Dell Precision 5510 Owner's Lounge

if this fixes the double-key problem with my k eyboard I'll be thrilled. downloading now...

 

Hi
I am thinking about ordering a 5510 but I have a hard time understanding the BIOS/ UEFI-BIOS options in the order form and so far three different Dell chat employees have not been able to answer my questions. Maybe one of you could give it a try?

If I configure the notebook with any drive other than the M.2 PCIe variants the category "Performance" in the order form lists a single item called "UEFI-BIOS not selected" which is preselected (if that makes any sense).
As soon as I choose one of the M.2 PCIe drives there is now an additional item under "Performance" called "UEFI-BIOS" and it is selected by default.

So my questions is:
- if I assume that "UEFI-BIOS not selected" means that the notebook will be outfitted with just a regular old BIOS, isn't that rather limiting for a workstation in 2016? Or is that a special Dell Pro BIOS with additional features?
- Do I need UEFI-BIOS to boot from M.2 drives? Or only if the M.2 drive uses NVMe?
- Is the BIOS update mentioned in one of the previous posts really a BIOS update, is it an UEFI-BIOS update or is it both?
- Does a Dell UEFI-BIOS offer a legacy mode to boot from drives with MBR?
- If UEFI-BIOS is required to boot from M.2 drives and I choose just a regular SATA-drive in the order form (consequently having only the "UEFI-BIOS not selected" item in the performance category) would that mean there would be no way to upgrade to a M.2 drive later?

Sorry, turns out it is more than one question.

Any help would be very much appreciated!

Robert

 

I have no idea why the UEFI option is enabled or disabled depending on which drive you choose, but in the BIOS settings you have the option for legacy or UEFI boot, so you should be able to set it up how you please.
(Switching modes breaks an existing Windows install unless you go through the trouble of converting the partition table format.)

 

Turbo Boost enabled with Speed Step locks the CPU @ 3.3 Ghz
Turbo Boost enabled without Speed Step locks the CPU @ 2.8 GHz.

Is there any way to have it clock >= 3.3 GHz without the speed step being on?

 

Hi Aaron,

thank you for your reply. That is good to know, part of the mystery solved ;-)

The funny thing is: I configured the 5510 on the US Dell site this morning to see if some of the meaning of the "Performance" category options is lost in translation but that category does not even show up in the U.S..

So any more input on this issue is still very welcome

 

I fail to find a post with a list of known bugs and how to solve them. I guess the latest bios update address many of them, but could anyone please post the link. My 5510 should be here one of the next days, so I would like to be as prepared as possible ;P

 

I hope this is not hijacking the thread but I got some new information on the BIOS/UEFI-BIOS issue: Having struck out with the Dell sales chat I called technical support today and they provided the following answers:

- if you order only an SATA drive with your 5510 you will get a regular BIOS, not an UEFI-BIOS. You will only get an UEFI-BIOS if you order one of the M.2 PCIe cards. This means that if you only order an SATA drive you will never be able to use M.2 slot on the mainboard, at least not for an SSD.

I can hardly believe that as I would be furious to discover this issue when trying to upgrade the notebook a few years down the line but the technical rep confirmed it twice.

I also asked about the BIOS upgrade available for download. The technical rep was going to check with a colleague whether it is a plain BIOS or an UEFI-BIOS while I was holding the line but she never came back before I was disconnected.

 

It'd be great if someone who bought it without the M.2 drive could confirm that UEFI is a choice in the BIOS settings. I personally think that the above explanation provided by the rep on chat is bogus (including the part about not being able to add an M.2 drive later), but I could be wrong.

 

There is no way this answer is correct. As a matter of fact, it's complete and utter BS, and doesn't even begin to make any sense. Why in all the world would Dell go through the trouble, and expense, of having to track and maintain two different BIOSes for these machines? There is only one BIOS for these machines, and that's all there is to it.

No, you're right on.

 

Completely wrong information. You can install and run an OS to the M.2 drive in Legacy mode, you can do the same to the 2.5" drive in UEFI mode. There is only one BIOS. The only difference is whether you choose to use Legacy or UEFI with either drive.