Replacement options?

I just had a D420 replaced By Dell for heating issues- after 4 motherboards- they Gave up and offered a replacement- Now I got an E4300 and not to thrilled with it - any comments about the 4300? did i just get a bad apple. My issues are = poor WIFI pickup. it came with a 1397g card and i get 4 bars max sitting on top of the router- leave the room and i get 1-2 bars and 1mbs, at the router max is 40mps- I switch the 5300 card from my e6400 and it does go up to 80 ( 130 in the e6400) but i still get drops - and still see none of the neighbors routers i see on my other machines.

next the LED screen seems very washed out on full the backlight bleeds out the image- On the 6400 the LED is awesome-

Next - the palm rest rattles- one side seems to not be all the way down- I can tap it and feel it move slightly.

Last the overall build- seems very delicate- the 420 seems built to take anywhere- this one seems like it will break out in the thin mountain air. Also much larger then the d420- its 1.2 longer- 1 1,2 deeper and a hair taller- Has built in DVD which is fine- but would leave the weight at home- does not seem all that more portable the the e6400 - makes me feel what is the point in having this one and the e6400-

Dell has offered me a e4200- im concerned that i will feel the same about the 4200 as the 4300- I asked for an Adamo or an Lat13- they refused saying both were upgrades. Funny since when you go to the configure page for the Adamo it says "Upgrade to the E4300" seems to suggest that the adamo is possitioned below the e4300. Furthermore- when i configure both, the e4300 as dell sent it and the Admano Desire- they come out within $50 of each other- The Lat13 starts at 400 something- how is that an upgrade?

I am waiting for a resolution specialist to call me back tomorrow- what should i push for? Im think i should hold my ground and keep asking for the Adamo- as it best compliments my other machines ( E6400- Work, XPS16- Home, _________Ultra Portable- Road )

Craig

 

I've been very happy with my E4300 and see none of the issues you mention. It is as well built as my E6400 and matches it for performance, except for the smaller screen.

However, for your needs something that is two sizes smaller than the E6400 makes sense. I would personally prefer the E4200 over the Adamo. The 1280 x 800 display is more usable than 1366 x 768 for most tasks other than movie watching. Although it is thin, the 13" Adamo is no lighter than the E4300. The E4200 is also built to be serviceable while the Adamo seems to be an Apple clone. I would try for an E4200 (I like the red colour of my E4300) with at least the 128GB SSD.

John

 

It sounds like the E4300 you got was a poorly refurbished one. I would ask for another E4300, I'm sure they can get you one from the outlet.

I caution against the other laptops (E4200, Adamo, etc.). The CPUs in those systems will probably be noticeably slower. As for them denying those laptops, you are hopping across product lines. The successor to the D420 is the D430 and E4200. Even though the other laptops may cost less, they won't give you them because it's not an equivalent laptop and they are tied by the terms of the warranty.

At maximum brightness, the screen in the E4300 is probably too bright for comfort, you should lower it a couple levels and save maximum brightness for outdoor use.

 

Just got off the phone with Dell in Austin ( yes Austin LOL...) They are offering me a new build of my choice - e4300, e4200, Vostro 1220, 1320...

Taking the New E4300- though im going to ask them to wait a week to submit it to see about a E4310....