M6600 Owners Thread

Thanks for the tip Scott. How to get this BIOS settings page, specific key combination?

Furthermore, is the orange illumination marking on the right arrow key also the indication of the presence of a backlit keyboard? I mean that orange symbol wouldn't be there if you don't have a backlit keyboard on your system. Am i right?

 

On the Dell systems, you push F2 when you first power ON the system and see the Dell logo (splash screen). That will get you into the BIOS.

Correct, the standard keyboards do not have the orange KB backlight adjustment icon on that right arrow key.

Scott-

 

Thanks for your continued support Scott. Really appreciate that.

 

I'm considering getting a Precision M6600 but I have a question about the video card it comes with as standard. How does the FirePro M8900 stand up against the M4000 and M6000? I ask because I am also considering a Precision M4700, and a M6700 was suggested to me but is too far out of my price range. I plan on using the laptop for Maya, 3D modeling and hair/fur and cloth rendering mostly. If anyone can give me any information, comparisons, or just personal experiences I'd really appreciate it.

 

My m6600 arrived today at my friend's place from ebay. Just got done with a brief inspection of the machine according to your explanation about the RGB screen and the backlit keyboard. It indeed showed the same specs as you described in your pictures. Got to know that apart from a minor dent at the front (I don't know what to think about it, acceptable or not), it looks fine . Is there anything else to be concerned/worried about? I can have it checked by my friend before he flies back tomorrow.

Thanks again for your support Scott.

 

Wow it's been awhile since I posted. Been following the thread for awhile and I am th

 

If you want, have him hit F12 as soon as he powers ON the system to enter the manual boot menu.

The bottom option will be the system diagnostics. He can select it and start the automated system self-test that will go through all the hardware and do a quick (5-10 min) test or a detailed (45-55min) test and identify any hardware issues. If it passes the quick test, it should be fine and he can proceed to deliver it to you. The dent in the LCD backing assembly is your call.

Lastly, have him check the battery in HWiNFO (last option on the main menu list). It will list the % of life is left on the battery. New systems should be 99-100%. Systems 6 months old will be in the 95-98% and 1 year old system should still be above 90%.

Scott-

 

The M8900 is a very capable video card and will serve you well with just about any task you throw at it. My original M6600 had the AMD card in it and the WEI was a very high 7.4. It was also fun to reflash the vBIOS to turn the card into a gaming consumer version if needed and back to the professional version once done. With that said, I personally I like the NVidia for the CUDA cores that really speed things up in professional applications that make use of them. You cannot reflash the vBIOS like the AMD, but you do get the option of using the valuable automatic graphics switching feature [Optimus] which can extend your battery life a lot. I currently use the 4000M and I believe it is currently a great value with a lot of power. For photo, video, and CAD work; it simply rocks. In fact, any of these cards will handle 99% of what is out there without a sweat.

Scott-

 

Okay, thank you Scott. I'm fairly certain now that I'll go ahead with the M6600 over the M4700. My plan is to buy it with the bare RAM and HDD and then just order replacements online for cheaper and install them. What types of screws does the M6600 use? Also I'd like to move the OS to the new HDD, does the computer come with the OS on disk? (it says it doesn't come with media but I kind of assume it has to come with something) Or do I need to order a recovery disk with it and is a recovery disk actually what I need to install the OS on the new drive?

EDIT: Also forgot to ask about Energy Star. Does that option lessen the laptops performance at all? Should I bother with it?

 

Screws:
Bottom panel access - (2) M2x5mm Philips Head

Main hard drive (secured option [default]) - (4) M3x6mm Philips Head + (1) M2x3mm Philips Head [drive eject button lock]

Secondary hard drive cage - (3) M3x4mm Philips Head

Optical drive - (1) M2x5mm

You can access the additional (2) memory slots under the keyboard. All that is required is to pop off the keyboard bezel and remove the (5) keyboard screws [M2x3mm]. Just be careful lifting up the keyboard assembly as not to pull to much on the interconnect ribbon cable.

Yes, the OS drive will look similar to the example below. The recovery partition is where the drive OS image is and the files needed to make a restore/boot disk. Regardless, I typically remove the drive as soon as I open the factory box and make an image of it using another computer with an external USB/eSATA drive dock and software like Paragon Backup and Recovery (free home edition). This allows me to have a virgin image of the factory new OS disk so I can reinstall or do as I wish with it later, such as write the image to a new SSD or other drive.

Alternatively, you do NOT need to buy the recovery media if you are in the USA as you are entitled to (1) free copy per the Microsoft COA license. You can go HERE and order once you have your order number and system Service Tag.

I usually do not bother with the Engery Star options on these power systems as it is more for political correctness than actual system performance reasons. Plus, I have never really seen a difference other than modified power saving profiles in the system manager.

Scott-