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M70 Build Quality Better

post #1 of 24
2/24/05 at 12:56am
Thread Starter 
The M70 came in today. Just wanted to let everyone know that the build quality is much better than previous generation M60/D800. Though the outer case looks similar compared to the prev gen M60, they are not the same (and you probably won't be able to swap motherboards from prev M60/D800s, either).

I'm very familiar with Dell notebooks and how they're assembled.

The old 8600/D800/M60 had an LCD magnesium lid as well as an "internal" magnesium chassis/structure that was screwed on with the motherboard... but the bottom base was always painted plastic.

The new M70 (and my guess also the D810) has a full magnesium base and LCD top lid, and no "internal" magnesium chassis. It's why the M70 is a lil lighter than the M60.

Not sure if this is also the case with the D610 series (could still be plastic base).

The palmrest remains plastic on the M70.

Oh yeah... it's also very fast. Runs MAYA great. But I'm sure you guys already knew that.

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post #2 of 24
2/24/05 at 1:11am
can you tell me more about the video card
and when did you order your m70
thanks
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post #3 of 24
2/24/05 at 1:20am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by iamrandyray
can you tell me more about the video card
and when did you order your m70
thanks
ordered on Feb 16th, arrived today Feb 23rd (one week ahead of schedule)

do a search on these forums, and you should be able to find some info on the 1400... it's basically a 6800 go (rev2, gddr3, 12 pipes) with specific support for DCC apps like Maya... it's prob not the best card to get if u strictly play games (get a 9300 or XPS gen2... but as of now, not sure if there are any Dell 15.4" lappies with a 6800 card)
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post #4 of 24
2/24/05 at 1:55am
pics? pretty please??
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post #5 of 24
2/24/05 at 2:00am
i order my m70 on the 16th also
did u use overnight shipping?
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post #6 of 24
2/24/05 at 2:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by iamrandyray
i order my m70 on the 16th also
did u use overnight shipping?
2 day shipping... shipped on monday and arrived on wed
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post #7 of 24
2/24/05 at 2:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by atomman
pics? pretty please??
don't feel like searching these forums (i'm lazy, sue me)... but... what's a good site to host pics?

i do have a digicam, but i don't wanna use my own personal site.
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post #8 of 24
2/24/05 at 8:12pm

arriving

mine will be here tomorrow...whew
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post #9 of 24
2/24/05 at 8:31pm
bluemonkey, thanks for posting this, all good to hear... I am just about to order mine in the next hour or so. I think mine is going to have an identical spec to yours, apart from the DVD writer
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post #10 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:02am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heinze
bluemonkey, thanks for posting this, all good to hear... I am just about to order mine in the next hour or so. I think mine is going to have an identical spec to yours, apart from the DVD writer
cool... if u've experienced prev dell workstations or 800/8600 notebooks before, you will definitely see an improvement on this one.

the LCD lid is pretty cool, IMO. first thought it was a huge cheapo sticker, but upon closer inspection it's actually some sort of molded polished alloy (aluminum?) with the word "precision" stamp/molded on it.
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post #11 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:10am
Any chance of running 3dmark03 or 05 just so we have a gaming comparison between the 1400 and 6800? It seems that Dell may not actually be upgrading the 8600 now other than the 6000 with X300, so in the 15" category for gamers, its either the m70, or the D810 which with x600 will only offer 9700 equiv. performance.

Cheers
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post #12 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:40am
wow the m70 is expencive! close to 3K for my build, which is pretty much idetical to yours monkey. damn!
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post #13 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deutch420
wow the m70 is expencive! close to 3K for my build, which is pretty much idetical to yours monkey. damn!
got the 25% off coupon, and a free 512mb (2 x 256) upgrade from 256MB... then purchased 512 x 2 from crucial (1GB)...

don't purchase RAM upgrades from DELL... they wanted $400 for 1GB

$2247 total from DELL after 25% off (also with 3 yr onsite warranty)... add $270 for 1GB ram...

TOTAL about $2600... look for those 25% off deals... they come around usually once a month
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post #14 of 24
2/25/05 at 2:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noids
Any chance of running 3dmark03 or 05 just so we have a gaming comparison between the 1400 and 6800? It seems that Dell may not actually be upgrading the 8600 now other than the 6000 with X300, so in the 15" category for gamers, its either the m70, or the D810 which with x600 will only offer 9700 equiv. performance.

Cheers

default clock with AC plugged in was 125/332 (!!!)... so installed coolbits and ran the "detect optimal frequencies" and it hit a whopping 350/740... been very stable.

default 3dmark05 score is 3128 with 350/740 overclock
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post #15 of 24
2/25/05 at 3:01pm
What about the speculations that the M70 uses an upgradable MXM video module? Is it true?
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post #16 of 24
2/25/05 at 3:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluemonkey
default clock with AC plugged in was 125/332 (!!!)... so installed coolbits and ran the "detect optimal frequencies" and it hit a whopping 350/740... been very stable.

default 3dmark05 score is 3128 with 350/740 overclock
So it appears that this machine would be a very capable gaming machine. If Dell does not in fact release an upgrade to the 8600 with an X700 card or better then this is the top of the range in the 15" size bracket.

Cheers
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post #17 of 24
2/25/05 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
here ya go... did some screenshots...

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post #18 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluemonkey
got the 25% off coupon, and a free 512mb (2 x 256) upgrade from 256MB... then purchased 512 x 2 from crucial (1GB)...

don't purchase RAM upgrades from DELL... they wanted $400 for 1GB

$2247 total from DELL after 25% off (also with 3 yr onsite warranty)... add $270 for 1GB ram...

TOTAL about $2600... look for those 25% off deals... they come around usually once a month
Hi,
I just ordered a Dell D810 yesterday. I wanted a M70 but that thing gets very expensive when configured, and I never found a coupon for it.
If you have a coupon for 25%, would you mind sharing the code? I will gladly cancel this order and get a new one.
One note - I am in US (incase you are in Canada where they have much better deals)
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post #19 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ankurg
Hi,
I just ordered a Dell D810 yesterday. I wanted a M70 but that thing gets very expensive when configured, and I never found a coupon for it.
If you have a coupon for 25%, would you mind sharing the code? I will gladly cancel this order and get a new one.
One note - I am in US (incase you are in Canada where they have much better deals)
coupon was a one time use for SB... got it in email... if u really wanna m70, just be patient... those 25% coupons come every so often.

the D810 does not have the quadro or the nifty LCD lid, but i bet it's the same case and motherboard, so you'll still get the nice build quality... you can probably upgrade the video card thru dell spare parts.
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post #20 of 24
2/25/05 at 4:57pm
Ok - let me subscribe to the email coupons.

I agree with your point on the construction. The latitude 'document' on dell D810 says that it has mag-alloy lid AND mag-alloy base. This is different from D610 which has mag-alloy lid and 'frame', but not base.
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