Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

If you weren't already aware of this- the Latitude E4300/E6400 use magnesium alloy throughout the case/chassis and the display/lid. That helps minimize weight while making them substantially more durable than most laptops...so it can handle a few years of being tossed around in your backpack with your books!

 

Thanks again allfriedup, +rep!

I have been looking at the E4300 but the price is just abit too much for me as I'm a student and I feel that I get more computer for my money with the E6400. I also live in Norway and we dont have Dell Outlet here for some reason. Well we do have an outlet store but it never showcases computers, just accesories and that sort of stuff.
I'm really keen on the SSD drive and if I configure the E4300 with that + 4GB of RAM the pricetag jumps quite drasticly. It's, ofcourse, the same ordeal with the E6400 but this one has a lower starting price which makes the final price aceptable, for me atleast, my girlfriend thinks I'm crazy paying close to $1800 for electronics ;-)

Really nice infor about the nc6400 vs E6400 mate! If it's basically the same footprint, thickness and weight then I will most likely go through with my purchase!

Also thank you GoodByte for the book/weight thing, never thought about that ;-)

 

You need to carefully check the actual weight of the nc6400. Also make sure your backpack isn't one of those which is heavy when empty. The E6400 is quite robust so it doesn't need a lot of padding around it. The real weight in your backpack will be those books.

John

 

Just a thought- what about getting an E4300 with a regular hard drive (rather than SSD) and with the standard 2GB RAM (upgrade to 4GB DDR3 yourself, which should be significantly less expensive)? Would you be willing to give up the SSD to get the smaller, lighter E4300? Or would you rather get the E6400 with SSD and 4GB RAM from the factory?

I tried to compare the pricing of the E4300 vs. E6400 on Dell's Norwegian website, but wasn't very successful....I think I might have accidentally ordered a new Volvo in the process!

 

haha nothing wrong with Volvos ;-)

I have been thinking about getting the standard config and then updating the components myself but I have never upgraded any hardware myself.
I've heard it's pretty straight forward to change the RAM though.

If I decided to go with a standard config and then upgrading myself, is there anything special I need to be looking for when I buy the components? I mean in terms of compability etc or does all RAM fit in all computers and does all SSD's fit in all laptops?

Also, will my warranty be broken if I upgrade the RAM and HDD myself?

 

Changing the RAM and HDD are very easy. It is all explained in the Service Manual.

Dell's warranty covers whatever Dell sells you.

John

 

The E6400 uses DDR2-800 RAM while the E4300 uses DDR3-1066, as long as you get the correct type (DDR2/DDR3) and speed (800/1066), it's very easy to upgrade.

On the Latitude models, removing the bottom cover/panel requires removing just one screw (located in the center of the panel). That allows you access to the RAM slots as well as most other components. To remove the hard drive, there are just two screws to remove and it slides right out....it's very simple, even for a first-timer!

In the U.S., upgrading RAM, hard drive, wireless card, keyboard and/or adding the Bluetooth module don't void the warranty! You might need to double check for Norway, just to be certain!

 

It is prudent to keep the original parts so you can always restore the computer to the "as supplied" condition should there be a problem.

One of my first steps on getting my E6400 was to clone the HDD onto a bigger one which then went into the computer. The original is stored in case of any problem (I used it again recently to clone onto an SSD).

John

 

The first thing I did when I got my E6400 was remove the 80GB 5400rpm Hitachi hard drive and replace it with a 320GB 7200rpm Seagate drive! I cloned the original drive and put it away as my 'emergency backup'! Or, as John mentioned, so I could pop it back in to restore my E6400 to "as supplied" condition!

A hard drive upgrade is unlikely to ever cause any issues (in terms of Dell and warranty coverage). Dell actually requests that the hard drive be removed if/when the laptop is sent back for any warranty service or repair. But it's still a very good idea to have it, just in case!

 

Ah good to know!

I just checked the prices in the U.S and I'm so jelous of you guys! The E6400 with 4GB RAM, P8700, hig res screen and 128 GB SSD ended up at 1300 dollars, whilst the same config in Norway costs around 1800 - 2000. grr