Vostro 3400 - who else?

Well, I just received my 3400, but it doesn't have wireless...LOL. So I talked to my account rep and he will see if he can send me one. If not, then a whole system needs to be done...wow. I have a intel 6300 coming in anyway, but still I should get, what was promised. I waited too long for this thing, I am not going to send it back....

Anyway, I took some pictures, but I havn't had any time to upload them yet.

First impressions:

Nice color, nice design, seems to be pretty solid from the outside. Plastic on the bottom (from what I can tell) and aluminum, or some type of thin metal, on top and sides.

Keyboard does flex (bit more than my D820/D430), but I haven't really typed on it yet to really see if it will be an issue.

Screen appears to be bright, but I haven't booted up 100% yet since my break was over. I will do so later.

Touch sensitive play, stop, next, volume, etc on the top. No physical buttons except for the front.

 

I got my Intel 6300 in yesterday and WOW it gets great range it sees networks nearby I didn’t even knew existed. and I had a m6400 with a Intel 5300 but this card is a LOT better. I will post some pics later today. including my custom antenna array I put in my system!

and I too noticed the flex in the Keyboard but i actually like the flex it adds some absorbency when I type. as sometimes I type hard.

smooth did it come with any of the antenna wires? since there was no card ordered?

 

Well, an update...

I could be wrong, but base on my brief boot up and surfing the net some, the LCD appears to be a bit grainy.

Model: AUO243C

Not 100% sure, but it could be AU Optronics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AU_Optronics

Anyone else have these issues?

 

ok, I got mine as well today. and guess what... NO WIRELESS CARD! What the hell? how do you make a business level laptop with no wireless... I called my rep, he was stunned and is trying to work on sending me one, I do not want to go through the hassle of sending this whole unit back...

Other than that seems pretty sturdy, there is an aluminum plating on the bottom beneath the plastic, although i can attest to the fact that there is a little too much flex on the top of the lid when opening and shutting shutting... I wish there the aluminum covering went all the way to the top, i think this would have helped a lot.

The keyboard does have a lot of flex, I dont really mind it though, and the back lite keyboard is nice... Just wish there was a way to get it to come on automatically after a shutdown. Over all the system seems quite fast and responsive.

The screen is very bright at 100%, so much that I don't ever need to see myself using it at 100%, especially with the anti-glare screen. I have the 310M card, I would estimate that I probably get about 4hrs on the laptop with light use, so not too bad.

 

Hi all, I'm considering ordering a 3400, based on the generally positive reactions here. However, no one has mentioned the quality of the built-in speakers, which is important to me. I'm not expecting audiophile quality in a laptop. But some of the supposedly multimedia machines I've tried at BestBuy have such low volume they are almost inaudible. Sony's CW series, is one example. Dell's consumer lines have pretty good sound. So I'm hoping that the small business lines are OK too.

Good sound plus the graphics card would make this a winner.

Anyone have reactions to the speakers?

 

I'm contemplating between this and the Z. I don't game much but I do want to view 1080p movies via HDMI. Does the V3400 allow for smooth transfer without any buffering?

 

Sound is not that great. I mean I can hear it fine, and its completely audible, but does sound a little "muffled." I dont have another laptop to really compare it to at the moment though.

 

Hi Chris,

Could you possibly take some pictures or a mini guide on how you will be getting this done as i will be looking to do the same, even though i have ordered a 3500 due date of 20/04/2010.
Also out of curiosity which wireless card did your system come with?

Thankds

 

What's the touchpad like? Can one of you guys upload a few pictures of the unit for us who can't make up our minds?

 

got my vostro 3400 today, how can they make such a great product then **** up on the cooling system. the fan is ALWAYS ON. i dont understand why dell cant build quality cooling systems. gotta skip out on the most vital component. why can asus, apple lenovo build laptops where the fan isnt so loud. anyone thinking about buying this, think twice if you dont want to hear the fan always on.