Dell :: Latitude E6400 User Review
Nov 22, 2008
It's been over a full week that I use my Latitude E6400 in great depth and here is my review on it. Now, before I start, I would like to apologies for my English, mistakes found are not done by any means of disrespect among you, the reader. Another note, I believe reading several reviews which all says the same thing is kind of useless, so I tried my best to present thing that was not mentioned before. This explains the reason why I don’t show the usual benchmarks, temperature on the machine, etc…
If this is the first review you read, I suggest you to read other reviews on notebookreview.com before reading this one. You can see me as a critical person.
Latitude E6400 Review
I use my laptop to run Office 2007 suit programs to type notes in classes, Steinberg WaveLab 5 to record them. I also use the laptop to do my assignments (Java/C++) at school and anywhere I want to go, as well as my own programming projects (large Flash application). Obviously, I use my machine to check my e-mail with Thunderbird, listen to music, and surf the web, etc... Ah yes, and I do plan to perform some light casual gaming on it on rare occasion.
System selected:Intel Core 2 Duo P8500 (2.26 GHz)Vista SP1 Business edition 64-bitDual Channel (2 stick) 4GB of RAM 800Mhz DDR2 (6-6-6-12) Samsung 1440x900 LED backlit display (LG, I believe)Backlit keyboardIntel Wireless N 5100 cardPanasonic DVD-Burner Dell 9 cell battery (made by: Panasonic)Nvidia Quadro NVS 160MHitachi 160GB HDD 5200RPMSuper detailed system configuration [56K modem warning!]:
[url]
When I received my laptop two weeks ago, it was damaged, there was a dent, passing through the process of asking a new one and compensation was easy. I was never put on hold, service was great and in proper English speaking staff (possible location of service: U.S/Canada). I had fun trying all to call all the provided services offered, and the service was very good, one could say almost excellent. I negotiated the price of my machine when I originally ordered it (this was the only time I talked to someone potentially in India), and the service was fast, again no hold time, and negotiation on the price was easy. The sale representative didn't know his stuff on the laptop and claimed to me that it had Latitude ON. Obviously I don't have it, as it cannot be added to the machine, and I asked compensation for that as well. This was done without issue, and I got an apology from the sale representative and its supervisor and Dell customer service supervisor (note that I also got another apology from Dell customer service when I informed them of the damaged machine).
Returning the machine for a replacement was easy and fast. Dell sent me a UPS label via e-mail, which I had to print and put on the Dell box, and call UPS to come and pick it up.
Packaging
Packaging of the laptop was excellent. The box properly protected the machine, and the size is not excessively big where it wastes uselessly space, and not too small like some laptops that you buy in store, which fells like it was made from paper masher. Moreover, putting everything back in the box was very easy. The packaging could potentially lose a full mark as the accessory box is pretty much empty and could make the box smaller. However, considering that more accessories could be added onto the box, and that the box layout is designed for all or almost all Dell laptops, I can't deduct marks for that.
I gave it a 10/10
Accessories
Not much to say, I did get 4 disks with my laptop:
- Drivers and Utility disk
- Power DVD DX 8.0 disk
- Roxio version 9.0 DE disk
- Microsoft Vista 64-bit disk.
and 90W slim Latitude power adapter which I'll get to that later...........
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Aug 12, 2009
My Dell Latitude E6400 Video Review
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cr9X7w_rHU
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May 31, 2010
Long time lurker finally decided to join, best to start of my post count with a lengthy review on HP's new DV6 line.
I’d like to give people interested in HP's new dv6 line a heads up. This came about mainly due to the lack of reviews anywhere on the internet. Anyone with a dv6, feel free experience on the dv6.
Last weekend i purchased a HP DV6 3032tx with specs found here:
HP Pavilion dv6-3000 Entertainment Notebook PC series Home & Home Office
I went into JB HI-FI Australia buying a 13" mac and ending up getting this mainly due to the value, at a similar price as the dv6 was purchased at JB's cost price.
This has been my experience with the product so far
Design
The third generation of the dv6 line has been completely revamped by removing the numeric pad (I personally hate the num pads), and adding a nice chicklet keyboard with some quick launch buttons. One stand out factor is the thickness. It' still 30mm thick however the actually visible thickness is less than 1" thanks to some beautiful tapered edge design. The aluminium/magnesium shell with black keyboard is very mac like, and reminds me of HP's premium ENVY line of notebooks. On the i7 models only the palm rests and lids have a nice looking imprint finish which is very subtle and maintains its professional look. When the system is on, a HP logo glows white on the bottom left hand corner of the lid...
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Dec 8, 2009
Hello every one, I am interested on the Acer Aspire AS5532 that is currently on sale at bestbuy, it have a single core AMD Athlon 54 1.6, with ATI video card, and also I am looking at the Acer 5517 from staples which have a 2ghz Turion II
I have used HP computers for the last 6 years and never owned an Acer, I know first hand that Acer quality wasnt the best a few years ago as I had to troubleshoot and fix my friend's Acer while in college, but now that my HP died I need a cheap and reliable laptop for the mean time. So I will like to know user experince with this models and if there is a review since I have search the forum and Cnet and theres is none.
Acer Aspire AS5532[url]
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Athlon™ single-core TF-20 1.6Ghz
3GB DDR2 memory
160GB hard drive
15.6" HD Widescreen Acer CineCrystal™ LCD Display
ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
Built-in InviLink high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/Draft-N)
Multi-in-1 media reader
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
1 year warranty
Acer Aspire 5517[url]
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor L310
3GB installed memory
250GB hard drive
15.6" HD Widescreen Acer CineCrystal™ LCD Display
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
Dimensions 14.4 (W) x 10.8 (D) x 1.1/1.5 (H) inches (6.1lbs)
1 year warranty
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Jan 30, 2010
Prior to 2006, there was a distinct difference between Apple and the PC industry. Apple specialized in design, and still does, and the PC industry won over customers by wooing them with the best bargain available—features for the price charged—and almost always at the cost of a pedestrian design. In 2006, in an ambitious bid to gain market share, HP launched a massive and hugely successful marketing campaign known as, “The Computer Is Personal Again,” and redesigned all of its laptops with the extremely popular high-gloss Imprint finish. In less than 2 years, HP unseated Dell as the undisputed leader in PC shipments and maintains that lead today.
3 years later, HP is back again (perhaps) to change the game. Borrowing from design cues from Apple’s Macbook Pro line, HP launched the dm3 in late October and the tm2 earlier this month, with designs that feature a brushed aluminum finish. Is it successful? Read more to find out.
How this laptop was purchased
I had shopped for a while to look for a new computer to replace my aging dv6000t from back in the Windows XP days. My options were the HP Pavilion dm3t and the Sony VAIO CW. I visited a Best Buy to check out some of the laptops, and I can say that I was absolutely repulsed by the build quality of the Dells these days. They suck. Period. What really won me over from the Sony CW was the build quality of the dm3t. The aluminum finish really is outstanding. More on that later................
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Jun 12, 2009
How would I find out if the Dell Image Restore/Recovery Partition was still present on a Dell Latidude D630 ?
I am going to look at the machine with a view to purchase it and the vendor states the HDD is 148gb but the service tag factory configuration indicates 160gb. The missing 12gb tends to make me think the restore/recovery partition may still be intact ?
Were the D630's all shipped with a recovery partition irrespective of the operating system, ie, XP or Vista or was it O/S related ?
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Feb 7, 2013
I really don't want to tear this laptop down & solder two leads to the 24c02 chip & short them together, even though I am A+ certified & an electronic technician.
This laptop has no service tag, old but worth saving because dim b has a 2gb stick of memory so, somewhere inside there's another & so it should be worth some effort to save.
The bottom line is: whoever designed that chip (24c02) is a genus, now how mush will it cost to unlock it ?Â
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Jan 15, 2009
i got a hp dv2000 and sometimes when i start it up and it gets to the user selection screen i cant find my cursor to select my user account. I keep moving my finger on the touch pad but cant find it. I have to hold the power button down it will shut off then i have to pull out the battery start it up and the cursor is now there this has happened like 5 times already what would cause this?
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Jun 19, 2009
The price of 2nd user Latitude D630's seems to be holding up quite well in the UK. Does this indicate that it is still a popular machine and favoured over the E6400?
I briefly checked out an E6400 the other day and for a choice between machines of approximately similar spec I would opt for the D630 rather than the newer E6400.
I would be interested in opinions from users who have experience with both models.
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Oct 29, 2008
I am wondering whether or not the E6400 has the Latitude-On feature or can be configured as such.
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Oct 18, 2008
I'm pretty new to Dell notebook world. I was always told that Dell has a stinky customer service and their image wasn't that good around spot but care sharing whats good and bad about dell in general?
1- In the LCD option, it says touchscreen. Does that mean I can somewhat use this laptop like a tablet? ( Without the ability to twist the screen of course..)
2-Never knew whtas the different between 1dimms and 2dimms in RAM....
3-Compare Geforce 9400gs with the Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD With PC-Card. Plus, what do they mean by "PC-Card" or "EXpress card" ?
4-Does Dell notebook actually give us 64bits windows or they're all 32bits unless they mention the option of 64bits?
5-Whats the difference between the normal e6400 model and the ATG model? Simply more durability +weight?
6- Whats an encrypted HDD or a ruggedized HDD?
7- I'll be using the notebook for design purpose. Such as photoshop, flash, illustrator or such. I'll be using 2-3 program at once with several picture/projet +internet + music. If my specs are 2.26ghz or 2.4ghz + 4gb ram + intel HD4500HD, will this notebook handle it?.............................
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Feb 17, 2009
Its a certified refurb; it has everything i want at a great price:
-- Latitude E6400 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 (2.53GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
-- 14.1 inch UltraSharp WXGA+ (1440x900) LED Display
-- Back-lit Keyboard
-- Genuine Windows Vista Business
-- Brushed Metal Black
-- 24X CD RW/DVD Combo Drive
-- 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs)
-- 90W AC Adapter
-- 9 Cell Primary Battery
-- 125V Power Cord
-- Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD With Express Card
-- 250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
-- Dell Wireless 1510 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
-- Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
Im upgrading the RAM to 4gb, and maybe the hard drive if its too loud. I got the integrated GPU on purpose so it runs cooler and quieter and has better battery life (I don't play games). Ill try for a new version of vista too. Im happy i got the p9500, that was probably the only one left that was a decent price,
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Sep 10, 2009
I have a simple question: is the E6400 able to use the 8 GB of RAM fully? I have read some threads here about chipset limitations etc.
Could those of you with the E6400 and 8 GB of RAM quickly check whether your 8 GB are fully usable by the system?
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Jan 21, 2010
I'll be able to order my new E6400 soon, as follows:
CPU: Intel P9700 2.8GHz
GPU: nVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M / ExpressCard
HDD: (whatever is cheapest) I'll replace with a Scorpio Black or Blue (see question 5)
MEM: (whatever is cheapest) I'll replace with 2x2GB of Corsair DDR2-800
WI-FI: (whatever is cheapest) I'll replace with an AR9280 half miniPCIe card
LCD: WXGA+ (1440x900) LED-backlit
- Backlit keyboard, Bluetooth module, 6-cell battery
Keep in mind that I won't be running Windows on this machine, but instead, Linux (Arch Linux x64).
Questions:
1) Is the nVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M enough to run Compiz-Fusion smoothly?
I previously ran Compiz-Fusion with an Intel GMA X3100 integrated GPU and was underwhelmed. Everything worked, but the animations were pretty herky-jerky, most of the time. Aero animations under Windows 7 were similarly not very smooth. I'm hoping for more with the nVIDIA Quadro (I read one report that Aero with an E6400/nVIDIA wasn't very smooth).
2) How bad *really* is the touchpad?
I've heard reports that the touchpad is imprecise and laggy, but I've also heard from people who say they haven't had any issues. Is this a "hit or miss" situation with the hardware, or is it due simply to what people are used to? Or has this been fixed?
3) How durable is the lid/screen?
I've heard reports that "the E6400 is well-built and durable ... except for the display," with no real elaboration. Is there any truth to this? Bending, flexing, etc.? Screen distortions if pressure is applied to the back? Does it seem strong? Feel strong?
4) Does the "brushed-metal" on the back of lid look good in person? Or does it look cheap, fake, tacky, etc ... ?
5) Can I replace the hard-drive?
I heard from one owner that the hard-drives used in the E6400 use a non-standard SATA layout, and thus aftermarket hard-drives cannot be installed. That seemed like it would be a very stupid thing for Dell to do ... but I thought I'd ask.
6) After time (6-12 months), does the display start to wobble when open?
I had an Acer Aspire 4720Z (I know, cheap quality) whose display would wobble when open. At the top of the screen, probably about 1/2" to 3/4" of wobble. The Dell Inspiron 1521 I'm using now does the same thing ... very annoying. Does the E6400 exhibit anything like this even AFTER extended ownership? Say 6 months to a year or more?
7) Is the audio bad?
I've heard from a few people that the audio is simply horrid, even through headphones. I've also heard that disabling PC Spk has fixed it for some people ... is this an outdated issue that has been fixed by Dell?
8) Is there anything else I should know?
If there's anything else that I need to know, I'd love to hear it.
Sorry for so many questions, but this will be a big purchase.
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Jan 23, 2009
After reading this thread: E Module Bay 2.5" drive.
about the possibility of a second hdd in the Latitude E Series I wonder if it is possible to use Raid0 with E6400 as mentioned in the manual.
Looking after it in the Bios I can't find any Raid Modus for SATA-Operation.
Any ideas???
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May 8, 2009
I have been reading about people getting so many hours out of their E6400. I have the 9 cell battery and running the screen on the lowest setting, Bluetooth off and wifi on im getting close to 6 and a half hours of battery life. Is this normal....
I heard about doing a clean install, what does this do, and what benefits would i be achieving by doing this?..
Is there anything else i can do to get a little more juice out of the battery when i need it? I plan to have wifi on most of the time when it is being used. Basic web-surfing and Microsoft word...
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Jan 11, 2009
I am trying Windows 7 on my Latitude E6400, and I am having two a little issue for the system.
First issue is despite enabling advance performance for the drive under Device manager, Windows 7 gives me score or 2.0, than in Vista the score is significantly higher in the 5.0 range. My HDD is the Hitachi 5400RPM 160GB.
Second issue is, I don't know what I missed when installing the drivers/software, but I don't have the on-screen volume control. But the ambient light sensor, brightness level and keyboard backlit mode, does appear.
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Dec 9, 2009
Does anyone know if approx. 75-80 processes normal for the Latitude E6400 with Dell ControlPoint installed?
I can't believe it's that much--if it is the case.
Also, should I install the Vista 64-bit chipset driver? I see Dell doesn't have one for Windows 7 64.
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Jan 23, 2009
I'm looking for a sleeve that is protective but not particularly bulky.
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Oct 1, 2009
I am looking for a new notebook and I can't decide wether to buy the XPS 16 or the Latitude E6400.
I will need the notebook for both university (web browsing, office) and leisure purposes (watching movies, tv, listening to music).
I need a solidly built notebook as I travel every few weeks.
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Jan 5, 2009
I just got a E6400 from outlet (well it will be here around the 17th). It has a Dell 1397 802.11B/G Wireless Mini Card but I want to get a wireless-n card.
Are there 3 antennas in the laptop still that would allow an upgrade to a Intel wifi 5300 card (assuming it can be found outside of the customization page)?
Is there anywhere cheaper than dell to buy the wireless-n part for the E6400? Dell only has the 5100 for $59.99 and haven't seen the 5300 in parts.
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Jun 28, 2009
I have a Dell Latitude e6400, running MS Vista (latest SP2 + updates).
It is running Bios A14 (recent update).
My issues are:
1. Computer will start up and work normally. However, on shutting down and restart, it will not restart
2. The 'on' button flashes every few seconds as if the notebook is 'trying' to start up and the HDD light flashes every so briefly. This recurs indefinitely.
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Nov 6, 2009
One video, talk more than millons of words
[url]
I hope its a problem of the LCD inverter, and not all the panel.
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Jun 14, 2009
I purchased the Dell Latitude E6400 and was supposed to receive the WXGA+ 1400x900 LED screen. Under my device monitor hardware id it displays Cmo1436. Is this the correct LED screen or rather an LCD?
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Jan 30, 2009
I know that they are two different focused machines, but now that the Studio XPS has been out for a little while, can anyone comment on how the E6400 and 13" SXPS stack up against each other?
Battery life?
Computer performance CPU for CPU?
Keyboard quality?
Quality of build?
Screen quality?
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Oct 21, 2009
I am looking for a new notebook and after going through countless reviews I have narrowed my final purchase decisions down to two notebooks -
Dell Studio XPS 16 and Dell Latitude E6400. I am basically need a notebook for web browsing, business use and leisure purposes.
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Mar 13, 2009
I received my Dell E6400 yesterday and need to take screenshots because I am writing training manuals.
My problem is that with my Dell D260 I could press keys on my keyboard ALT PrntScrn and capture the active screen.
With the E6400 there is only one option to capture screens and that is the Fn key with the F11 which is the PrntScreen button
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Mar 21, 2009
I'm trying to switch out the processor of my E6400. When I put the new processor in and start the computer, the lights blink, sometimes the screen turns on (to black), but the BIOS never loads (or even starts). The computer then turns off, and the caps and scroll lock lights turn on, and the num lock light starts blinking.
Does anyone know what that blinking code means, and more importantly, why the computer isn't starting?
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Oct 28, 2008
I keep waiting to order my E6400 until all these problems I keep hearing about get resolved. However, it doesn't seem to end. Would I be better off just ordering a D630 and be done with it? These will be discontinued at the end of the year. Right now, it looks like I can save around $300-400 when I configure the D630 similarly. Of course, the D630 doesn't have webcam, maxes out at 4 GB RAM, has a mono speaker, and so forth. But aside from this, isn't it a much more well-tuned machine?
Are the problems I keep hearing about overblown? Will the D630 have its own share of problems?
Is going backwards to the D series a wise choice?
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Jan 7, 2009
My work gave me a new Latitude E6400. They replaced Vista with XP so I don't know if that is a possible cause, but whenever I try to put the computer to sleep (whether stand by or even hybernate), it freezes. You can see that it is preparing to stand by, locks up, never powers down, and can't get out of it. I have to hold the power button down and force a shut down.
I've been over the power management options, updated and reviewed the Bios, but am not sure where to go next. Is it a driver issue? I would hate to have to try and replace/update each and every one.
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