Questions about Precision M4600

I am thinking of buying the Precision M4600 and have a couple of question -
1. What does the body feel like, Dell website says that it is made of Magnesium and Aluminum Alloy but does it have a metallic finish or a matte plastic finish.
2. How many Hard Drive slots does it have?? I believe only one, am i right??
3. The SSD minicard drive, how are the speeds, is it faster or slower than a SATA 2 SSD. And can it be purchased aftermarket?? If it can can somebody tell what exactly should i be looking for?? Also how easy is it to install one of those?? Will it work similarly to a SATA drive??
4. Whats the difference between these two fingerprint options -
Internal Swipe Fingerprint Reader and Contactless Smartcard Reader
FIPS Compliant Fingerprint Reader and Contactless Smartcard Reader
I just want a fingerprint reader that will work with something like simple pass.
5. Is it worth to spend on a 3yr warranty battery or should i just get a standard nine cell battery?? Also does the 9 cell battery stick out like it does on some other laptops??
6. Does Optimus work if i get a Quadro 2000m and the IPS RGBLED?? Also if i get the AMD GPU will i get switchable graphics?
7. How good is the standard Non RGBLED FullHD display??
8. How good is the Keyboard on this, is it comparable to the thinkpad keyboards?
9. Finally, I am a CS student, is this laptop right for me or is it just an overkill?
I know these are a lot of questions but I really need some advice, thanks.

 

i can answer some, firstly its magnesium and aluminium feels very solids

the non rgb fhd display which i have seems excellent. and i'm very fussy about my displays
i prefer the keyboard to my x201 thinkpad

 

Some of the answers are posted in the adjacent threads:

One (not counting the minicard slot)

If you are going to keep the laptop for three years, then it might be worth it.

No.

No. Optimus doesn't work with the IPS display on the m4600.

No.

If you have to ask, then it's most likely an overkill.

 

Metallic, smooth finishing. yes oil stain or similar will be easily seen.

1 normal 2.5", 1 mini PCIe or mSATA. the mini PCIe/mSATA slot cannot co-exist with the WWAN card, only 1 can be used.

Same as sata 2 ssd speed. after market yes. ebay for msata ssd. buy from dell as spare part is ultra expensive, if you want it buy together with system. it works similar to normal hdd, able to boot.

to me is worth it, normal battery life decreases after 1 year and you won't like it. Not extruded. no battery level indicator like old version.

No.

I am happy with the display. Unless there is an IPS panel side by side otherwise there is no complaint.

I never tried thinkpad keyboard. m4600 keyboard is good. i like the backlit and the touch.

The only difference between precision and latitude is the graphic card. If you play game, then precision is good for you. I buy this laptop because i need the dock station and gaming, i do not use any CAD. I have been struggling for over 2 months whether to get Clevo or m4600, and finanlly chosen m4600 for only 2 reasons - dock station and keyboard. Clevo keyboard is complete sh*t.

Another reason choosing m4600 is i am going to gamble for the graphic card. I will buy a GTX 560m or 6970m and try to install it. If that works, perfect; otherwise, just sell it. Just for info, m4600 graphic card is replaceable with MXM 3 card. I have already ordered 210W power adapter to play with the graphic card in case the power is not sufficient (which is unlikely, Clevo uses only 180W). I don't care about warranty.

Other info that you may be interested to know:-
a) battery life is < 2.5 hours without optimus for normal use, no gaming, 9 cells.
b) bios has locked the overclocking function. even extreme cpu cannot be overclocked.
c) power adapter does not come with tie this time. It is slightly thicker than 130W adapter. people won't die if you throw it at him, need 240W to make him die.
d) 16:9 screen is sh*t, i insist to say so everytime.
e) usb 3.0 ports does not work with Patriot Supersonic USB 3.0 Stick. it works at USb 2.0 speed only. Other USB 3.0 devices not tested.
f) The expresscard slot is tight, beware when you are inserting non-extruded expresscard.
g) Temperature for both CPU and GPU is good, fan noise is not as terrible as m4400/4500
h) Only option to output SPDIF is through the HDMI port or displayport. External devices like USB soundcard or expresscard soundcard will help.
i) dock station is still using the ancient PR02X. No USB 3.0. 180W power adapter works with the dockstation although Dell recommended 210W.
j) Windows 7 benchmark is 6.9, bottleneck is the graphic card. Others all 7.7 points.
k) no k so far.

 

Just so you know the M4600 is a MXM type A and the M6600 is a MXM type B.

 

@_@ omg type A !!!! zzz.... what a shock
I not yet open to see the GPU , busy playing with the usb 3.0 issue.

There is no powerful graphic card with type A ohh goodbye 560m /6970m ...
As at today fastest MXM 3.0 A is 6770m (M5950) zzz...

 

Hi, I also got some questions about this M4600.

The SSD minicard was said to replace the WWAN card, so does that mean if I purchase the SSD minicard i would not be able to use local Wifi?

Moreover I was also wondering whether caddy drives(to replace the optical drive) for the m4600 will be available in a near future to add a 2nd HDD?

 

WWAN is 3G card, not WiFi card.

Caddy drives is never a Dell product, it is a 3rd party device designed by some DIY pro.

 

I thought Dell had the option of replacing your ODD with a caddy designed by them?

 

No, those are not from Dell but from other DIY pro.