Dell Precision M4400 Peer Review

Hi,
I am about to buy M4400.
As you feel that some problems are no more on machine you`ve got I have questions to the display WUXGA, 2CCFL thats on your system.
How are you satisfied with it`s appearance?
Is it mat?
Is it visible on direct sun light or if you look from angles?
Is there some undesired, inconsistent backlight?

I have no experience CCFL versus LED display, so maybe I am asking a bit as "simple mind"...
What bothers me is also that in my location DELL have in specs of M4400 described 2 different types of WUXGA displays, but in configurator they offer only 2CCFL. (15,4 WUXGA TrueLife RGB LED 1920 x 1200 or 15,4 WUXGA AG visible on dirrect light 1920 x 1200)
Do you have the second one?
When I`ve called dell sales directly, they just said they sale here the better one of this two, but when I asked more about display appearance It was clear they simply don`t know

Other point is speakers... Is it really so bad? I was really happy with Harm/Cardon or other on toshiba ntbs I have used.
Would M4400 hurt my ears?

Also I haven`t seen here a word about offered modul with GPS
Is there someone having some experience with it? Possible SW and maps,... work with signal...?

Thank for answers to any of my questions?

 

Hey sporty,

Yes the screen is matte, viewing angles are good and the brightness is blinding ( i always have it 40%)
Haha...ofcourse they would say they are selling the better of the two screens..LOL..truth is RGB LED would be the better one and it's just not available anywhere. I guess that whole production process took longer than Dell expected. My main problem with the screen is the uneven backlight, "bleed" on the lower 3 cm of the screen....it's less visible at lower brightness though and i've kinda made peace with it although i'm hoping for better in my new system

The speakers are not completly awful...i can at least watch a movie in bed without being annoyed but they're not great...Harman Kardon or such would've been MUCH better and should've been put in seeing the price we're paying.

Haven't heard anything about the GPS option from anyone here but indeed read about it being offered in the US, though it also said it wasn't sure if that would be available worldwide.

Hope that helps

 

I sometimes play three or four videos at the same time plus firefox open with lots of tabs. Can the computer handle all this well (with FX 770 / 2.53ghz, / 4 GB RAM? (I'm considering upgrading from a Latitude D820 with Quadro NVS 120M - really big improvement?)

Also, I have not seen anywhere stated if there is a way to output 5.1 audio. Anyone knows about it?

Thanks.

 

Ah, I want to use it with Vista 32-bit.

 

Is it just me, or is the M4400 shell extremely ugly? That corrugated look seems quite unmotivated.

I am currently searching for a new laptop, and specification wise, I should go for the M4400. However, I really like the brushed metal look of the Latitude. It looks so much better than the precision series, in my opinion.

Pictures might deceive, though. I would like to see some more non-studio shots of the M4400. Could anyone who owns a Precision M4400 (or other 2008 precision series) post some pictures of it just how it looks standing on your desks? Maybe a picture showing the back cover as well. That would help me alot.

 

there are pics on the forum., try searching.

and if you want to order it with the latitude cover, you can. talk to your rep. again, try looking thru other posts.

 

Thanks, I found some pics in another thread which actually made the shell look quite nice! I might just go for it then.
Are you saying that I might be able to order a latitude screen shell for the precision as well? (i am assuming that the chassis is the same on these two).

 

Hi LPTP-LVR,
Thank you for info... your opinion is helpfull. It seems I will wait for better WUXGA with LED till end of dec2008.
If they don`t start to sell the LED one in WUXGA, I will order 1440x900 WSXGA+ with LED. Other spec of box I chose is lightly worse than yours.
Think that press me is that I need spend the costs this year. Otherwise I would wait longer for the WUXGA with LED.

To my question about GPS option. At DELL in czech rep. it is declared in general specs to the model that GPS is included in following stuff...

Integrated Mobile Broadband:
Dell™ Wireless 5530 MiniCard 3G/HSDPA 7.2 no SIM included

and it can be ordered in czech rep. Dell sales guys has proved this info by phone and eMail... the think is delivered without GPS apps. They said it can be used with TomTom or "GoogleMaps"?! thats what they say, but it did not satisfied me and I am looking for some independent experience.
And so I ask again..

IS THERE SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE WITH GPS ON M4400?

I was a bit searching on web for specs of this "MiniCard" but haven`t found clear think about it... datasheet or something of that kind.
Thanks in advance for any info or some helpfull links.
Good luck to all of you here!

sporty

 

There will be a massive difference in the two video cards... the 120M is based on the Go 7400 while the FX 770M is base on the 9600M GT. 2 generations ahead and one tier above is simply huge. The current Dell shouldn't break a sweat w/ 4 simultaneous videos and firefox.

 

Hallo!

Finally I found something helpful about GPS right on forums here on notebookreview.com
If interested look here:
forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=307206

sorry I didn`t send above 15 posts so the url is just cut

 

Don't know if anybody still reads this (or still has their machine? so many returns!). Has the display problem been solved on new machines or is it still the LG one? Also, can anybody drop a quick note on the long term reliability of this machine? Like any unexpected failures/breakages/incompatibility. Also has the DVDRW problem been resolved (that's a deal breaker too...)
Reading this I'm beginning to think that Dell is best at making economy machines.

 

I am running my machine with vista business 64 and it is working perfectly with bios a11. I had an issue with bios a09 and dvd burning but previous and later bios's solved the problem.

Also, I want to address the LG LCD screen issue. I have that screen wxga+ 1400 x 900 and it is beautiful. It is bright and clear and it has had no issues. However, that screen is so bright that in regular situations you have to set it at about 50 to 60 percent brightness. Another thing you may notice is that LED lcd's are colder in color and I found my old laptop to be yellowish by comparison to the bluish tint of the new lcd.

I was so worried about it after reading what was written on here but I guess it was just a bad batch of earlier LG screens that were affected.

There are however 2 other screen options that are of higher resolution. One is a 2 CCFL one and the other is an RGB LED one. I think both of those are pretty spectacular and, unless you get a faulty unit, you should be more than pleased.

Hope this info helps.

 

this is a great review thank you

 

You will get a much better up-to-date view of these notebooks if you visit the M4400 owners' lounge. I have that same LG 14.1" WXGA+ display in my E6400 and I think it is excellent. It does lose contrast at full brightness, but the only time I need full brightness is when sitting in the sunshine. I normally use it at about half brightness where the quality is excellent.

John

 

I can confirm as well that the LG LCD some Precision M4400 have is inferior in terms of quality in comparison to the Samsung panel. I have a Precision M4400 with the LG grainy screen and the problem is quite evident. DELL sent the laptop as replacement for another system that had a dead pixel, but that one had a Samsung screen and quality was much better aside from the dead pixel. It was not grainy, and colors also were better. I wonder if it's possible to ask for a Precision with Samsung screen . Since it's not really a defective part but still I find dissapointing that it's so grainy I wonder how could I describe the problem to Dell so they offer me a solution? I can't return the laptop since I bought it as a business, may I ask for another replacement?

 

Sorry to hear that. I have the LG screen and I see no grain and the colors are fine. My older Dell with a ccfl screen looks yellowish by comparison and looks softer. Now, I don't know if it's a production problem with your screen or if you are much pickier than I am, but for the life of me, I put the screen on full brughtness and stick my face right up against it and I see no grain.

 

Could you make a picture of the good screen, please?
I have received a m4400 yesterday and the screen is grainy. Will Dell replace the screen with new parts or refubished?

 

Is this grainy problem present on all screen types for the M4400? If I spent the extra money would the RGB-LED TRUELIFE Display have this problem? Thanks

 

Nope...RGB LED is a completely different screen...and probably one of the best out there

 

Is it worth upgrading to the Quadro Fx 1700M over the 770M? Its an extra $300 but I have been unable to find benchmarks to warrant the additional cost.

I plan to connect a second 1920x1200 monitor while working at home/office. I will be running Maya 2009, Mudbox, and Adobe CS4. Can the 770M handle this? Thank you

 

770 can handle it easily, i'm doing the same The 1700 is basically the same card but with higher clocks...NOT worth the extra $$ IMHO...

 

will buying some DDR3 Ram for this work?

 

No, DDR3 RAM will not even fit in the DDR2 slots.

 

Isn't that 1920x1200 resolution too much for such a small 15.4 display? I used to have 1920x1080 on 16" and everything was too small for me. I'm thinking about to buy M4400, but I'm not sure about the display. The 1440x900 would be probably grainy and poor quality which is not good too. Please help

 

I wonder why prices on HDs dropped so dramatically since that post about the drives. $100 is actually rather pricey for a 7200rpm drive. I'm not sure if it works with this model, but this drive costs much less...
http://www.alwayslowest.com/AL/index.cfm?fuseaction=shop.dspSpecs&part=2797599
and even this ad is old!

 

I love the WUXGA resolution personally - not nearly as hard to read as I thought it would be.

One thing that is irritating is that the paint on one of the speaker grills has started to peel away rather quickly. I'm going to have to cover it in electrical tape or something, b/c paint evidently doesn't seem to stick very well to it.