e6420/e6520 to release tomorrow?

Here is a quick mini review of E6520 after one day of using it (running Ubuntu).

Mine is i7-2620M (dual core), 128GB SSD, 8GB of RAM, 1920x1080, 9-cell battery. This is a new laptop for software development.

Pros:

* screen is OUTSTANDING. same quality as new macbook pros but higher resolution
* good battery life with 9-cell. planning to add a bay 3-cell battery

Cons:

* large and heavy. 9-cell battery makes things worse ;-)
* CPU runs hot even in power saving mode (800 MHz). This is a significant issue for me since I am used to putting my left hand next to the laptop when not typing...

Can anyone please comment if their CPU is running hot? Unfortunately I got rid of Win7 immediately upon getting this laptop, so I can't check if there would be less heat when running Win7.

I installed Ubuntu 10.10 on it, but had a number of issues (no sound, no screen brightness adjustment). So I had to upgrade to Natty, 11.04 Beta 1, and this resolved most of the problems. Bluetooth, Wireless, CPU frequency scaling, screen brightness adjustment work just fine.

 

@RebelXT: Please post your idle frequency and your idle voltage.
i7-2620M should be below 5 Watt at idle.
Your E6520 should be quiet cold at idle.

There is a long review on the E6420 at
Test Dell Latitude E6420 Notebook - Notebookcheck.com Tests
(German)
Googles tranlation:
Google Übersetzer
I think there will be soon a native english version of the review at
Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News - Notebookcheck.net.
Some impressions:
Buckling resistant case.
7 Watt minimal power in readers mode (12 hours + 21 Minutes even without a low-power-SSD and without a power-saving-i7).
Hard drive is a little noisy.
Keyboard very good.

0,896Volt at idle for the low-budget Intel Core i3-2310M CPU
(still to high, because of Intel-Marketing, we could turn of one nuke power plant if all notebooks and servers run at minimal phiysical low voltage configurations).

 

Owners of E6520 with Nvidia 4200M GPU please confirm that there are 2 separate heatpipes: one for the CPU and one for the GPU.
E6420 has one heatpipe for both and as you will see in notebookcheck's review, in full load the GPU temperature rises to 99 ° C.
It would be great if you could also upload a photo of the cooling system or a picture of the backlit keyboard to make sure that the keyboard backlight is even.

Thanks in advance!

 

I'm anti-social; if I can order something via the web site (premier through my work) I don't tend to want to deal with the reps.

 

Use the on-line chat on dell website when ordering. They will offer you discounts and can add accessories that are not listed. All you do is configure your notebook and add it to cart, and then open a live chat and the rep will review it and see what they can offer. They gave me a $30 discount.

 

@heinz2005

idle frequency is 800 MHz. I'm not sure what the voltage is, and I could not find a way to undervolt the CPU in the BIOS.

I'm monitoring power usage using powertop, and it's 18.3W when display is on low brightness with bluetooth off. It's 1920x1080 display so I'd expect it to draw more power compared to 1366x768.

It seems that NVidia 4200M is powered up when running Ubuntu, and I could not find a way to disable it (no option in BIOS)..

Win7 would probably give better battery life overall mainly due to being able to switch NVidia GPU off. I would expect wattage to drop to ~13W once there is a way to power down NVidia GPU under Ubuntu. Any pointers would be appreciated.

 

@RebelXT
Compared to 7W (Windows 7) your 18.3W is way to high when display is on low brightness and with bluetooth off. Even the 1920x1080 should be an LED device and it should be under 2 Watt at low brightness.
If you are interested in Linux-undervolting, do not try to find an option in the Dell-Bios. Better read something like http://www.gentoo-wiki.info/Pentium_M/Undervolting or a more actual page on Linux undervolting. Anyway I think undervolting will only work good at load, not at idle.
Another guess is the Nvidia GPU running hot.
You have a laptop with Nvidia optimus technology, it has both an Intel graphics card inside and an Nvidia, and there's some weird acpi stuff that does the switching based on needs, on windows you could choose which card to use from the nvidia control panel. And if you chose Intel the Nvidia GPU is completly switched oll (zero power). Unfortunately there is no linux solution at the moment for this new switching problem, in short there isn't stable support for nvidia optimus on linux. You can however run ubuntu perfectly fine just on the intel card (which is happening till you install the nvidia drivers). I think there will be a software switch within the next weeks as many optimus notebooks apear on the market. Nvidia GPU only gives you about 10 to 50% performance boost in 3D applications (e.g. games). For all other applications the internal Intel GPU will do better.
So please chose the "Core processor integrated controller" driver (it should be offered) and do not install the Nvidia driver for now.
Maybe you can uninstall all nvidia drivers
sudo apt-get --purge remove nvidia-*
And you can track or cooperate with https://launchpad.net/~hybrid-graphics-linux

 

@all:
Is there a place for E6420/E6520 where solutions can be documented in a structured way - a place like a wiki? We can discuss questions and answers in a increasing long thread, but a wiki would be a nice additional option.

1. Hardware, Reviews http://tinyurl.com/E6420-review1
2. Pictures, Videos http://tinyurl.com/E6420-i http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfTrxfDFlBY
3. Buyers Guide
4. Driver updates http://tinyurl.com/E6520-Drivers
5. Windows Know How
6. Useful Tools
7. Linux Konw How
8. Manuals (e.g. Service Manual) http://tinyurl.com/E6420-manual1
9. Known Problems
10. Hardware Upgrades (SSD, RAM, CPU, USB3)
11. Third Party Upgrades (e.g. 2,5" Media Dirve)
12. Unofficial Specifications (max. Memory, CPUs, max. Harddisk)
13. Modifications
14. Error Codes
15. How to control Fan Speed
16. Undervolting
17. Overclocking
18. FAQs, Howto, Tutorials

Where would be the best place for a wiki?

 

Fine idea, of course, but:

o most users only need to solve a few problems and then just use their system until it is retired. Unstructured forum discussion and Google tends to meet this need.

o many such bits of relevant information and discussion have more general application beyond a specific model. The cross-pollination of useful information here would be excluded from any such a wiki, making it less attractive.

o the shelf-life of technology documentation can be too brief to be worthwhile, especially if not used as envisioned. Witness the dearth of manuals everywhere.

o most of use are probably doing this to escape our wiki-like day jobs.

o just say 'no' to that inner urge to record every tidy detail for posterity!

GK

 

oops, delete