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    Linux on DELL E6500

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by wobf58, Apr 22, 2009.

  1. wobf58

    wobf58 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am getting a DELL E6500 and i am wondering if Linux works good on that. Are both, 64 and 32 bit, working on it? I am a Linux Mint lover what is a Ubuntu derivate but still try other distributions like Mandriva. Also I still have to decide if I will get the E6500 with the P8700 or with the P9600. I believe the P8700 should be good and it dont make sense to spend an additional $100 for the P9600. What you'll think. Any input is deeply appreciated.
     
    wobf58, Apr 22, 2009
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  2. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    I would agree the P8700 is the way to go. The extra power savings will help in Linux, which gets less battery life than Windows out of the box. You might want to consider sticking with a Intel WiFi card. Intel parts have very good Linux support. It's not that you can't get the Dell card working, but you'll probably have to do more work to get it working.
     
    ZaZ, Apr 22, 2009
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  3. andy71600

    andy71600 Notebook Guru

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    I've got an e6400 running the Jaunty Beta, and everything worked out of the box (including the dell wireless card). I get ~6 hours of battery life with a p9500, ssd, and 4 gigs of ram on a 6 cell battery.
     
    andy71600, Apr 22, 2009
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  4. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    That's good to know about the WiFi card. When I was running Jaunty on my 14" R60, I got about three hours of battery, but four in Windows using the same settings.
     
    ZaZ, Apr 22, 2009
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  5. antskip

    antskip Notebook Deity

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    Both the P8700 and the P9600 are rated at 25W, so there should be little difference in power use. The real differences are core speed (2.53 versus 2.66) and (more important) L2 cache- the P9600 has double that of the P8700. If you use a processor at full power for long periods you should probably go for the 6MB cache of the P9600. Other than the extra initial cost, you will gain from the experience over the life of the notebook.
    The real cost of the more able chip is $100 divided by the expected life of the machine...
     
    antskip, Apr 23, 2009
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  6. wobf58

    wobf58 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for all your input. One more question. Is there an warranty issue when I will switch the hard drive with what it is coming with that what I am already using? I have a 320GB and don't wanna pay for the upgrade since that is a lot money they are asking for. Sometimes the manufacturers put some seal on the HD cover.
     
    wobf58, Apr 24, 2009
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