Dell 6400

Hi,

I would like some details on this model, and some pros and cons.

I was wondering how much does the battery last, how's the screen, the keyboard, is it noisy/hot?

 

pros: can get a high res screen, dual core, 7200 rpm drive available, bluetooth available.
Cons: the gpu can be weak depending on what you do and the design can be better, also the build quility is like average but still good compared to the past.

the max i was able to get out of my laptop is about 2 hours. if you get the high resolution screen its beautiful. the keyboard is a typical laptop keyboard. and the noise doesnt bother me its pretty quiet to me. and the laptop is good at staying cool...warm below the screen and the sides after gaming but never hot. hope this helps.

 

I guess you have a 6-cell battery right?
I'm not into games so the GPU doesn't matter to me.

Thanks

 

Matsu how do you find the WSXGA+ on your laptop? Are the icons/fonts too small ? I was thinking of selling my I6400 and getting a new one with exact same config but a higher resolution screen like WXGA+ or WSXGA+ .

Is the WSXGA+ too high a resolution for a 15.4" laptop?

 

i find my high resolution screen perfect. i dont have any trouble reading anything on the screen. i really like how things are small actually. to me this screen seems more crisp than other screens. and yeah i have the 6 cell battery.

 

Is there a 9 or 12 cell version available to buy?

 

You can get a 9 cell, and there is also a dual option - 6+6, 6+9 or 9+9. Of course you can also buy a second battery on eBay.

People who have upgraded from XP to Vista are reporting worse battery life, but like everything else it depends what you do with it. General office tools and similar gives me over 4 hours with a 9 cell, using the power profile that extends battery life and with the wireless turned off.

 

Hi aLiNuSh,

I've just become the owner of a 6400 today, so these are only first impressions ...

I find that the laptop is extremely quiet - without the fans, it's virtually silent, and even when the fans do come on, they are whisper-quiet. The only thing that's noisy about it is the DVD drive - at least when it was reading a CD earlier it made quite a racket and rattled my desk to boot! Though to be fair it may have seemed louder just because the machine is normally so quiet.

I have the WXGA+ (1440 x 900) screen with TrueLife, and it's beautiful. The screen is clear and bright with absolutely no trace of unevenness in the backlighting. I am still getting used to the higher resolution - most text is fine but some smaller fonts on websites do look a bit small to me. I might see if I can adjust the settings slightly. Everything is perfectly clear and legible though, and as Matsu says the screen is wonderfully crisp.

Aesthetically I think the keyboard is the worst point of the laptop. I'm not keen on the gaps between the keys, and it just looks a little bit cheap. However, it's lovely to use (which I suppose is the important thing!): it feels very solid, has an excellent layout, and the keys are firm with plenty of spring.

As for heat, it doesn't seem to be getting too warm at all. The great thing is that the wrist rests are staying very cool - it's only warmer at the back, and to either side of the keyboard. Still, if you were using it on your lap I would always recommend using a lap tray of some kind to protect yourself from any heat and to provide a flat surface for the fans to run efficiently.

I've no idea how long the battery lasts, sorry. However I will experiment with the battery a bit later today and let you know the results!

Oh and don't forget to have a look at the reviews:
Inspiron e1505 Review
Inspiron 6400 Review

I hope this helps!

 

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the info, it really helps.

I'll await the battery results. What kind of battery do you have? 6-9-12 cell?

 

Thanks, aLiNuSh!

I have the 6-cell 53Whr Lithion Ion battery that comes as standard.

It's lasted for a little over two hours, running Windows Vista, connected to the internet wirelessly, powering a USB mouse (probably insignificant in terms of power usage but thought I'd mention it), with the power settings on "high performance" and the screen at its maximum brightness level. The notebook's specs are as per my signature.

Next, as I have some word-processing to do, I'll have a go at seeing just how much life I can eke out of it using the power-saving options and doing simple office tasks.

Glad to help!