I'd have to agree with most people on the post. I bought the D600 in July after heaps of research but unfortunately did not pick up this issue. When I first got it, I thought the heat thing was normal (cos I didn;t use it for more than 1 hr at a time). Now, more than 4 months later, I have given up on this heat thing. It is now coming to summer in Australia and the palm rest gets intolerable hot to the point it makes your palms sweat. I called tech support last week, they sent someone to replace the palm rest, they changed the harddisk to a Hitachi 60GB 4200RPM one. (i used to have the Fujitsu version). Problem has not gone away, still gets intolerably hot.
I am in the process of trying to return the machine but have to wait from a response from the customer advocay group. Has anyone tried to return theirs after more than 3 months?
This is the only problem i have found with this otherwise good laptop, even my friends Insipron 500m's don;t heat up!
I researched many of the Inspirons and Lattitudes after returning my d600. they all suuk with respect to the hot palm rest problem. The X series (e.g. x300) do not appear to have same problems. which is ok if you dont mind the computing limitations and screen size (right for a baby or frequent traveler with small bones)
Recommend not buying Dell. As Carly Fiorina (CEO of HP) said, Dell is the Wal Mart of PCs. Perhaps they'll soon wake up to the quality issues but I doubt it as long as they remain complacent with commoditizing PCs.
Ever wonder why recent commercials are about quality? They are pre-empting!
I just want to comment on the topics raised above:
When first getting my Latitude D600 in late august I had heat problmes..
However, and this perhaps needs investigateing: since havinvg the motherboard replaced due to (another botched latitued isseu) a broken clip for the BlueTooth, the heat issue has all but dissapeared!
Dont know what else to say, but it is now FAR more beareable. (still warm...but only a bit)
Perhaps there is an explination? i really dont kwow..!
I returned my notebooks a long time ago, but I still follow this issue because I'd like to think that Dell would resolve it someday. Anyways, I received a Dell catalog the other day, and rather humorously (to anyone aware of the heat issue), they show a promo picture of one of their Inspirons apparently, with someone's hands typing on it. Well, the person's wrists/palms are NOT touching the palm rest. They are hovering above the keyboard. Couldn't help but think that it was a "live" shot of a user learning not to get sweaty palms.
I think its a design problem. The D series latitues are thinner than the equivalent Insipron series. Could be that there needs to be just that extra space between the rest and the HD? I am not sure. It can;t really be a hard drive problem cos I had my HD changed once already by Dell and the problem is still there. They need to have air ports on the side next to the audio ports, like the ones they have on the old C series. That might help.
Still haven't heard from the customer advocacy yet. Might have to call again.
See my post earlier , i have suggested various possibilities . Even if they send all users a resdesigned caddy with air vents above the audio jacks it would help and that should be easy to do.
I just read the great number of complaints about the heat issue... I just placed an order for a d600 with the 5400rpm drive... does anyone know if this has been fixed yet? I am really worried now that I ordered a piece of junk.
I also read about the spongy keyboard... that made me feel worse.
I puchased this based on PC World and PC Magazine editors pick and reviews.
In reading over all the complaints, WHY WONT A DELL REP RESPOND?!?!?!
They don't respond because they know they have stuffed up. I just spat the dummy and am returning my d600. The palm rest gets to 39 deg C when the ambient temp is 18 deg C. (I have a photo of it). They are charging me freight of $174 Ozzie, plus a 20% re-stocking fee so all up I loose $1000 Ozzie. I am so annoyed with them I would rather loose my $1000 than let them keep my full $4000.
What makes it worse is that they told me that; and I quote.
"There is nothing wrong with the notebook. We have changed the parts in question [being the HDD and Palm rest] and nothing has changed. Therefore it is not faulty. It is operating as designed"
to that I replied
"So you are telling me that you designed it to be hot?"
answer: "It is the design of the system as the HDD is placed under the palm rest so naturally it will get hot".
I must admit that it is a good value notebook, but ONLY if you use an external keyboard. This will fix the keyboard and you won't notice the palm rest heat. The keyboard is a bit "spongy" and makes a rattle when you type but because you can't rest your palm on the palm rest for longer than 10 sec, you need the keyboard to be soft. Probably designed that way too!
Just remember the 15 day satisfaction period. Let your notebook run for a long time and see if you can stand the heat. If not, return it right away.
I have this problem too, and I have the Hitachi DK23EB-40. Another problem I have with the HD is that sometimes my HD starts making really strange noises until I turn off the comp and turn it back on. Even after I do that sometimes the strange noises come back immediately after. It also sometimes stops temporarily if I hit the left side. It's not a shaking kind of noise, it's more like high eeks. The strange noises only occur about once a week, and I use the laptop every day. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll try to get a recording of the noises and post it the next time it happens.
I have a new D600, with the 30Gb 4500rpm drive. But for me the left handrest area only gets to what I'd call "warm". It's actually quite nice to rest my hands on it when the room temperature is a little cool due to the winter here. Maybe those who are having the heat problem have the 5400rpm 40Gb drive? I'd expect the faster rpm drives to run hotter. So far it seems to me that the hottest parts of the laptop are on the bottom side, with the hottest part being where the miniPCI Truemobile 1300 wireless card is.
ToadX, I'm exeperiencing the same exact "loud screetching noise" problem that you're having with the hard drive on the D600. I was planning on calling Dell and searching these forums for a solution or more information. Just haven't gotten around to doing it. Sometimes it happens when i'm not doing anything that requires the HD (other than file paging by the OS) and other times it happens when i'm doing something that writes to the disk.
Please let me know if you learn more about this problem. I posted a note on this thread about the heat a few months, i should have the model # of the HD that is in my d600. I'll also try recording the loud noise.
The design is dumb for such an otherwise fairly nice notebook. Whoever designed this and approved it should just be fired. I could NEVER reccomend this notebook to another person and not feel guilty about it.
Dell should be ashamed at not addressing this issue as so many people have pointed it out.
I have a D600 btw and not only does the palmrest get hot but the touchpad on this notebook is the absolutely WORST I have ever seen on a notebook.
I too suffer through the heat of my D600 - Make your voice heard: http://www.josesandoval.com/hotdells/. A couple of people have left messages already. If there are enough, I will send the messages directly to Dell's support manager - I think Dell reads the forums, but says nothing about the actual issue. Too bad, the computer is great, but, I don't recomend it to anyone anymore. I think they will be loosing big time sales through this marketing medium: word of mouth...
To deal with the heat, I got one of those laptop cooler pads: http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/cooling_devices/bytecc/index.htm - It works, but, it still warm - Bearable, though, but warm AND I should NOT resort to this solution. BTW, it's a bit noisy, so if your work alone at night, it may drive you nuts...But, your left hand is not so hot...
Well I'm glad I discovered this forums. I was about to order a D600 tonight, but after reading all the complaints, forget it!
I also looked into buying a 600M but I guess they have the same problem. Too bad because they are really nice machines. I already returned an I5100 due to several problems, so I guess I'm going to look into the Gateway 200xl instead.
Does anyone knows if the new ones area still having HEAT problems?
GSIN
5 Posts
0
November 19th, 2003 02:00
I'd have to agree with most people on the post. I bought the D600 in July after heaps of research but unfortunately did not pick up this issue. When I first got it, I thought the heat thing was normal (cos I didn;t use it for more than 1 hr at a time). Now, more than 4 months later, I have given up on this heat thing. It is now coming to summer in Australia and the palm rest gets intolerable hot to the point it makes your palms sweat. I called tech support last week, they sent someone to replace the palm rest, they changed the harddisk to a Hitachi 60GB 4200RPM one. (i used to have the Fujitsu version). Problem has not gone away, still gets intolerably hot.
I am in the process of trying to return the machine but have to wait from a response from the customer advocay group. Has anyone tried to return theirs after more than 3 months?
This is the only problem i have found with this otherwise good laptop, even my friends Insipron 500m's don;t heat up!
topcount
3 Posts
0
November 19th, 2003 05:00
I researched many of the Inspirons and Lattitudes after returning my d600. they all suuk with respect to the hot palm rest problem. The X series (e.g. x300) do not appear to have same problems. which is ok if you dont mind the computing limitations and screen size (right for a baby or frequent traveler with small bones)
Recommend not buying Dell. As Carly Fiorina (CEO of HP) said, Dell is the Wal Mart of PCs. Perhaps they'll soon wake up to the quality issues but I doubt it as long as they remain complacent with commoditizing PCs.
Ever wonder why recent commercials are about quality? They are pre-empting!
wdowell8
9 Posts
0
November 19th, 2003 17:00
I just want to comment on the topics raised above:
When first getting my Latitude D600 in late august I had heat problmes..
However, and this perhaps needs investigateing: since havinvg the motherboard replaced due to (another botched latitued isseu) a broken clip for the BlueTooth, the heat issue has all but dissapeared!
Dont know what else to say, but it is now FAR more beareable. (still warm...but only a bit)
Perhaps there is an explination? i really dont kwow..!
William
WhiteTiger03
21 Posts
0
November 19th, 2003 17:00
GSIN
5 Posts
0
November 19th, 2003 20:00
I think its a design problem. The D series latitues are thinner than the equivalent Insipron series. Could be that there needs to be just that extra space between the rest and the HD? I am not sure. It can;t really be a hard drive problem cos I had my HD changed once already by Dell and the problem is still there. They need to have air ports on the side next to the audio ports, like the ones they have on the old C series. That might help.
Still haven't heard from the customer advocacy yet. Might have to call again.
rssb
12 Posts
0
November 20th, 2003 00:00
See my post earlier , i have suggested various possibilities . Even if they send all users a resdesigned caddy with air vents above the audio jacks it would help and that should be easy to do.
mmreed
2 Posts
0
November 21st, 2003 03:00
I just read the great number of complaints about the heat issue... I just placed an order for a d600 with the 5400rpm drive... does anyone know if this has been fixed yet? I am really worried now that I ordered a piece of junk.
I also read about the spongy keyboard... that made me feel worse.
I puchased this based on PC World and PC Magazine editors pick and reviews.
In reading over all the complaints, WHY WONT A DELL REP RESPOND?!?!?!
GSIN
5 Posts
0
November 21st, 2003 04:00
They don't respond because they know they have stuffed up. I just spat the dummy and am returning my d600. The palm rest gets to 39 deg C when the ambient temp is 18 deg C. (I have a photo of it). They are charging me freight of $174 Ozzie, plus a 20% re-stocking fee so all up I loose $1000 Ozzie. I am so annoyed with them I would rather loose my $1000 than let them keep my full $4000.
What makes it worse is that they told me that; and I quote.
"There is nothing wrong with the notebook. We have changed the parts in question [being the HDD and Palm rest] and nothing has changed. Therefore it is not faulty. It is operating as designed"
to that I replied
"So you are telling me that you designed it to be hot?"
answer: "It is the design of the system as the HDD is placed under the palm rest so naturally it will get hot".
I must admit that it is a good value notebook, but ONLY if you use an external keyboard. This will fix the keyboard and you won't notice the palm rest heat. The keyboard is a bit "spongy" and makes a rattle when you type but because you can't rest your palm on the palm rest for longer than 10 sec, you need the keyboard to be soft. Probably designed that way too!
Just remember the 15 day satisfaction period. Let your notebook run for a long time and see if you can stand the heat. If not, return it right away.
bj22
1 Message
0
December 10th, 2003 00:00
Hi
Can Someone please tell me what should be the temperature for the Hard Disk,
I do have a M60 with Hitachi 7k60 Hard disk, the temperature I get is 42 - 45 Degress C . Once I got 53
The left Palm rest does get warm. As anyone got below 40 or around 30-35 for this hardisk.
The url below did a test on 7k60 http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/print.hwz?cid=10&aid=693 and it says it got a temp of 45
I did call dell and they are going to take my 3 weeks laptop to the work-depo to do testing, I hope they don't replace new parts with old ones.
Please someone advise on the normal operating temp, if it is around 45 .
Thanks
ToadX
72 Posts
0
December 11th, 2003 05:00
I have this problem too, and I have the Hitachi DK23EB-40. Another problem I have with the HD is that sometimes my HD starts making really strange noises until I turn off the comp and turn it back on. Even after I do that sometimes the strange noises come back immediately after. It also sometimes stops temporarily if I hit the left side. It's not a shaking kind of noise, it's more like high eeks. The strange noises only occur about once a week, and I use the laptop every day. Anyone have any suggestions? I'll try to get a recording of the noises and post it the next time it happens.
GrantR
6 Posts
0
December 12th, 2003 18:00
Jorgemn
6 Posts
0
December 12th, 2003 19:00
ToadX, I'm exeperiencing the same exact "loud screetching noise" problem that you're having with the hard drive on the D600. I was planning on calling Dell and searching these forums for a solution or more information. Just haven't gotten around to doing it. Sometimes it happens when i'm not doing anything that requires the HD (other than file paging by the OS) and other times it happens when i'm doing something that writes to the disk.
Please let me know if you learn more about this problem. I posted a note on this thread about the heat a few months, i should have the model # of the HD that is in my d600. I'll also try recording the loud noise.
Thanks,
Jorge
cme4oil
1 Message
0
December 21st, 2003 23:00
The design is dumb for such an otherwise fairly nice notebook. Whoever designed this and approved it should just be fired. I could NEVER reccomend this notebook to another person and not feel guilty about it.
Dell should be ashamed at not addressing this issue as so many people have pointed it out.
I have a D600 btw and not only does the palmrest get hot but the touchpad on this notebook is the absolutely WORST I have ever seen on a notebook.
Wake up Dell and address these issues.
atlacatl
61 Posts
0
December 22nd, 2003 03:00
I too suffer through the heat of my D600 - Make your voice heard: http://www.josesandoval.com/hotdells/. A couple of people have left messages already. If there are enough, I will send the messages directly to Dell's support manager - I think Dell reads the forums, but says nothing about the actual issue. Too bad, the computer is great, but, I don't recomend it to anyone anymore. I think they will be loosing big time sales through this marketing medium: word of mouth...
To deal with the heat, I got one of those laptop cooler pads: http://www.cluboverclocker.com/reviews/cooling_devices/bytecc/index.htm - It works, but, it still warm - Bearable, though, but warm AND I should NOT resort to this solution. BTW, it's a bit noisy, so if your work alone at night, it may drive you nuts...But, your left hand is not so hot...
alejovh1
158 Posts
0
December 26th, 2003 23:00
Well I'm glad I discovered this forums. I was about to order a D600 tonight, but after reading all the complaints, forget it!
I also looked into buying a 600M but I guess they have the same problem. Too bad because they are really nice machines. I already returned an I5100 due to several problems, so I guess I'm going to look into the Gateway 200xl instead.
Does anyone knows if the new ones area still having HEAT problems?
thanks Alejo