Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Im getting settled with my e6400 but i wonder if anyone can help me with the following: When playing various 3D-games its often required to press more than 1 button at a time, when playing WOW for example i run forward with "w" and use abilities bound to alot of buttons around... the problem i have encountered is that the keyboard seems constructed around "rows" of keys and when one button is pressed in a row, the keyboard wont respond when pushing other buttons in that row. So for example when pressing the "w" button in WOW to run forward i have to stop pressing it if i want to use my abilities bound at the "2" and "X" buttons since those are in the same row.

It might sound like a small issue but actually its really severe when playing in situations that require instant reactions to your opponents actions... is this flaw something that is limited by hardware or can i change this limitation by some software?

Help is greatly appreciated, havent run across a keyboard that can't atleast handle 2 different buttons pressed down at the same time before... :/

 

The keyboard problem is discussed in various places, including here. Evidently, the E6400 wasn't tested for its gaming abilities.

John

 

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...x?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=330-0874#Overview

Does anyone have this stand? Does it work stand-alone or must it be attached to the E-Port Replicator? I'm curious to hear some feedback from you E6400 users as to what the best solution is for an external monitor. My current set-up is laptop sitting on filing cabinet next to my desk, 25' VGA cable running down into my desk, around the back, and up to the filing cabinet. The downside I see to having the E Port Replicator sitting in front of the E Flat Panel stand is that it will take up desk space where your keyboard would normally sit.

 

I would imagine that it would work without the docking station, but I am not certain as the dock might provide some needed leverage/weight.

 

The new BIOS definitely fixes the keyboard. The up and left arrow keys now work simulateously. Racing games are playable (though I don't play that game I tested it with, I just wanted to see how it ran vs a GMA915 - it was closer to the x700 from my old Acer Ferrari)

I'm wondering if the touchpad is better, or if it is just a placebo effect here. Perhaps I'm just getting used to it.

One annoyance though, my left arrow key is clicking. If it doesn't stop this week I'm going to call and get a new keyboard shipped out to me. No biggie, but this thing is still less than a month old.

A couple of more updates and this could warrant a follow-up review.

Doesn't change anything while trying to use a 65w adapter though.

Greg

 

Sounds good. Can you (or someone else) test if it fixes only the arrows, or the WASD-Problem too?

Thanks in advance!

S.

 

Hi All,
Anyone noticed that the back-lit keyboard lights up slowly in the dark? I have already disabled the ambient light sensor in control point (both on screen & keyboard).

Macoz

 

It now passes the test of holding down c then pressing d. the d now registers (this didn't use to happen). However, on releasing d the c does not continue repeating. I don't know if this is what people want.

Try using Fn + cursor right to toggle the ALS control for the keyboard backlight. There are 3 settings, off, on and ALS controlled (with the sunshine symbol on the on-screen display). Fn + cursor left toggles the ALS control for the display backlight.

John

 

John: if it works in games it's ok . Seriously, how you described it is not really how it should work, but it's good to know it's possible to correct it with new bios and it's not an hw limitation. Isn't there some ISO how it should work? So we can argue with "experts" from dell it's not ok .

 

Found this, try it on the 2nd flash. http://flash-creations.com/notes/asclass_key.php