Dell Precision 7560 & Precision 7760 pre-release discussion

I'm bumping this in case anyone has experience with eGPUs usage with the 7XXX line.

Anyone?

 

How much is ProSupport worth vs just having Basic Warranty? (As a student)
Just having a look at the comparison matrix Dell has and by dropping down to Basic Support I lose:
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/work/shop/help-me-choose/cp/supportforenterprise
24x7 Support - Not the biggest issue
Software product coverage
Automated Issue Detection and Proactive case Creation
Self Service case initiation and management
Access to Software Updates
Command centre monitoring and crisis management

Are these worth anything especially or would going down to basic onsite service with potentially damage protection be enough? (I save £120 this way)

 

It is Pro with a few features tacked on. The only one that you can use is ReFS. And yes, it is only for data volumes and can't be used with the system/boot volume. I looked into using it for my data drive but it also can't be used with a drive that stores your OneDrive files — the OneDrive client will complain about this and refuse to work. So... I think it's great that they're looking at a new file system but it doesn't seem to be "ready" yet to me.

The other features in Pro for Workstations require hardware that you would normally see in workstation-class desktops but are not present in the Precision laptops so you can't use them anyway. There won't be any sort of performance penalty or benefit using Pro for Workstations instead of regular Pro.

Hopefully you never have to call in on an issue with your system, but I've found with Pro Support that you get someone local and knowledgeable on the phone immediately. They've never given me any hassle over getting stuff replaced when I need it. I think that basic support calls would first go through a foreign call center so if you need a piece of hardware swapped out it might take a bit more work to get to the person who will actually set that up for you.

I wasn't going to get Pro Support with my first "personal" business system purchase (my Precision M6700 in 2012) but the rep who placed my order added it on at no extra charge. I did have to call in on that system a few times and I found them very easy to deal with.

 

Agree with @Aaron44126. Hopefully not needed, but if you do, you will wish you had it. I think Pro Support is worth it. I rarely used it for software issues (a few times when I wanted another opinion) but have used it for hardware to include needing some systems replaced. Pro Support Plus being worth it is questionable. That adds accidental damage and also keep your drive if you need it replaced. It also adds these two items:

1. Priority access to specialized support experts
2. An assigned Service Account Manager (SAM)

When I previously contacted Pro Support, I always had quick access to someone via chat or phone. I am not sure of how item 1 is different. Maybe more of an expert for a specific problem or you jump the line over pro support. I also wonder how usefully item 2 is.

 

Thank you very much for that link. I felt the need to point something out on the Dell Precision 7760 configurator:
64 GB, 2 x 32 GB, DDR4
3200MHz, ECC, SODIM + $774.64

128GB, 4 x 32 GB, DDR4
3200 MHz, ECC, SODIMM + $2,086.66

From the 8GB base model, it's a $774.64 upgrade to populate the "hidden" 2 RAM slots with 32 GB ECC chips. That is a $336 markup over the base cost of the RAM. Now, to get four of those chips is a $1210 markup over buying the RAM separately as individual modules. On the other hand, reading over the technician guide to these notebooks, it is quite the adventure to get access to the two RAM slots behind the keyboard as opposed to the ones behind the bottom panel - people should be really comfortable with what they will need to do for that. I really hope these low ECC RAM prices persist, because that is money that could be used to get a 4TB NVME drive or other goodies. But, if people buy the 64GB but they really need 128GB, they should really just buy the 2 RAM modules extra because the two slots behind the cover should be trivial to access. From what I remember, the two hard to reach slots are always filled up first.

 

Looks like even the review units for the 7760 have an ETA of early August. Dell must have a huge shortage.

That's from BsianDad (Youtuber)

 

Yes, pretty much the only feature Win 10 Pro for Workstations has is REFS. But, if you have two drives (or two partitions on one drive), there are benefits to using ReFS vs NTFS if you use a lot of Virtual Machines ... not an unusual use-case for machines like this. According to this link, ReFS does have distinct advantages for VMs, including very fast Checkpoint Merge operations: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/storage/refs/refs-overview

 

I think that if you're moderately comfortable opening the notebook then it should be find to access these slots. You don't have to do everything that the manual says. If I recall, the manual asks you to open the bottom panel and disconnect the keyboard cables. You don't need to do this. You just need to pry off the keyboard bezel (easy, there are little slots to get it started), remove the screws holding the keyboard down, and then sort of flip the keyboard down out of the way so that you can access the RAM slots — it doesn't need to be unplugged, you just won't be able to move it very far.

[Edit]
Actually mucking with my 7530 today and I'm going to have to disagree with myself — it is technically possible to replace the RAM without unplugging the keyboard cables but really you should go ahead and do it. Still, swapping out the RAM is like a 20-30 minute job even if you're not completely sure what you're doing, I'd say.

 

My sales rep literally threatened me with losing all 5 years of ProSupport if I try that (I guess this is more of a sales tactics to get you place an order with more RAM?!). Unless you do something really stupid, do technicians have any way to find out if you have opened the case?

 

That's ridiculous. It's been repeatedly confirmed that you can open the system and swap out hardware components without impacting the warranty. The caveats are, Dell won't support aftermarket components and has the option to request that you put the system back in its original configuration before performing service. (Memory directly from Dell should be OK because it's "certified" to work with the system and also has its own warranty from Dell.) And, if you break something, then damage is not covered unless you also have accidental damage protection.