Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Seems like a pretty nice exchange!


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Not to mention app compatibility; as of today, my system is now triple-boot (Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Linux) as some older games and apps just don't work at all on Windows 8.1 (even with the system resolution turned down) and for a few other things (notably Photoshop and Eclipse) once I'm turning down the resolution, turning off DPI scaling and re-logging in, it's easier to reboot.

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Opened the machine to temporarily remove the msata card during the WIn7 install; annoying that there is no BIOS disable! But I got some pictures of the 6-cell battery and 2.5" drive/bracket should they be useful to anyone. Will post shortly as soon as I can shrink the images and blur out serial numbers.

 

Has anyone used AutoCAD or Revit with the qhd screen? How is the scaling? Also, did you get it to run with 8.1 or 7 windows?

 

I received my M3800 on Wednesday and between normal work stuff, etc. I'm still setting it up. I got the version with the 512MB ssd drive and the large battery (although I did notice that as of this week Dell is letting users customize their machines on the web site). I'm running Autocad for Architecture (ACA) 2012 on Win 7. I have to say that I still miss the 17" screen of my M6500 and the numeric keypad. I also wish the ssd was more like 1TB in size. But that's all I miss so far. The QHD screen is beautiful, even if it is glossy. I've tried running ACA at 3200x1800 with text and icons scaled to 125%, and at 1920x1200 with text and icons at 100% and it's fine either way. I find that scaling at 150% messes up the ACA UI and the cursor can't find some of the gadgets. Closing the session, for instance, required me to type "quit" since I couldn't select the "X" at the top right of the window. But at 125% everything was fine. I also don't find the scaling at 1920x1200 to be a problem. If I look closely I can tell that text is just every so slightly blurred but in normal use it's not noticeable.

And to address a couple of other often mentioned issues. I don't hear any coil whine (or any noise whatever). So far this is the quietest computer I've ever used. (I guess it's possible the fans aren't functional ) However, the wifi is noticeable slow. But I haven't timed it yet or played with different drivers.

John

 

Is it just me, or is the M3800 no longer available on the Dell website?

Wonder if it's because of all of the hardware issues?

 

It's just you, it's on the Dell US site at least. Nice try starting a bunch of speculation about a production stop to address issues, and a possible recall or class action lawsuit though.

 

I took a look and didn't see it...

Edit: seems to be back now.

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I was looking on the US Dell website this afternoon and it wasn't available for purchase. Maybe they were doing maintenance or something. As far as trying to start "a bunch of speculation" about hardware problems, I don't need to do that as it's widely known that many M3800's are having issues, including mine. I'm calling Dell tomorrow to either return mine or ask for a replacement because of all the issues I'm having:

• The screen has a lot of pixels (I count 9 right now), with some of them clustered together making one very noticable spot
• The power brick makes an annoying buzzing/screaching sound when plugged in
• The screen brightness flickers for a few seconds when the power cord is plugged in or unplugged (not because the brightness is at a different level for the power setting)
• There's a buzzing sound in headphones when certain things are on the screen (such as certain websites, or when viewing Windows Explorer windows). Sometimes when this happens and I move the mouse around, it makes changes the pitch or intensity of the noise
• Sometimes, to use the Fn keys, I have to hold down the Fn button, but other times it's the reverse (as I'm typing this, to change my screen brightness or volume I have to press the Fn key)
• No USB ports work on some startups (if I go to device manager it shows warning icons for the USB devices and says something about a hub not being installed)
• Windows sometimes freezes on the blue shutting down screen (it just says that it's shutting down, and never actually shuts down)
• On waking up from sleep, sometimes the cursor is the rotating wait icon and nothing is clickable (I have to use ctrl+alt+delete to restart the computer)
• Sometimes it doesn't wake up from sleep at all (just a black screen and I have to crash it)
• Has problems staying connected to WiFi, both my WiFi and at other places. None of my other laptops have any issues on my WiFi, but the M3800 regularly has an issue where the warning triangle shows up on the WiFi icon and the internet stops working. "Troubleshooting" the connection usually fixes the problem.
• Slow WiFi speeds when it is working

 

It is pretty weird to have such diverging views on this machine. I have been using mine (512 Gb) for the past 3 weeks and I must say that it has been behaving almost perfectly... I guess there are some exceptions obviously, but I would think that most people are not having major issues and that the models coming out in the past weeks seem to have less issues and have been addressed; like for instance the infamous Coil Wine...

As reported in an earlier thread, this machine is just SILENT... it is the most quiet machine I have ever used... I think that the fans have come on just a couple of times on mine, but I never hear them in day to day use... I have installed most of my work software, AutoCAD, Sketchup, Renditioner Pro and all of them behave perfectly and do not have any scaling issues on the laptop screen or even on my external screen for instance. So I am really loving this machine and enjoying the performance. It is fast, the screen is beautiful and the unit is very lite. Also the build quality is right on the money and for me I have had no issues of track pad "discoloration" or arm rest. For me they are just grease spots that come off easily with just a wipe...

In my last post, my only major issues were with the freezing of the mouse and touch screen when coming back from sleep which required a reboot and also the track pad not working properly. I have followed the advice from a post from JP a while back concerning turning off the Allow to put to sleep function inside of the Device Manager, in the Human Interface USB tab. This pretty much solved the issue and I have not had that problem since... everything functions well at start up.

For the track pad, I have played around with the settings some and even though it is still not perfect, I think I have got it to work to an acceptable level. Below are the settings that I have found gave me the results and might help others:
- I have reduced the pressure setting in the touch pad, so that it is now more sensitive when sliding your fingers.
- I have unchecked the Tap to Click function, since it is now more sensitive, so any slight uncontrolled touch of the pad could result in an unwanted Click.
- I have unchecked the side swipe gestures. This makes it less prone to having things come up by mistake on your screen from touching the pad; and those are mostly replaced anyhow with the functions I described below...
- But I have added the 3 finger gestures which I found very interesting for bringing up the search bar or the Computer Settings with just a swipe. You can also use it for page up or down in documents or moving back or forward while browsing...
- I have also added the 4 finger gestures which is also very useful in my opinion to bring up the Desktop instantly or to see your open applications and switch easily. I found those functions pretty accurate and reliable and not very prone to mistakes.
It takes a little getting used to and remembering the gestures, but I think it could be worth the time for some...

The only thing in the pad that is still a miss for me is the Pinch Zoom. I cannot get it to work properly and it is really not usable... It works perfectly on the touch screen, but on the pad it is VERY bad. Hopefully it is a driver issue that will be resolved soon. But thankfully it is a function that I hardly use anyhow and I do not mind going to my screen to zoom in when needed... so that is may be the only issue I have on this machine so far which for me is TOTALLY acceptable...

Also to a lesser extent, so far I only see predictions for 6 hours or less on a full charge. Maybe it is due to my settings and could have something to do with having turned off the allow to sleep functions on the peripherals. I have also turned off the Bluetooth function which as some say should help. I even have my screen set to Adaptive Brightness when on battery. I think at the beginning I had seen some predictions up to about 8 hours if I recall correctly, but now that all is pretty much set up these are my readings. Not a major issue for me since I am almost always plugged to an AC source, but it is a far cry from the 11 hours advertised and it is always nice to know that if needed you can get more juice out of it...

 

you'd think so, but after the trouble that dell has given me, it doesn't even scratch the surface. To be perfectly honest, I don't even want it. The techie in me will have to resist ripping open the package to play with it when it gets here though