E6410 Owner's Thread

Has anyone found a 3G data card for this laptop on eBay?

 

Hi everyone,
Thanks for a great thread. I haven't read it all yet, but I've been searching up and down about heat and noise. Noise is my primary concern. More heat usually means more noise from the fan.

As a small contribution to the thread I'd like to mention that dell has released the i7 640m processor as an option in the E6410 lineup. Well it's released in Sweden at least and we don't usually get new stuff first so it should be readily available in other countries.

Maybe you can see where I'm going with this? Does anybody know if the i7 640m will be even hotter than the i7 620m in regular use (i.e. not artificial stress tests)?

From the heat/noise standpoint I gather it would be wiser to go with one of the i5 cpu:s. But a local dealer has a really good deal on a e6410 with i7 640m and 500 GB HDD. It's about $500 less than one with a i7 620m and a 320 HDD but otherwise equally equipped e6410. Setting up a e6410 with the same specs at dell gives a price that is about $1000 more! I can't imagine I could get that kind of discount calling dell directly.

 

The i7-640M has the same thermal rating as the i7-620M (and the i5 CPUs) and should therefore not run hotter (and if it does get hot then the cores will run slower). I would be willing to give it a try on the assumption that the refinements to the fabrication process should have improved the power efficiency (this is implicit in the CPU being rated to run faster within the same power rating). Also, in theory, the faster CPU should be able to complete the work faster and then go into a lower power state.

Fan noise is not a big issue on the E6410. I think there are 4 fan speeds altogether and the faster speeds are only noticeable in a quiet room. I would point out, however, that if you use a docking station then the fan appears to run faster than when undocked.

John

 

Thanks for the reply John. I don't plan on using a docking station so that will not be an issue. And it sounds like good news about the fan noise as well. I've come in contact with a hp Probook which has a pretty high pitch fan that is incredibly annoying even at it's lowest setting (which is not very low at all). My six year old Dell Inspiron has a much lower pitch fan noise, the lowest fan speed is completely turned off and the highest is about half as loud as the Probook on max. I find the fan noise in the Inspiron quite acceptable at all fan speeds so the pitch seems to play a crucial role in the perception of fan noise.

I realize this is a highly subjective question but what is the fan characteristic like in the e6410? Is it low a pitched noise or more of a high pitch noise?

 

So my touchpad and finger-pointed on my E6410 purchased from Dell Outlet about a month ago just stopped working. What do I do? :'(

SOS

 

Are the devices enabled in the BIOS?

Do they appear in Device Manager?

Is there a device driver status in Device Manager?

Are there any device indications in the device Control Panal or in Dell ControlPoint?

Have you rebooted?

Have you tried uninstalling the devices and rebooting?

Have you tried installing a device driver update?

If the hardware has stopped working/failed, then call Dell to arrange a repair.

Meanwhile, get a USB mouse, or wireless mouse with USB transceiver, or a Bluetooth mouse.

GK

 

Has anyone had any problems with a keyboard partially malfunctioning after having worked properly for a couple of months since it was delivered (it was a refurb in pristine condition)?

This week I woke up to find some of the keys in the row of numbers and some of the navigation keys in the upper right and lower left corners stopped working - nothing happens when I press them. There’s been no changes and the computer wasn't damaged in any way.

I uninstalled/reinstalled the driver via Device Manager, reinstalled a previous known-working system image just in case, also removed and reseated the keyboard (happily surprised at how very easy that is!) and found nothing that appeared out of place or damaged. The illumination function, touchpad, and LED panel above the keyboard work fine. As a stopgap, I’m using a USB keyboard, which is working fine, so I’m pretty sure it's a hardware problem on the laptop keyboard.

Dell instantly offered to ship out a replacement, which I’m expecting today. But I’m wondering what could have caused the problem, and would appreciate any ideas or hearing about similar experiences.

 

It is a relatively low pitched noise: More of a loud purr than a whine.

The only problem I have had with a Dell keyboard was in 2001 on an Inspiron 8000. It could be temporarily fixed by removal / replacement but the underlying problem was with the connector on the motherboard. I've had no issues, so far, with the keyboard on either my E6400, E6410 or E4300.

John

 

Sounds like a new hardware fail. As JohnR mentioned, beware cable and connector issues when you replace it.

GK

 

I would check the connector as well. Could be one of the pins isn't contacting because it is lopsided/detached or not pushed all the way in.