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Looking for input on M6400 Covet for a CAD Mobile Workstation

post #1 of 16
2/4/09 at 1:18pm
Thread Starter 
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?

Thanks!
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post #2 of 16
2/4/09 at 2:40pm
I can address the reinstall question

all the drivers should be on Dells site for the supported OS systems.

if your getting a config with more than 4 GB ram, then a 64 Bit OS is going to be specified and there maybe compatiblity issues with that.

I would always suggest a reformat and clean install to remove all the bloatware.

Good Luck
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post #3 of 16
2/4/09 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion.

I definitely plan on 64-bit as that's what I'm running on my desktop. I have 64-bit Solidworks and all my engineering software runs fine on this machine, so I don't see compatibility issues from that perspective.

Has anyone here reformatted a Covet and installed Vista 64-bit? How is it running for you?
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post #4 of 16
2/5/09 at 12:45pm
There aren't too many Covet owners around here (you might get an answer but I doubt it).
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post #5 of 16
2/6/09 at 12:13am
I don't think there's much if any bloat that's going to be pre-loaded on these systems. Generally with the business class systems from Dell they keep pre-installed software to the absolute minimum since corporate customers don't want to clean off a bunch of consumer crap before they deploy a machine.

Any specific problems in relation to the drivers? I might be able to tell you the likely cause and remedy.
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post #6 of 16
2/13/09 at 2:46pm
I've installed Vista 64 on a non-Covet M6400 with no problems. All of the drivers and software are available from Dell. My M6400 came with XP 32 pre-installed.

As for a re-install I usually do this anyway as I have found that sometimes the Dell image that comes on the laptop has issues (my old 1720 especially).
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post #7 of 16
2/20/09 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
Well, I ended up ordering the M6400 (non-Covet) so fingers crossed...

...I realized that I could save myself lots of money buying the non-covet with the RAM and HDD stripped down to the bare minimum and then buying those parts aftermarket. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake.
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post #8 of 16
2/20/09 at 12:05pm
That's what I always do. The only mistake would be if the parts you got went bad. But you get short warranties for those parts and many times you can buy parts 4 times over before getting close to the price Dell wanted to charge you.
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post #9 of 16
2/20/09 at 1:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by samjham View Post
Well, I ended up ordering the M6400 (non-Covet) so fingers crossed...

...I realized that I could save myself lots of money buying the non-covet with the RAM and HDD stripped down to the bare minimum and then buying those parts aftermarket. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake.
The economical choice, for sure.

Most hard drives have a 3 to 5 year warranty, and most brand name RAM has a lifetime warranty.

The only thing you'll be giving up with the above aftermarket parts is Dell's outstanding Next Business Day parts/technician dispatch.
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post #10 of 16
2/20/09 at 3:47pm
You're not going to have a problem adding those parts in yourself. The ONLY real difference between the M6400 covet and the non covet is the FUGLY Orange paintjob.
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post #11 of 16
2/20/09 at 6:09pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofelas View Post
The economical choice, for sure.

Most hard drives have a 3 to 5 year warranty, and most brand name RAM has a lifetime warranty.

The only thing you'll be giving up with the above aftermarket parts is Dell's outstanding Next Business Day parts/technician dispatch.
I had read elsewhere that this shouldn't void my warranty? Or are you referring to specifically that if I have problems with the aftermarket parts that I won't get service on those?

I plan to keep the OEM RAM and HDD, so I can always swap them in if something breaks and I need to troubleshoot or call in a tech.
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post #12 of 16
2/20/09 at 7:14pm
Keeping your ram and HD is an option, sure.

As already stated you can usually get great service from HD and memory manufacteres, I just did a relativly easy Seagate HD reaplacement.

Let us know what you think about the M6400. I been debating getting one myself.

BTW which screen did you get?
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post #13 of 16
2/20/09 at 8:55pm
Thread Starter 
I got the E2E RGB LED screen. I know some don't like the glossy surface, but I don't really have issue with reflections personally. Hopefully it's not as bad for me as some people think it is.

Does anyone know the average lead time for them to ship?

Thanks for all the help!
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post #14 of 16
2/21/09 at 1:53am
Congrat's on your soon to be M6400 samjham

Normal stated Dell delivery 10 working day's in my region [asia pacific] although they usually beat that by a couple of day's.

Not many people seem to have bought the M6400 [pirx has,but doesn't seem to visit this forum anymore].....if the pricing elsewhere is anything like it is where I live,you can sort of understand why.
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post #15 of 16
2/21/09 at 10:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gerryjoson View Post
Congrat's on your soon to be M6400 samjham

Normal stated Dell delivery 10 working day's in my region [asia pacific] although they usually beat that by a couple of day's.

Not many people seem to have bought the M6400 [pirx has,but doesn't seem to visit this forum anymore].....if the pricing elsewhere is anything like it is where I live,you can sort of understand why.
Thanks! I hope it turns out to be a nice notebook. My only concern was all the QC issues some people seem to have, but hopefully they've gotten that worked out now. It certainly seems to have nice specs on paper though.
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post #16 of 16
2/24/09 at 5:24pm
Thread Starter 
Well, my M6400 came in today and I was able to get the RAM and HDD's installed without too much trouble. It's a little more difficult getting access to the RAM modules on this machine than it was on my XPS2, but nothing a little patience and service manual reading couldn't fix!

The machine itself looks really well made. I don't see anything wrong with it as far as QC goes. It looks clean and new, with no scratches.

I have one dead pixel in the upper left portion of the screen, but I'm not a pixel peeper and will probably never notice it.

Build quality is pretty good. As others have mentioned it's a little flimsy on the left palm rest, on top of the DVD drive, but noting I will probably notice unless I'm looking for it.

All in all I'm pretty happy (so far). Now the true test... to finish reinstalling the OS and see how everything works once I get the drivers up and running...
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