Precision M4500 Owner's Lounge

I have not tried the trick stuff yet but it does not work out of the box, even on newest nvidia drivers.


Edit: Got it to work, have to use the latest 197.16 Nvidia drivers and edit the inf files to match up the device IDs to get that driver to install (unsigned warning and all) then also do the workaround you linked and it works...

 

There is some kind of BIOS patch available on Dell site. For some reason I can not download it though.

 

i've download it now...

 

installed but there's no apparently change...

cpuz show me the a01 bios...

 

It is only patch, not real bios release.

 

Ohh man! thank you that is great news even if its not perfect a little boost for AVCHD is better then none atleast mobile!

Now if only my order status would update!

 

I'm trying to decide between a M4500 and a Macbook Pro running Windows in Bootcamp.

Does the M4500 support two finger scroll, like on a Mac?

 

Yes, according to this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ision-m4500-owners-lounge-30.html#post6204440

 

I wouldn't recommend the MBP, even in Boot Camp (I considered this at one point). Many users report that even in Bootcamp, a Mac can't use the system resources efficiently or to their full potential or something like that (talk to crazycanuk for more first-hand experience with MBP in business environments). If you like the metal look, try HP Elitebook 8540w for an alternative choice to the M4500 (you should also look at the Thinkpad W510).

Also keep in mind that the M4500 comes with a 3yr on-site warranty, you can't even get Apple to give you that level of service at any price. The business class workstations are also built to withstand more abuse than a MBP, they have more parts that are user upgradable and you can get higher performing specs for much less money (see the 8740w specs I'm ordering in my sig...it's about $600 less than a MBP17 w/i7-620M, 4BG, anti-glare, 7.2krpm HDD...I'd say the CPUs are comparable, but the HP has nearly 2x the GPU).

Sorry for sounding like a PC fanboy, but I feel I went through a similar phase of wanting a MBP to run Windows thinking it would be like a premium PC. But the more I learned about business PCs (which you of course can't find in a consumer electronics store), the more I realized a machine like the M4500 would better fit my needs and wants at a lower price.

 

Personally I've found Boot Camp runs Windows very well. The only drawbacks of an MBP in a corporate is that it has none of the remote manageability, and security features that is common in a business notebook. Performance-wise it's good enough to game on, the only thing is that the GPUs are the consumer version instead of the workstation ones.

Of course if you're comparing an MBP with a M4500 or 8540w equipped with a Clarksfield and a FX1800, then it's apples and oranges. But with a 620M and a FX880, they're not that far apart.