Ordered a Latitude E6400 - Did I make a mistake?

Hi all,

I ordered a "previously ordered new" Latitude E6400 from the Dell Outlet a few days ago. Got a pretty decent price of $560 after using a 15% off e-coupon.

Mine is fairly basic as far as the E6400 line-up goes, e.g. no fingerprint reader, no backlit keyboard, no Bluetooth, etc. I'd use this strictly as my personal laptop, and I was looking for something with XP and a matte screen anyway. It has a Core 2 Duo P8400, 160 GB HD, 2 GB DDR2 RAM, 24x CD-RW/DVD drive, Intel GMA 4500 MHD video, WXGA matte screen, and the Dell 1397 802.11 b/g internal wireless card.

Hopefully I'm just overreacting, but I've come across some owner reviews on CNet, Amazon, Dell.com, etc. about E6400s having overheating problems, issues with Dell's ControlPoint (?) software, the pseudo brushed metal exterior surfaces collecting fingerprints and skin oil way too easily, etc.

I didn't get a chance to scan through the E6400 Owner's Forum/Lounge at length, but my E6400 has not arrived yet... once it gets here, should I consider returning it to Dell w/o opening the box? (Of course I'd have to get a return authorization number first.) Or am I reading too much into the negative reviews I've come across thus far?

I just want to make sure I'm not buying a laptop with significant issues baked into its basic design. I've used Latitude D630s at work over the past year or two and I found them to be solid laptops... I'm hoping that the E6400 is just as good, if not better.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

You did not make a mistake.

There is an issue what has surfaced which relates to unnecessary CPU throttling. It is discussed at length in this thread and it seems that Dell accept there is a problem (that's the difficult part) and are working on a fix.

There have been various issues with the Dell software but these are largely fixed. Only install the modules of Dell ControlPoint that you need.

I've been using my E6400 for over 11 months and have no plans to replace it (usually I am looking around for something better when my main notebook approaches its 1st birthday).

For me the main cosmetic is that the display bezel can rub on the palm rest during transport, but I fixed that with some rubber bumpers on the display bezel. There are some comments on long term experience in this thread.

John

 

To put it simply, what John said. In my experience, the E6400 is a solid laptop. For $560, probably the best you can get.

Also, next time you're buyin a computer, ask this question BEFORE you spend the money. It's not good to blindly buy something and start reading reviews after you buy it.

 

I'm pretty sure I still like my Regal Red E6400 with the Quadro. It's pretty much solid all around in terms of build quality, the battery life is pretty good(even with a dedicated card), etc. My only issue so far is that screen bezel rubbing issue, but I've got the NBD warranty so I'm not worried about it.

 

Thank you all for your feedback. I actually did read reviews on the E6400 prior to my purchase, specifically on PCMag.com and LaptopMag.com. Both sites gave the E6400 a solid 4 out of 5 points, and none of the possible negatives in my original post were mentioned in those reviews. I only came across them for the first time yesterday on CNet.

Also, I work at a university and our on-site tech store sells a few Latitudes, including the E6400, so I've spent a little bit of time with one in person. My initial impressions were positive, which is why I took the plunge when I came across the 15% off e-coupon for the Dell Outlet.

Thanks again. Looking forward to the arrival of my E6400!