Dell Latitude E6400

Hey guys,
I started up a thread over in the WNSIB forum, but there is nothing but crickets there... Never mind. I thought I should post directly in the Dell forum as well, I'm after a Dell. Specifically the E6400... I can get a Dell Latitude E6400 with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, DVD-RW, Intel GMA 4500MHD, 6-Cell Battery, all for only $388.

I'm not made of money, that's why I'm looking cheap! I'm only a high-school student, and Mum and Dad aren't willing to put hundreds of dollars into a computer either... They just don't have the money floating around ATM. Is the E6400 still worth getting? Keeping in mind that for all my life I have been using P3/P4 and just recently upgraded to the Dual-Core world to a T2400 on my D620... lol. I don't plan on doing much on it, just school stuff, so Office, Visual Studio 2010, Adobe CS4 Master Collection stuff... All this run's wonderfully on my D620 and that doesn't have too good of specs.

After owning my D620 I could never go to a consumer line of notebooks... I just don't look or use them the same as I used to, that's why I'm looking at the E6400...

Any input would be great, as I expect to buy it maybe by the end of the week, early next? Depends if my laptop sell's I 'spose...

Cheers,
Joel.

EDIT: Oh BTW, here's the link to the listing on eBay(they have this annoying pop-up of their address too...):
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290510379938&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

Go for it. That's a very similar configuration to the E6400 (except for the lower resolution display) that I had for a couple of years (see my review here). It should, as a minimum, have about 8 months warranty remaining and maybe a lot more, in case anything needs fixing (get the service tag from the seller and check the warranty on the Dell support site). My main complaint about the build quality is the lack of rubber bumpers on the display bezel which resulted in some scratching on the palm rest until I stuck my own bumpers on.

In case you wonder why I replaced my E6400 with the E6410, see my E6410 review. I have got a little more oomph, but at the expense of a little more heat. The P8600 is a cool running CPU, especially if undervolted.

John

 

Thanks for your reply, John. I read your review Very nice indeed, mostly the reason why I chose the E6400. It doesn't say anything about the warranty in the description, except of which the seller offers, however I will ask for the Service Tag and follow up on that!

I read in the Owners Lounge about the bumpers, if it becomes too much of a problem, like yourself, I would just stick some of my own bumpers on.

I would have jumped on an E6410, however, as they are a lot more expensive I would be waiting a lot longer, and be without a computer for a lot longer. I really only need this to last til the end of next year, where after that would start my tertiary studies and buy a new notebook.

 

My very basic (now upgraded) E6410 was 458 shipped with Core i3-380M, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB 5400 rpm HDD, webcam, 6 cell battery, Windows 7 HP x86. There isn't a significant change in terms of build quality between the E6400 and the E6410, only the platform change.

And of course you should never buy a consumer grade notebook...for anything these days. The awful 16:9 screens should be an automatic turnoff, then you get the cheapo materials, awful keyboards, uber cheap LCD bezels, crappy support. the list is endless! That and all refurbished mainstream E notebooks should all come with a 3 year business warranty included. Just make sure you don't drop your laptop!

 

I'd second everything that John says here. The trade off between 6400 and 6410 is largely power for performance. If you don't need i3/i5, I don't really see anything wrong with the E6400. I'd add that some units might be warranty replacements, which won't have any warranty. All the more reason to check, though.

 

What's a tertiary and why do we need to study them?

 

Should have started off I'm in Australia. So, that $458 machine could turn out well over $1000 here.

True. Very true.

Tertiary studies are University studies.

 

I've just asked him if it has any Dell warranty. I don't think it'll make me change my mind whether to get it or not, I'm pretty much going for it (once my current one sells.. ), I like to do my own repairs.

 

Well the Dell warranty will just make it a better deal. Almost every E notebook from Dell come with a standard 3 year warranty, or more. If it isn't in warranty you could always call up Dell and request a warranty extension. Nothing like owning the notebook after the return policy and the motherboard dying.

 

Oh yeah! I forgot to add that it would be nice though!