Dell Latitude E6400用户评测（外行翻译版）

standbyxiaoxu

前言
最近，Dell新发布的E系列引起了我的兴趣。找来找去，觉得这篇评测最好。故翻译出来。
我知道，相比器论坛里的各位fans，我连个“外行”都算不上，所译之处，难免字句不清，词不达意，故将原文一同奉上，大家可以参照阅读。

另外，不知道什么原因，上传图片的时候总是不成功。
故附上原文连接：http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4586
大家可以在这里看到很多清晰图片。

如果这篇译文能让大家觉得有点用处，就是我最高兴的事了。

2楼：Dell Latitude E6400用户评测 | （上）（原文）
3楼：Dell Latitude E6400用户评测 | （上）（译文）
4楼：Dell Latitude E6400用户评测 | （下）（原文）
5楼：Dell Latitude E6400用户评测 | （下）（译文）

[ Edited by standbyxiaoxu on 2008-9-21 21:09 ]

standbyxiaoxu

Submitted by John Ratsey on Monday, September 08, 2008
From: NotebookReview

Dell whetted our appetites for the new E-series Latitudes through some "leaks" at Engadget in March 2008. Among the features which caught my attention were the 14.1" WXGA+ LED backlit display, a target entry weight of 2kg (4.25lb), an eSATA port and a backlit keyboard. Last year I ordered an M1330 a couple of weeks after launch but got bored by the wait and cancelled it, so this year I moved quickly and placed my order for an E6400 within a few hours of the launch.



The basic specifications of my Latitude E6400 are:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB cache)
Screen: 14-inch 1440 x 900 WXGA+ LED Backlit (matte finish)
Memory: 1GB DDR2-800 PC-6400 RAM (Nanya, 5-6-6-18)
Storage: 160GB 5400rpm HDD (Samsung HM160HI)
Optical Drive: 9.5mm thick SATA PLDS (Philips Liteon) 8A2SDVD+/-RW
Wireless: Intel 5100 802.11a/b/g/n
Graphics: Intel X4500HD
UK Backlit keyboard
ExpressCard slot
Creative 0.3MP web camera and microphone
Battery: 56Wh 6-cell
Standard E series 90W PSU and optional slim 65W Auto/Air/AC adapter
Dimensions: 335 x 244 x 33mm  (including feet about 2mm long) or 13.2" x 9.6" x 1.3"
Advertised weight: The Quick Reference Guide states "2.15 kg (4.75 lb) with UMA graphics, 6-cell battery, solid-state drive"
Actual weight: 2.31kg  / 5.1 lbs (with UMA graphics, 6-cell battery, HDD)
Travel weight: 2.87kg / 6.33lbs (with standard 90W PSU); 2.68kg / 5.91lbs (with slim 65W PSU)
Windows Vista Business with XP Pro downgrade

Configuration

Deciding on the configuration is part of the fun with buying a Dell. I decided the P8600 was at the right point of the performance-value curve. I'm not into 3D games so I preferred the lower power consumption of the Intel GPU. The LED backlit WXGA+ screen was a must while the backlit keyboard will most likely come useful when I'm working somewhere where there's a power cut. The 160GB HDD was the best option on Dell's capacity/performance/value curve (I've already got a 320GB HDD which I'll move over). 1GB RAM looked the best pricing choice since I could get 2GB elsewhere for the cost of Dell's 1GB upgrade. I opted for the Express Card slot since I could, if necessary, get an adaptor to be able to use my old PC cards. I wanted a microphone and on the UK configuration the microphone and webcam come together. I wanted an internal 56k modem but this was not available as an option so I ordered a USB modem instead. Similarly Bluetooth was not available at the time I placed my order and I ordered a USB Bluetooth device from elsewhere (fine for me since I only use it occasionally). One option I did select was the 3-year extended warranty for the battery. In my experience a battery loses about half its capacity in about 18 months.

The E6400 between 15.4" Samsung X60plus and 12.1" Toshiba R500

Supplied Software and Documentation

I ordered my E6400 with Windows Vista Business plus the Windows XP downgrade plus media. The XP downgrade was pre-installed (surprisingly, only SP2, not SP3) with a reinstallation DVD for Vista Business SP1. Other discs included Roxio Creator 9.0 DE; PowerDVD DX 8.0 and the Dell Webcam Central software.  There was no drivers / utilities disc (maybe I have to blame the sales agent for this).

The only paper documentation provided is a brochure of Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Information. There was no quick start or user guide in paper form.  Some information is built into the help system but I had to download the main guides from the Dell support site.

Build and Design

Dell have given more attention to the style of the new models and the E6400 has more charisma than its predecessor. The initial impression on picking up the E6400 is that it not just feels solid but is solid. Dell has not opted for the popular wedge shape and the thickness is almost constant. The paint finish is neither matte nor gloss but somewhere in between. The display back has a brushed metal finish to add a little style. I would have preferred a red one, but they currently aren't available.

My E6400 on the scales (kg on left, lbs on right)

There has been considerable discussion about the weight of the E6400. My E6400 with its 6-cell battery, HDD and optical drive weighed in at 2.31kg (5.1lbs) which is somewhat more than would be expected from the headline weight of 1.95kg with a 4-cell battery, SSD and weight saver module but somewhat less than a 2.55kg weight (albeit with 9-cell battery) reported elsewhere.  Therefore the E6400 shows little improvement in the weight compared to its predecessor and is only 20 grams lighter than my Zepto 6024W.

If hinge stiffness is an indicator of quality then this is near the top of the list. Opening the display is a two-handed job. The display back is metal alloy. I've tried pushing and twisting but I can't get any ripples on the display. The base is a single sheet of metal that is held in place by one screw, which vastly simplifies access. The chassis itself also appears to be metal. The battery latches in snugly with no wiggle. There is an accessible power gauge on the battery.

The bottom of the E6400 is very smooth. This, combined with the small rubber pads, makes it vulnerable to sliding off any surface where the feet can't grip. The bottom of the battery is also quite smooth and thee are no convenient finger grips for carrying the computer in one hand.

Inside the bottom: Note the generous cooling system.

Under the keyboard

The hard disk is held in by two screws. There is no caddy for the HDD. It just has a simple bezel on the end and it sits snugly in the chassis. I've observed no sign of any shock-protecting mountings. Perhaps Dell no longer considers this necessary since users have the option of SSDs or drives with free fall sensors.

Display

Device Manager shows the display as LPL0140 (LG-Philips - is this the same panel as in the T400?). At full brightness it is dazzling (the outside view above was with the backlight at about 70% brightness) and my first impression is that this display is well worth the extra cost. My first impressions are that contrast, colour and viewing angles are also good except that colours start to invert once the display is pushed back from the perpendicular. The white is very white. My camera can detect some bleeding along the bottom of the screen but it is not noticeable in normal use. So far, I have not noticed any dead or stuck pixels. I used to think the CMO panel in my Zepto 604W was good but it is far behind this new display.

This photo of the screen shows the rich colours

Very good horizontal viewing angles but limited vertical viewing angles

The E6400 includes an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness. However, at the moment I have turned it off since it was giving a darker display than I would like (perhaps because the sensor is at the bottom of the screen it sees dark clothes).

Keyboard and Touchpad

The UK keyboard has 84 keys, two fewer than most similar notebooks. There is some flex in the middle right area which is not noticeable in normal use and the overall key action is pleasant. It is a big improvement on my Zepto's keyboard. I don't have a Thinkpad or older Dell series sitting in my house with which to make comparisons.  My main complaint is with the layout. I would have liked to see the PgUp and PgDn more accessible and use the two empty spaces just in front of the right shift key (which Dell has done on the smaller E series). If Dell had done that then they wouldn't have needed to make the Num Lock and Scroll Lock Fn+F4 and Fn+F5.

Note that this is a UK keyboard layout. The US keyboard will be different

The touchpad is a medium-sized 66mm x 39mm Dell branded Alps touchpad. There is no space for a larger one because of the buttons for the trackpoint. However, the touchpad is very smooth to use and the buttons have excellent action, with long travel but reasonably low force needed.  I'm not a trackpoint user but its action seems to be smooth. There is good software for fine tuning the touchpad and trackpoint options.

One of the options for the E6400 is the backlit keyboard. It definitely helps when there is poor lighting. It also means that the lettering will never wear off the keys since the lighting comes up through the white plastic embedded in the keys. However, the illumination system isn't perfect with an area of lower brightness in the top middle of the keyboard. Also, if you sit back from the computer then the lighting can be seen under the keys, which is a visual distraction. The ambient light sensor can be used to control the backlight or the Fn keys can be used for manual control.

Sit too far back and light can be seen beneath the keys.

The status indicator lights are above the keyboard and are easier to monitor than lights on the edge of the palm rest. The status lights are not visible when the computer is closed so Dell has provide two more lights on the outside. The power light shines blue when the computer is on or flashes when it is sleeping. The battery light indicates if the battery is charging.

A Tour of the Sides

The E6400 has an adequate selection of ports including four USB ports (one has the Power Share function for powering peripherals when the computer is off and one is a USB/eSATA combo port); mini Firewire; gigabit Ethernet, VGA port; a Display Port and, optionally, a modem port). Something I have noticed is that the very short feet mean that the lower ports are very close to the table top. The USB ports are stacked as two pairs so any fat devices could block two ports. There's an SD/MMC card slot which supports SDHC and purchasers can select to have either an Express Card or a PC Card slot.

There's not a lot at the front: The SD / MMC card slot and the display release latch.

Left side view (with my Zepto 6024W on top and CD cases at the side to provide some scale). Left to right: Security slot, monitor port, Power Share USB port above USB/eSATA combo port, fan exhaust and smart card slot above the HDD

Back side, left to right: Modem port (blanked off on my model), network port, DisplayPort connector and power socket.

Right side, left to right: Express Card slot over Firewire port, optical drive in media bay, wireless switch and WiFi detector above audio ports, two USB ports.

Also, hidden behind the battery, is a SIM card slot.

Hard Disk Drive

The supplied 160GB HDD is a Samsung HM160HI. This has 160GB on one platter and therefore has performance similar to a 320GB 5400rpm HDD.

HDTune and HDTach reports for the HM160HI

Optical Drive

The optical drive is a super-slim 9.5mm (3/8") thick unit with an SATA connector. I opted for the DVD burner and the supplied drive was a SATA PLDS (Philips Liteon) DU-8A2S. It has the full set of DVD burning facilities. The only missing feature I would like is LightScribe. The optical drive is easily removable. This thinner drive and therefore thinner media bay may explain why a bay battery is no longer an easy option to make.

Nero InfoTool's report for the optical drive

The SATA connector for the optical drive with a USB plug for scale. The only connector in the media bay is for this, so another storage device will need an adaptor.

I have encountered several problems with this burner. It would not read one of my software installation discs. Out of four DVDs I tried burning, one failed during the burn and another failed during verification (but read fine on another computer), so it appears to have both burning and reading problems.

Audio

The two big grilles each side of the keyboard suggest a generous loudspeaker provision. However, closer inspection reveals that the surface finish is largely decorative with one small (about 12mm or 0.5") speaker on each side having to do all the work. There is a distinct lack of bass and far too much treble although the maximum volume is reasonably good. The sound driver is IDT Audio and no sound manager software with equalisation options, such as Realtek provides. Therefore although the speakers each side of the keyboard provide reasonable volume, there's no way to cut back on the treble and boost the bass. So, on the audio front, the E6400 is a step back from my Zepto.

The right side speaker with USB plug for scale.

Webcam and Microphone

I selected the option webcam and microphone (on the Dell UK site these two options come together). I used Skype to get an indication of the quality of these components. The webcam (only 640 x 480 resolution) is good for chatting and no more. There is the Webcam Central software which can adjust various features such as zoom. I was more impressed by the microphone. Usually notebook microphones pick up too much noise from the chassis. This microphone is located at the top of the screen as is acceptably noise free.

The BIOS

The BIOS provides extensive options. This photo gives an idea of the range of options available.

[ Edited by  standbyxiaoxu on 2008-9-21 20:35 ]

standbyxiaoxu

2008年3月，当Engadget透露了新的E系列的Latitude时，Dell就勾起了我的胃口。在各种新特性中，最引起我注意的是：14.1" WXGA+ LED背光显示器、2kg（4.25lb）的起始重量、eSATA接口和背光键盘。去年，在M1330发布两周后，我订了一台，但后来等得太久，心烦了，于是就取消了订单。今年，我在E6400发布后的几个小时内就立刻下了订单。

我的E6400规格入下：
处理器: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB cache)
显示器: 14-inch 1440 x 900 WXGA+ LED Backlit (非镜满屏)
内存: 1GB DDR2-800 PC-6400 RAM (Nanya, 5-6-6-18)
硬盘: 160GB 5400rpm HDD (Samsung HM160HI)
光驱: 9.5mm thick SATA PLDS (Philips Liteon) 8A2SDVD+/-RW
无线网卡: Intel 5100 802.11a/b/g/n
显卡: Intel X4500HD
UK背光键盘
ExpressCard slot
0.3MP网络摄像头、麦克风
电池: 56Wh 6-cell
标准E系列90W电源、可选便携式65W Auto/Air/AC电源
尺寸: 335 x 244 x 33mm  (including feet about 2mm long) or 13.2" x 9.6" x 1.3"
Advertised weight: The Quick Reference Guide states "2.15 kg (4.75 lb) with UMA graphics, 6-cell battery, solid-state drive"
实际重量: 2.31kg  / 5.1 lbs (with UMA graphics, 6-cell battery, HDD)
旅行重量: 2.87kg / 6.33lbs (with standard 90W PSU); 2.68kg / 5.91lbs (with slim 65W PSU)
Windows Vista Business with XP Pro downgrade

配置
选配自己的电脑，是购买Dell产品的乐趣之一。在performance-value curve的最佳点上，我选定了P8600处理器。我不玩3D游戏，所以我更倾向于低功耗的Intel GPU。LED backlit WXGA+屏幕绝对值得选择，而背光键盘则会在我遇到停电但仍要工作的时候很有用。在Dell的容量/性能/价值曲线上，160GB硬盘时最佳选择（我已经有了320GB硬盘，可以自己把那个160GB硬盘替换掉）。出于Dell升级内存的价格的原因，我觉得1GB内存的价格是最优的，因为我可以自己个2GB内存。我定制了Express Card插槽，如果有必要，我可以为了的老式PC Card再找个适配器来。我需要内置56k Moderm，但它不在选项范围之内，所以我又订了一个USB Moderm。在我下订单时，Bluetooth也不在选项范围之内，我只好从别的地方订了一个USB Bluetooth（这样不错，因为我只是偶尔用用Bluethooth）。我还为电池选了3年的保修，因为根据我的经验，18个月内，电池的容量就会减少一半。

附带的软件和文件
我为我的E6400定制了Windows Vista Business、Windows XP降级和多媒体软件。XP可以用Vista Business SP1恢复光盘进行降级预装（只有SP2版，没有SP3版，真是搞不懂）。其它光盘还包括Roxio Creator 9.0 DE、PowerDVD DX 8.0和Dell Webcam Central software，但是没有drivers/utilities光盘（或许我应该为此而责备sales agent）。

唯一的书面文件就是一个关于Safety、Environmental and Regulatory Information的手册，其中没有任何“快速入手”或“用户指南”之类的内容。一些信息已经内置在help system中，但我还是得到Dell support site上去下载使用说明。

外形与设计
Dell已经注意到其新产品的外观，E6400看起来就比它的前辈们帅得多。E6400给人最深的印象就是，它不但让人觉得坚固，而且它的确很结实。E6400各位置的厚度基本一致，并不是那种比较流行的楔形设计。最外层烤漆即不暗淡，也不反光，而是介于两者之间。屏幕顶盖采用了拉丝金属漆，看上去很时尚。我本来想要一个红色的E6400，但红色版还没有发布。

接下来说说E6400的重量。我的E6400配备了6-cell电池、HDD和光驱，重量为2.31kg(5.1lbs)，比Dell标榜的1.95kg（配备4-cell电池、固态硬盘、光驱位减重模块时的重量）重了不少，还好，没到2.55kg（配备9-cell电池时的重量）。因此，E6400至比它的前辈轻了一点点。比起我的Zepto 6024W来，它也只轻了20克。

如果铰链强度也算是一项品质指标的话，那么E6400的铰链恐怕是要高居榜首了。打开顶盖必须要靠双手。顶盖是合金的。我尝试过挤压和扭动屏幕，但屏幕上没有一点波纹。E6400的底部是一个只靠一颗螺丝钉固定的单金属板，非常容易拆卸。E6400的底盘好像也是金属的。电池很容易装到E6400上，电池上还有一个简易电量表。

E6400的底部非常光滑，即使装备了橡皮脚垫，它还是容易从一些表面上滑落。电池的地面也很光滑。因此，E6400不便于单手携带。

硬盘没有装载硬盘盒中，仅靠两颗螺丝固定在笔记本中。硬盘上有个小的指示灯，整个硬盘很隐蔽地装载笔记本底盘上，周围好像没有任何减震支架。也许Dell觉得，既然用户选择了固态硬盘或不带传感器的硬盘，装配减震支架也是没必要的事了。

显示器
从Device Manager中可以看到，显示器是LPL0140的（LG-Philips - T400也是用的这个显示器吗？）全亮度显示时会很耀眼（那张云图是70%亮度时的显示状况），而我最初的感觉是，这个显示器值得你多花点钱。除了把屏幕推远的那一瞬间颜色会有变化，整个屏幕的色彩对比度和视角都相当明快。我的设想机可以感觉到屏幕上任何微小的变化，但实际使用中，你很难注意到这些。到目前为止，我还没有发现屏幕上有任何坏点。我过去以为Zepto 604W的CMO panel就算不错了，但比起E6400的还是差远了。

E6400上有一个感光器，可自动调节显示器亮度。但是，我已经把它关掉了，因为它调节的亮度常常比我想要的要亮（可能因为感光器在屏幕底端，容易觉得环境变暗）。

键盘和触摸板
UK键盘有84键，比多数notebook少2个键。键盘的中间右侧偏软，当然，正常使用情况下不易察觉。键盘的整体感受很好。这是E6400（原文为Zepto，可能是笔误）键盘的一个很大进步，可惜，我这里没有ThinkPad或Dell的老款电脑来比较一下。唯一遗憾的是键盘的布局，我还是喜欢PgUp和PgDn放置在右侧shift键的下方，这样更加易用（Dell在14"以下的E系列产品中就是这样布局的）。如果键盘是这样布局的，Dell也就不需要再为Num Lock、Scroll Lock、Fn+F4和Fn+F5开辟一个区域了。

E6400的触摸板是一个66mm x 39mm中等大小的Alps贴牌触摸板。由于触摸板上方的3个鼠标键占据一定位置，E6400也不可能装备更大的触摸板了。但是触摸板和这3个鼠标键非常好用，键程很长，但需要的力度不大。我很少用trackpoint，但E6400的trackpoint好像也很好用。我们还可以通过一个软件来开关触摸板与trackpoint功能。

背光键盘也是E6400的选配项目之一。当周围光线昏暗的时候，这个键盘绝对好用。而且，键盘上透光的字符是由嵌入键帽中的白色塑料制作的，因此，这些字符永远不会从键帽上磨掉。但是，键盘中上方的透光情况不太好。在则，如果你面对E6400，向后坐一点，你就可以看到键盘下的光亮，这会影响视觉。你可以用感光器自动控制键盘的背光，或用Fn键手动来控制。

状态指示灯在键盘上方，使用起来比palm rest上的灯更加方便。由于在电脑关闭的情况下，状态指示灯不可见，所以，Dell在E6400外部有安装了两个指示灯。当电脑开启时，电源等呈现蓝色；当电脑休眠时，电源等会不停闪烁。处于充电状态时，电池灯也会点亮。

周边的布局
E6400有不少接口，包括：USB接口（其中一个有Power Share功能，可在电脑关闭情况下向外围设备供电；还有一个可外接USB/eSATA combo）、mini Firewire、gigbit Ethernet、VGA、Display Port和一个可选的modem接口。我注意到，一些接口离桌面的距离已经很近了。4个USB成两对罗列状，故大接头的外设可能挡住另外两个USB。E6400还有一个支持SDHC的SD/MMC卡槽，用户也可以自选Express Card槽或PC Card槽。

前端的接口不多，只有SD/MMC Card槽和显示器锁。

左侧（从左向右）：安全锁、外接显示器接口、Power Share USB（上）/eSTAT combo接口（下），

风扇排气口，硬盘上方是smart card槽。

后侧（从左向右）：modern接口（我这款E6400上看不到）、network接口、DisplayPort接口和电源插座。

右侧（从左向右）：Firewire接口上方是Express Card、光驱、wireliss开关、audio接口上方有WiFi detector，还有两个USB接口。

电池下面，还藏着SIM card槽。

硬盘
硬盘是Samsung HM160HI的单碟片160GB硬盘，因此，性能上和320GB 5400rpm硬盘相当。

光驱
光驱是SATA接口的9.5mm（3/8"）超薄光驱。我选择了DVD刻录光驱，规格为SATA PLDS (Philips Liteon) DU-8A2S，有全套的DVD刻录工具，唯一的缺憾就是没有LightScribe。光驱很容易拆卸。也许就是应为光驱和光驱仓太薄了，所以也就没有可选的光驱位电池了。

光驱位的SATA接口上有个一个USB插口，所以，要想在此加第二块硬盘，还需要加一个适配器。

这个DVD刻录机也有一些问题。它不能读取我的一张软件安装盘。我刻录了4张DVD，其中一张在刻录时失败，另一张在认盘的时候就失败了（但在其他电脑上用得很好），因此，这个刻录机似乎在读取、刻录上都有问题。

音响
键盘两侧各有一个铁栅栏，栅栏下面就是扩音器。但是，靠近了，你就会发现，那个大个的栅栏只是装饰性的，因为下面只有一个很小的（12mm或0.5"）喇叭。虽然，最大音量时的效果还凑合，但缺少低音，且高音过分了。声音的驱动为IDT Audio，且没有自带Realtek这样可调节均衡的声音管理器。因此，虽然扩音器的音量还可以，但却不能调整高音和低音。所以，仅从音响方面看，E6400没有比我的Zepto好到哪去。

网络摄像头和麦克风
我定制了网络摄像头和麦克风（在Dell UK site上，这两个选项只能同时选中），并使用Skype对这两个零件的品质进行了测试。摄像头（仅在640 x 480分辨率）用来聊天还可以，干其他用就不行了。Webcam Central软件可用来调整摄像效果，如：放大图像。麦克风给我的感觉很好。通常，笔记本麦克风会把笔记本本身的噪音也拾起，但是E6400的麦克风位于屏幕顶部，使得噪音量已经很小。

BIOS
BIOS里有很多选项。

[ Edited by  standbyxiaoxu on 2008-9-21 20:39 ]

standbyxiaoxu

Submitted by John Ratsey on Monday, September 08, 2008
From: NotebookReview

Performance
Note that results are for 2 x 1GB DDR2-800 RAM unless indicated otherwise. Furthermore, all the tests were carried out under Windows XP SP3. This can slightly affect the results. For example, tests on my Toshiba R500 revealed that wPrime gives a faster time under Vista than under XP.

The 2.4GHz Intel P8600 Core 2 Duo processor in my E6400 configuration sits in the middle of the range these days. I've had no issues with the performance of the 2GHz T7300 in my Zepto but a small boost in speed is always welcome, particularly if it comes with reduced power consumption.  The Intel GM45 chipset is claimed to provide significant performance improvements compared with its predecessor as well as providing better power efficiency.

CPU and Memory

CPU-Z's report for the memory is below (CPU pages for both versions 1.40.5 and 1.47 since they see things slightly differently). I noted that the supplied 1GB of RAM was CL 5 but only running at CL 6. However, when I added a second PC 6400 RAM module with CL 5 timing then the memory ran at CL 5.

SiSoftware Sandra includes various benchmarking modules with a database of results. I used it to test the CPU performance. As I expected, there was limited difference between the P8400, P8600 and P9500 CPUs. There was a 20% improvement in the Dyrystone score compared to the T7300 in my Zepto (ie in proportion to the increased clock speed) but a 36% improvement in the Whetstone score, indicating improvement to floating point performance as well as the faster clock speed.

There has been discussion of the potential performance improvements offered by DDR3 RAM which is an option for the chipset. However, Dell decided to keep with DDR2 RAM. I have checked the Memory Bandwidth using SiSoftware Sandra. It is noticeable that the newer chipset has about 20% higher memory bandwidth than the Intel 965 mobile chipset. A symmetrical memory configuration gives the best bandwidth (I observed 5.52GB/s with 2 x 1GB) with a slight reduction for an asymmetrical configuration and a further reduction when only one memory module is used. Comparative results are needed for DDR3 RAM to see what performance improvement it provides over DDR2.

SuperPi

SuperPi is a single threaded benchmark which used to be popular as a measure for raw CPU performance. I include the result for historical purposes since it shows how the performance of a single core has improved over the past few years. The 2.4GHz P8600 CPU needed 49 seconds to complete the calculation to 2 million digits. This is 10 seconds faster than the 2GHz T7300 CPU and one third of the time needed by a 1.6GHz Pentium M CPU.

Comparison of SuperPi Results

Notebook
Time

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC6400)                         0m 49s

Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 with 800MHz FSB and 667MHz RAM)       0m 59s

Dell Latitude D830 (2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500, 800MHz FSB, 667MHz RAM)             0m 53s

Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 with 800MHz FSB and 667MHz RAM)       0m 57s

Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)                                                 0m 58s

Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T7300)                                     0m 59s

Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200 with 667MHz FSB & memory speed)    1m 02s

Samsung Q35 (1.83MHz T5600 with 667MHz FSB and 533MHz RAM)                      1m 16s



wPrime

I have been suggested that SuperPi should be superseded by wPrime which is multi-threaded. The 2.4GHz P8600 CPU completed the 32M calculation in 32.53s. This 77% of the time needed by the 2GHz T7300 CPU.

Comparison of wPrime Results

Notebook / CPU
wPrime 32M time

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC6400)       32.53s

Lenovo T400 (Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 @ 2.8GHz)                            27.410s

Zepto 6024W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)                                     42.385s

Lenovo T61 (Core 2 Duo T7500)                                                    37.705s

Alienware M5750 (Core 2 Duo T7600 @ 2.33GHz)                            38.327s

HP Pavilion dv5t (Core 2 Duo P8400 @  2.26GHz)                            34.52s

HP Pavilion dv5z (Turion X2 Ultra ZM-80 @ 2.1GHz)                            39.745s

Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi (Core Duo T2500 @ 2.0GHz)                   42.947s

Zepto Znote 6224W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0GHz)                         45.788s





PCMark05

PCMark05 tests various aspects of a computer's performance in order to generate an overall score. With 2 x 1GB of RAM my E6400 scored 4,357 PCMarks. This is only a 7% improvement on my Zepto notebook. Investigation of this relatively poor showing merits further investigation when I have time and inclination. An asymmetric RAM configuration causes a slight reduction in the PCMark scores.

Comparison of PCMark05 Results

Notebook
PCMark05 Score

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC6400)                   4,357 PCMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC5300)                   4,357 PCMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 3GB RAM PC6400)                   4,212 PCMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 1GB RAM PC6400)                   4,230 PCMarks

Lenovo T400 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, ATI Radeon 3470 256MB)                      6,589 PCMarks

Lenovo T500 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, Intel X4500)                                        5,689 PCMarks

Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and Intel X3100 GPU)                   4,063 PCMarks

Zepto 6625WD (2.4GHz T7700, Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT 512MB)                5,123 3DMarks

HP Pavilion dv5z (2.1GHz Turion X2 Ultra ZM-80, ATI Radeon HD 3200)          3,994 PCMarks

Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300, 8400M GS)                               4,571 PCMarks

Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700)                            4,555 PCMarks

Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and 8400M G GPU)                         4.491 PCMarks

3DMark05

With 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM my E6400 managed a score of 1503 3DMarks for 3DMark05. The test was run at 1024 x 768 resolution with no anti-aliasing. This result is over 50% better than I had observed with the T7300 CPU and Intel 965GM graphics. I have also included results for different RAM configurations. 2GB of DDR2-667 RAM gives a slightly better result than 3GB of DDR2-800 RAM while 1 x 1GB RAM causes a noticeable drop in performance which is probably caused by either a reduced GPU memory allocation and/or the slower memory performance in single channel mode.

Comparison of 3DMark05 Results

Notebook
3DMark05 Score

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC6400)                   1,503 3DMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC5300)                   1,421 3DMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 3GB RAM PC6400)                   1,414 3DMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 1GB RAM PC6400)                   1,295 3DMarks

Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and Intel X3100 GPU)                   910 PCMarks

HP Pavilion dv5z (2.1GHz Turion X2 Ultra ZM-80, ATI Radeon HD 3200)          2,969 3DMarks

Zepto 6625WD (2.4GHz T7700, Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT 512MB)                6,047 3DMarks

Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700 256MB)                   4,150 3DMarks

Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA 8400M GS)                   3,079 3DMarks



3DMark06

With 2GB of DDR2-800 RAM my E6400 managed a score of 944 3DMarks for 3DMark05. The test was run at 1024 x 768 resolution with no anti-aliasing. This result is nearly 70% better than I had observed with the T7300 CPU and Intel 965GM graphics. I have also included results for different RAM configurations. 2GB of DDR2-667 RAM gives a slightly better result than 3GB of DDR2-800 RAM while 1 x 1GB RAM causes a noticeable drop in performance which is probably caused by either a reduced GPU memory allocation and/or the slower memory performance in single channel mode.

Comparison of 3DMark06 Results

Notebook
3DMark06 Score

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC6400)             944 3DMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 2GB RAM PC5300)             893 3DMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 3GB RAM PC6400)             873 3DMarks

Dell E6400 (2.4GHz Intel P8600 / Intel GM45 / 1GB RAM PC6400)             786 3DMarks

Zepto 6024W (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and Intel X3100 GPU)             561 3DMarks

Zepto 6625WD (2.4GHz T7700, Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT 512MB)          3,017 3DMarks

Lenovo T400 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, Intel X4500)                                  809 3DMarks

Lenovo T400 (2.80GHz Intel T9600, ATI Radeon 3470 256MB GDDR3)    2,575 3DMarks

Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66 Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)       2,144 3DMarks



Cinebench

Cinebench is a good rendering benchmark tool based on the powerful 3D software, CINEMA 4D. Its rendering tasks can stress up to sixteen multiprocessors on the same computer. It is a free benchmarking tool, and can be found at http://www.cinebench.com. It has been recently updated from version 9.5 to 10 and I have included some results below for both versions. Cinebench also includes an OpenGL benchmark which will be of interest to those people who use software which uses OpenGL. While basic rendering performance has increased approximately in proportion to the CPU speed, the OpenGL performance has increased by 50% to 60% relative to my Zepto 6024W.

HD Video Playback

People have asked about the HD Video playback performance. I downloaded and played the Terminator 2 trailers from Microsoft. The E6400 played these back without hesitation. The fan came on, but only at the slow speed. For comparison I played the same samples on my Zepto, which seemed to miss a few frames of the 1080p sample. This tends to confirm that Intel have included HD video decoding in the GM45 chipset.

I used RMClock to provide insight into the CPU behaviour. The upper set of graphs is for the E6400 and the lower set is for the Zepto 6024W (T7300 + 965GM). The most revealing part of the graphs is the third row (CPU voltage and frequency). The P8600 was able to handle some of the playback at the SLFM frequency (800MHz) but speeding up to 1.6GHz at times (more on the 1080p sample). In comparison, the T7300 / 965GM combination required the CPU to run at up to its maximum speed. (Note for anyone who looks at the temperature: RMClock seems to be reading the P8600 temperatures 5°C low).

CPU Utilisation during HD playback on E6400 (left = 720p, right = 1080p)

CPU Utilisation during HD playback on Zepto 6024W (left = 720p, right = 1080p)

Power Systems

Dell's information about the E series included description of a new slim 90W PSU. However, the PSU supplied with my E6400 was a D series 90W "brick" which looks even bigger than the PSU for my Zepto. I had also ordered the optional slim 65W auto / air / AC adaptor since 65W is plenty enough power for a notebook with integrated graphics. It is often convenient to have one PSU at home and another at the work place. I am very impressed by the size and convenience of the slim 65W PSU. However, I am annoyed that the BIOS detects it and then reduces the computer's performance. See Annex 2 for more details.

The standard and slim PSU with a cell phone for scale.

I have a mains power meter and the maximum power drain when running a benchmark program such as 3DMark06 is less than 40W at the mains socket (so maybe 35W at the computer). Under light usage the mains power drain is around 14 to 18W. The only time I have seen a power drain higher than 40W is during battery charge. The standard charging rate is about 35W (reducing as the battery charge approaches 100%) so full load and full charge could combine to draw about 70W. Most notebooks reduce the charge rate if the combined power requirement exceeds the PSU capacity. There is also an express charge option which has to be enabled in the BIOS. Dell claim this will charge the battery to 80% capacity within one hour.

Heat and Fan Noise

In my experience, the E6400 raises the bar on the heat and noise management. I initially though the fan wasn't working because it was so quiet. In fact, the metal heatsink and chassis absorbs a lot of heat so the fan has little work to do when the computer is under light load. There appears to be three fan speeds: slow, fast and off. The lowest fan speed is unobtrusive but the fan does get audible at the fast speed but needs a couple of minutes of stressed CPU to trigger it. My configuration probably benefits by having one of the lower power rated CPUs and the integrated graphics combined with a cooling system designed for more powerful configurations. The maximum CPU temperature I have observed was 75°C just before the fan switched to fast speed during a stress test.

After a week of watching the fan behaviour I am wondering whether the fan operating rules are designed to minimise the thermal cycling of an nVidia GPU instead of providing the most pleasant experience for users with the Intel GPU. On many notebooks the fan responds very quickly to changes in CPU activity. On this computer it is very noticeable that once the fan does switch to the fast speed then it stays running at fast speed for several minutes after the CPU activity has stopped. A similar elapsed time rule also appears to apply for the slow fan speed. This is illustrated by the MobileMeter plot below (each grid line on the horizontal scale represents about 5 minutes). The rising curves indicate the fan is off and the temperature gradually rises until the fan comes on. The temperature then drops quite quickly but the fan keeps running for 10 minutes or more with the cooling system only slightly above ambient temperature before the fan finally stops and the temperature starts to climb again. I hope Dell will refine the BIOS to take account of the GPU type. The HDD stays very cool - normally less than 40°C.

Idle temperature variation

Battery Life

Dell has heavily advertised the 19 hour operation capability of the E6400. That is with a 9 cell main battery and the 12 (smaller) cell battery slice, but the inference is that a 6 cell battery should be good for 6 hours operation. This requires an average 9W power drain for a healthy battery. My conclusion is that 6 hours, maybe a little longer, is feasible but requires economical operation such as a dim backlight, no wireless and no applications which provide significant CPU usage. Any unused hardware needs to be disabled. However, 5 hours operation is easily achievable with the 6 cell battery. Sitting outside in the sunshine with the display very bright and the wireless on indicated a power drain suggesting 4 hours of operation. However, the battery will progressively wear and the run time will reduce. My fully charged capacity has dropped 1.5% in the past week. Versions of the E6400 with the T series CPUs, the nVidia GPU or faster hard disks can be expected to give shorter battery run times.

Battery capacity on arrival and one week later

The Dell Control Point software includes power configuration options aimed at reducing power drain when running on battery such as turning off unneeded devices. Power saving measures include putting the display into 16 bit colour and reducing the refresh frequency. However, while the software is quick to enable these power saving features when switching to battery I am not convinced it is as good at resetting everything to best performance when running on mains power. I have found I have had to manually restore the optimum display settings.

Some spot observations of the power drain show 8W to 11W under light usage with wireless on; DVD playback of 15W to 17W and power drain during a CPU stress test of 33W to 35W.

I have run my standard DVD playback test using "the 3 hour Dances with Wolves". However, I didn't quite get to the end for three reasons (i) I was not using the Dell optimised battery saving profile since it cut the DVD drive and the audio; (ii) I was working on this review while playing the DVD; and (iii) the last few percent of the battery charge seemed to disappear quickly. I am fairly confident that with tweaking of the power management the three hour barrier can be passed quite easily. I also noticed that the bundled Dell version of PowerDVD was playing the DVD continuously. Some versions of PowerDVD play the disc intermittently and use the RAM as cache, which is more power efficient (see my Toshiba R500 review).

If anyone is wondering how much power the backlight uses, I have made some observations of total power drain when running on battery. This shows a difference of nearly 4W between the minimum and maximum brightness. Fortunately, a brightness of a couple of steps above minimum is usable.

Conclusion

The pleasure of looking at the bright and clear LED backlit WXGA+ display offsets the displeasure of having a computer that is not as light as expected. All Dell's information indicates that this computer should be lighter than it actually is. So far, this computer has been a pleasure to use.

The build quality is excellent but Dell really should have found space for some better loudspeakers.  The very smooth bottom will make it easier for the computer to launch itself towards the floor. Perhaps that is why Dell is keen on providing the drop-proof storage options.

Pros

Excellent display (LED backlit WXGA+ option)
Very rugged build
Good performance
Up to about 6 hours light usage with a 6 cell battery
Cool and quiet, except under heavy load when the fan runs fast
Easy access to most components
Cons

Overweight
Big standard power brick (what happened to the new E series slim 90W PSU?)
BIOS does not make proper use of the optional slim 65W PSU
Poor quality audio from the surprisingly small speakers hiding behind those big grilles
Overweight (yes, I said it twice)

(End)

[ Edited by  standbyxiaoxu on 2008-9-21 21:00 ]

standbyxiaoxu

性能
测试是在安装了2 x 1GB DDR2-800 RAM双通道合XP SP3的基础上进行的。这样的配置会对测试结果稍微有点影响。先前，测试我的Toshiba R500时，就发现在Vista上跑wPrime比在XP上要快。

E6400上的2.4GHz的P8600 Core 2 Duo处理器也就属于中端货。Zepto上的2GHz T7300已经够我用的了，但没有人嫌速度更快，特别是速度提高了，而功耗却降低了。据说，Intel GM45芯片组比它的上一代产品性能更好，且有更长的电池续航力。

CPU和内存
（因为不同版本的CPU-Z的测试结果会稍稍不同，因此，我才采用了1.40.5和1.47两个版本进行的测试）所配备的1GB内存的CL值为5，但是测试结果却为CL 6。但是，在我加上另一条CL值为5的PC 6400内存后，测试结果就变成CL 5了。

SiSoftware Sandra里有一个测试结果库，存放着各种标准化模块。我用它测试了CPU性能。如我所料，P8400，P8600和P9500之间只有有限的差别。与T7300相比，P8600在Dyrystone上的得分多了20%（这项指标是说明误差指数在增加的时钟频率中的所占比重），在Whetstone上的得分增加了36%，说明P8600具有浮点点运算能力增强，且具有更高的时钟频率。

DDR3内存对于性能的提升有一定帮助，但是，Dell决定在E6400上依然使用DDR2内存。我用SiSoftware Sandra测试了Memory Bandwidth。结果显示，新款的芯片组比Intel 965 mobile芯片组的带宽高出20%。从带宽的表现看（我的2 X 1GB测试带宽为5.52GB/s）：对称双通道〉非对称双通道〉单内存。

SuperPi
SuperPi是一个单线程标准，常用来测试CPU的原始性能。由于SuperPi能显示单核心在过去几年中性能的提升，所以我能得到这些历史数据。2.4GHz P8600 CPU对2百万位的计算需要49秒，比2GHz T7300 CPU快了10秒，比1.6GHz Pentium M CPU快了1/3。

（图表未译）

wPrime
有人劝我用支持多线程的wPrime来代替SuperPi。在此测试下，2.4GHz P8600 CPU完成32百万位计算用了32.53秒，耗时相当于2GHz T7300 CPU的77%。

（图表未译）

PCMark05
PCMark05能够综合测试计算机性能，并给出一个综合的得分。装有2 x 1GB内存的E6400得分为4357，仅仅比我的Zepto笔记本多了7%。分析的结果为：非对称双通道对得分结果产生了一点影响。

（图表未译）

3DMark05
在使用1024 x 768的分辨率，并关掉了anti-aliasing（反锯齿）的情况下，装有2GB DDR2-800 RAM的E6400得分为1503。这个得分比T7300 CPU与Intel 965GM上的显卡（译者注：应该是x3100集成显卡）相互配合的得分要高出50%。我也对不同的内存配置进行了测试。2GB DDR2-667 RAM的效果比3GB DDR2-800 RAM的效果要好一点。但1 x 1GB RAM就会引起性能明显的下降，因为这个配置不是受GPU memory分配的影响，就是受到single channel模式的影响。

（图表未译）

3DMark06
在使用1024 x 768的分辨率，并关掉了anti-aliasing（反锯齿）的情况下，装有2GB DDR2-800 RAM的E6400得分为944。这个得分比T7300 CPU与Intel 965GM上的显卡（译者注：应该是x3100集成显卡）相互配合的得分要高出70%。我也对不同的内存配置进行了测试。2GB DDR2-667 RAM的效果比3GB DDR2-800 RAM的效果要好一点。但1 x 1GB RAM就会引起性能明显的下降，因为这个配置不是受GPU memory分配的影响，就是受到single channel模式的影响。

（图表未译）

Cinebench
Cinebench是一个建立在强大的3D软件CINEMA 4D基础上的色彩还原基准工具，且Cinebench的色彩还原任务能够在一台电脑上调动16颗多核心处理器。这个工具是免费的，可在http://www.cinebench.com下载到。最近，这个工具易从version 9.5升级到10，并且我列示了这两个版本的测试结果。Cinebench里还有一个OpenGL基准，这会引起那些经常使用OpenGL的玩家的兴趣。E6400的基本补色能力与其CPU能力相符，而OpenGL能力比Zepto 6024W增加了50%到60%。

（图表未译）

高清视频回放
当有人谈到E6400的高清视频回放性能时，我从Microsoft上下载并播放了Terminator 2 trailers。E6400的播放能力可真不赖，风扇开始低速转动。而在我的Zepto上播放这段视频时，却好象有丢贞现象。据此可确定，Intel已经在GM45芯片组上集成了高清解码器。

我用RMClock监视CPU状况。最大的差别是：P8600能够以SLFM频率（800MHz）处理一些回放，播放1080p时会达到1.6GHz；T7300/965GM则需要CPU全速运行（P8600的温度比T7300要低5摄氏度)。

（图表未译）

电源
Dell的关于E系列的信息中有一段是关于新的轻薄型90W电源的。然而，我的E6400却给配了一个D系列的“大砖头”电源，看起来比我的Zepto上电源的块头还大。我也订制了可选的轻薄型65W auto/ air/AC电源适配器，因为这个电源对于集成显卡笔记本来说已经足够了。我也可以把一个电源放在家里，另一个电源放在办公室。轻薄型65W电源真的很轻巧，但当它连到电脑上时，BIOS会检测到它，并自动电脑性能。这一点让我很不爽。

通过主电源表可以看到，当E6400跑3DMark06这样的基准测试程序时，电源插座出的最大功率还不到40Ｗ（也许作用到计算机上也就35W）。低负荷运转下，功率在14到18Ｗ。只有在电池充电时，功率才会超过40W。标准的电池充电功率为35Ｗ（当电池充好后，功率会再次降低），因此，全负荷运行或全充电时，功耗应该在70W左右。多数笔记本电脑，当电脑的用电量超过电源能力时，会降低充电速度。当然，你可以在BIOS中启动express charge选项。Dell称，express charge可在１小时内充满电池容量的80%。

散热与风扇噪音
在我看来，E6400在散热和噪音控制上有所改进。电脑运行的时候非常安静，我最初还以为风扇没有工作。事实上，当电脑低负荷运行的时候，heatsink（散热管）和地盘吸收了很多热，所以，风扇几乎不需要工作。E6400的风扇一般有３种速度模式：慢、快、停转。风扇在最低速运转时，几乎听不到声音；风扇只有在高速运转时才能听到声音，但这需要CPU先高速运行几分钟。我想，这得益于我选择了一颗低功耗CPU和集成显卡，而散热系统又是为更高功耗的配置而实际的。就我的观察，在高负荷测试中，风扇达到高速运转前的CPU最高温度为75°C。

通过一周时间对风扇状况的观察，我还是没有搞明白这个风扇是如何把nVidia GPU的热量散出去的，这可要比给集成显卡散热的难度大的多。在多数笔记本上，风扇对CPU的活动反应非常迅速。在E6400上，一旦风扇开始高速转动，即使CPU活动停止，风扇还是会保持几分钟的高速转动。同样的情况也会出现在风扇处于低速运动的时候。我们可以用MobileMeter测试得到这些结果（水平线上的每个刻度代表５秒钟）。上升的曲线表明从风扇没有转动而温度逐渐上升到风扇开始转动。之后，温度下降得很快，但风扇会持续转动10分钟或更多（因为散热系统中的温度比周围温度高）。最后，风扇停转，温度又开始上升。我希望Dell出于GPU的考虑而刷新BIOS。硬盘的情况还不错，一般不会超过40°C。

（图表未译）

电池续航力
Dell非常强调E6400的19小时的电池续航力（需要同时配置9-cell主电池和12-cell电池板）。据此推断，6-cell电池应该能够应付６小时的续航。当然，你还必须使用一个完好的电池，并保持住9W的电量消耗。我所得出的６小时的结论（可能没有这么久）还是可行的，但需要很节约地使用电脑，比如：调暗背光、关闭无线网卡、保持CPU低负荷运行，任何用不到的硬件都要关闭。但是，靠6-cell电池来实现５小时的续航还是不难的。即使坐在阳光下，上着无线网，电量也足够你用上４个小时的。随着充电次数的增加，电池的电量会减少，供电时间也会减少。我的电池在完全充电后，在过去一周里减少了1.5%的电量。如果E6400装配了Ｔ系列CPUs、nVidia GPU和更快的硬盘，电池续航力会更短。

Dell Control Point软件具有电量管理功能，能在电池供电时减少电量消耗，如：关闭用不到的设备。要想省电，还可以把显示效果改为16位色，并降低刷新频率。尽管这个软件能在电池供电时使电脑快速进入省电模式，但我却不认为，当使用外接电源时，这个软件能为电脑设置最佳性能。至少，我还得不自己动手，来修改最佳显示设置。

通过对电能消耗的实时观察可知：低负荷并打开无线网卡的情况下，功耗为8W到11W；播放DVD时的功耗为15W到17W；CPU高负荷运行时的功耗为33W到35W。

我用时长为３小时的《与狼共舞》进行了DVD回放测试，但出于３个原因，E6400没能把这部片子放完：(i)由于Dell的最佳省电模式会影响播放效果，我没有选择最佳电池模式；(ii)在播放DVD的时候，我也在写这篇评测文章；(iii)电池在最初使用时，电量减少非常快。但是，我还是非常相信，通过调整电池模式，E6400能轻松把这部３小时的电影应付了。我还注意到，捆绑的Dell版的PowerDVD连续地回放DVD。而其他版本的PowerDVD在播放DVD后会停止运行，还会把内存当成缓存，这样能够更省电。

如果你想知道背光用了多少电，我已经做了一个电池供电情况下的总电量消耗图。该图显示，最大亮度和最小亮度之间的功耗相差4W。还好，中等亮度就已经够用了。

（图表未译）

总结
当看到这个LED背光的WXGA+显示上的明快清晰的图像时，愉快的心情足以抵补这台电脑的重量所带来的郁闷。Dell的所有消息都强调这个电脑有多么轻，但实际情不是这样。还好，使用时的感觉还很高兴的。

外壳的质量非常好，如果Dell能再给它配个好点的扬声器，就更好了。过于光滑的外壳使得这台电脑非常容易从桌面或手中滑落。也许这就是Dell为什么这么热衷于提供drop-proof storage options（防坠落存储器选配）的原因。

优点
优秀的显示器（LED背光WXGA+选配）
拉丝花纹的顶盖
不错的性能
仅以6-cell电池就能低负荷续航６小时
除了高负运行和风扇高速转动的时候，都能保持清凉且安静的感觉
大部分零件易于拆装

缺点
重量有点大
90W的主电源简直就是个“大砖头”
BIOS对65W旅行电源的支持不好
大个的金属栅栏后却装了小的可怜的扬声器，声响效果够惨
上帝呀，机器太重了（我已经说两次了）

（完）

[ Edited by standbyxiaoxu on 2008-9-21 21:03 ]