Dell :: Evaluate My Latitude E6500 (scratch And Dent)
Jan 23, 2009
I'm trying to figure out if I should keep it or not.
Specs for the laptop are:
Latitude E6500 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
WindowsXP Pro, with Vista upgrade disk.
There was no documentation (manual) with it at all.
-- 6 Cell Primary Battery
-- Back-lit Keyboard
-- 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (1 DIMMs)
-- 90W AC Adapter
-- NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M
-- Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
-- Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
-- Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
-- 250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
-- 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
-- Genuine Windows XP Pro with Vista Business License
-- 15.4 inch WXGA+ LED Laptop Screen
I paid $735 with a 20% off coupon.
It's definitely got a rather visible dent, and the chassis is bent out of shape. Looks like it fell and landed on it's right front corner.
It runs fine, no problems connecting to the wlan or the internet, sound seems fine with no crackling (if a little tinny), the backlit keyboard is fantastic and I love typing on it.
Touchpad is a serious hassle when it comes to scrolling, and I hope they are planning on an upgraded driver soon.
My previous touchpad is a Synaptics and beats this one by a mile!
I'm not sure about the screen (1440x900, LED backlit).
Is it supposed to be a vast improvement over regular screens?
If yes, I'm not seeing it and the colors seem a little off.
I've tried adjusting it, but am not convinced I did a good job.
Does this laptop have an "Auto Synch button" somewhere?
When I try and use the Nvidia Screen optimizer Wizard", it tells me to locate that, and I'm not finding any info about it.
Fan is very nice and quiet compared to my emachines M6809, but the dvd drive is very loud! Is that normal, or could it have to do with the chassis being bent in that corner?
Hardrive is fast and quiet, and the laptop is a lightweight compared to my almost 9lbs emachines!
Just ordered a S&D M1710 from the Dell Outlet with a 7600G chip (woo) and 7950GTX to replace my "ailing" off-warranty Gen2. I also ordered a three year warranty with CompleteCare, something I *didn't* get on the Gen2.
I'm expecting the scratches and/or dents will be superficial at best, and I can deal with that. If the notebook was heavily damaged I'd assume Dell would just junk it and sell the salvageable parts as "refurbished." Should they *not* be, however...
1) Does CompleteCare "cover" damage that was already done to the notebook at point of sale? If the notebook is damaged beyond my level of comfort, does CompleteCare cover its repair, since I'm assuming it'll be a lid or chassis problem. Or is this a case of "someone else broke it, and *you* bought it?" I would think the logic of the situation would be that (and please do not read into this as I'm not this type of person) if I damaged the notebook myself accidentally, I assume they wouldn't just fix the dents *I* put in it. =/
2) If the "damages" are severe, does the Outlet have the same 21 day return policy (or *any* return policy) regardless of whether an item is refurbished, off-lease, or S&D? EDIT: Found the answer to this one myself, it's the same return policy with a possible 15% restocking fee.
3) Could anyone with *past buying experience* (or knows someone and can recount their experience) with the Outlet please tell me what to expect and how your refurb or S&D part arrived?
4) Not a question, but yes I'm aware I bought an "older" and therefore "non-1337" model. I don't much care about DX10 at the moment, and also didn't feel like spending 2500 for a new notebook that is *slower* graphically than my 7800GTX was or 3500+ on a SLI 8800GTX setup and gives me more pain in driver support. Sufficed to say, the difference between 1900 dollars and 2500-3500+ dollars is not "slight." So if you're going to post in here and say something to the effect of "why didn't you buy a 1730," please don't bother and keep the discussion on topic.
And before anyone asks: T7600G / 2GB (upgrading to 4GB despite the chipset limitation) / DD DVD-R/W / 7950GTX / Vista Ultimate ("downgrading" to XP with my Gen2's disc) / Intel N-Band Card ("downgrading" to a Gigabyte PCIe SuperG to take advantage of my existing network)
I had an Inspiron 1420 and I installed Windows 7, I could not get the wifi working with the dell drivers, so I had to reformat my entire computer. I was able to sell my 1 year old Inspiron 1420 for $525 on ebay. Then I found notebookreview.com and the fourms, now I am happier than ever that I did!
Received my scratch and dent studio xps 13 from Dell Ordered on Tuesday 4/21/09 at midnight. Arrived 4/24/09 7:55pm Friday Shipped from Tennessee to Pennsylvania
Specs: Studio XPS 13 P8600 2.4ghz 4gb ddr3 320gb 7200rpm WLED screen Wifi 1515 n Bluetooth
Cost: $729 dell outlet + 15% off coupon (expires 5/1/09) With tax and shipping $656
Time on Dell Outlet website hitting the refresh button: 3 hours to find the studio xps 13 outlet pc for $729 with WLED screen Most had LCD.. so I had to keep checking every 5 minutes for a couple of hours
Looks: Looked almost brand new when I opened it up
one word.. awesome.. design is very sharp looking, blacklit keys are really nice Small surface scratches hardly noticeable on the top of the laptop..have to look at it in the light at a certain angle to notice the scratches. When I opened it up it looked really nice, keyboard is brand new, no scratches of any kind on the inside.
Design: Very good, I have no wobbling problems, on a flat table now.. no issues. When you open this up the keyboard seems pretty big.. It definitely does not feel like a 13 inch laptop.. the keyboard looks like it could be on a 15 inch laptop. Lots of extra space for your palms etc
Weight: not a problem at all even if you had to carry it with you
Keyboard: Typing on it now.. Definitely there is a learning curve to it as I am used to smaller keyboard with the keys closer. I watched that video of the other person showing keyboard keys were loose.. I noticed that some keys are looser than others but as I am typing on it now I have no problems whatsoever. After 20 minutes I noticed the oil from my fingers showing as smudges on every single key (again only in certain light can you see this) but it does not bother me at all. The sound buttons and eject button works great on the keyboard
Trackpad: Very small, learning curve here also but its not a deal breaker. Very responsive
Monitor: LED screen is beautiful and totally kills my old Inspiron 14 inch LCD. So clear and bright I would not trade it for anything, also looks brand new. I did notice that the monitor hardly blocks the fan on the bottom.. not a problem. The heat on the left of the monitor is slightly warm but not hot. The 1200x800 display is the perfect size for the monitor
Heat: I received the laptop, put in my 64bit windows cd and reinstalled, then upgraded the bios to A06 Both cores run between 41 and 45 C , Have noticed this creeping up to 50 C sometimes but never over 50 A little warmer than other laptops I have used but not a problem at all. The laptop feels warm (but I would not say it is hot.. Even if I put my hand under the laptop it is only warm. The palm rests are comfortable and slightly warm but nothing bad. When I was doing the windows reinstall from the cd, when I put my hand under it, it was very hot.. the A06 bios update really helped cool it down!
Performance: Fastest laptop I have ever used and now owned. Add/Remove programs loads in less than second. Word, Excel, Powerpoint load in 2 seconds If I hit the power button and put this into sleep mode.. walk away and then open up the lid again, it comes back up in less than 3-5 seconds. Windows vista 64 loads very quickly
Sound: Good and loud, same as any other laptop
Fan: Bios A06 update seems to have the fan running all the time now.. I do not have any problem with it. It is very quiet and it does not run 100% of the time either
Battery Life: Regular 6 cell battery.. not sure how old this battery is but I think with wifi on, Screen brightness on max, giving me 2 1/2 hours Might need to upgrade to the 9 cell in the future, but it works fine for now
HDMI: Plugged it into the tv.. looks really nice but I cannot get sound to work yet.. I was trying to play a tv show from fox.com through Internet Explorer.. Video worked very good, but sound was not working.. still need to look into this more............
I know some might think I am being over dramatic but I pay the high premium and I expect a high quality product.
I got my new i7 15" macbook pro last wednesday. I noticed maybe 2 or 3 days after I got it I that there was this tiny dent to the left of my left speaker. It's nothing huge, maybe 1 cm long and a fraction of a cm wide but once you notice these things they really start to tick you off.
In the last 3 months I have gone through about 2 dell "studio xps" systems due to major build quality issues and finding this mark today just about broke my heart (thearpy).
What are my options?
I don't really want to go without a laptop for another week so if that is my only option I will just live with it....
And, I know this is not anything of my doing unless my soft little generous fingers somehow dented my macbook... I have babied this thing since I brought it into this world (unboxing) and this whole ordeal just frustrates me.
Am I able to get a replacement for it being "defective"? If so would it be brand new. If not would I be able to get a full refund and re order? Or would they send me a new laptop and I sent this one back? Does the 10% restocking fee apply?
So I purchased a "scratch n dent" mini 9 from the dell outlet. It arrived today. When I looked at the bottom it had a refurbished sticker on the bottom. I know on the outlet they have ordered previously new, refurbished, and scratch n dent.
Do all the scratch n dent computers come with this sticker? I figure the refurb would but didn't think the scratch n dent would as it's only a used computer..
I ordered a XPS 16 scratch and dent from dell outlet few weeks ago for $750 after taxes/coupon:
P8700 4gb 500gb hdd Full hd Blu-ray RW Ati-1GB 6cell
anyways..orders kept getting delayed and delayed (found that strange since they are already built). Today I found out the order got "changed" and they reinstated a new order for what it look like a brand new system (for same price!) plus the upgraded to next day shipping Here is the new system: ...
Which do you reckon i ought to go for between the two?
The laptop will be used primarily between home and university, so will be taken between the two places in my shoulder messenger bag, so will probably take a few bumps
I just got my dell Outlet e6500 today and I have a few questions/issues that you may be able to help me with:
1) when I opened it up, there's a small piece of plastic broken off the right side of the laptop (the piece is actually in the plastic bag that the laptop was in, so I assume it broke in shipping?).
If you look at the picture to which I've linked below from the review on this site (not actually my own picture),
it's the piece just to the immediate left of the wireless switch, along the bottom of the side, about 1 inch long (some kind of bay or card reader).....
From what I've read, it *should* work, but the computer does not recognize a 32GB SDHC card that reads fine on other computers and my PDA.
I've installed the latest driver available from Dell and the XP hotfix, restarted the computer, but whenever I try, I get a "device cannot start" error in the device manager. A regular 2GB SD card reads fine.
So I'm all set to buy a Latitude E6500, I'm just trying to save as much money as possible. Depending on whether I go through the small business or home office or whatever section on the Dell website..................
So I've been pouring over this and other notebook forum and review sites for a few weeks now, trying to decide on a laptop to buy. And I think I'm pretty sure about the E6500.
Just as some background, I'm mostly a desktop kind of person and I build my own, so I'm used to picking out each component and getting exactly the ones I want. So this picking a package thing is a little frustrating.
The main purpose of this laptop will be to edit photos using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I'll probably use it for web browsing and watching movies on the go, too, but those are incidental and would be fine with most laptops anyway. I do not play computer games, so I'm mainly interested in performance with editing photos. I don't see any reason to need more than an integrated graphics card for photo editing, but correct me if I'm wrong here. It would also be important that the laptop be fairly durable and have a respectable battery .....
I just bought a new Dell E6500 for my BA/MA. I had a Sony vaio SZ 430 for two years and it was a huge waste, Bloatware, slow operating system, warping case, and a cpu which would run at 178 F during idle. Anyway I just bought a Dell Latitude E6500 for 1044USD here are some specs.
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 2.40GHz, 1066MHz 3M L2 Cache, Dual Core 3.0GB DDR2-800MHz, 2 DIMMS 250GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM FFS 15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA LEDLCD
Its running a windows Vista Downgrade to XP professional I am trying to set up a quick reliable business machine and part 1 is clean install exactly what do I need (resource DVD) and are there any threads to direct to me also does the machine come preinstalled with vista or XP? I avoided the bluetooth, camera, and fingerprint reader and fancy graphics card because I never used these on the Sony and had a millions of issues with drivers. Sorry I am coming from a childhood of macs and a bad experience of PC's my plan is to clean install right out of the box to avoid losing any important files. Thanks for any help I am getting the unit on the 30th so there is some time if I need to get some drivers dl'ed I did get the backlit key board I fell in love with it since it first came out on my pops old powerbook
I have had a small amount of time with this machine, Dell latitude E6500 2.4ghz Dual Core, 160GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM Free Fall, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M DDR3 ram - I have 2gb ram, and will order another 2gb chip tomorrow, but so far I am thoroughly impressed I ordered a 2.26, but it seems that I got a 2.4 instead... I don't think I'll be calling in a complaint..
Extremely well built solid construction, keyboard is amazing, the best I have ever used on a laptop (some people say it has flex but I haven't noticed any), feedback is absolutely perfect, with a very soft noiseless click to report a keystroke. I have never been able to type this fast... Impressive... Back lit keyboard - sexy, secure fingerprint access works perfect, 1 swipe read every time I use it... far less screen flex then I have had on any other laptop I have used. Speakers are something to be desired, but I don't listen to music with them, I have 40K in home theater gear, so nothing lost to me..
Hinges on screen are completely solid, not worn in enough yet, takes 2 hands to open it, but I'm sure that will smooth out over time. LED screen is very impressive, resolution 1440x900 is really crisp and clear... colors are brilliant. I haven't run any tests, but 2.4 dual core is plenty fast... I'll know better when I try to extract something... Haven't done that for a long time.. Back of screen is brushed black aluminum, from what I understand, they are coming out with a Blue, which I saw online and it looks beautiful, I preferred that look, but the Black is flawless.... Its really a sleek looking laptop. First time I have used Vista, running 64 bit and so far I have 0 issues with it. Works as fast as my XP if not faster, only running 2gb ram but have 2 more on order.
Gripes, the transition from wrist rest to front of computer could be more tapered or smoother like the HP's, can be a bit rough, but certainly not a deal breaker. The mouse pad is a touch small, I am used to a larger one, but I'll get used to it, also I need to get used to the control of it, somewhat touchy, I find I'm highlighting stuff all the time, but again I'm sure that is something that I just have to get used to. I am happy there is no gloss anywhere on the computer, minimizes fingerprints.......
I have a new Dell Latitude E6500. It was broken, so Dell sent me another one. This time, I have the Dell Webcam Central installed. Does that mean I have a webcam? How do I find out?
I just bought a latitude E6500 (intel 8600 - 2.4 GH, 3GB RAM, Samsung HDD 200 GB 7200; Vista Business) from an ebay resaler here in UK. From a one day experience I can tell that is is a beautifull machine but it is VERY NOSY all the time no matter what i do - it is like this from the time it gets turned on and stays noisy the whole time.When I put it next to my old Latitude D520 it is almost like a desktop noise. I am not sure if it is only the fan because there's no air flow coming from the radiators neither from the side one nor the vent on the bottom. I thought that there can be somehow that the fan is not working but it turned and blew very hot air for a vew seconds when i updated the BIOS. The noise is mixed with some high friquensy noises coming from where the wents and the proc is. I am confused if it is a hardware issue or it can be fixed somehow ... It comes with a 3 years warranty but i wonder if i should use the 7 day return policy and return it to the seller; which will be pityy because the machine is really beautiful..
I need a new laptop and in my price range started looking at the Vostro 1510, then kept reading that the Vostro fans were noisy, so I looked at the Lenovo SL500. Then after reading conflicting reports, I stepped it up a bit and started looking at the Latitudes.
I can get refurbished Latitude E6500 in the outlet for a bit more. I am fairly accomplished computer user (just don't do hardware). Is it worth it? I have been reading postings about many problems on these as well so I'm just not sure what to do at this point.
I am definitely looking for a matte screen, and Windows XP, bluetooth, and camera. If I purchase the E6500 I would like the backlit keyboard. Are there any other features I should look for? On the E6500 which graphics card is recommended -- Intel or NIVIDIA?
I just ordered a new Latitude E6500 (and my boss is paying for it!). It will come with Vista Business 32 and I plan on reformatting the machine and doing a clean install.
My new system will have:
P8600 2 GB RAM 160 GB 5400 HDD WXGA+ LED Display 4500MHD Integrated Webcam Intel Wifi 5100 Dell 370 Bluetooth
I prefer to have my system as clean as possible. Is there any included software that I will need to reinstall?
I was wanting to connect my laptop Dell Latitude E6500 to my LG 32" LCD TV. The TV has HDMI ports and my Latitude E6500 only comes with a VGA out. I thought a 2m VGA to HDMI cable would suffice but when I select the HDMI input on the TV I get the No Signal message.
If I check the Desktop->Screen resolution properties, my LG TV shows up in the Display dropdown.
I have tried changing the resolution for the TV but it always shows the No Signal message.
I bought a Latitude E6500 one year ago,I am planning to change the internal HD for a SSD HD to gain some speed; since my hardware knowledge is very scarce, I am planning to buy this SSD to host my GNU/Linux:
OCZ Agility-2 SandForce SSD.URL....But I don't even know if my latitude is, I quote, "SATA 2.6 Compliant, 3Gb/s and 1.5Gb/s support".BTW, is it difficult to open the laptop to change the hard disk?
I have a dell e6500 and i really love it, but my screen is the 1280x800..
I was wondering... could I simply upgrade to a WXGA+ or WUXGA if i find one and order it?..
i think i have a ccfl and the other two are led backlit. would that be a problem, or is that built into the screen itself if i got a new one? lemme know if this is possible, and any good links to order screens from..
I got my E6500 a few days ago. I played it around for a few days. Now, I try to start this thread another way. Instaed of writing a post giving my own mpressions, please ask questions and I try to answer. Like this I guess it will be more helpful to you guys. I list the main spec here:
P9500 CPU 4G RAM 250GB 7200RPM HD with FFS Intel 5300 Wireless BlueTooth Modem nVidia NVS 160M display card WUXGA screen with webcam Backlit keyboard 6 Cell and 9 Cell battery 90W power supply (new design)
I am expecting my E6500 to-morrow , here is the portion of final specs. Looking for inputs from others who have received their E6500 in last 2 days to see if they got the .3 MP webcam or 2MP webcam, ....
i had just selected the webcam with microphone will find out what i get....but here is the bill of parts..
320-7003 Integrated VGA webcam with microphone for Latitude E6500 320-7015 15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD for Latitude E6500 313-6807 Integrated 2.0MP VGA web cam w/ microphone for WXGA+ LCD Latitude E6500 $0.00
The display on our E6500 fluctuates constantly from bright to dim. This does not happen when we have it in the docking station which has a monitor attached to it.
Does this have anthing to do with the Ambient Light Sensor? I did go into it and changed the brightness a while back to highest setting, and today I went in and turned the Ambient Light Sensor off.
I'm very surprised that Dell only provides DDR2-800Mhz memory support for Latitude E6500 instead of E4300.
I don't understand, the built in chipset of E6500 is a Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset that support DDR3 Memory so why the E6500 don't support it ?
Intel tech specs :
The Mobile Intel® PM45 Express Chipset delivers Microsoft Windows Vista* Premium support with the highest level of Microsoft Windows Aero* experience.1 It delivers outstanding system performance through high-bandwidth interfaces such as dual-channel DDR3 and DDR2 memory support, 1066 MHz system bus, PCI Express* x16 graphics port and PCI Express x1 I/O ports, Serial ATA, and Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connectivity. Use of the Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset includes support for Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) 4.0, the next generation of remote client network management for business. Use of the Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset also includes support for dual graphics with ATI CrossfireX*, for extreme gaming.
Support for DDR3 and DDR2 memory technology
Does anyone try to upgrade E6500 memory to DDR3-1066Mhz ?
All I can tell from the product listings on the Dell website is the 6500 is available in Blue and Red optionally. Are there any hardware differences? The screen options seem different too, but I can't tell anything else.
I just picked up a Latitude E6500 from the outlet, and it only comes with B wireless. People on the forum have mentioned that the E6500 has 3 Mini PCIe slots. One is full length and has 3 antenna connections, one is half length with 2, and one is half length with 1 (for Bluetooth).
I'm planning on upgrading with an Intel 5300 wifi card, it's amazing how cheap they are on eBay. The 5300 comes in two configurations, full and half, but it's a 3x3 antenna, so it'll have to go in my full length slot.
However, most of the listings seem to be for half, and they cost the same. I figure I might as well get the cheaper half length card that also saves .5 ounces of weight if it'll fit in the slot, and the antenna wires will reach. Does anyone know if this would work, or do I need to find one of the full length cards?
