Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

I'm not sure but I would guess that's actually a 500GB hybrid drive (spinning disc with a dedicated cache for frequently accessed files).


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Actually i dont own the machine, thats why i ask. But if go to Review Dell Precision M3800 Workstation - NotebookCheck.net Reviews
scroll down to performance, GPUZ screen, it says memoryspeed: 700mhz (GDDR5 2800mhz), the XPS 15 has 1250 (GDDR5 5000mhz), so that is aHUGE difference,
def if you want to do tasking stuff on HIRES panels.
Someone here tried to OC it? I saw in the XPS 15 review on notebookcheck it was extremely hot, but the M3800 is extremely cold, so thats why i should consider OC

XPS15
core 946mhz
memory 1250mhz

M3800
core 706
memory 700

We are talking about a 30 to 40% difference in speed. I dont want it to come so hot like the XPS15.
But some speeds zithout the XPS15 overheat would be nice (lets say 800/1000)

 

According to NotebookCheck review it seems that display supplier are 2, LG and Sharp:
In its review the M3800 uses a display made by LG that has a less contrast than Sharp model, but it's a IPS display.
So Owner it's better to check which display you have on your XPS15.

My XPS has the Sharp model (it's a XPS top tier model): Hardware ID is SHP13F8.

The LG model seems to have Hardware ID: LQ156Z1

This explains the big difference in brightness between EU model and US model in reviews by Notebookcheck, because EU model in review uses a Sharp display while US model in review has a LG display.
So it seems the LG has more brightness but less contrast.

This monitor difference could explain even the difference in power consumption, because LG display is not a IGZO.
Could be interesting to know if there is a correlation between IGZO display and 91WHr battery.

 

That is almost certainly the hybrid drive, which Dell confusingly called a "Solid State Hybrid Drive", as if implying that it's more solid state than note -- which it isn't. Dell doesn't sell a model with a 500GB SSD, only 256 and 512. Hopefully Overstock corrects that, otherwise they could end up with quite a few unhappy customers.

 

Interesting find. My top-tier XPS also has the SHP13F8 display. Given how eye-searingly bright this display is, I can't even imagine a display with even more brightness, wow! And that still leads me to question whether that accounts for the brightness difference in the review. I blame adaptive brightness since it was on by default when I first installed Windows (didn't check on the out-of-box configuration) and I can imagine that adaptive brightness would only max out this display's brightness in a very sunny outdoor environment, which presumably was not where the review was conducted.

In any case, I'm now wondering if any M3800 owners with the LG display can comment whether they experience yellowish whites and other color fidelity loss when viewing slightly off-angle as XPS owners have noted. That shouldn't happen if the LG display is in fact IPS.

I'm also not sure that the displays would be different solely based on model. I feel that that would have been advertised if it were the case. It's more likely that both models will use both displays to manage supply chain problems (which have already been encountered pretty substantially!), though I admit it's odd that one would be IPS and the other wouldn't be. But if IPS was supposed to be a perk of the M3800 over the XPS, you'd think Dell would have advertised that. But since my main interest in IPS is color fidelity and it seems even the Sharp panel in the XPS 15 delivers phenomenally in that regard, I'll take the Sharp panel for its increased contrast. I don't really care about off-angle viewing, and I certainly don't need more brightness considering I typically have it set to 60% anyway (even though every OTHER laptop I use I have brightness maxed out).

Also, IGZO and IPS are not mutually exclusive; it's not like there's TN, PVA, IPS, and IGZO. IGZO only refers to how the transistors are constructed, whereas IPS deals with how the display matrix itself is laid out. You could have a display that is both IPS and IGZO, fyi, though I don't know whether one exists yet.

 

OK, but in this moment IGZO seems a exclusive technology by Sharp, so I don't guess that LG display uses this technology, also this could explain the power consumption of mid tier model (if it uses LG display).

 

Agreed. But for example Sharp could make a display that has both IGZO and IPS technology. I don't know whether they do, but saying "One display is IGZO and another is IPS" or comparing the benefits of one over the other is a mistake because the two technologies aren't directly comparable. It would be like comparing a computer's power supply to its hard drive.

 

I've seen it happen with actual real world usage, but the best way to illustrate it quickly is with Prime95 or similar and a GPU benchmark like Furmark. The screenshot I've attached is after a minute or so of running both, and as you can see the CPU is still running above it's 2.2GHz Rated speed but the GPU has throttled quite dramatically.

OK this is an extreme "torture test" case, but hammering the two is exactly the sort of thing you might do with a mobile workstation. I dread to think how the XPS15 manages under a heavy load with it's higher clocked GPU.

 

I moved over to MSI Kombustor for loading the GPU. Too many video drivers sense that Furmark is running and scale back cards. Will re-try Furmark and see what I see.

Also, looks like you are getting hotter temps than I see. Are you running the M3800 on a flat surface?

 

I'm just trying the MSI software now. Flat surface and 20C ambient here.