D620, D630, or E6400 - Which one would you choose?

[io5150]

Which one?  I have a chance to get one of the three models - but all models have the Intel Video.  

 

I recently traded for a Macbook 13 (a1181) running SL 10.6.8 (160GB HD & 3 GB RAM).  A little banged up, but everything runs and works fine.  No SL DVD disc, but plan on purchasing a copy from Apple for $20.

 

I will have 2 GB RAM and 250GB hard drive available for the build.  I would like to do a triple boot (W7, OSX, & Ubuntu).   Can some tell me which would be the best bet for getting all three OSs running well on one of these models.  Or would it work better with XP, Mountain Lion, and a different Linux distro?

 

From a casual stroll through some of topics, it appears that Intel Video and the WiFi are two of the major hurdles to get over to get one of these puppies running.  Also which would be the best order to install the OSs?

 

Obviously the 6400 will be the most powerful with the D6xx models pretty close in performance.

 

Someone point me in the right direction, please

 

Thanks

 

io

 

 

 

 

[Hervé]

Well, clearly the choice is between the E6400 and the D630, the former being a slightly more powerful machine of course. Leave the D620 aside, especially with Intel GMA950, since it's a slower system (FSB667 CPUs, DDR2-667), although Snow Leopard runs brilliantly on it.

 

Like all D620, the D630 with Intel X3100 will be limited to Lion (ML dropped support for older Intel GMA) and will of course run Win7 and Ubuntu very well. These are nice little laptops, especially with 4Go DDR2-800 RAM, a >2.0GHz C2D CPU and high res/WSXGA+ LCD. This has been one of my earliest dual-boot Win7/Lion Hackintosh, which I still use, though less frequently now that an nVidia model has become my daily home device.

 

Re: E6400, make sure the graphics card is supported under OS X and it should be a pretty good machine to run all 3 OS on. Read-up the E6xxx section for info.

[bobdamnit]

Personally, I'd go with the D630, mainly because I think its a better supported machine.

 

From the 6400 Research thread:

 

 

 Intel X4500MHD
Partially working. No working driver exists. You can set Graphics Mode in boot loader for native resolution and thats about it. If You think seriously about using OSX on your laptop - stay away from this graphic chip.

[io5150]

Ok ... I wish I had a choice in the matter (in terms of a nVidia vs Intel option), but these are decommissioned laptops from the field sales members (some in better shape than others - some totally trashed).  

 

The E6400 has the Intel 4 series mobile video and 2GB RAM and is in pretty good shape.  

 

The D620 is in worse shape than I thought and only has 1 GB RAM (not to mention the cigarette burn on the keyboard  ).  

 

The D630 is actually quite usable with the parts from two machines - each actually had single 2GB chips in the configuration instead of the typical 2 - 1 GB (now I have 4GB).  The Vid in WinXP is listed as Intel 965 Express.  CPU is Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.00GHz.  And the BIOS version is A07.  As well as a DVD/CD-R drive.

 

Hopefully this D630 will work for this project?  I am not expecting it to be necessarily easy, but want to know if the chance for success is very good based upon your collective experience.

 

Thanks,

io

[bobdamnit]

The D630 should be extremely easy to put OS X on, as long as you follow the guide outlined here:

http://argo.osxlatitude.com/

 

You should be up and running OS X Snow Leopard/Lion within an hour after creating a myHack install USB. (You'll need some installed version of OS X to accomplish this, whether its a Virtual Machine, a friends Mac, or another computer with OS X on it.)

[Darvinko]

Ok ... I wish I had a choice in the matter (in terms of a nVidia vs Intel option), but these are decommissioned laptops from the field sales members (some in better shape than others - some totally trashed).  

 

The E6400 has the Intel 4 series mobile video and 2GB RAM and is in pretty good shape.  

 

The D620 is in worse shape than I thought and only has 1 GB RAM (not to mention the cigarette burn on the keyboard  ).  

 

The D630 is actually quite usable with the parts from two machines - each actually had single 2GB chips in the configuration instead of the typical 2 - 1 GB (now I have 4GB).  The Vid in WinXP is listed as Intel 965 Express.  CPU is Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.00GHz.  And the BIOS version is A07.  As well as a DVD/CD-R drive.

 

Hopefully this D630 will work for this project?  I am not expecting it to be necessarily easy, but want to know if the chance for success is very good based upon your collective experience.

 

Thanks,

io

 

Read post #193 in the Mountain Lion Anyone thread. A member (who has not been heard from since) seems comfortable with what he has been able to do with an E6400 with GMA (Intel) Graphics. Read what he had to do and his results and see if you feel comfortable undertaking this for the results he achieved. Also keep in mind that I'm not sure anyone else has confirmed or replicated this. The E6400 should have a minimum of a 2.26GHz processor. If I understand correctly, you can use the parts from the other machines(?), thus having 4GB RAM at your disposal. You might also want to check on resale value to see what you can get (and use for a replacement if you don't get the desired results.

[io5150]

Bob ... Thanks ... I do have a little white macbook I just traded for that is running SL 10.6.8. So I should be able to run thos

 

For multiboot (chameleon, stolen and rebranded) ... OS X installs first?

 

Also ... the link above to the guide above keeps timing out and not loading.  Hopefully it will be back up online soon.

 

Thanks

io

[bobdamnit]

No problem. Not sure why the link isn't working. Go to the forum main page and click "E.D.P" at the top. It will take you to the same page I linked.

 

For multi-boot: http://www.osxlatitude.com/dual-boot-osx-windows-made-easy/

[io5150]

Dar ... that looks quite involved to get the 6400 up and running.  Actually ... there is only one 6400 left and it has two 1GB modules taking up both slots.  I was able to salvage the keyboard, RAM, hard drive caddie and a couple of other items from two D630s and build a decent one that runs.  There is only one D620 here in the office and it is in bad shape.  It boots, but looks like something the cat dragged in.

 

io

[Hervé]

Well, as Bob said, the D630 is a sure thing as far as installing SL or Lion is concerned. If you feel more adventurous, try the E6400. Or get both!

 

re: D620, bear in mind that many parts are interchangeable with the D630: LCD, keyboard (well not that burnt one!), HDD, DVD/CD drive, Bluetooth adapter, wifi card, etc.

 

If you managed to get 4Go into the D630, that is an excellent thing. You mention "Intel 965", that is the chipset, the integrated graphics card is GMA X3100 (also referred to as Crestline). Lookup in the BIOS for LCD resolution; there are 2 models: LoRes WXGA (1280x800) and HiRes WXGA+ (1440x900). You'll need to use the appropriate bootpack/DSDT according to that not-so-subtle difference. Of course, go for the HiRes LCD if there is one (check the D620 as well).

 

Before you start anything, I'd advise you to update your BIOS to version A17 or A18 (the latter only differs from the former by having support for signed firmware) and set things as per recommended in dedicated BIOS thread.

 

 Re: multi-boot, I'd advise to start with OS X, then Win7 (or XP), then Ubuntu (or whatever flavour of Linux you fancy).

 

Check the wireless card in each D6x0. Pick-up a non-Intel card if there is one available. These laptops were typically fitted with an Intel 3945 card and that is not compatible with OS X. For Bluetooth, a DW360 is better than a DW350.