Dell Precision 7540 and 7740 Owner's Thread

Some people get all worked up about the speed of the modules, but I think that you won't notice any difference during regular daily use. If stability is your goal, I would stick with the Samsung modules which are confirmed working (and notably cheaper).

 

Hi !

I was having a look at dell driver support page:
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/precision-15-7540-laptop/drivers

and i wanted to ask you the following questions about "NVIDIA Quadro Series Graphics Driver" and "nVIDIA ISV Certified Graphics Driver".

About "NVIDIA Quadro Series Graphics Driver" i've discovered this last version:
Version 26.21.14.3206, A06
06 Dec 2019
https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...de=wt64a&productcode=precision-15-7540-laptop

Under "Important Information" it has been reported the following:
The Intel graphics driver must be installed before installing the NVIDIA graphics driver.

Do you confirm this ? Is it also valid even if one runs in dgpu mode (where i suppose there is no need to install any igpu driver) ?

About "nVIDIA ISV Certified Graphics Driver" i've discovered this last version:
Version 26.21.14.3145, A00
05 Sep 2019
https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...de=wt64a&productcode=precision-15-7540-laptop

A) I see 2 file formats: "Update Package for Microsoft® Windows®" and "Hard-Drive"
Which one do you recommend most ?

B) I can only see isv drivers for autocad, inventor, revit, siemens nx.
What about other softwares like solidworks, ansys,... ?
If they are not listed here, does it mean they're not supported even though a quadro card is actually inside the laptop ?

For instance, if i go here:
https://www.solidworks.com/support/...40field_video_card_model_value=Quadro+RTX3000

under "Recommended Driver" is reported "R440" and under "Test Note" the following:
"Tested on R440 U4 Version 441.66"

If i click on "R440" this website opens up:
https://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us
where i have to choose several search parameters among which the following choice:

Windows Driver Type: "Standard" or "DCH"

To this day, nvidia has these 2 versions available for rtx 3000 mobile version:

Quadro Desktop/Quadro Notebook Driver Release 440 WHQL R440 U5 (442.19) February 3, 2020
Quadro Desktop/Quadro Notebook Driver Release 440 WHQL R440 U4 (441.66) December 10, 2019

But i don't see any isv file here, so basically i don't know if the isv driver file on dell support page actually contains more certifications than those listed or if they are all (solidworks, catia, ...) included in the standard version (as dch is what dell offers on its support page) or i have to look at some other sections on dell website.

Is there anyone with experience in this field ?

 

Hi,

I got Dell 7540 with i9-9980HK and upgraded RAM to 80 GB. GPU is Intel UHD 630. My primary use is to run VMs (SAP VMs) and running some data algorithms (some machine learning).

Question - Should I return this laptop and get one with dGPU? If I add more RAM (128 GB total), will it be enough to handle VMs and running huge data set?

Appreciate your inputs. I need to return the laptop this week if the current machine will not work out.

Thanks

 

Hi. I presently use a 7540 i9-9980HK, RTX3000, 64GB. We need to purchase one more to run AI and ML stuff, and seriously contemplating on going for Xeon equivalent for the ECC memory.

However, I am little worried that Xeon + ECC may be a battery hog on an already constrained platform. Views on same please....

 

Is there working knowledge of the WD19DC docks?

The original one I bought with a 7740 was quickly replaced when it was futzy. More recently the 2nd showed no signs of powering up... now Dell has sent me two refurb ones... neither appear to power up. When I plug 240W power to the docks, there is a brief fan noise, three blinks of the power switch light and that's all. Can't seem to power on via the dock switch, and no winky lights at the end of the dual USB-C connectors.

Pilot error? All dead? Or???

 

BIOS update 1.7.0:

Fixes & Enhancements
- Fixed the issue where the BIOS displays that the power that is supplied through the dock is insufficient to charge the battery. This issue occurred when the system is connected to dual Type-C dock that delivers 210 W power.

I installed it even though I don't have a docking station.No issues so far.

 

Today's gold star allotment:
@Soromeister = One million
Dell Pro Support = Zero, nada, zippo

Last BIOS update was 1/25 to 1.6.0 using Dell Precision Optimizer (I just let it do all). Updated to 1.7.0 from website download moments ago and the (2nd) dock I've been using for the past few months appears to be happily working as it should. Lesson is: remember what changed when stuff broke, even if a peripheral.

Joy!

 

Hi I've spoken with SolidWorks on this recently, things seemed to get difficult more difficult once Microsoft started insisting OEMs use the DCH driver type late 2019. On top of this there were security issues with older drivers back in August 2019, so listing an old driver as certified wasn't a good idea!

Recently SolidWorks commited to working with NVIDIA to support a whole "branch" of drivers. They also list the specific driver that was certified in this case the 441.86 driver if you want to play safe.
However they actually reccomend the latest of that branch so anything starting 44 .....
Now getting the OEMs to also keep up I'm sure will be a battle but let's hope that improves also.

See https://forum.solidworks.com/community/hardware-and-graphics/blog/2019/12/19/hardware-certification

 

I have a similar configured machine (9980HK + 128GB of RAM, Intel GPU) also used for running lots of VMs and it works really well, - you can comfortably fit 30+ Windows Server VMs when using Hyper-V dynamic memory.
I chose to go for Intel GPU as I need more battery life and dGPUs on these laptops seem to continue to consume power even when they arent in use, effectively reducing max battery runtime by a few hours. I may end up getting an eGPU if I get some time to do some gaming again, but for now Intel GPU does all I need.

 

"Is there working knowledge of the WD19DC docks?"

I have ordered three of them, and they work well when I follow some specific rules.
The laptop is in discrete mode.

The Intel GPU is very sluggish when having too many windows open cluttered over ten virtual desktops and it can't drive my2x 38" monitors at full 60Hz, even 3x24" the CPU is under load and the Nvidia GPU is doing nothing.

In discrete mode everything is more smooth.

For docking/undocking I have to obey these rules:
Before Docking:
1) Switch&Login to another user with no windows open.
2) Then standby
3) Full power disconnect monitors and docking station and then connect power supply again. At that moment the
brief fan noise is normal.
4) Connect Dual USB connectors
5) Press PowerButton on Docking station.

Before Undocking:
1) Switch&Login to another user with no windows open.
2) Do standby

These rules I followed five years for my old Thinkpad W540 with NVidia GPU K2100M.
And now NVida GPU still don't like sudden change of the monitor configuration, but change to one Laptop Display is ok.

For my Dell, step 3) when Docking is new.
Without this, resume can sometimes fail!

Currently, I do about 2-3 docking(Dock Home, Dock Work, Dock Home) cycles per day.
So far, uptime (without BSOD, blank screen, failed resume) of laptop is ongoing.