I was all set to buy an M4400 last week until I started reading about all the bios/driver/software issues people have had with them. Is the W500 a better choice for someone looking for stability out of the box?
View 3 RepliesWell I was trying to buy the M4400 a few days back and the call dropped with the rep and she never called me back. So this gave me time to take a look at the W500 again and I was pleased to find that they had the P9500 offered, so now I am having difficulty deciding which to get.
I will be using the laptop for a lot of CAD work. I do finite element analysis, CAM programming, and part design using CATIA v5r17. I also use MATLAB and Simulink. So CPU, memory, and videocard performance are quite important to me. However I also travel around a lot and I would be bringing this laptop around from the office to the machine shop several times a day, so it needs to be rugged.
What I like about the W500 is that it has the switchable graphics so that it will run cooler and save battery life when graphics power is not an issue. I also like the fact that it has the lower power consumption and higher performance DDR3 memory. Finally, I like that it can be configured with the low power P9500 processor (2.53Ghz, 1066Mhz FSB, 6MB L2, 25W).....................
I intend to use it primarily for some fairly intensive gaming (Fallout 3, etc), media (music, movies), and general work stuff (web surfing, word processing, etc)
I have had an IBM for the last four years and it has served me quite well. My experience with IBM tech support was always good, and the one time I had to get it fixed it was returned promptly, no questions asked.
However there is an HP ProBook that looks quite appealing.
It costs $1865
It ships with Windows XP (important to me)
It has a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor
It has a 512 MB ATI video card
3GB of DDR2 Ram
It has a 320 GB 5400rpm HD
It has a 17.3" widescreen 1600x900 display
And here's the kicker: a Blu-Ray drive
The Lenovo is a Thinkpad W500. It is generally quite similar in specs, and a bit cheaper, but it has a 15.4 inch screen (albiet a higher resolution one) and lacks the Blu-Ray drive..............
I've got thinkpad W500 and the PrtSc key is not capturing screen I want to copy. It doesn't require the Fn key because it's labeled on top row ("sysrq" is below it on 2nd row on same button key).
-I also tried pressing Fn + prtsc just to see if that would work. Didn't work.
-Then I tried pressing Alt + prtsc... nothing.
-I even tried pressing Ctrl + PrtSc.... nothing.
I've looked all over Forum, no one addresses this, or at least not for the W500 (which is different from the other W510 through W540 series laptops. Or other ways to capture a screenshot?
Windows 7 (64) W500 4061-BV3
I have a W500, ATI Mobility FireGL V5700, Windows 7.
When I press FN+Home and FN+END to regulate brightness up or down, the brightness symbols turn on and goes up/down, but the screen brightness is not regulated up or down but stays constant somewhere in between.
What can I do to get "brighness" working?
It has never worked, the computer is 2 months old. I have upgraded from Windows 7, 32 bit to 64, but brightness is still not working.
I have a thinkpad W500 and I'm reinstalling Windows 7 after years of running linux (I got tired of my video drivers being unsupported due to the age of the card). However, when I attempt to install system update, I get the message "an error occured while gathering user information" and I cannot continue. How can I get the switchable graphics, power, and keyboard drivers properly installed? I don't really care about the rest of the software, it just that system update is the only way I know of to get it.
View 2 Replies View RelatedIn fact, my W500 is over 5 years old but I do not have any complaints on its performance except the WUXGA display is rather dim which makes it hardly useable on open-air. I do not recall that problem at purchase time. When googling around I see different reasons for a dim display
a) cabling - would not consider this beacuase the screen is not flickering and does not show any discrepancies - it's just dim
b) inverter - this is not a real inverter, is it?
c) display panel - it does not seem very difficult to replace
d) motherboard - I am unsure whether I would challenge a replacement
Is there a way to find out which way to start working around? I mean buying a panel if it comes out at the end that I had needed a new motherboard would rather make me blue.
Or should I accept the fact that time has gone and I have to look for an other computer because it does not worth bothering. What do you think?
I have Thinkpad W500, Windows 7 Professional, 64bit. When I turn on laptop, i forget when (before or after Windows loading) it brings me to the FingerPrint icon. This part is ok because the laptop seems to continue booting without my clicking it which I prefer. (I don't even have my own FingerPrint saved in laptop and I find that strange. I bought this W500 used). After FingerPrint icon disappears, the User or Admin Icon is shown on screen. That picture needs to be clicked for laptop to continue booting up or loading up. No password required, just click the icon. I'd like for laptop to just bootup without doing anything, and go to the desktop page automatically (like all my other thinkpads).
How can I turn off that second Icon or feature? Is it a User or Admin icon? I'm only user of laptop so I don't need feature to use a password or to click the Icon.
I have a W500 running Windows 7 which unexpectedly turns off, usually when asleep but sometimes also while on. The turn off happens as if the power is lost (say, the battery/AC cord are yanked out). After a turn off like that, I sometimes need to reconnect the battery and the AC cord. Did some reading here and elsewhere on the web and came upon the electrostatic suggestion. Was able to get it to turn back on at least a few times by touching the underside of the laptop, but that worked inconsistently.
Since it mostly happens when the unit is asleep, I pretty much ruled out the temperature and software issues.
Decided to check out the memory section pin bending solution. My laptop has to have it's palm rest taken off to access the RAM modules. People kept referring to some RAM door pins but since mine doesn't have a special RAM door, I bent some pins on the bottom of the palm rest and so far, not power loss but too early to tell.
I am considering of getting myself a laptop for personal CAD and design use.
I am looking to buy a resonably priced Quadro graphic laptop and hope it last for 2 years or so...
Could anyone kindly advise me on if the Dell Precision M4400 would be a good option? (below is the spec I am thinking of going for)
Processor: 2.8Ghz T9600 Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4Gb (800Mhz, DDR2)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Quadro FX1700M (512Mb)
Hard Disk: 320Gb (7200rpm)
just got my m4400 and upgraded to vista business via the dell disks. Now the backlit keyboard dosen't work. It was working under XP. It on in the BIOS and the controlpoint.
View 10 Replies View RelatedDell is now offering a Blu-Ray disc drive option on the Precision M4400!
Here's the link to the M4400.
(note: I posted this in the XPS/Studio section, and I'm reposting it here since it pertains to both)
I am looking for a notebook for my girlfriend. She studies architecture, so she needs something with a powerful GPU, high resolution display, but not too heavy (she has to lug it with her every day all over campus). We don't want to spend more than ~$1500, and hopefully get it for less than that with discounts (either through the University or her mother's job) .....
I want to get a durable work station notebook and narrowed down my choices to the Precision M4400, HP Elite Book and Thinkpad W500.
Getting the Precision from the Outlet seems the cheapest option. Anyone have any experience getting a laptop from there?
I'm a bit out of the loop. Is the M4400 due for a major refresh any time soon? If so when, and what major components will be replaced (gpu, hopefully)?
View 9 Replies View RelatedGot my swap today! ( swapped cause heat/fan issues ). The first thing i noticed when i booted up eas that it came with A16 Bios. Latest on th Dell site is A15. Anyone got some info on this???
View 7 Replies View RelatedI sold my Asus G1S last week and now i am looking to replace it with another more modern 15.4" laptop with decent graphics card and good screen. Dell m4400 and lenovo t500 both fit the bill. I am leaning more towards a refurb dell from the outlet. I am lookign for answers to a few questions to help me make up my mind:
I heard good stuff about both WXGA+ LED and WUXGA RGB-LED panels on this model. What about WUXGA CCFL panel. Where can I find specs on it? Is it any good or terribly dim like the one Lenovo uses?
Is heat a big problem with m4400? My Asus was heating up to the point that it was uncomfortable to keep on my lap and was very noisy and I kind of want to avoid that again.
How good are Dell refurbs? Am i going to get something that has been trashed before or are these just open box returns? Also is it possible to get them to give extra discount over the phone? There was a 15% off coupon a few weeks ago which is over now. What are my chances of convincing them to give me a discount?
Also, If I do order new, would it be possible to convince Dell to price match the M4400 to a T500 or W500? Did anybody ever have any success with that?
Just got my Precision M4400 and a Logitech bluetooth mouse. Can't figure out how to activate bluetooth, or whether it's even installed as ordered. Blue bluetooth light above keyboard is on, but can't find bluetooth in Device Manager, or in system tray.
View 10 Replies View RelatedHere's the background...
I recently received a new m4400 (with a T9400)and had a problem with one of the cpu cores running 6-8 degrees hotter at idle (not under load). When I told this to Dell technical support, they reordered me a new notebook.
Here's the problem...
I received my new replacement notebook. Although the cpu cores are now the exact same temperature at idle, once I start running some programs (simulation games, etc.), one of the cpu cores runs 7-8 degrees consistantly hotter than the other one. If I stop playing these games, both cores return to the exact same temperature .....
I've been watching this board for a while, and decided to register finally, as I am looking to purchase a Precision for school.
My previous notebook is a Latitude D810 with WUXGA LCD, with a higher end configuration, (2.26Ghz, 2GB, X600 128MB, 320GB HD, Bluetooth) which served me well for the past four years.
I wish to get a high end model as well this time around (With the same resolution), hoping to get the same longevity
I just received my Dell M4400 and am planning to change the stock 2GB of ram to 2x2GB of G.Skill PC2-6400 DDR2-800 ram.
View 4 Replies View RelatedI received the Dell Precision m4400 on last friday.
I did not know about the latency problem that I read on these forums AFTER the horrible fact that I'm going to explain.
In fact, I was watching an avi file, in Windows Vista (the preinstalled OS), when sometimes the play stops (as the computer is under much load) and then resume the play .....
Is it possible to purchase/add an aftermarket BlueRay dvd player that would fit in the Precision m4400?
I may be getting one through work, but noticed that there are no options available for this item.
Any m4400 owners with Blue Ray dvd players?
Just got my m4400 finally. Quad core + uxga/led. The led screen went pink or something when docked without a/c power. It also flickered a bit when I was using it on battery (only happened once).
The fan is way loud (using bios A11). I found the I8kfanGUI program to control the fan (works pretty good) but what's funny is the laptop keeps wanting to turn the fan to full speed, then the tool kicks in and turns it off again. So it spins up, back down, up, back down .....
I have spent the past 10 minutes trying to search this forum for the answer and came up empty-handed. Simple question: does the M4400 support 3 Gbits/second or is it limited to 1.5 Gbits/second? I know the entire ThinkPad line
(T400/T500/W500/W700) models are limited to 1.5 Gbits/second, which limits the usefulness of a higher-end Solid State Disk like the Intel X25-M. Thanks for the info!
At work we ordered a Dell Precision M4400 laptop
Processor: T9300 or T9500
RAM: 4GB
OS: vista Basic
When the laptop arrived I took out the 80GB HDD and installed a Western Digital 320GB 7200 RPM drive and created 2 Partitions so that we could dual-boot with Windows XP SP3 and another Windows XP SP3.
I've searched and found a lot of info on audio crackling, but I'm not quite sure if that is the issue I am having.
The best way I can describe the audio problem is that, it on occasion, once ever 30 seconds or so, music, or audio that is continuously playing will stutter and skip for a moment, like the computer is under heavy load
I'm planning on buying a refurb M4400 soon, and I'm wondering if the user community has any input for me. Are there any features I should make sure to get (backlit keyboard is good, I hear)? Are there any features I should be sure to avoid? Are there any problems commonly experienced that I should look out for once I get the system?
I haven't ordered it yet, but so far I think I'm looking at the T9400 cpu, 4GB RAM, FX770M gpu, CCFL WUXGA screen, ~250GB@7200RPM HD (could be 160GB or 320GB, depends on what's available). Up for debate still are 6 vs 9 cell battery, fingerprint reader (none, internal, FIPS), OS (if I can get 64-bit Vista Ultimate that'd be great, otherwise XP Pro w/ Vista Business license).
The intended usage here is software development (mostly Java, some C/C++) and gaming (Far Cry 2, CoD4/5, maybe Crysis?).
I don't get it. I thought it should be Fn + F4. The numlock light is on, but the embedded numerics do not work. What am I doing wrong? Some BIOS setting or what?
View 1 Replies View RelatedI was all set to buy a refurbished Precision m4400 until I started to read about gpu downclocking heating issues that some people have when playing higher end gpu intensive games.
Is this still a problem with this particular notebook (where a lack of sufficient cooling design will force the gpu to downclock when trying to play gpu intensive simulation games)?
Do you recommend this notebook if I plan on using it for gaming 50% of the time? I need to buy a business notebook through my company but do not want to buy this particualr one if I can't game with it. (My other option would be an XPS 1530 with a worse 8600gty gpu option.)
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated to help me decide whether to purchase this m4400 notebook.