Precision M4600 Owners Lounge

[iieeann]

What is the battery life with the 9 cell battery and the FirePro GPU? In the massive thread about both the M4600 and M6600, havoctex said it should be 5-6 hours, but in this thread, iieeann said it's only 2.5 hours of browsing the web. Which is it? I need around 4 hours of web-browsing; 2.5 is completely unacceptable.

Also, with the FirePro 8900M in the M6600, it seems to be possible to install the Radeon drivers for higher gaming performance. Has anyone tried this trick with the M5950?

The 2.5 hours i mentioned is already too long, in actual it could be 2 hours 15min, depends on what battery level you want it to auto sleep/shutdown.
Most of the time the processor is only running at 800Mhz, so processor type is not a major issue.

in CCC the setting is "Enable Powerplay" and select "maximum battery life" when battery is in use.

How come i feel m4600 is heavier than m4400 ... could be because it is wider so is heavier when holding one side.

[armsys]

The 2.5 hours i mentioned is already too long, in actual it could be 2 hours 15min, depends on what battery level you want it to auto sleep/shutdown.

2hr 15min appears short. Do you have 6-cell or 9-cell battery? Did you turn on WiFi/Wireless?

[philip4600]

All good and installed with 4x4GB GSkill DIMMS in there, here are some brief instructions for anyone wanting to get to the two DIMM slots under the keyboard:

• Take the battery out.
• Hit the power button.
• Pop the plastic panel surrounding the keyboard, it's easiest to start at the back on each side and then work forward.
• You'll find four screws at the leading edge of the keyboard, remove these.
• The sides of the keyboard are held in with little tabs on the chassis. Work your way from the front to back on each side to release the keyboard from the tabs.
• Slide out the keyboard to the front.
• Remove the keyboard ribbon, if you want.
• You'll see both the DIMM slots available.
• Reverse to put back together.

I'll add some pics if anyone's interested.

Thanks, I thought the slots were under slot 1&2...
Would be great if u can post some pictures, thanks !!!

[hhuerta]

Hi afhstingray, iieeann, hhuerta,
How much do you pay for your M4600?

aprox. 2700 usd it includes the following services
3 Year Complete Care
3 Year ProSupport for Your Enterprise and 3 Year NBD On-site Service

I hope the 6 cells battery will suffice

[armsys]

aprox. 2700 usd it includes the following services
3 Year Complete Care
3 Year ProSupport for Your Enterprise and 3 Year NBD On-site Service

Does it cover accidental damages?
Thanks.

[hhuerta]

Does it cover accidental damages?
Thanks.

Yes

Types of Damage Covered
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service provides coverage for most non-intentional damage caused by accidents.

Examples of damage that IS covered include:
—liquid spilled on or in your unit
—drops, falls or other collisions
—electrical surges
—accidental breakage

Examples of damage that IS NOT covered include:
—intentional damage
—consumables (i.e. Batteries, bulbs)
—theft or loss
—normal wear that does not affect the system’s operation
—fire

Sadly it doesn't include throwing your laptop when you lose at games or when you throw it when your code doesn't compile

[armsys]

hhuerta,
Thanks for detailing the coverage. Where's your localtion?
In Hong Kong, Dell sells a weird "keep-Your-Drive" service. In essence, the technician will remove your drive(s) if your M4600 is required for factory repair. Not sure why Dell charges it.

[iieeann]

2hr 15min appears short. Do you have 6-cell or 9-cell battery? Did you turn on WiFi/Wireless?

9 cells battery, wifi on because of browsing internet.

[iieeann]

Hi afhstingray, iieeann, hhuerta,
How much do you pay for your M4600?

About $3400

[Althernai]

The 2.5 hours i mentioned is already too long, in actual it could be 2 hours 15min, depends on what battery level you want it to auto sleep/shutdown.

Curious. That is a huge battery and that lifetime is no better than the Clevos with a GPU that is twice the size of the M5950 and consumes twice as much power. What is gobbling up the energy? It's not the Sandy Bridge CPU and I don't think the graphics is that power hungry. Do you have the screen brightness turned all the way up?