Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Yes, I must agree on this.
Again, if you don't care about gaming or CAD or anything that uses the GPU, then go with Intel. Save money, reduce a little heat, and save battery life.
Remember something Photoshop CS4 features that uses the GPU if you have a supported GPU, is kinda useless as the performance would be similar when using the CPU for laptop. And, from my understand I was told (I don't do photoshop) that the it's only very few features that has support that.

 

Just thought I would let the group know that, Yes, an E6400 laptop with the Nvidia 160 GPU will drive the 3008WFP monitor at its native 2560x1600 resolution with or without the E-Dock docking station via the displayport connection. Be aware there are flakey displayport cables out there, I got one from Dell. The replacement works fine and the image on the monitor is stellar.

 

I would like to play HD video encoded with x264 on the E6400 using Media Player Classic Home Cinema. I have the Nvidia GPU. Can someone fill me in on the best settings to use or point me to the answer?

Thanks

 

Definitely agree with this one. The reason why I chose the Intel over the Nvidia this time is because I had a Quadro from my D620 die on me 3 months before the warranty was up. I know I was lucky that time but I didn't want to risk it again. I'm pretty happy with my decision as this laptop is really a "laptop" without burning my thighs

 

Thank you for your memory suggestions. Do you have any others? What about the processor and memory?

What is the consensus on XP vs. Vista?


Latitude E6400:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Operating Systems:
Genuine Windows Vista Business Bonus-Windows XP Professional downgrade
LCDs:
14.1" UltraSharp™ WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Display - Brush Metal Black
Graphics and Expansion Slot:
Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD With PC-Card
Memory:
4.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Internal Keyboard:
Internal English Backlit Keyboard
Camera/Microphone:
Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
Primary Storage:
250GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM with Free Fall Sensor
Primary Optical Device:
8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio and Cyberlink PowerDVD™
Wireless LAN (802.11):
Intel® WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
LCDs:
Black Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel w/Integrated Camera and Microphone
Processor Branding:
Intel Centrino 2 Core Duo ProcessorIC2NB
Primary Battery:
6 Cell Battery
AC Adapter:
90W A/C Adapter (3-pin)

 

ok I can't find the post about making the output volume louder. it is really quiet. Can anybody help? thanks

 

What you failed to realize is that the 12W number is not for the Nvidia GPU only; it is the whole laptop with the Nvidia GPU, in light usage. I have compared my two E6400's, and those are accurate numbers as far as I can tell. No one has shown any evidence that the difference is only 30 minutes with the 9 cell between laptops equipped with the two graphics systems.

Judging just by the temperature of the laptop, that 2W difference is very reasonable.

 

4GB is currently what is recommended by most people, if you use your laptop for some real work. Processor is up to you. P series uses less power than the T series, but are slightly less powerful (well it has less L2 cache and slower speed). It's up to you what on what you want. I have the P8400 (as it was 70$ more Canadian for the P8600 at the time of purchase, but now is free at Dell Canada), and I am fine with that. I do mostly programming.

It's been talked countless of time. Look on this very thread for more info. But the summary.,
Go with with Vista 64-bit. Don't have the 64-bit version of Vista, call dell for it, and they will give it to you for free. Vista runs best on new technology and this laptop is only that. When I ordered the laptop in November, there was a clear evidence that Vista 64-bit drivers and Dell tool were superior, now I think they are all equal. To use your 4GB of RAM and not 3.2GB you need a 64-bit OS, and Vista 64-bit is the way to go. Vista 64 is all in 64-bit so it takes advantage of your 64-bit CPU, which gives you a little more performance over Vista 32-bit and a little increase of battery life (few minutes). And it was found out by me and other that when you use 64-bit codecs it uses less system power so you gain battery life; again, not by much but it's still something.

All details are provided on older posts.

[/quote]

Other points:
- It seams, on this forum, that many people have problems with the Intel Wireless card 5300. I say go with the 5100. Perhaps, someone can confirm this?
- The webcam is from Creative. If you ever had Creative devices, you know how abysmal the drivers are. I think some people were complaining about putting the system to sleep problems and BSOD... but I don't know if that was fixed with the latest drivers. When I ordered my laptop, the sells rep. wanted to give it to me for free, but I refused.
- Careful for your HDD, You might fall with a Seagate 7200RPM HDD, which are very noisy (sounds like a fan noise) and could do some "clicking" noise. It all depends on what Dell put on your laptop.
- Make SURE you have Next Buisness Day On Site service. For one, it will help for negotiating (see bellow), and it's the best service you'll get. This service will ensure you ALWAYS have your laptop in hand, even if your hold laptop is being replaced, you get to keep the current one until you get the new one, and shipping is always paid on both sides by Dell. You also get to see the tech guy at work, and if he even scratches the laptop, Dell covers you.

If you are buying the laptop new, I suggest to decrease the customization.. like take a DVD-player or CD-burner, smallest HDD of the speed you want, etc... write what you want on paper to not forget anything. And then CALL Dell. they will give you free shipping, and you can negotiate very easily, just by asking, on the price and free upgrades.
In my case I got, 350$ off, free wireless N 5100, free DVD burner, free backlit keyboard, free 9-cell battery upgrade, and free RAM upgrade from 2GB to 4GB. With the upgrade I got for free, back in November, the laptop was 2024$ and I paid ~1630$ Canadian.

 

The watts usage detail has been taken directly from Intel and Nvidia websites. I trust they have more sophisticated tools to measure then yours. Also, I did not say 30min less, I said ~30min. BIG DIFFERENCE!

From looking at the internals of the E6400 with the Intel and Nvidia GPU. The Nvidia GPU heatsink touches with pads the metal base of the laptop, where as the Intel one doesn't have that all. This might explain why you feel the laptop warmer with the Nvidia GPU whereas with the Intel, the only way to know is to open up the laptop and touch the heat sink. From, looking at posted temperature of the system at idle, it seams that the monitored temperature are close to mine. I can't remember the exact values but it was a few degree Celsius.

 

No, the problem is with Intel drivers that are common to both 5100 and 5300. We have the wireless dropping problem on the E6400 with the Intel WiFi 5100 card.

There are very few reports of this problem on the Dell 1505 (Broadcom) 11agn card. I use it on my E4200, and it's very solid. Any difference in performance between the Broadcom and the Intel cards will not be felt, IMO, and I have a 11N network at home.

Now the Intel drivers have the "My Wifi" features. Perhaps that is a good reason to go with Intel.