Dell Precision M3800 - 2013!

Nope, it would definitely not be the first Precision with two memory banks. This is all speculation anyway, we don't really know anything.

 

Agreed. this is not even close from what I expected when I heard of a 13" Precision coming.. It looks like they copied the HP Envy series or something.. I wish they'd revived the Adamo line design. I loved it, but it was too far ahead for the CPU technology of the time so the battery life was bad and the integrated GPU sucked. I'd buy a Haswell-refreshed one no questions asked.

I usually like to have a smaller laptop complementing my Precision for the short road trips or cafes and stuff so I kind of liked the idea of something similarly styled, but robust and powerful (currently, I have the Vaio S13P, but it certainly doesn't feel robust, especially the flimsy lid covering an awful screen).

Lenovo U260 and U300S came close to this Precision design with the aluminum lid and bottom, but lacked keyboard backlight, quality screens and any useful battery life (maybe if they'd refresh them with Haswell, but I'm sure they'd come with glossy touchscreens in this series). Also, LG P330 was promising apart from the glossy low res screen and backlight keyboard, but there was no IB refresh and I doubt there'd be a Haswell one, either.

 

I am very excited to see a lighter and thinner Precision! I've been looking for a powerful 15" laptop under 5 lbs with Haswell, and I think this might be it! Dropping the Ethernet port on a professional laptop does sound odd, but this is a compromise I can definitely live with. I'll wait to see the official specs, but this might be the laptop I've been waiting for!
I am not even sure I need the highest resolution. I might just go with FHD.

 

I'm with you on this. At least the design of these things was something fresh; that Adamo XPS (I think that's what it was called) was downright breathtaking, for a Dell. Functionality, of course, was another matter... See, I have this 15" Samsung Series 9 UltraBook that I use when traveling and for conferences. UL i7, 8GB of memory, 256 Samsung SSD, integrated graphics; this thing is amazingly fast. Sure, when you're doing heavy-duty professional graphics rendering then that integrated chip just doesn't cut it, but for everything else, this puts my trusty old M6400 to shame, frankly. If Samsung offered something like that with a dock, then I'm not sure I'd even be looking at a Precision anymore. Thankfully for Dell, they don't, and it looks like they won't even offer the 15" machine with Haswell anymore.

Bottom line, in my opinion, is that the PC market is really going downhill rapidly. Manufacturers only cater to the lowest common denominator anymore, and us professionals with high-end requirements are left out in the cold. Thus no 16:10 screens anymore, that abomination that's called Windows 8, no Ethernet in some cases (heck, even my Sammy offers that with a little adapter plug). If it weren't for software requirements, I'd switch to a Mac in a heartbeat. Well, my requirements are changing as my responsibilities are, so this may in fact happen sometime soon. The PC market just doesn't offer the kind of compelling machines I am looking for. Just look at the new Mac Pro desktop: Apple, of all companies, is the one that will offer the only truly new and exciting desktop machine soon! That says it all, I guess...

 

You do have a penchant for hyperbole. But here's a better idea: mark the parts from your Adamo that are attractive, then see if anyone else agrees.

Just like your coveted 16:10 display. If enough people want it and ask for it, they will build it. If not Dell, then someone else.

Comparing Dell to a Mac? Is that what this has come down to? Macs total product is decided by Mac. No compromise, no debate. At least Dell (and others) gives you a choice.

If the most important consideration here is the market, then we need to first decide who the market is for Precision. Then ask yourself whether Dell is providing the machine that fits their need.

In my view, the idea for the perfect laptop already exists: the express card slot. That's the only place on the laptop you get to choose the port you want. But even it has limitation.

Just expand that idea and keep expanding it until all the port are user selectable. At that point, no one can say they're not getting the usability and versatility they need or want.

 

I don't have an Adamo, never had, never used one. Read what I wrote: I said the design was fresh.

Yeah, right. How many people are enough? How many people will buy a $7k laptop? Oh, look here, Dell is offering those, right? Interestingly enough, Apple does offer 16:10 displays. Why is that, you think? I'll just say that your understanding of this market, and micro-economics in general, is clearly quite limited.

Silly me, I thought Dell's total product (line) was decided by Dell. Please enlighten me: Would you like to tell us who Dell is debating or compromising with when it decides what products they will offer? Apple gives you a choice among its products; so does Dell. You can also choose among Apples, Dells, Lenovos, etc. Oh, and what was your point again?

No, wrong question. The market is out there, and Dell does or does not cater to it, or it only caters to a part of the market. The decision of which one of these it'll be is entirely up to Dell, and is driven by a number of considerations that are not pre-determined. The question, among others, is: What is it that Dell wants to be?

Uhh, no.

 

Was excited to see the M3800 headline but the details fell flat...

To add to the aspect ration debate, for my daily professional CAD work there is no denying 16:10 is a better option than 4:3 or 16:9.
I have to constantly go back and forth between my 16:10 monitor and my M4500's 16:9 display and 16:10 just works better.
I want the largest possible 'square' active working area with just enough room on the sides for some menus and the sweet spot is 16:10 of the 3 major options.
I also understand that I am a minority market, although I can imagine video professionals wanting a native 16:9 render window with extra menu's top and bottom.

The M3800 is an interesting trial for Dell but it misses the mark of a 'portable workstation' for me:
- actually too big for what it offers
- underpowered graphics for the high resolution screen
- Ethernet is a 'must have' for many hotels in industrial areas of China which don't have WiFi or reliable WiFi in the rooms
- must have 24GB system ram minimum

If the M3800 was a 14" class laptop, 16:10 and 1980x1200 (realistic for K1100M) or 2560x1600 (pushing it for a K1100M), had built in Ethernet and 24+GB of ram capable I would try to be first in line to get one.

Now it's back to settling for an M4800...'cause that's what Dell gives us

 

I actually bought a 13" one for my wife (it has a PLS screen which should be superior to the TN-film one on the 15"), UL i7 (dual core), 4GB, but I feel the Samsung U100 SSD with 128GB is bringing the whole thing down as I remember noticing occasional slow downs. Liked the design, loved the weight and screen brightness, hated the touchpad, keyboard is a little hard, but can't expect wonders on such a slim laptop. Also, there were some sound and touchpad driver issues when coming out of sleep. Mostly solved now, though, but I remember a recent blue screen incident. So, I wouldn't really put it at Precision level of stability yet

(at least, I don't remember having ANY issues with my M6400 and I used it for work and play for 4 years; yes, the BT card was messed up, but it was like that from the start; replaced it only lately as I didn't really use it and the problems are gone; now I'm using the M6700, but still tinkering with M6400 occasionally as I hate to sell it for next to nothing - got some M7820 off ebay for the M6400 to replace the FX3700M so I'll try to change it)

The new models are renamed ATIV Book 9 or smth, but I'm not sure if they're actually offering non-touch versions on those, didn't really follow them as I always wanted a separate GPU (so, maybe the Series 7 with 8970M would have been my choice instead if I was going for a 15" Samsung).

Oh, and I was referring to the Dell Adamo (or Onyx), not that IMHO ugly Adamo XPS that later came out with that folding screen acting as a base..

 

Well, people keep repeating that mantra, but how much do we really know about this? How small is that minority really, in the professional workstation market? What I know is that, among the professionals I talk to (in science, engineering, and even administration and management) there is a clear preference for 16:10. My feeling is that, for the general public, the overwhelming majority is in the "don't care" camp. So, where do we get this minority idea from? Inquiring minds want to know...

Oh yeah, Samsung does weird things with these machines: Specifically, they won't tell you exactly what SSD you will get with the machine. I was lucky and got a Sammy 830, which is blazingly fast, but I know people have gotten some real stinkers, with the exact same model designation. So, yeah, I was not even remotely suggesting any kind of equivalence between Samsung laptops, any of them, and Dell Precisions. I'm just saying I wish Dell would make a machine with that kind of design, and Precision quality and reliability; and a dock...

 

In my opinion there are a few of factors as it relates to "larger LCDs" for laptop use and above...1) according to people I know in the industry 16:9 is still a more optimal ratio to improve yields on panel manufacturing lines 2) the majority of larger panels produced are for watching media and movies benefit from a wider aspect ratio 3) in consumer testing people prefer a native 16:9 image = no black bars and no image stretching

If 16:10 was the more optimal ratio to manufacture and it cost consumers more to get a 16:9 panel, then things might be different (i.e. pay less and live with the downside of watching 16:9 content on a 16:10 display).

Media creators and panel manufacturers standardized on 16:9 for HD content and media consumption is the majority market.

Professional laptops are less volume in comparison and the added margins also have to cover things like professional graphics (i.e. NVidia Quadro), additional certifications and testing, etc.
The added costs of 16:10 panels and supporting the additional SKUs (inventory, repair, etc.) don't appeal to Dell, especially if we are talking about multiple sizes - 15", 17", etc.

That is why I stated I wished Dell had treated the M3800 as a test product trial and gone with a 16:10 screen to see the market reaction.
Dell probably made some trade-offs to get the high res panel like giving up Ethernet (lower BOM cost) and maybe using a cheaper chassis - don't know until we see one.
And, purely speculating, they chose a resolution in order to claim a higher spec than Apple for marketing purposes.

People will buy the M3800 - even I would if it had Ethernet and sufficient ram.
Put a 16:10 panel in an M3800 and I would probably find I way to live without Ethernet, although the ram issue would be tough, but it would at least make the decision difficult.

I would probably be willing to pay whatever it took to get a 16:10 panel in a Dell Precision M, and I have to believe if there were enough of us, Dell would do it...