Ok, so just 1 more...

Discussion of hardware related issues
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tlmiller
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Re: Ok, so just 1 more...

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So just got it in. So far just been playing with it stock (256 GB SSD & 8 GB RAM) w/ Windows. Small and very attractive, not very light however. Definitely has some heft for how small and slim it is. Also the fan with the shipping firmware was LOUD. I flashed it to the latest firmware (1.50 from 1.30) and it's MUCH more tolerable now. It's almost always on, but it's not always at full speed.

Overall, I'm pretty happy thus far. It's actually EXTREMELY similar to the latitiude 3390's that I order at work other than being a different color and an AMD cpu.

More to come when I get linux onto it.
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crosscourt
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Re: Ok, so just 1 more...

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Thats what Im waiting for as I want to see how it gets along with Linux.
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tlmiller
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Re: Ok, so just 1 more...

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Got Debian stable on it. I had swapped the wifi cards with one of my other, older laptops to put the latest Intel 9260 + BT 5.0 in here, and so I needed to run backports to get that card to work. However, everything except accelerometer worked fine with the stock kernel. Which is odd, my desktop (1000 series Ryzen) WILL NOT work with the 4.9 kernel in Debian, but this ,a 2000 series, worked absolutely without a single hitch. Had I not then swapped wireless cards, I wouldn't have even needed the backports kernel for any reason.

So far it runs FANTASTIC. Iv'e got most of it set up and running. Most of my preferences set up in it. Seems to be insanely fast, especially when it can bring multiple threads to bare against something. It's fast when doing something with a single thread, but nothing that would surprise you with how fast it is. When it can bring multiple threads to play, it's FAST.

Touchscreen works great. I'll never use it.

Accelerometer didn't work out of the box (given I didn't even install the software to control one, I'm not shocked). Won't bother trying to get it to work. While it might be possible, I have no desire to actually use this in tablet mode. If at some point I'm REALLY bored, maybe I'll try. I do not foresee that happening.

All in all, a very nice system if you can find it cheap. Uses a little older of a shell that has larger bezel around the screen and thicker body than the most modern 2-in-1's, making it more the size of my yoga 3 pro (but thicker) than the Latitude 3390's (all 13.3" screens). But despite this, REALLY good performance from a very respectable price.
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crosscourt
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Re: Ok, so just 1 more...

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I wasnt enamored with the USFF Dells, so Im heading more towards laptops/docks particularly as I approach retirement. Ive been extremely happy with the E6400's with their design over the E5410's. The laptops youve discussed over time intrigue me, and I look forward to using them down the road as they get far cheaper and older, but their performance will still be pretty darn good.

The wide range of systems youve described gives me a base list of laptops and their abilities that I can use to watch for future deals as I try to upgrade over time.
Im probably going to do the same as you and move to just one desktop mainly for gaming and use laptops the rest of the time. The E6400s with the dock give me more options and being able to swap out hard drives quickly is a real plus for testing purposes.
Ill post back later with some concerns as i want to ask you some questions about newer laptops in regards to some of their features and design. I like to have quick access to the hard drive but more and more thats becoming a problem.
My background with Dell desktops is exrtensive but I havent really spent much time with their laptops other than the models Ive used over time. I actually was an IBM user for quite some time in the early days and switched to Dell when I did some work for them and they offered me hardware to use.

Overall I prefer 14" or larger screens even though my wife likes the smaller screens and lightness of the smaller laptops. Ive actually used the E6400s a lot since I got them and Im typing on one now, as its speed is good with my everyday needs. Wish i could get 8gb of ram but 4gb seems to be working fine even with Win 7. Being able to use a dock though is great as my eyes arent getting any better and it offers a better viewing experience.

Looking forward to the future beyond Win 7 and how Linux will allow me to use the hardware I want even if its older hardware.
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tlmiller
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Re: Ok, so just 1 more...

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Because of your experience with Dell, I'm going to assume you know how to read a Dell laptop model number and translate that, yes?
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crosscourt
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Re: Ok, so just 1 more...

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Yes Im familiar with the Dell laptop model number translation even though there are some exceptions. That said, most of the time I spent with Dell was before the model number reorganization and I was working mostly with desktops.
For those of you who are wondering what we are talking about, look here, https://isjw.uk/dell-latitude-numbering-2017-edition/
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