Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

UPS was here yesterday... unfortunately, I wasn't home. They left me a message saying they'd come again today... man, it's almost 11:30 now and still nothing.. I can't wait anymore!!!

 

Heat issues
I have noticed that my E6400 with Nvidia graphics runs quite hot a certain times, such as when playing flash movies on full screen mode. The fan runs at full speed after a few minutes of play and remains on until after a few moments after returning to window mode. GPU-Z tells me that the temperature of the GPU is close to 70 °C and that it's running at full clock speed (580 MHz). Is this normal? Do others experience the same? The fan is quite noisy at full speed and is quite distracting.

On another note, Flash player 10 stutters a lot in full screen mode so I returned to Flash player 9. But I have noticed that version 10 uses less ressources and the temperatures are lower. Is there a workaround for this?

Thanks.

 

IMO flash is a terrible resource hog. I have FlashBlock enabled in Firefox to reduce the extent to which web browsing hits the battery life.

70C is not particularly hot. However, I suspect the fan goes to fast speed at around 70C in order to reduce the thermal cycling, which is what, in time, will cause the nVidia GPU to malfunction and die.

On a totally different subject: Can anyone match the battery life indicated by the attached? This is what I saw after a couple of power fluctuations.

Unfortunately, removing / replacing the power plug caused this exciting prospect to disappear.

John

 

Finally, it arrived!! Installing Vista right now. The DVD-drive is quite loud, though.
Another thing I noticed immediately: the keyboard is flexing like everywhere (with backlight) and where the volume-buttons are a small stripe of plastic comes up way too much. I pushed it in a bit, but still it stands up a bit. Suggestions?
Also, under my DVD-drive, there's a hole with screw thread - but no screw in it. Is that normal?
Very bad vertical viewing angle too...

 

Slight keyboard flex is OK (that's what I have - not noticeable in normal use). IIRC, that strip at the back helps to hold the keyboard down. Check the service manual which you can download from the support site. The top right part of the keyboard is held down by friction and may need a firm push.

The screw hole under the optical drive is in case companies want to secure the drive in place. If you put the screw in then you effectively lose the modular bay functionality.

Which resolution / model display?

John

 

Thanks for the answer, John. I pushed a bit on the keyboard - my DVD-drive made an evil sound and is now not responding anymore and not listed in Windows..
Will reboot after Windows Update.. hopefully it works again!

 

Pushing on the keyboard should not upset the optical drive.

You could try removing then replacing the optical drive.

John

 

I didn't have the problem with the optical drive again. Only things I still worry about are the touchpad (I just can't get used to it), my left "mouse" button (it creaks when you touch it softly) and the LED-panel coming up.
I'll probably call Dell because of the last too to get them fixed.

Another question: which driver for my nvidia quadro should I install? Does it make sense to install 180.43?

I also have the LG screen. I'm very impressed by its brightness. The contrast is, as said, not the best. I played a bit with the NVIDIA Control Panel and now use the following settings:
Brightness: 50%
Contrast: 50%
Gamma: 40%
This way the picture looks good to me.

 

Download the touchpad drivers for the E4300 from the Dell site. They are newer and I find they work better.

Greg

 

OK, I just placed my order for a new E6400. Here's my config:

223-9334 1 Latitude E6400, Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 2.26GHz, 1066MHz 3M L2 Cache, Dual Core
311-9218 1 2.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 1 DIMM for Latitude
330-0836 1 Internal English Keyboard for Latitude E
330-1652 1 Documentation (English) Latitude E-Family/Mobile Precision
320-6775 1 NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M, 256MB With Express Card, Latitude E6400
341-6970 1 160GB Hard Drive 9.5MM,7200RPMFFS for Latitude E6X00
311-8819 1 No Fingerprint Reader for Latitude E6X00
320-6941 1 Brushed Metal Black Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD for Latitude E6500
420-8734 1 Vista Business Service Pack 1 with media, English, Latitude
430-3090 1 Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth 2.1 Minicard for Latitude E/Mobile Precision
330-0876 1 90W 3-Pin, AC Adapter for Latitude E-Family
330-0879 1 US - 3-FT, 3-Pin Flat E-FamilyPower Cord for Latitude E-Family
313-6513 1 8X DVD+/-RW for Latitude E-Family
420-8010 1 Roxio Creator Dell Edition,9.0Dell Latitude/Mobile Precision
420-8667 1 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.0 Playback Software WITH Media Dell Latitude/Mobile Precision
313-6710 1 Integrated VGA webcam with single digital microphone Latitude E6400/MPWS M2400
430-3362 1 Intel WiFi Link 5300 (802.11 a/g/n 3X3) 1/2 MiniCard for VPRO Latitude E/Mobile Precision
330-0884 1 No Intel vPro Technologys advanced management features for Latitude, Mobile Precision
330-0895 1 Resource DVD with Diagnostics and Drivers for Latitude E6400Notebook
312-0729 1 6-Cell/54-WHr Battery for Latitude E/Mobile Precision
330-0890 1 Neoprene Sleeve 14 inch for Latitude E/Mobile Precision
989-1612 1 ProSupport for End Users: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response 2 Year Extended
989-4570 1 ProSupport for End Users: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response Initial Year
991-2948 1 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Extended Year(s)
983-7572 1 ProSupport for End Users: 7x24 Technical Support and assistance for end-users, 2 Year Extended
989-3449 1 Thank you choosing Dell ProSupport. For tech support, visit http://support.dell.com/ProSupport or call 1-866-516-3115
991-2947 1 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Initial Year
984-3980 1 ProSupport for End Users: 7x24 Technical Support and assistance for end-users, Initial
988-5542 1 Extended Battery Service for Years 2 and 3 of System Life
900-9987 1 Standard On-Site Installation Declined
313-6736 1 Latitude E6400 Color - BrushedMetal Black
313-6527 1 Black Finish for LED BacklightLatitude E6400
313-6714 1 Integrated 0.3 megapixel VGA webcam with single digital mic for WXGA+ LCD, Latitude E6400
313-6719 1 Dell Webcam Central Software for Dell Latitude
320-6945 1 14.1 inch Wide WXGA+ AntiglareScreen for Latitude E6400
330-1152 1 Intel Centrino 2 Core Duo Processor
310-8759 1 You have chosen a Vista Basic System
430-3097 1 E/Port, Simple Port Replicatorfor Latitude E-Family/Mobile Precision
310-8977 1 Info SKU-Software and Peripherals products and solutions catalog included in system boxes

I bargained with the sales rep and got it for $1636 + tax = $1770.97. Did I get an OK deal? I also got a pretty good deal on a (much cheaper) scratch-and-dent D630, so I'm thinking of ordering that one too in case the E6400 doesn't live up to expectations.

One question--how do I get the 64-bit Vista install disks? The sales guy said that he couldn't include them in the box. Also, how do you make sure there's no "bloatware" installed?