I thought that I share some pictures of the 640m I had for a week before I replaced it with the inspiron 6400. Both had the same specs -> 2ghz t7200, 2x512 667mhz ram, truelife screen, 9 cell, 100gb 7200rpm drive, intel 950 graphics.
Well the size difference is there in front of you. Placed evenly form the back, till the start of the keyboard, both laptops are of the same length. its only before the keyboard, to the mouse area and beyond till the end that the 6400 is more in length. Now with the 640m, i found using the keyboard to be fairly ok. But after using the 6400, it was much more relaxing and comfortable to use. This is because my wrists on the 6400 rest fully on the extra space. While on the 640m, my wrists are just before the edge of the laptop. So i was pretty happy with this aspect on the 6400.
I know i should have put them on a lighter background, my bad. Well with the 9 cell on the 640m, the length is almost the exact same for both. 6400 is an inch or so longer in width.
640m 9 cell
Now there were a few reasons that made me return the 640m. The main reason was that it seemed very shabby. Playing a cd was like hearing the engines start on a place, i kid u not. And just simply tapping on the mouse normally, would give off a shaky irritating sound.
Now below is another reason
As u can see, the freeplay was alot. I was really surprised. This I know is not only related to this particular system, but for all 640m's. The reason being, is that the rubber cover they put to cover the screws on the lcd was thin in thickness. While on the 6400, and another 1501 that i have it was much bigger. That is why the freeplay on the 15.4 inch laptops is very little.
Yet another reason for returning it below
The gap u can see on the left of the inspiron 640m name, that was just not acceptable. I mean i paid for a freaking latop from 'DELL', and this is what i get?
I called technical about these prolbems. Their response to this was that the laptop is like that. So in other terms, they admitted that the 640m they make was with these flaws. They offered to replace my cd drive, but I said no way as that isnt the problem. The 6400 i got, and the 1501, seem to be a bit more solid than the 640m and this doesnt give a sound of take off upon the insertion of a cd.
Now let me talk about the weight. I got the 640m cause im a student and would need to carry the laptop around. And well the 640m wasnt really light. But what really shocked me was that when i got the 6400 with exact same specs, it was a tad lighter than the 640m. I mean, what happened to the 'ULTRA PORTABLE' 640m?
So the thing is, that, what edge does the 640m have over the 6400 if its not lighter? With 6400 u get a bigger screen, its more comfortable, less lid freeplay, more solid, and looks better (in the sense that the 9 cell sticks out on the 640m). The pricing is almost the same for both, so its worth spending a little more to get the 6400.
The 640m came with vista basic. The 6400 with vista premium. Premium doesnt really use that much more ram that is claimed over vista basic. I dont play games, and so the intel 950 is more than enough. its smooth and doesnt hang with 1gb ram. but, still, when u open alot of windows, ur almost out of ram, so i would say that get 2gb later, if u cant get now.
Well I hope this was helpful. cheers.
Well the size difference is there in front of you. Placed evenly form the back, till the start of the keyboard, both laptops are of the same length. its only before the keyboard, to the mouse area and beyond till the end that the 6400 is more in length. Now with the 640m, i found using the keyboard to be fairly ok. But after using the 6400, it was much more relaxing and comfortable to use. This is because my wrists on the 6400 rest fully on the extra space. While on the 640m, my wrists are just before the edge of the laptop. So i was pretty happy with this aspect on the 6400.
I know i should have put them on a lighter background, my bad. Well with the 9 cell on the 640m, the length is almost the exact same for both. 6400 is an inch or so longer in width.
640m 9 cell
Now there were a few reasons that made me return the 640m. The main reason was that it seemed very shabby. Playing a cd was like hearing the engines start on a place, i kid u not. And just simply tapping on the mouse normally, would give off a shaky irritating sound.
Now below is another reason
As u can see, the freeplay was alot. I was really surprised. This I know is not only related to this particular system, but for all 640m's. The reason being, is that the rubber cover they put to cover the screws on the lcd was thin in thickness. While on the 6400, and another 1501 that i have it was much bigger. That is why the freeplay on the 15.4 inch laptops is very little.
Yet another reason for returning it below
The gap u can see on the left of the inspiron 640m name, that was just not acceptable. I mean i paid for a freaking latop from 'DELL', and this is what i get?
I called technical about these prolbems. Their response to this was that the laptop is like that. So in other terms, they admitted that the 640m they make was with these flaws. They offered to replace my cd drive, but I said no way as that isnt the problem. The 6400 i got, and the 1501, seem to be a bit more solid than the 640m and this doesnt give a sound of take off upon the insertion of a cd.
Now let me talk about the weight. I got the 640m cause im a student and would need to carry the laptop around. And well the 640m wasnt really light. But what really shocked me was that when i got the 6400 with exact same specs, it was a tad lighter than the 640m. I mean, what happened to the 'ULTRA PORTABLE' 640m?
So the thing is, that, what edge does the 640m have over the 6400 if its not lighter? With 6400 u get a bigger screen, its more comfortable, less lid freeplay, more solid, and looks better (in the sense that the 9 cell sticks out on the 640m). The pricing is almost the same for both, so its worth spending a little more to get the 6400.
The 640m came with vista basic. The 6400 with vista premium. Premium doesnt really use that much more ram that is claimed over vista basic. I dont play games, and so the intel 950 is more than enough. its smooth and doesnt hang with 1gb ram. but, still, when u open alot of windows, ur almost out of ram, so i would say that get 2gb later, if u cant get now.
Well I hope this was helpful. cheers.
