Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

I had those issues occasionally during my first couple weeks. Updating to the latest touchpanel firmware from their website fixed it (it seems the touchpad was improved as well).

I have been running Win7 since I got this thing in December. There are a few quirks here and there but so far I have not found a compelling reason to "upgrade" to Windows 8.

 

Yes, I do it all the time. The only POSSIBLE limitation I can see is if you have the QHD+ panel AND an external 4K display, in which case you may be limited to two total displays -- but since I don't have a 4K external display, I can't test that.

 

Here's my "Post-rebuild list" that I've updated for Windows 8.1. Very little of this is specific to this specific system, but here you go:

- Set small taskbar icons, disable program grouping, enable per-display taskbar
- Show hidden files
- Configure Windows Update
- Enable word wrap in Notepad
- Set prefs for all power schemes (Wifi power, CPU cooling policy, adaptive brightness)
- Disable AutoPlay
- Disable MaxxAudio enhancements
- Enable 48 kHz / 24-bit audio in Control Panel and QuickTime
- Set mouse sensitivity and configure touchpad gestures
- Set 802.11n Channel Width for band 2.4 to Auto in Device Manager
- Add desired folders to Windows Explorer sidebar favorites (e.g. Desktop, My Computer, user profile folder)
- Customize Action Center notifications
- Show all Notification Area icons rather than hiding them
- Set smaller desktop icon size (click desktop background, hold Ctrl key, use scroll wheel)
- Enable RDP host (Windows 8.1 Pro only)
- Set desired drive letters for external devices
- Create root$ share
- Set UAC to prompt for credentials
- Enable logon straight to desktop
- Arrange Start screen icons
- Add Computer shortcut to desktop (Personalize > Desktop Icons)
- Add Computer shortcut to taskbar
(create shortcut to "%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /E,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}" on desktop, drag to taskbar)
- Set mobile hotspot Wifi as metered connection
- Switch all file associations mapped to Music, Photos, Reader, and Video apps to desktop apps
- Enable BitLocker
- Configure indexing locations

 

I have been using my top tier unit for over a month now and it is just Great...
I have been able to adjust it to my liking and mostly everything works perfectly without glitches or noises...

The only problem I have which was not as present before and would happen once in a while is that when it wakes up from sleep, the screen freezes. I mean it comes on fast like everything is normal and you are able to move the cursor around with the mouse or the track pad, but there is no way to get it to click on anything.

You can use the touch screen to get around in the task bar below and if you keep playing with it for about 3 to 5 minutes it eventually wakes up completely and you can function as usual. The only quick fix I see is to do a complete shut down since the simple sleep will not change anything. Of course you end up losing all the work you were doing if you go that route.

I think that a few people had that issue, but mine just got worse and I was wondering if anyone had found a fix for it.
I had done the adjustment that JP had recommended for not letting the computer put to sleep the externals, but that does not seem to do anything now...

help anyone......

 

The adjustment I recommended which I presume you're referring to is about preventing only the touchscreen from being put to sleep, not every external device. You need the one that appears as a USB Input Device when no external USB devices are present (there should only be one USB Input Device listed in this scenario). And that's designed purely to prevent the touchscreen from spontaneously going non-responsive (though that may be fixed with the touchscreen firmware update?), not the touchpad or any mouse.

I haven't seen the behavior you're reporting mentioned anywhere else -- and you've already confirmed that briefly putting the system BACK to sleep and waking it back up doesn't solve it? In any case, not that you should have to deal with this, but if the touchscreen works when this happens, it should be possible using just the touchscreen and the onscreen keyboard to save your work before doing a shutdown.

 

200 pages and counting! Good job guys and gals. This is most likely the best source of information on the m3800 anywhere in the whole world wide web!

 

Don't forget to check for and turn off Splendid color. Also, wondering what benefit of changing the Wireless-N setting?

 

Well splendid mode wasn't on for me after I wiped my system, though considering the evidence that suggests that setting might be maintained in firmware, it's possible that that's because I'd disabled it before I wiped my system.

Changing the N setting simply allows you to connect with fat channels to 2.4 GHz stations that allow them. I don't enable that on my own access point because I live in an area where the 2.4 GHz band is rather congested and having fat channels enabled in that scenario can actually cause performance to decrease (not to mention make you a bad neighbor), but if I'm ever somewhere that has it enabled because extra performance is possible in their environment as a result, I figure I may as well set up my Wifi card to allow connecting that way.

 

JP, you are correct and I did disconnect all externals before doing that adjustment. As I said it all worked fine for a couple of weeks, but these past few days every time I wake it up from sleep it turns on as if all is normal and you can move the cursor around the screen but no clicks are available. With the touch screen I can only click at the bottom of the panel to switch between apps, but once in the app there is no clicking anywhere. After a few minutes of trying, it wakes up by itself and works resumes as normal...
VERY WEIRD!!!

 

Recommendations for an external blu-ray dvd player (burning not important) that won't be laggy either in full-length movie playback, or in grabbing clips to save?