Precision M6400 Owner's Lounge

gulfstreamtec:
-You can get this PhysX driver from Nvidia website and install it but I don't see the point. The PhysX driver can come from Gforce driver or from game (or installed seperately as mentioned in the sentence previously). If you don't see it at all, I would not worry about it. Since the M6400 does not have a seperate PhysX card like the M1730 (which I also own), all the PhysX driver will do is put more strain on the computer. All I am saying is if you don't have it, that means it's one less thing you have installed in your system and one less thing the computer has to process. It's not there so the computer is not doing extra work through its instructions.
-The modded driver I was referring to simply mean that the driver could have come from any website with a modified nvidia.inf file to force install on computers that the driver did not support originally (usually the case is using Gforce driver for quadro card).
-Nvidia's website has released some newer drivers that support the mobile quadro video card but none has worked for me since I have LED backlit screen. If you have CCFL display, you are welcome to give it a try.
I hope I answered some concerns. I am by no mean any where knowledgeable about computer like I'ld like to be.
Edit: I sat on this reply too long and saw some one answered already.

 

Vista Ultimate x64 SP2:
I installed this patch last week when it came out and all my random bootup blue screen had disappeared (the beta SP2 did more harm than good for me). The system's random crash also went away for now.
I am just stating that SP2 for Vista did a lot of good for me if there's anyone still sitting on the fence about this update.

 

I just received my m6400 Covet

Ended up finding it on ebay and the seller actually gets them direct from Dell Outlet Center - UK, so that saved about 1000- Euro (19% VAT is a killer out here). 3 year on site warranty, fully covered just like I bought from Dell except for the CompleteCare -wasn't even an option when I configured it.

A couple of small scratches on the outside lid. I will probably steal the wife's clear nail polish just seal them up to prevent flaking in the future.

QX9300 Quad Core
4 GB Ram (2x 2GB)
FX2700 - I wanted to get the FX3700 originally, but the price was right
128Gb SSD mlc - wanted 64 gb slc
Intel Wireless 5300
370 Bluetooth
Fingerprint reader
... and all the extras that make the Covet what it is.

So a couple of trade-offs from my "ideal" laptop but the biggest thing I wanted I got - quad core.

I am going to keep Windows XP 32-bit on here for the time being

The reason is I have XP 64-bit on my desktop and there are a couple of CAD programs that I can't install unless I do a dual boot or fire up the virtual machine.

I'm off to read the manual - that's a first

 

Glad to hear you exceeded your target, money wise. But you didn't tell me what you want for the power brick. As I said, they are hard to come by here.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I'm on track with it pretty much and don't think I have it in the first place. I've only read about Physx and it's possibilities but have yet to run across any mention of real world use of it. But you've got me thinking here and I'm curious exactly what benefit you find in modded drivers over the Dell ones. I said I'm new at this fooling around with drivers stuff and currently have the last Dell driver from before this new one and running Microsoft Deluxe Edition flight simulator, a very realistic but large (15GB) and I figure extremely demanding on the GPU program. It's about the only time the fans even come on. I fly real planes too and set at maximum everything find it realistic enough to shoot instrument landings and feel it's as good as the real thing. I think either this program or another like it is actually certified by the FAA to rack up part of your yearly required number of instrument approaches. Sorry to drift off into the sky but the point I was getting at was that as far as I noticed the display was perfect, with incredible ground detail that must really work the 3700 harder than any other software I use. But on the Nvidia site I found a 'performance' driver specifically for games and wonder what's different about that and what benefit you think I might expect to see with the Nvidia one. And if not my different flight sims, what programs or games do you play that makes the Nvidia drivers so obviously different and better to you? And aside from not having dual video cards what is the M6400 lacking as a gaming platform? I've heard or read that a dozen times probably and wonder what they mean, since there's never any explanation. I'll try to makes these my last questions on the subject. But that's not a promise. And thanks again for your advice & ideas.

 

Nvidia and ATI are constantly improving their drivers and they release them every few weeks.
Some improvements can be up to 10-20% of previous drivers for specific games.
When you consider
a) Dell driver is say version 179.60. Nvidia driver is 185.66.
That's a huge difference and can in fact mean that you might not be able to play a game correctly under Dell's version but perfectly with Nvidia's latest version.
If you use your laptop for games always keep the video drivers updated for this reason.
Dell would only update their drivers for their laptops maybe 3-4 times a year.
Nvidia/ATI would have released at least 12 and as seen in recent times much closer to 20 drivers a year.

MS Flight Sim I know as I use it myself on occasions. Not a pilot though ..pity they've finished with it though)
So let's say for instance if MS released a newer version of it say FSX 2009...it would probably be unplayable on your laptop especially if you were using Dell's driver.
If you then installed Nvidia's latest driver the game should play perfectly (all depending on the hardware in your system).

 

By god, I think I'm starting to 'get it'. Thanks much
_________________________
M6400 Covet, QX9300, 64GB Samsung SSD & 320GB Seagate, 4GB and the rest of the Covet stuff.

 

I can call the guy I ordered it from and get you one. Should be about 115 after shipping and taxes.

 

Thanks but no thanks. I thought you said you had one, not that you can order one. I can do that, I thought I'd send you money and you'd send me the brick. I don't but lots of local gringo expats go back and forth to the States lots and I'll have to get one of them to bring me back one sooner or later. I figure with the slim brick out somebody's going to feel like ditching the old one and I'd pick up a deal. Or in your case not need it anymore. I don't know how well known it is but Parts People.com
http://www.parts-people.com/index.p...h=pa-&in=All&pmax=&pmin=&mamanufacturer=tch=&
sells just Dell laptop parts. The M6400 stock's a bit light as they part out some and some parts are new. And the 6400s not been out that long. They're all rated for condition, and it sounds like they buy stuff straight from Dell and other manufactures. I've gotten a lot of good stuff from them and just checked and they had a 150W for 54 bucks, new & Dell branded. Back in February they had the 64GB Samsung SSD on sale for $408 which was a lot lower than any othe place I found at the time. Maybe not anymore but it was a big bargain then and it's what's running my 6400 right now. Since I'm really looking for an emergency spare the 150W might suffice while I wait for a bargain brick to come along.

 

Just to re-iterate. For those of you that want the LED Edge-To-Edge screen. There is currently an issue with most non-Dell nvidia drivers where they simply don't work correctly. This means you are stuck on the older 179.x series from DELL.

There is something different about how these screen are driven that most standard (or modified) newer drivers can't seem to handle.

I'm running the Windows 182.whatever driver that comes with Windows 7 without issue and I'm fine with that.

If you are all about the latest and greatest drivers though, you should keep this in mind.

Personally, I like the screen and I can live with it. I look over at the co-works 18-bit lattitudes and I nearly have a seizure.

-James