Urgent: which E6400 should I get...?

Hi everyone,

I have a choice between 2 specific E6400's. What I really want is a backlit keyboard and the integrated graphics (battery life is important to me). The problem is, from the two models available to me, one doesn't have the backlit, while the other has the NVIDIA. The one with the NVIDIA is $100 more expensive. So the question is, is it possible to either upgrade manually to the backlit keyboard, or downgrade manually to the Intell 4500? How difficult and expensive would either option be?

TIA!

 

Much easier to upgrade the keyboard. You'll have to swap the motherboard to swap the GPU. I'd say you should go for the Intel, hands down.

 

order by phone, you'll be able to select the lighted keyboard for cheaper configs as well. that's what i did.

 

Thanks guys. The two configurations were on Dell Outlet, and I had to decide fast. I found some threads discussing how to upgrade the keyboard, so I did go with that config. Here's what I got:

Intel Core 2 Duo T9550
WXGA+ LED
4GB RAM
250 7200 rpm HDD
8X DVDRW
XP/Vista Business
3 year NDB warranty
...and some assorted enterprise software which I may never use.

Grand total was $875.45 including tax.

I'm hoping the LED screen won't be too horrible. There've been some bad reviews on some of the E6400 LEDs...

 

who said that.. lots of positive feedback here on the led, especially for the wxga+

 

I think that such issues that were mentioned were six months or more ago. There have been very few complaints recently. WXGA+ is, in my opinion, the sweet spot for a 14.1" display.

One problem of reviews is that they are usually written when a product is new. Subsequent improvements and fixes don't get mentioned. That's the case, for example, with my E6400.

John

 

Well, I definitely hope you guys are right! My concern stems partially from the fact that the lappy is coming from Outlet, so I may get saddled with a model from back then. We'll see.

John, a big thank you for all you've written about the E6400. It definitely helped me make the decision!

 

Most people have no problem with their outlet purchases. However, if something is wrong then get Dell to fix it.

John