Precision M6400 Owner's Lounge

You can press the space bar during boot to bypass the memory check.

 

Hi guys!

I am a new (and happy!!) owner of a grey Precision M6400. I received my machine last week. Here are the main specs:

2.5 Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad, QX9300
4GB RAM
2x320 GB Hard Drives in RAID 1 Configuration
NVIDIA Quadro FX3700M
17" RGB LED Screen (standard not Edge to Edge)
FIPS Fingerprint Reader, Slot-loading DVD drive, Bluetooth, etc. etc.
Windows Vista Ultimate, SP1, 32-bit

See photos here: Pic 1, Pic 2

I will be using the machine for engineering R&D purposes mainly running MATLAB and other professional software such as OSLO (optical design) and Pro/Engineer. I benchmarked the machine on MATLB 2008b last night and got very good benchmark results.

I have some questions for you guys:

1- I am thinking of replcing the 32-bit Vista with 64-bit to gain more out of my memory and maybe better performance from MATLAB. Any recommendations on this? Can I expect a smooth transition or there might be difficulties with 64-bit drivers for the video card, fingerprint reader, etc?

2-Given that I have a very good graphics card, why is my 3-D benchmark not so good?

3- I read somwhere that there are no 64-bit drivers for flash yet. Does this mean I can't watch video clips on Youtube or is just for creators of flash content?

I welcome your thoughts and comments. I also would like to thank Andrew Bajulaiye for his great review of this computer and also introducing me to this forum. His review was a key factor in my decision to buy this beautiful machine.

I look forward to hearing your comments.

-Omid

 

I have Vista 64 on my machine, and have had no problems - I don't have the fingerprint reader though.

 

OMID some of your questions answered

1. i am using a 64 bit vista and have no problems with graphics card or fingerprint reader, just make sure you check out all available updates for m6400, bios, audio etc.

2. what is your 3d benchmark?

3. you are right about flash and 64bit operating system - its still not compatible, thats why when you load vista 64 it loads a 32 bit and 64 bit version of internet explorer - so no probs there!

 

thanks for the replies.

The 3-D bench mark is what MATLAB measured for rendering its 3-D logo using OpenGL. Click on the benchmark link in my post and you see a full screenshot of the test results.

FX3700M is top of the line notebook card, isn't it? My notebook outperformed all the other computers in MATLAB's list in EVERY category except for 3-D rendering. That's why I am wondering...

 

I'm looking to install the Dell Control Point (the whole thing, everything). Can someone post the link for the lastest version. Thanks.

 

Raw power of the 3700M is quite good, some days ago i've run 3dmark06 out of curiosity. System scored around 10500, and my CPU is only a T9600.

Low performance may be related to an old set of drivers.

 

Can this take 5GB of ram ? 1GB + 2x2GB ?

 

Hello

Since the failure the HP 8730w (the battery drain problem) I'm forced to look at other laptops with the same performance and size. Dell's m6400 seems to be the eqvivalent to HP 8730w. Therefore I wonder if you can answer the following question.

1. How is the quality of the CCFL WUXGA screen? brightness (in nits). What is the manufacturer of the display?

2. How is the quality of the WUXGA RGB-LED screen. Which is the manufacturer of this display? HP 8730w have problems with it's "dreamcolor" RGB-LED from LG with a red shadow in the lower right corner. Is m6400 using the same display with the same problem?

3. Would the CCFL be enough (I want 260 nits or more and vibrant colours). In general I've been satisfied with samsung screens in that regard. However, this opinion i highly subjective and most prefer LG.

4. The 8730w has absolutely no keyboard flex. Does the m6400 have problems with keyboard flex? I regard this to be a key issue.

5. How is the build quality in general. I regard 8730w and their 87xx line to be of good quality. How does m6400 compare to HPs business laptops?

6. How is the noise from the latop?

7. What is the battery life when the laptop is not under load.

8. Is there a blue ray drive available for this model?

Maybe this is a question in the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" forum, but you are the experts.

Thank you for your help.

 

I posted a review of the RGBLED here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=358426