What you have to know - DELL Precision M4600

I decide to write this thred so I can gather all the things you should notice about the DELL Precision M4600

I collect the above info by reading this site so PLEASE correct me if I write something wrong and ADD any other problems or key points you know

Thx

1. USB 3.0 does not work as it suppose to be [EDIT : new test should be make .. some ppl said that it is ok ]
2. ATI M5950 does not idle, so poor battery life
3. Back Lit keyboard flex [EDIT: a nice pantenta that you can fix it .. or reduce it ]
4. You don’t have WWAN antennas preinstalled with IPS monitor
5. You can’t order only the mini PCI express SSD without the HDD /SSD
But the Laptop can work if you install by yourself windows in mini PCI and then remove the HDD/SDD (or leave it)
6. You can’t get a USB 3.0 docking station (i hope still)
7. You can’t select M5950 with IPS monitor

I said this again ... PLEASE correct me if I’m wrong

 

Well that is a list of the negative things "you should notice" but the positives are no where to be found. I'm curious about the USB 3.0. I read about some testing but I think more needs to be done.

 

Yeap all the good thinks you can read in DELL site

 

Ok here is a positive I read in the forum that not sure is reflected ontline dell site the Quadro 1000m and 2000m also support 3 monitor output.

Also USB 3.0 works fine - http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-m4600-performance-usb-3-0-a.html#post7558444

Probably a compatibility problem with his stick

 

what keyboard flex ? i cant tell if there is any.

Also battery life is pretty decent if you dont have IPS display.
Full size keyboard is a plus for me.
4 slots of ram is also a plus for me.

 

Dell Precision M6600 Keyboard Flex - YouTube

 

Thats an M6600 btw, and my M4400 had a little flex, little, all you need is a small piece of foam tape and its fixed firm as can be and since you probably would be putting memory in it and need to take the keyboard out anyway. Just puts some it to make it extra solid. Fixed

 

Nice patenta ... LOL .. but it is good to know ..

 

This is a great opportunity for people to realize the impact of what they say on the forums. Here we have a person looking at Dell and HP workstations and we have a nice set of things that they consider to be red flags about the M4600 based on other people's impressions and experiences with the machine. GJM_77 has likely not seen the M4600 in person, so he/she relies on those of us with the machines for guidance. I am going to post my replies below in the hope that it helps them out.

It does on the flash drives and external drives that I use. I have 2 drives that have both eSata and USB 3 interfaces and the USB 3 runs at the same speed over both. I get around 120Mb/s transfers which is the speed of the drive in the enclosure. I don't have anything faster.

I have also noticed that the USB 3.0 spec allows for 900 mA of power for devices vs 500 mA for USB 2.0. This means that it will charge portable devices faster.

The only downside to the current USB 3.0 implementation is that Intel does not natively support it on their motherboards. This means Dell and every other company has to add a 3rd party board and drivers to make it work. Windows 8 will offer much greater USB 3.0 support. Intel is going to include it natively on their next generation of motherboards. This should make things much easier for people.

It does lower the clocks, but in some cases not down to the 100/151 minimum clock rate of the card. In the large user review of the M4600, he has no problems with getting the clocks down to 100/151. Other people with different drivers and software seem to be stuck with a minimum clock of 250/900 or 400/900.

A clock rate of 400/900 means the system is pulling around 27Wh. A 97Wh battery would give about 3.6 hours of run time on an optimized system.

The 100/151 clock rate with the Dell Controlpoint power setting of "Extended Battery Life (Maximum run-time)" can get the system draw down to around 15Wh. This would yield over 6 hours of run time.

Even in "Extended Battery Life (Maximum run-time)", the clocks will not stay down at 100/151 all the time. Just running the HWinfo window with the real time graphs of the CPU speed can be enough for the clocks to be raised.

The newest tests seem to point to overriding the refresh rate in the power settings as a possible cause of the clocks not going down to their minimum settings.

One thing that is true is that the ATI card will never get the battery life of an Optimus enabled laptop. They can get below 10 watts of power draw. It is a tradeoff that you will have to decide on. Do you want less expensive and more gaming oriented, or do you want more battery life and more creative application oriented.

You can get the Nvidia Quadro 1000M as a free upgrade. The 2000M will cost you an extra $300.

At least Dell gives you the option. HP does not support Optimus. HP also connects their 10bit IPS panel with an 8bit video feed. Dell does not support Optimus with the IPS panel because Intel's current chips can only integrate with up to 8bit video. Dell M4600s are 10bit color depth per channel all the way through. Once again, you have decisions to make, but at least YOU get to decide what is important to you.

Dell could have made things a lot easier on themselves if they did not offer any ATI cards, or offered no Optimus switching, or only had 8 bit resolution on their IPS panels. Someone at Dell realized that 1024 shades of red, green, and blue is better than 256 for people that truly care about color. They also realized that even if ATI could not work with Optimus, that people would want the choice of buying them. Dell chose not to limit options and features until they all fit into just one version of the machine. You can have a NO compromise 10 bit IPS paneled machine for color managed workflows. You can have a machine better suited for gaming. You can have a machine that gets the max run time using Optimus. You get those choices. It might be too tough for some people to make a decision, but I am glad that I get to.

I disagree with this on a couple of levels. If you look at the video you posted, check out how hard this guy is hitting the keyboard. Yes, it is going to flex if you use it like a caveman. In normal use, there is very little flex if you are trying to find flex. If you are just typing and using the machine, you will likely not notice any flex. If you get mad at the computer and start hitting keys very hard, it will flex, and I would recommend that you get a warranty with Complete Care to best serve that type of personality.

In my user review of the M6600 I posted lots of pictures of the backlit and non-backlit keyboard. In addition to the screws that hold the keyboard into place, Dell has large catches and positioning pins around the keyboard as well as bulbous pins under the keyboard that lock into snaps built into the M6600 chassis. It is fairly extensive system for minimizing flex. Unless your only point in using the keyboard it to make it flex.

Also, whoever made the blanket statement that the backlit keyboard flexes more than the non-backlit keyboard needs to remove them from a machine and compare them side by side. The backlit keyboard has the same metal frame that the non-backlit one has, but it also has the plastic lighting assembly behind that frame. The backlit keyboard has more rigid when you take it out of the machine because it has another layer of material to it. Once in the machine, they both feel about the same because they are locked in place in so many locations. In all fairness, I do not type or pound the keys like a caveman.

That appears to be true based on trying to configure them together on the Dell site. I know that when I was looking at the specs for the HP 8760W that you could not select the IPS display and WWAN either. I don't know if there are interference issues or not.

You would have to use an Express Card WWAN device if you were ordering the IPS display.

You can order the 128GB Solid State Minicard Drive by itself with no 2.5" drive on the Dell US website. You can also order a second drive.

If you are reinstalling your own copy of Windows to the mSATA drive, it is easiest just to pull the 2.5" drive and only have the mSATA in the machine. I don't know if this is a Dell thing or a Windows thing. If the Windows 8 Beta installs with no issues, then we will know it was a Windows thing.

You currently can't. My hope is that with the next generation of Intel chipsets supporting USB 3.0, that it will be easier to integrate USB 3.0 into docking stations.

Other companies do offer docking stations, but they are specific to one machine or a specific series of machines.

Mano G from Dell posted about a week ago that the ATI card was going to be added as an option for the IPS panel soon.

 

if there was a "like" button i'd click it on bokeh's post. +rep.