e6410 or e6420...Unique situation. Pocket $300 or spend $500...

PLEASE READ BEFORE VOTING

I am in a unique predicament…what you would you do in my situation?

My current computer is a Dell e6410 with a 2.66 i7 Dual-Core, 8GB Ram, Finger Print Reader, Webcam, BT, Intel wireless, backlit keyboard, DVD/RW, 1440x900 screen, Quadro NVS. 3-Year ONSITE warranty (2 years left).

I just bought and received a Dell e6420 with a 2.2 i7 Quad-Core, 8GB Ram, Finger Print Reader, Webcam, BT, Intel wireless, backlit keyboard, DVD/RW, 16000x900 screen, Quadro NVS. 3-Year ONSITE warranty.

I’ve had quite a few build quality issues with my e6420 and haven’t had a single issue with my e6410. I am fearful that the build quality issues are a sign of things to come, and I’m not super sold on the whole rubbery palm rest …but I do love the larger touchpad.

*Someone is buying my e6410 for $1000.
*For my e6420 I paid $1500.
*I can obtain another e6410 IDENTICAL to mine with a 3-Year ONSITE warranty that just started for $950.

I'm conflicted because of the Quad-Core and the larger touchpad on the e6420....but there is an $800 spread between the two, which won't matter a ton if I keep this one for a long time....

What do I do???

 

If the E6410 is enough then stick with it. The resale value will be poor as the market is already flooded with the E6410. People with the Quadro graphics with the E6410 have put in Clarksfield i7s.

 

Does the E6420 have any particular advantages for you, such as the better performance, switchable graphics or battery run time? I see the 16:9 display, wider chassis and slightly increased weight of the E6420 as disadvantages. If not, get another E6410 at a good price which is already well down the depreciation curve.

I am also considering getting another E6410 from Dell Outlet to have in reserve since the E6420 doesn't tick the right boxes for me.

John

 

Tell the sucker paying $1000 for your E6410 that he can buy a new one with a full warranty for $700. That will settle your conflicts, real and imagined.

GK

 

I got the second e6420 today and the build quality is certainly better, more testing is needed to see about the back cover issue.

I enjoy the larger touchpad, and yes, petter performance, switchable graphics and better battery life are all things I enjoy about the e6420. I do dislike the 16:9 screen, but its a battle similar to 4:3 --> 16:10, it is inevitable.

My e6410 is perfectly fine for my NEEDS, but I've always upgraded every year since ~2005:

D810-->XPS M1710-->XPS M1330-->e4300-->e6400-->e6410-->e6420--?-->e6410

Give me a link to where I can get ALL those options I listed in my e6410 for $700...you can't.

All of the issues with the e6420 are absolutely true. I've even submitted unarguable pictures.

 

That's what scares me. I had enough problems last year getting a fully functional E6410, and the case design wasn't even a problem then. I'm really worried about a number of issues, such as the case separation phenomenon, the weak speakers and the apparent mismatch between the bottom cover and the motherboard. Yes, my experience with the E6410 was pretty tough, and when I finally got one that worked, I still had to wait 3 or 4 months for borderline acceptable drivers. I've also set a personal record for the number of BIOS updates. And no, I'm not impressed by the performance of my E6410. It's reached a level of acceptability, but that's all.

Right now, I'm contemplating the more expensive Elitebook 8460P, which miraculously has native USB 3.0 and doesn't feature orange stripes and a giant chrome medallion.

 

^The cost of the 8460P and lack of discreet graphics (plus bad personal history with HP) kept me away from the Elitebook.

I've decided to go/stay with the e6410. I also learned the one I will be getting has the 640M processor, so 2.8Ghz...should be just fine, as most programs wont know what do do with 4 processing threads let alone the 8 threads on the e6420.

After receiving the replacement e6420 it is my conclusion that:

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BUILD QUALITY: e6410 > e6420

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