Dell :: M6400 Covet Review
Nov 17, 2008
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
I did a clean-install on the Intel X25-M SSD
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Jul 17, 2009
Yup me again, in my hunt to determine if M6400 is right for me as it costs just about as much as a used car, I want to make sure its a good investment before I buy it.
What is the main difference with the M6400 and the M6400 Covet?
I configured both with the same specs and the Covet is about $900 more in price?
Does orange paint really cost that much?
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Nov 3, 2008
Are they gonna have LED screens on the non covet m6400s? Or should I pull the trigger on the orange covet one?
Got a one time use 25% off coupon.
The orange looks kinda tacky, but maybe it looks better in person. Good deal or should I wait? ...
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Oct 22, 2008
in the M6400 owners thread I read about the fact that the normal version of M6400 is also available with this type of panel.
I don't see it at the configurator, so only a mistake or did I miss something?
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Sep 10, 2009
I am about to buy a new anchor and have narrowed it down to the above two options. Quotes pasted below. Prices ommitted.. The Covet is about 100 bucks more then the w700 out the door.
I have always been a Dell guy, never had much experience with the IBM/Lenovo's. (Dropped my D630 in a pool so I get to finally get a dcent computer) I understand the raw spec differences in that I am getting more power all around with the Dell. What I don't know is that if the Covet is of the same build quality as the lower end business or consumer models (Not so great) as opposed to the Thinkpads which are wonderful.
Also, is the only difference between the LED RGB E2E and the non E2E the piece of glass? Is it identical except for that? I have a 2009 Macbook pro 17" with the matte screen and think it is beautiful, did not like the Apple Glossy (read, glare) option. Am I losing out on anyhing other then the Glare with the Non-E2E screen? ...
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Apr 30, 2009
Has anyone successfully calibrated the RGB LED screen on the M6400 Covet using a colorimeter?
I have a Pantone Huey Pro and I'm getting really bad results after calibration (washed out colors, greenish cast). After about 2 months of back and forth with Pantone they have told me that "maybe" my colorimeter doesn't have enough range for a screen with such a wide gamut.
The "maybe" part, which suggests they don't even know their own product, is what I find unbelievable
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Nov 20, 2008
Is anyone else having stability issues with the Covet?
How would I go about measuring heat on the CPU and GPU? I can't seem to find any utilities.
NTune crashes Vista 64 so that's out...
What I'm getting is normal fast operation for maybe an hour, and then fairly reliably the screens will all blank out for a second and then come back. Windows delivers a popup saying the NVidia drivers have stopped responding and then recovered.
Event logs show the message also: Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding.
I got the Quad Core Covet, and the Quadro 3700. I have it set in the High Performance power mode, plugged in to the wall on the (extremely large) factory charger. The system will run all day if I'm not using Maya.
Also ever since receiving this I have been getting a security audit failure:
Code:
Code integrity determined that the image hash of a file is not valid.
The file could be corrupt due to unauthorized modification or the invalid
hash could indicate a potential disk device error.
File Name:DeviceHarddiskVolume3WindowsSystem32drivers cpip.sys
Network works fine so I don't know what to think of that. Anyone have this too in Vista 64 Business or Ultimate?
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Oct 16, 2008
$3800 for the covet.
No LED LCD option for the normal version.
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Oct 16, 2008
No LED LCD option for the normal version.
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Feb 4, 2009
From all the specs listed on this machine it should be a CAD powerhouse, however it seems that there are a number of people on the net reporting lots of driver issues when trying to run CAD software.
I'll be running things like Solidworks and some other engineering aps that use some 3D modeling and am wondering if there is any kind of a consensus yet as to weather this machine is good to go or not. This machine will be used for work, so I don't want to mess around with something that will be crashing all the time.
Is it just the Dell bloatware that is causing the issues? If I reformat and reinstall the OS how difficult is it to find all the proper (stable!) drivers to get this machine up and running again?
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Jul 29, 2009
seems they can all be configured the same , surely they arent charging extra for that paint job , there must be more to it than that ?
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May 6, 2009
This is driving me crazy. The left rubber bumper on the keyboard deck of my m6400 keeps coming off. I called dell and they ended up replacing the entire deck just to replace this one little rubber piece and it just ended up coming off again.
I really don't want to call dell and set up a service call just to replace this one little piece. The last time I did the tech completely disassembled my laptop and it took him 3 reassembly attempts to get it to boot,
but I'm worried the my screen will get cracked if I don't (I have the covet with the glass screen). Seems like a really bad design.
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Dec 14, 2008
I've had my covet for arround less than a month now and i've now got serious issues with photoshop cs4 and all the cs4 suite.. like selecting actionscript in flash cs4s actionscript panel.. (major lag)
It must be the graphics drivers, but i have installed all the varieties i have read about on this forum both from nvidia & laptovideo2go to no availe.. after opening a few psd's and trying to move layers around from one to the other (via the tabs etc..) it really starts to become unusable.. it feals like there is a graphics card memeory leak or something, also when i open the nvidia control panel to see what's going on the 3d logo start to stutter when i move my mouse over it continiously...
is anybody else having issue with cs4..?
covet, quadcore, 8gb ram, 3700m + 320 hd..
about to install another 320 hd and was happy to see that i don;t have to reinstall everything.... via (ludicrus speed)
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Nov 22, 2008
***I should also note that some of the close screen shots are a little blurry. I wasnt using a camera stand and taking shots with no flash. So like in the sunset shot, dont compare resolution cause the m6400 pic looks blurrier than the 9100 pic. Just compare color and brightness. Sorry, I just noticed this hours later *
Ok, Ive taken some side by side pics.
Old laptop, Dell 9100 15" about 4.5 years old.
New Laptop - M6400 Covet
As you can see, for me at least, buying this 17" isnt much bigger than the
15" Im used to. Ok, yeah. I wish the power supply wasnt so big but I will still carry this daily with me to work.
I have a backpack by Spire that I LOVE. They make a sleeve that fits this laptop fine and though the backpack I bought isnt SUPPOSED to fit that big of a sleeve, it actually works.
I highly recommend Spire backpacks. My old one for the 9100 has been carried almost Daily for over 4 years with good weight in it and it still really seems like new esp in the strength department.
I am no expert in video card and monitor stuff as Im an audio guy, so I havent tweaked anything with these screens. They are just both set to highest brightness level and as they came. Im not sure how "fair" it is to compare these since one is an LED screen and one is not and right there, you should expect one to be "colder" and one "warmer".
The LED on the m6400 is definately more saturated with color and way brighter. In whites, my old one looks a bit yellowish though it doesnt really show on the pics.
I tried to so some comparison glossy vs matte (9100) screen. Yep, the Covet is glossy as it IS glass after all, but nope, it doesnt bother me a bit. My first glossy screen too.
I tried to show the screen at angles but both these screens seem to have a wide angle range for viewing.
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Jan 30, 2009
So yeah I wasn't exactly handling the thing with utmost care, was holding the open laptop one-handed by the left front corner, heard a plastic snap sound... I press down on the flat black plastic area where your left palm would rest, just above the PC card slot.. it's a bit squishy. Does it flex for yours too, am I paranoid? Its not a problem just wondering...
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Dec 8, 2008
Dell is finally starting to help me out as far as the screen glossiness and some other issues I've been having.
Before I tell them what parts I need in a replacement, I need to know if the M6400 RGBLED screen (not the Covet) is matte finish?
I'd really appreciate it - I can't trust their sales staff to actually know. My gut instinct would be that the E2E RGBLED screen is glossy, while the other is matte... but I don't want to replace my glossy with another glossy!
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Jan 30, 2009
Whenever I'm copying files over the network to/from my M6400 Covet, I lose network connection.
I get the 'Limited Connectivity' message in Vista 64. It seems to happen for larger files transfers only.
I have the latest software from Dell already. My solution is to restart the laptop.
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Feb 9, 2009
First Impressions:
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 .....
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Nov 6, 2008
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: ...
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Mar 2, 2009
The CCFL WUXGA screen belongs to a precision M90 and is almost 3 years old. Keep that in mind for this review.
The RGBLED is way brighter than the CCFL; at nightime, I would only use the minimum brightness setting.........................
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Jan 30, 2009
I'm going to be getting a new laptop soon. I will be using Solidworks 64-bit mostly and also using some other engineering software that has 3D modeling involved.
Searching through threads it seems like a lot of people are reporting problems. Should I look at another laptop? Or has Dell worked out all the bugs with this machine?
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Dec 20, 2008
How black is your RGBLED screen? If you look at the black screen (say, black desktop background) in a completely dark room, is the screen uniformly black? Mine has some slightly brighter "shadows" (well, it's actually the opposite of a shadow) towards the middle of the screen. Granted, this is a tough test for a laptop LCD, but for that kind of money I would have expected more. My M90 certainly does better in that regard, but I do seem to recall that the screen on that laptop had a similar issue, and did improve over time.
So, is what I am seeing normal, or should I get them to give me a new LCD?
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Jul 10, 2007
What do you think about my configuration?
Inspiron 1520 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/4MB cache)
Genuine Windows ® Vista Home Basic Edition
System Color Spring Green
Memory FREE! 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
LCD Panel High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900)
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8600M GT
Hard Drive 160G 7200RPM SATA HDD
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Combo or DVD+RW Drive CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Sound Card Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
Camera Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) I chose Security with Value, Plus,or Premium Warranty Bundle
Battery Options 85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options DellCare Plus
Doms Camera Module Spring Green color w/ 2.0M pixel Camera
Processor Branding Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Labels Windows Vista™ Basic
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Aug 13, 2009
This isn't a full review but I wanted to post my thoughts after a few days with the Studio XPS 16. Maybe this will help others considering this notebook among others to make a decision.
I ordered it from the Outlet, $1149 for SXPS 16 with P8600, 1GB ATI 4670, RGBLED screen, 500gb drive, Intel 5300 wifi, DVD/RW. I got the 9 cell for additional $80.
This seemed like too good a deal to pass up, particularly since it was "previously ordered new" rather than refurbished or scratch/dent .....
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Sep 24, 2008
Finally i got new XPS M1530 as a replacement today, with the following configuration:
Intel C2D T8100 2GHZ @ 800MHZ FSB, 3MB L2
3GB Samsung @667 MHZ Ram
1280x800 Samsung WXGA screen
250gb WD@5400 rpm
Nvidia 8600GT @DDR3
intel(R) 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-Card
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio Software
Tuxedo Black LCD display with Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam
6cell Battery
Vista HP SP1
McAfee(R) Security Center(TM) – 30 days trial
CompleteCover/ CompleteCover Guard Technical Guide include
1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover
#1 Year Complete Cover Accidental Damage Protection
1 Year Priority PC User 24x7 Support (Round-The-Clock Technical Assistance)
# Year 1 Standard POW
i received this afternoon, i inspected thoroughly later in i did format and installed vista Ultimate with SP1, then installed all the necessary drivers also installed DELL MD 4.
PROS
i ran 3dmark 06 soon after installation of all drivers, i got score of 4671
next thing i noticed the temperature its idles between 57-60c
when i ran 3dmark 06 the max temp reached was 82c.
the HD is 250gb WD@5400rpm, the drive is so quieter
Everything is perfect except 2 issues, one is DVD drive makes lot of noise while reading dvds, and little bit bulge near the XPS |M1530 logo not visible tho, also the cover over the speakers on the lest part of hinge has come up, also not visible much
This time what i noticed is my dvd writer makes noise continously while reading the dvd, i did noticed the noise while installing vista, also during installation of drivers and other software DVD. and the noise is pretty loud and annoying.
Except those im overall satisfied with my new system, im feeling good, i guess the noise from my dvd writer may soon disappear, if not, need to be replace the DVD writer.
i havent ran much benchmarking tools except 3dmark06, yet to test few games later in.
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Sep 23, 2007
The XPS M1330 is the second Dell laptop I've owned. The Inspiron 9400 put me off buying another Dell - for the wrong reasons really. I didn't want another high end laptop with poor battery life, and at just over �1000, the XPS M1330 seemed like a good choice. At 13.3" it's portable and packed with features....
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Apr 3, 2010
Dell Inspiron New Mini 10.
This netbook was received as a contest award (Canada Dell Mini Contest)
System specs:
CPU: Atom N450 (1.6GHz, 512K L2 Cache)
Display: 10.1" Widescreen Display (1024x600) Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam
OS: Windows7 Starter for Small Notebook PCs,32Bit .....
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Jul 15, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSw_d...e=channel_page
Just wanted to let everyone know that Digital Home Thoughts just uploaded their 23 minute review of the 14z.
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Jul 15, 2010
Excellent performance, but poor portability from this Inspiron
Mobility be dammed. Weighing over 3Kg, the Dell Inspiron 17R is a back breaker. Double that with the low battery life and it’s clear this laptop is not for seekers of portability. Fortunately for Dell - and us - its desktop replacement credentials are brilliant.
The Inspiron 17R we had comes with a “peacock” blue case but you can choose tomato red or mars black. The peacock blue isn’t as garish as it sounds and actually has a nice chrome finish that looks good against the gun-metal insides – it just doesn’t look like it’s trying to imitate anything else.
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Jul 15, 2010
Pros
* Blu-ray Drive
* Good Performance
* Software Installation Free Of Much Bloatware
Cons
* Exterior Shows Lots Of Fingerprints And Smudges
* Display Can't Handle 1080p HD Video
* 3D Graphics Best Suited For Casual Gaming
Description
* Intel Core i5-450M Dual Core Mobile Processor
* 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3
* 500GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
* Blu-ray Reader And Dual Layer DVD Burner Combo Drive
* 17.3" WSXGA+ (1600x900) LED Backlit Display With 1.3 Megapixel Webcam
* ATI Radeon Mobility HD 5470 Graphics With 1GB
Dell's Inspiron 17R is a slimmed down desktop replacement that provides a more compact and lightweight design. This high end model comes equipped with a higher resolution display and Blu-ray drive. At $1000, there are less expensive Blu-ray equipped systems or models with better graphics for gaming. It does a decent job of being a good general purpose desktop replacement without costing too much ...
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