OK, I got my 700m yesterday. 
It came with a Western Digital Scorpio WD400VE 40gb hard drive (5400rpm, 8mb cache.) Nice, but I took it out and put in the new Hitachi 7K60 (7200rpm, 8mb cache) hard drive I ordered. The Western Digital Scorpio drive will be going into the external USB enclosure I have, to use as additional storage.
I installed XP Pro (fresh install), and I'm using the 700m right now to type this.
Here's what I've seen so far:
Now, a long time ago, I used to use the Monitors Direct Toolkit to test the LCD screens for dead pixels, color convergence, etc. It seems that website is no longer running, though.
I've been trying to see if the Wayback Machine has a cached copy of it, but I haven't been able to work on that too much. Anyone know of a good way to test the LCD - I mean REALLY test it? I used a full-screen DOS window to look for the light leakage, and I can see it there, so I know I have some.
It came with a Western Digital Scorpio WD400VE 40gb hard drive (5400rpm, 8mb cache.) Nice, but I took it out and put in the new Hitachi 7K60 (7200rpm, 8mb cache) hard drive I ordered. The Western Digital Scorpio drive will be going into the external USB enclosure I have, to use as additional storage.I installed XP Pro (fresh install), and I'm using the 700m right now to type this.
Here's what I've seen so far:- No driver CD
- WTF?
According to Dell support, they don't send out driver CDs anymore. You can have them overnight you one, though. I just went to the Dell website, downloaded the Intell 2200BG drivers, and put them onto a USB key. Then I just downloaded everything on the laptop itself.
- WTF?
- The combo DVD/CDRW is NOISY
- I have the Phillips CDRW/DVD CDD5263, and during the XP install, I could hear it across the room. Fortunately, Dell is sending me the dual-layer DVD burner for the 700m, so this combo drive will be coming out soon.
- The screen is REALLY REALLY shiny
- Of course, everyone has said this so far. I can see my reflection in it even when there's no light behind me; when there is a light behind me, it's very distracting.
- Light leakage: it does appear my LCD has some very noticable light leakage at the top and bottom of the LCD.
If I turn the brightness down all the way, I can still see a very distinct "fade" of light at the top and bottom. I'll be calling Dell and getting something done about this - and it won't be a refurb, either! - The screen is small, but not bad at all. My previous laptop is an i8500 with the 15.4" WUXGA, so of course it looks smaller, but it's not bad at all.
- No dead pixels! That's important, but since I'm probably getting the screen replaced, it's a moot point.
- I do a lot of remote work - by "remote", I mean remoting into other PCs using RemotelyAnywhere. And using the 700m, it doesn't look bad at all, better than I thought.
- Keyboard
- Sure it's small, but so is the 700m. It'll take a little getting used to, but it's not bad at all.
- Keys feel tight and responsive, not cheap like other people have complained about.
- Synaptics touchpad mouse
- Mine doesn't feel "cheap", like some people have complained about. The left button is *slightly* lower than the right, but unless you're looking very hard, you can't tell. I showed my GF, and she had to look at it three times to see it.
- Speaking of the buttons on the touchpad, they're tight and feel good, not loose at all.
- Battery
- Yes, the extended battery sticks out more than I'd like. Still, it's not TOO bad. And the time it lasts is important to me. So this, while I'm not overly pleased with it, is "liveable" with.
Now, a long time ago, I used to use the Monitors Direct Toolkit to test the LCD screens for dead pixels, color convergence, etc. It seems that website is no longer running, though.
I've been trying to see if the Wayback Machine has a cached copy of it, but I haven't been able to work on that too much. Anyone know of a good way to test the LCD - I mean REALLY test it? I used a full-screen DOS window to look for the light leakage, and I can see it there, so I know I have some.
