Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

@heavyharmonies, I know I am starting to sound like a fanboy...
But I repeat myself (now will just link to that thread, as it's complete in information), as no one takes time to read the 184 pages of posts, which I don't blame them.

@HerrKaputt, Wrong!
64-bit OS can run 32-bit application. In fact, under Vista 64-bit I can still run my old (which stop working under XP), the first CD-based game called MegaRace, Might and Magic, Heros of Might and Magic (it's a completely different game and has nothing in common), and more. Basically the only old games I can't run (which also doesn't run under XP) as the ones that are made in 16-bit, but you can usually find a patch for Windows NT on the net.

Same applies for software and the rest. See that is the problem, everyone things like Windows XP 64-bit was. It is not.If you look at the OS size of Windows 7 beta or Vista. The 32-bit takes much less space as the 64-bit. Because, the 64-bit include ALL 32-bit files for compatibility to ensure that everything still works. And this is why Microsoft decided to sell the 64-bit version as default (so the inverse of XP).

To add to HerrKaputt, if you participate to more forums in the computer enthusiasts range and read lots of documentation from these website and Microsoft, you will see that, as I said on the post, that the RAM usage depends on the user system form the range of 3 to 3.8GB with possible slow down. Also, this is covered in university. In fact the same thing will happen with 64-bit CPU if a user has 16 Exabyte of RAM... well that is if nothing is being done, and we don't have enough RAM to actually test it outside of the "simulation room".

Reasons why one would stay with XP or Vista 32-bit:
- Unsupported peripheral(s) that can't be change due to financial issue or other reasons (millions of reason could exist).
- Unsupported buisness level (custom build for that buisness) application that was laughing called "made by a professional". Why my applications works for Windows 95 all the way up to Windows 7 without me doing any updates? Hmmm....
- Machines is owned by a company, and they don't have the resources (ie: don't see any reason to train all the employees as that OS has no benefit for them) and plan to widely distribute it within the company for their employees.

Other than that... no other reasons.

 

I haven't tried amiga, but DOS Box works perfectly well when I used it. Moreover, you can always install DOS under Virtual PC (free at Microsoft.com), provided that you have DOS OS and instruction on how to install it on a system.

 

Has anyone been using Windows 7 beta on their E6400? Run into any issues? I'm thinking about giving it a go soon.

 

Only issue I have is that Roxio will not update. Literally, that's the only problem.

Use the video drivers (if you have the x4500) from Dell.com even though they are older than the preinstalled Win7 ones. You get more picture controls and the screen brightness doesn't quite work right with the default driver

Greg

 

I have no issue with me (Windows 7 64-bit)... but I don't use it much. I am mostly on my Vista 64-bit as I can't connect to the university (well I did not spend time to look into it, in reality) internet, as it uses a special software to connect. My wireless works thus at home.

The nvidia display drivers are in alpha/beta stages, it did crash on me for like scaling a window twice. But Windows 7 just restarts the drivers, so no biggy. Of course it doesn't do it all the time.

Also the Windows Experience Index for HDD is broken.. just ignore it (give you a 2.1, but if you disable writing cache you get the same score as under Vista... which makes no sense, and I didn't realize any slow down either (which I did under Vista when I tested it))

 

I may be one of the few, but I am not liking my E6400 at all. Dell is sending me a replacement because I am having several problems including touchpad freaking out periodically, HDD always busy as hell, DVD burner won't burn anything, CD spins indefinately, and audio problems. I just can't believe I've had all those problems with a single machine. I truly hope the replacement will correct all those problems. Very frustrated right now. I'm at the point where I may just take the brand new laptop and sell it NIB and get a Sager or something.

 

Was your machine new, or refurbished?

I was originally planning to order a T400 but Lenovo seems to have issues with randomly losing, cancelling, or delaying orders. I'm getting fed up.

I'm considering an E6400, but was just wondering a few things.

Is the crackling (poor) audio only associated with the internal speakers? Or is it an output problem that translates into headphones and external speakers?

I have heard people saying the touchpad is horrible. What is actually horrible? The texture, or just the functionality? I'm assuming it's made by ALPS?

Last, when ordering a refurbished machine, is it more likely to receive one with dead pixels, or other random quirks? Or are these usually sorted out by Dell?

Thanks!

 

Crackling/stuttering audio, I do get it every now and then when the optical drive is plugged into my system (the PLDS branded one) and occurs at random intervals. It has nothing to do with the internal speakers as it happens also when I have my headphones plugged in.

The ALPS touchpad, the surface and buttons are all fine. It's just the response of the touchpad which is rather poor. It feels clumsy and 'reluctant to move' as compared to touchpads with Synaptics' sensors. And sometimes when you tap it doesn't respond, and sometimes when you do not have the intention of tapping, the sensor registers a tap. Took me a while to get used to the ALPS pad, but I'm generally fine with it now.

 

Yes, the touchpad works, but in comparison to other touchpads it just behaves.. strange and reluctant. You get used to it, but I still prefer using an external mouse (but I also preferred that with my old Dell where the touchpad was awesome, so..).

The audio crackling really is an annoying issue (though I think it is finally over for me, Dell technician exchanged my WLAN-card yesterday and now it's running fine), but altogether the E6400 really is a veeeeery nice machine. It seems rather common to run into some problems with first delivery (in my case the LED-cover was a bit bent up and I had the audio crackling issue), but if you make sure to get the 3 years next-day-business-service (or whatever it's called ), you can solve most of these (for free).

Of course, that may be time consuming or plain annoying, but I think in the long run this has solved almost every issue (except the audio crackling as this seems to be very hard to track down).

I suggest you give it a try and if you don't like it, well, you can still give it back!

 

I saw GoodBytes mention a driver pack for E6400 too be used with Vista x64. Whats the difference with this driver pack compared to the drivers you get off dells page?

My new E6400 will arive soon, and after what I have understood so far I will download drivers directly for the current devices:
Intel WiFi 5300: www.intel.com
Intel Onboard NIC: www.intel.com
Nvidia M160: www.laptopvideo2go.com

When it comes to the crackling audio problems people are having, I'cant seem to find any specific reason to why, so is it just best to install the latest Dell IDT driver from dells homepage?

Best Regards