laptops would be the Asus N80 series (equipped with the 9650M GT).

 

Ah, thank you. Roughly the same size touchpad as the Lenovo Thinkpads, which are 70mm by 35mm.

 

Err, even my T43p with old V3200 gets 4.4 in WEI experience...

 

Err, WEI is crap. No person with any common sense would judge the system overall by referring to WEI.

 

So is the gfx of the M2400 much better than the E6400? Trying to figure out why there is such a price difference.

 

"Since thermal pads doesn’t conduct heat as efficient as copper metal, the Quadro FX 370M can spike up to 95°C "

That would be a deal killer for me. 95C is insanity. Its designs flaws like this that keep me away from dell. Are you sure your talking in celius? Thats freaking 203 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

True. It could be 95C. But it is not question of Dell , it is rather NVidia issue. I'm also planning to buy E6400 (sibling of this M2400) but I consider only Intel X4500HD integrated chip due to ' not being able to glue-itself-off ' from motherboard causing laptop death. NVS160 really should be done in 40nm (or even in 32nm) with such parameters that it has. Thermal pad is installed exactly to 'isolate' some extra heat to prevent CPU being heated by GPU. For Dell part only solution is:
a) TWO heatpipes one (as is in E6400 with integrated graphics) for CPU+ Chipset second for - GPU , and only GPU (this is how it was in IBM T43p which had integrated GPU).
b) fan running constantly

Either way we have (a) higher weigh , (b) more noise.

 

Not meaning to nag and it's not really aimed at the reviewer but, isn't this all a little late? Same thing goes for the latitude review a while back. These things have been out for months and while there were user reviews very fast after release these have never been posted. A review now is a bit useless in my opinion.
If it takes notebookreview this long to review laptops why bother at all? Or use the user reviews and make them meet certain guidelines etc. I know one for the M4400 which was sent to notebookreview staff a number of times but just was never replied to. I'd use the effort committed users take in writing these and put them on the homepage

 

The FX 370M isn't much better than the NVS 160M, but it will perform slightly better in CAD applications.

See this thread for more information.

Yes, I'm using Celsius. Note that GPUs can have a threshold of 105C at which the card will downclock itself to prevent overheating. Since running the laptop from the dock will automatically cause temps to rise 10C-15C, I would assume it would be much cooler if I ran 3DMark06 or any other graphics intensive applications by itself.

 

David!! This is an excellent review you have provided.

You can tell how hard you worked on this one!

I really enjoyed reading it...and it gives me some nice insight ~ if in the future I decide to purchase a Precision!

+++++ :yes:


Cin

 

excellent review man!It is just like my m4400,but bigger!BTW,do you have any sound issues?

 

I believe David got the go ahead to do a review ~ otherwise it wouldn't be here. And, perhaps some peeps that are new to the forum, might be wanting to purchase a Precision!! So, they might come here and look for the latest review info' availi' on the Precision. That, is helpful within itself, besides visiting the specific related forum!


Cin

 

Thanks guys

Yeah, the M4400 is a very nice system. Especially when it has 2 heat pipes and uses copper/aluminum plates
As for the sound issue, I'm not having any at the moment.

 

David old bussy old pal, congrats.

2 Questions.

1) Compared to the E6400 which one do you like better?(i hope that wasn't in the review)

2)Compared to your Asus U6 which one has the better LED screen?

Thanks in advance.

 

today it hit 105C...undervolted and with cooler

 

I like the M2400 more than the E6400, mostly because of the sleeker design. The E6400 looks a little "unfinished" IMO.

Compared to the Asus U6, the Asus has a better LED screen. It shares similar brightness but a significantly better contrast.

That doesn't sound good at all. Faulty GPU maybe?

 

I replaced my mobo with gpu 2 times...numbers are pretty close...going to order AS5...

 

Thanks alot David if you had to weigh both which one do you think is lighter or are they about the same?

 

They're almost identical in weight.

 

ok thats good i like it, its too bad the precision doesnt come in 13" that would be the ultimate 13" business notebook.

 

This is completly besides the point i was making really....my question was:
Why does it take so long before a review is posted on the front page while there are already user-reviews done of at least the same level?

For the M4400 it's the same case, still no "official" review while there are excellent ones in the forum.

I would like to add that it might be a good thing to point readers towards the discussions in the review itself or at least read the forum if you're going to review a laptop to be aware of the problems users are expierencing. It's clear that that isn't the case in this review. If the goal is to inform readers as good as you possibly can all options should be used.

again...not trying to disrespect the reviewer and the effort he took. Just wondering why the effort of users are NOT used anf why it takes ages for reviews to appear

 

This question should really be addressed to the NBR admins. But, if I were to take a stab at it, I'd say the reason why it took so long for a review to show up is because no one offered to write a review nor did NBR receive a unit from Dell to review.

As for the content in the review, please note that the configuration that I have may be different to the ones other people are using. Prior to purchasing the M2400, I have reviewed most of the threads related to the M2400 and am aware of some of the issues. However, due to the fact that this is a "user-review", I'm not inclined to write about issues/problems that I have not experienced.

 

Ok thanks for the answer.
You're right in saying this should be a question for the admins. I just got curious because i have seen very detailed user reviews in the forum which have been sent to admins and which were just not even replied to.
If it's the case that only "official" reviewers reviews get placed on the hp then that's a shame, broadening the sources would make the hp much more informative. I know there's a lot of people that only read through reviews on different sites without delving into forums if they exist. From that perspective it would make sense having them there as soon as possible (and as many different as possible) Ofcourse the non-NBR reviewer reviews should be of the same standards to qualify but that would be pretty easy to create guidelines for.

lol...just going on about it

Hope you enjoy your new lappy, i would've loved the size of the 2400 but needed the extra power.

Thx

 

Does the M2400 have the sound or dvd issues of the E6400?

 

The only sound issues I have with the sound, is when using the built-in speakers (too much treble, not enough bass).

For the optical drive, other than being a little more noisy than other optical drives, it works just fine. I've used it to play and burn DVDs without any lock ups or other issues.

 

hi great review. would you have suggestion for me? i purchased E6400 and had very poor sound: stutter on boot up, low volume, 'tinny' sound. we made all adjustments possible then they sent another unit. VOLUME IS STILL about 1/2 power of my old D505

im going to return this unit. i dont know what to replace to? it seems that the E series mostly all have sound issues from reading comments and the M2400 you say has same equipment as E6400!

i like specs of the E6400, but we are on the road and like to listen to stuff and i dont want to have to take speakers with us---not for price of this unit. should have decent sound.

but i like buying Dell for their service

any suggestions?

thanks
Marc

 

Yup. The speakers are quite week in the E6400 and M2400. There's really nothing a user can do about it and the only way around it is to get external speakers or a pair of headphones. For traveling purposes, I'd stick with the headphone option.

 

Wowsers this thing gets hot.

 

Maybe because the FX card is optimized for openGL ...