Questions Regarding the E6410 and E6420

Hello everyone. I have a few questions about two different laptops, but I didn't feel like creating two separate topics. I have an E6410 and I have a concern about the temperature, and I'm also considering buying a E6420.

First of all, what is the average temp for the CPU of a E6410 at idle and under load? (I have the Core i5 version with Intel graphics). It seems that the fan comes on more often than I'd like for seemingly no reason. I thought about asking you guys about reapplying thermal compound or something, but I tested the laptop with Windows (I primarily use Linux) and I did not have this problem with Windows, but maybe I need to test Windows again, perhaps the fan speeding up is normal. Several people at the Arch Linux forums are helping me on this but I plan to do further troubleshooting to pinpoint this.

Second, I'm considering an E6420. The build quality of the E6410 came in question for me when it was dropped last Spring. It only fell four feet, maybe not even that far, and it was in a padded bag when it hit the asphalt, and it messed up the bezel and LCD cover (but thankfully not the LCD itself). I have complete care on this laptop, so I called them over to fix it, and it took them four attempts to fix the LCD bezel and cover. (Each time they repaired it, the laptop lid would not latch, and would sometimes unlatch for no reason). That event made my confidence in the E6410 drop tremendously. Not only that, but with the E6410 it has seemed to me that it's "always something" and I'm always troubleshooting this or that (in the current iteration, the fan). I'd rather not have to. I just want a laptop I can use and not have drama. Also important to me is next business day/complete care, so in that aspect I'll stick with Dell.

So here are my questions in relation to the E6420:

1.) How loud is the fan at idle and under load?

2.) I'm thinking of getting the Nvidia version this time, so does the Nvidia version have really loud fans or is it pretty much the same?

3.) How is the typing experience with the backlit version?

4.) Is the build quality truly better? I know it's mostly magnesium alloy and it at least looks better, but from a perfectionists standpoint I want to make sure it's a model that will last me.

 

On my E6410 with an i5-520M and Intel graphics, I get around 50 C idle and 70-80C at load with Turbo Boost.

 

When I had my E6410 (i3-380M, Intel HD Graphics), idle was like 47-49C with 23C, full load was like high 60's. I didn't notice the fan (or maybe I wasn't bothered by it).