Dell Precision M3800 - 2013!

I see the Optimus Technology is supported. But I wonder if it works at such a high resolution. Does anyone know?

 

The Intel GPU is also used in the MacBook Pro with Retina. That is a lot of pixels, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for ordinary light work (web browsing, watching videos, office apps, etc.). Naturally the NVIDIA GPU will kick in for 3D jobs, and it will probably be the only choice for driving external displays.

I brought this up with the guy who runs the TechPowerUp GPU database, who is skeptical about the memory spec on NVIDIA's site. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

yup I saw that, I don't think its true, while I was reviewing the NVidia site for how much memory bandwidth it has it wouldn't have 128 bit gddr5
I adjusted it to if it had gddr5 just in case it really does have it

 

I believe GDDR5 was also mentioned by the Dell rep in one of the demos linked earlier in this thread.

 

Mano Gialusis, from the earlier Dell video I posted, says that it has GDDR5 memory.

 

It is possible that the GPU itself will support both GDDR3 and GDDR5 and that it will be up to the manufacturer to choose which to implement. It has been done before with nVidia gaming GPUs, the GT555m came in GDDR3 and GDDR5 variants depending on the laptop, the 9650M GT (yeah old stuff, I know) had GDDR3 and DDR2 variants and so on.

 

Really? Ever try to download software via wifi? And streaming HD video can be an enormously frustration stop/start hit or miss. I'm sorry, but I won't be throwing my ethernet port/cable away just yet.

 

Ya, I always do this. With my laptop, I have only use the Ethernet port one time. Actually, my current limitation is not the wifi itself but my wifi card which is not powerful enough.(and my graphic card if I want to stream 1080p video. 720p is fine but my computer have dificulties to handle 1080p).

 

Going to have to echo cityle, I do this stuff regularly without any trouble. I periodically install software from a network share at work, or stream uncompressed Blu-rays via WiFi from a server in my house. I make use of Windows's "File History" and system image features to back up my data over the network. Sure, it's not as fast as gigabit Ethernet, but it is easily on par with or better than the old 100 mbps Ethernet, which is fine given the flexibility of not having to be tied to a wire.

With 802.11ac around the corner and 10 gbps Ethernet nowhere in sight (for laptops anyway), the performance gap is only going to continue to narrow.

I will say that solid equipment on both ends of the link is key. This is one of the reasons that I dropped the Intel 6300 WiFi card for something different; it would routinely either drop the connection, or appear to be connected and stop transferring data. (Tried all sorts of different drivers and configurations...)

Anyway, it's not that big a deal. Most laptop users go wireless these days, I'm sure Dell has done the market research and made a judgement call to drop the Ethernet from the M3800 (obviously a thin machine will have to come with some compromises). If you want to use wired Ethernet, that's great — in this case you'd have to either choose a larger machine or get a USB adapter.

 

Really Aaron44126? I'm not sure if you're argument is counter to mine or in support of it? That's my point, going light and thin is no technological leap if all you do is leave off stuff. Duh? Ya think? And to think people get paid money to figure this out?

Sorta reminds me of the car industry in their days of moving to lighter cars: In an effort to lighten the load they switched to things like plastic bumpers and space-saver spare tire, or no spare tire in the (short lived) days of run flat tire shenanigans.

Their claim back then--everybody has AAA...don't they? And the bumper damage requirements went from 5mph to 3mph. That's not improvement ladies and gentlemen. That's just lowering the bar and using marketing double speak to convince you it is. Don't be fooled; it isn't.

Sure, I'd love a thinner lighter laptop too. But not at the expense of giving up things I still need, like a secure stable wired connection--and still use--like my OD. If anything I want more stuff (like dual mSATA perhaps), not less.

 

Well, then this laptop is not for you! Very simple.
You might be better of with something like m4800/m6800.
For many of us though, these are not important issues at all.
WiFi, USB3 adapter, the WiGig dock and perhaps an external optical drive connected to the dock will do just fine.