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Review Dell Inspiron 6400

This time we examined and tested the Dell Inspiron 6400. As a low-priced, durable office notebook it is particularly interesting for business men but also for private users.

Case

The Dell Inspiron 6400 seems to be very compact and durable. A substantial reason is the Design of the Dell Inspiron 6400. Our test sample was colored in the standard of silver, further the Inspiron 6400 is available in the color designs "Natural Leather, Cherry Burlwood, Carbon Fiber and Mediterranean Blue". All common is the white verge of the case, which suggests special compactness.

Regarding to materials exclusively plastic is used. Except one error in the material processing the workmanship is good.

The chassis is very stiff against torsions, imprinting is hardly possible and crunching noises could not be determined. When we examined exactly we detected somewhat careless, different gap dimensions. Interesting feature at the bottom of the notebook: LED for the charging condition of the Li-Ion battery.

All connections are at the back or within the rear range of the right side. At the front edge there are well placed more or less useful media keys.

The hinges can be adjusted well with appropriate force, but a light is to be noticed. Caution with adjusting the display: Already a moderate movement forward activates the standby-mode.

Due to the double hook catch system the display cover does not keep closed completely. So a wobbling of the display is possible.

connections
connections front
connections right side
connections left side
connections back

Input Devices

The keyboard can be used pleasantly. It sits absolutely durably in the chassis and does not at all wobble or flex.
In addition it is characterised by clarity due to a good layout.

The keys exhibit a clear but pleasant pressure point and remain silent even with fast writing.

The Touchpad possesses a somewhat rough surface, but nevertheles responds well. The pertinent keys shine particularly with a clear pressure and a soft tapping feeling á la IBM.

touchpad
keyboard

Display

colour diagram of the Dell Inspiron 6400

Fortunately the Dell Inspiron is equipped with a not reflecting 15.4 inch WXGA display. The colours and the contrast seem subjectively well.
Also the measurements confirmed the positive impression of the display with an maximum illuminating of good 159.5 cd/m² and a brightness of 83.5%.

The color representation diagram shows like so often a clear deviation of the blue curve and therefore a warm colour representation of the image.

With achieved level 5 in the Pixperan readability test no particular susceptibility for the creation of streaks could be determined.

133.1
cd/m²
152.9
cd/m²
135.9
cd/m²
133.2
cd/m²
159.5
cd/m²
135.6
cd/m²
136.2
cd/m²
140.9
cd/m²
144.3
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Maximum: 159.5 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 141.3 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)

The stability of the viewing angles is good in the horizontal range, in the vertical range from above occurs a somewhat strong clarification and with a view position from below a darkening takes place.

stability of viewing angles

Performance

The T2300 core duo processor with 1.6 Ghz supplies quite acceptable values. So there is sufficient power for average office applications.

 

benchmark comparison
benchmark comparison 3DMark06
benchmark comparison PCMark05
3DMark 06 Score Unknown Setting
223 points
Help
PCMark 05 Standard
2746 points
Help
60 GB - 5400 rpm
Transfer Rate Minimum: 18.3 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 35.6 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 28.6 MB/s
Access Time: 19.5 ms
Burst Rate: 85.5 MB/s
CPU Usage: 2.7 %

Emissions

Warmth

Even after some time under load and at summer temperatures, the Dell Inspiron 6400 remains without considerable heating up with a maximum of  40°C.

temperatures at the top
temperatures at the bottom

Volume

The fan practically never runs during normal operation, and the laptop was hardly perceptible with normal ambient noise in an office. We could not accomplish detailed noise measurements, because we tested the notebook in a foreign office.

Battery Runtime

Due to the short time within we could test the Dell Inspiron 6400, we can't deliver precise data about different battery runtimes. If we calculate with the observed battery load conditions, then the runtime sums up to 2h under load and more than 4h during minimum load.

current consumption

minimum (all off or at minimum): 15.2 Watts
idle (max. brightness): 22.5 Watts
maximum (full load inkl. WLAN): 40.4 Watts

Verdict

Dell Inspiron 6400

The Dell Inspiron 6400 has everything that a good office notebook needs: a durable case, outstanding input devices, a good display, silent noise and low heat emissions and a good battery runtime, too.

Negative aspects are a few imperfections of workmanship and a mediocre performance of processor and video card.

Nothing the despite the Dell Inspiron 6400 is particularly recommended as a fine notebook destinated for working for mobile users in the private and in the business range. Due to the antireflection coated display and the good brightness working in the nature should not be a problem.

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tested: the Dell Inspiron 6400

Specifications

Specifications

Dell Inspiron 6400
Processor
Intel Core Duo T2300 2 x 1.7 GHz (Intel Core Duo)
Memory
1024 MB 
, DDR2, PC5300, max. 2048MB, 2x512MB
Display
15.40 inch 16:10, 1280 x 800 pixel, WSXGA Color Shine Glare TFT Display, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel 945PM
Storage
60 GB - 5400 rpm, 60 GB 
, 5400 rpm, Hitachi HTS541060G9SA00: 60GB, 5400rpm
Connections
4x USB2.0, Firewire, LAN, Modem, VGA-out, S-Video out, Kensington Lock, 1x Express Card, Audio (headphones und micro)
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 36 x 356 x 265 ( = 1.42 x 14.02 x 10.43 in)
Battery
, 85 Wh Lithium-Ionen
Additional features
HDD: 60GB, 5400rpm, Hitachi HTS541060G9SA00, SigmaTel High Definition Audio, DVD +/-RW Sony DW-Q58A,
Weight
2.8 kg ( = 98.77 oz / 6.17 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
1126 Euro

 

The case of the Inspiron 6400...
...suffers with some smaller lacks of workmanship, like different gap dimensions.
Positive is the sophisticated positioning of the interfaces.
Particularly fine: bright and mirror-free 15.4 inch display in the Inspiron 6400.
Here it is written: Windows Vista Capable - due to Core Duo and abundant main memory.
The fan remains decent in the background during the test, and even the temperature of the notebook keeps low.
Good battery runtimes because of the low current consumption because of the 85 Wh battery.

Pro

  • colours free elegible
  • solid design
  • very good keyboard
  • bright mirror-free display
  • low temperature and noise emissions
  • good battery runtime
  • Contra

  • a few lacks of workmanship
  • mediocre performance data
  • Similar Laptops

    Rating

    Dell Inspiron 6400 - 08/31/2007
    Josef Simon Leitner

    Chassis
    85%
    Keyboard
    92%
    Pointing Device
    92%
    Connectivity
    84%
    Weight
    78%
    Battery
    88%
    Display
    85%
    Games Performance
    62%
    Application Performance
    86%
    Temperature
    78%
    Noise
    80%
    Add Points
    92%
    Average
    84%
    86%
    Office - Weighted Average
    Josef Simon Leitner, 2006-08- 6 (Update: 2013-05- 8)