Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Mine was Win 7 for a bit then I went to Win 8 because it deals with second monitors better. It had no junkware on it so long as you don't consider Dell's configuration software junk (I don't). As for security, I'm now using the MS security software. I've allowed auto updates but found where someone explained how to turn off the automatic restart. Not all of my software plays nicely with auto restart and the idea that MS would think it's OK to ever restart a user's computer without asking first is shocking to me.

 

I got an XPS 15, which I believe came with a McAfee trial, but the Precision software loadout might be different. The 8.1 USB stick is a regular Windows 8.1 installer with absolutely no customizations. If you use it, you won't get any additional software installed, but that means you wouldn't get any drivers beyond what's included with Windows either.

 

XPS 15 comes with a 1 years of licence for McAfee

 

To add to this point, you will have to go to Dell's website and download all the drivers. The computer doesn't work that well without them (no surprise).

 

Damnnn just saw in my countrys dell factory outlet the middle tier M3800 is $1799, brand new price is $3999. How can their be a 2k difference?

 

Check the details. Not all Outlet machines are the same. Some of them are machines in perfect condition that were returned within the return period or maybe never even shipped out because the order was cancelled after the system entered production. Others might have dents, dings, scratches, etc. If the Outlet site in your country is like the US, the site will indicate what type of system that is. If that's not the reason, maybe your country has weird tax laws about selling new vs used stuff that might account for a difference like that?

But if everything looks good, I wouldn't spend too much time thinking about it if you really want the system. Dell Outlet systems tend to get snatched up fast precisely because they're such great deals!

 

I've done something similar, I replaced the 2.5" drive with a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO and the mSATA drive with another 1TB 840 EVO. I would say two things:

1 - The battery life with the 60WHr battery is really crap. If you can, get the mSATA only model with the 90WHr battery and upgrade the mSATA SSD instead - it's also very easy to do.

2 - Make absolutely, completely sure you have a good quality Torx T4 screwdriver or you *will* mash the heads up on the screws. At these tiny sizes cheap drivers round off screws and then you have a big problem. A cheap set of micro bits for £4:99 is risky.

 

It would probably miss a firmware update on a touchscreen. I don't know if there's a way to check your current touchscreen firmware, but when I go to support.dell.com I just select my system model and do NOT enter my service tag so that I can see all of the available downloads. Sometimes service tag interpretation doesn't work properly and you end up seeing downloads that don't apply to you or missing downloads that DO apply. You should be able to find the firmware update that way.

Wow, that's a lot of SSD storage!! Fyi if anyone needs a great kit for working on consumer electronics devices, I bought this: 54 Bit Driver Kit - iFixit. It has basically every bit you could possibly need to work on computers, smartphones, game consoles, etc. If you're not familiar with iFixIt, they're an amazing group that does teardowns on all sorts of consumer electronics devices just to see what's in there, and they document every step of their teardown in case anyone else wants to attempt it. They also publish repair guides (e.g. battery replacement on an iPhone) with lists of all the tools you'll need to complete the task, many of which they of course sell. In any case, the bits in that driver kit were chosen based on what they've encountered most often in their teardowns and thus include bits you're unlikely to find basically anywhere else, like pentalobe and Torx Security. Hasn't let me down yet!

 

I'd still do it.

 

I finally got to play with an XPS15 at a Microcenter to see the qhd screen in the flesh, as it's similar to the m3800. It's beautiful, but I wanted to cry when I saw the reflections. Why, why, why did this thing have to be glossy? I work on a programs that mostly have black backgrounds and work spaces with windows and I think this thing is a no go. It's like looking in a mirror. I am bummed out.