Well i have had my Dell Precision M6400 for about two weeks and i want to do a comprehensive review (with video) as part of my school project.
I am studying multimedia Technology and Design and I am just in my second year. So my skill level is still as good as average. We were tasked to create a website portfolio and market both ours and our partners.
Am still in the process of apply finishing touches to the site(it isnt live yet) and after much deliberation about my marketing strategy. I have decided to use the video/written review as part of my means to promote my site and draw in my audience.
My Dell Precision M6400 came with the following configuration: ...
Was a little underwhelmed when first opened the box, in part because it looks like a gray laptop - nothing special. Once hefted out (yes tis a bit on the heavy side) began to realise how solid this thing is.
The base is one solid chunk of alloy - built like a tank where is the E1705 has a alloy base this is this is twice as thick. Booted it up and found they had a new installation of Vista Business 64 bit - had a bit of a play then thought time to play with Windows 7 64 bit .....
After a few weeks I have noticed a few problems with my M6400 Covet.
Here is an overview.
1.) Random hard-locks. My M6400 will sometimes hard-lock... it will completely freeze up. CTRL + ALT + DEL doesn't respond.. Caps Lock doesn't respond.. Everything simply freezes up. This is usually after I switch "off" the WiFi switch on the side of the covet.. or when connecting to a new WiFi network. I've updated the drivers to the ones on Dell's site.. It works for a while then does it again.
2.) Random video errors. My M6400's display will "freak out" every now and then. Seems to be completely random. Sometimes the machine is at idle, I come back and the screen has random artifacts on it.. sometimes it occurs when I'm working hard. It occurs when docked with an external monitor.. (however, it only affects the primary display on my docking station.. not the secondary display) and un-docked on the RGB LED E2E display. I think this is a driver error- but I've installed the drivers on Dell's website. Here is a screen-grab of the problem on the RGB LED E2E display. (Somehow I was *actually* able to prnt scrn it and save it in photoshop despite the horrible screen) My external monitor is fine and works fine with other computers.
3.) My WiFi/Bluetooth lights on the Covet don't always work. Sometimes i'm connected viai WiFi and the light isn't on. Strange. Are there supposed to be on-screen displays with the Covet? i.e. when you turn up /down the volume should there be an on-screen display? My old M90 did this.
Here are the vitals on my M6400 Covet: Intel Core 2 Dual Extreme Edition QX9300 2.53GHz, 1067MHZ, 12M L2 CacheDual Core 8.0GB, DDR3-1066 SDRAM, 4 DIMMfor Mobile Precision 1GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M Mobile Precision M6400 Covet Intel X25-M 80GB SSD (main disk) 160GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM FFS (storage) 17 inch Wide Screen Edge 2 Edge WUXGA RGBLED LCD, Blood Orange, for Mobile Precision M6400 Vista Ultimate 64-BIT Service Pack 1, with media, English Mobile Precision Integrated megapixel VGA webcam with single digital microphone, Mobile Precision M6400 Dell WLAN 1397 (802.11b/g) 1/2MiniCard for Latitude E/MobilePrecision
We currently have many Latitude D830s with the D/Dock stations on lease. When the lease runs out on these, I'd like to get some M6400s.
Are there any similar docking stations available? We currently drive 3 external LCD monitors plus use the lid on each, but 1900x1200 on a 15.4" screen is starting to affect my eyes as I feel the effects of age.
The only docks I've found so far are the port replicators and it looks like you can't use the lid with two monitors. We'd be willing to sacrifice one monitor, but not two. We also don't want to switch to desktops due to frequent travel?
i have a dell precision m6400 but the cable from the finger print reader to the motherboard is missing. were do i get this part? forward me some links so i can find it.
Well with the arrival of my second M6400, this one now detailed in my Sig, the first order of buisness was to drop in two 320 GB 7200 RPM drives and my OEM QX9300 CPU.
So open this baby up I did, and this time I took some shots and will add some comments out the process.
Step One.
Remove the Battery, bottom Base assembly cover, and hard drives.
Step Two.
Remove laptop LED Cover (Bezel) - this requires some care as the power on cable is connected on the underside of the bezel right by the power button.
Also if you have the finger print reader there is a very small ribbon cable that has to be disconnected - carefully, From this exeperiance I suggest placing the bezel at the top of the laptop and after removing the keyboard disconnect the ribbon cable from the main board - it was much easier to reconnect this way, and I dam near broke the small connector on the bezel end.
Step three.
Remove the 4 screws for the keyboard and slide the keyboard upwards toward the screen to disconnect it from the laptop.
Step four.
Flip the laptop over and remove the four m2.5 x 8 mm screws .....
can some one tell me were the driver is for the on screen display for the brightness and volume? You know when you press the volume key it shows it on the screen.
so have the option of purchasing the M6400 fully kitted out with the FX3700M which is basically a 9800GTXM.
System is quad-core, 8gb of ram and similiar to my current XPS in HD space etc. However I have 8800GTX sli'ed. I know SLI really only gives me about 20-50%
Ive been hunting around for a laptop for a couple of months now and ive still not decided what to get lol, i was initially drawn to the M17x but here in the uk we seem to be paying well over the odds for one compared to the US.
I was looking on ebay earlier and i came across a couple of Dell Precision M6400 laptops with what looks like a huge spec for a decent price, they seemed to offer more value than the M17x at their respective prices.
Now what i need to know is what is the difference between a Precision M6400 and a Precision M6400 Covet ?
How well regarded is a Precision M6400, is it known as a gaming laptop as ive not come across them before.
This is the spec i was looking at, how would this compare against an M17x, how well regarded is the processor and graphics card and the spec in general? ...
I'm deciding between the HP 8730w or the Dell M6400, and was wondering how solid the laptop feels, and if the early software quirks (like the sound breakage) have been resolved?
X9100 3.06ghz (Rather have raw speed then extra cores - next question - can it be overclocked?) 4GB (2 DIMM) 1066mhz nVidia 3700m (Yeah!) 1440x900 WXGA Dual 80GB hard drives (have my own 320's ready to go in) Backlit keyboard (Standard) Intel 5300 Bluetooth 370 Fingerprint Reader Extra AC adapter (210w!
I have a brand new dell precision m6400. It didnt include the finger print reader and over at part people.com i can get two different types of finger print readers.
Dell Precision M6400 Center Control Power Button Cover with FIPS Swipe Module
Dell Precision M6400 Center Control Power Button Cover with Biometric Fingerprint
Now what does FIPS Swipe Module mean?? What are the difference between them?
This thread is an extension of the original Precision M6400 Owner's Lounge thread. The old one was getting to be too large and slowing down the database.
When ever i start the computer it lights up the screen but no dell logo and then starts to blink the caps lock led then shuts off 10 or so seconds later. it only flashes the caps lock led. no other.
it was working. i was in the middle of install windows and then all of sudden blue screen of death and then now this. at first all that was happening was no image at all on screen and the number lock led was flashing and the other two lite up.
that ment processor but now im getting this error after i reseated the processor. I need some help here. dell is sending me a new motherboard and cpu but i want to know why this happened in the first place.
I am after a notebook for work, basicly just nice and fast but i play games maybe an hour a week, although its not much i still want to be able to play all the new games.
I dont want to pay the extra for the 3700m so im left with the choice of the alienware m17x or the Precision. Because its for work and trying to look perfessional i dont think the alienware fits but if the 2700 wont game it will have to do.
