Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

I used a consumer "gaming" card for solidworks (09/10/11), no problem for three years after I got out of college. I find RealView annoying/distracting anyway, so almost never have it on. You may notice a difference in large assemblies, but I would expect you not to have any issues with the XPS - any dedicated card will blow away an integrated one, hands down. Simulations are all CPU-bound, so it won't make a difference there, and you'll be able to use all four cores.


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Anybody know spec of the new M2800?

 

Let's try to keep this thread on topic, but so far the most information that seems available is from Dell's own press release: Dell Precision M2800 Entry-Level Mobile Workstation | Dell.

I'm predicting that build quality and materials are going to take a major hit to reach that price point, which is disappointing to see in the Precision line. They've already spent so much time in the styling and quality dark ages over the last few years with their Inspirons and Latitudes, a downward trend which they only now seem to be reversing with the new 7000 Series models in both lineups, so I'm a little surprised to see that downward trend start now in the Precision line. But I'm sure Dell's market research indicated there was demand for a budget Precision, and I suppose as long as the rest of the Precision line doesn't take a dive, it shouldn't matter. Still seems strange though.

 

Sorry, I ment in comparison with our M3800, cpu, SSD etc. But thank you for Tour explanation.

 

I'm going to guess the differences will be something like the following (some of these aren't guesses but rather what I can tell from the images on the press release page):

- Only dual core i7's rather than the quad core available for the M3800
- Slower GPU
- No QHD+ option, and probably no touchscreen option
- No Wifi-AC option
- No Mini-DisplayPort (apparently they swapped in VGA instead....)
- No card reader (though they brought an ExpressCard slot back, so I guess you could buy an ExpressCard card reader)
- Cheaper build materials (no extensive aluminum or carbon fiber)
- Larger and heavier (that's a given because there's an optical drive)
- At most 1 USB port will have PowerShare enabled (I was surprised that all 4 have it on this system)
- Possibly only one SATA connector without a separate mSATA port; Dell has other models where mSATA units are connected to SATA connectors with an mSATA interposer board and mounting bracket.

However, it seems the M2800 will have some things that the M3800 lacks:

- A docking station connector (the ONE thing I wish this system had)
- Built-in optical drive
- Built-in Ethernet
- A conventional business keyboard design (i.e. regular font and single-unit design rather than island/chiclet keys)
- Numpad on the built-in keyboard
- ExpressCard slot
- VGA out

 

Agree the lacks on M3800, I also miss better docking station connector and built-in ethernet

 

You do sound hard to please (fonts? Disconnect touchscreen connector? ?) so I'm sure pretty much nothing is going to make you happy but FYI it looks like there might be a better USB 3 dock on the horizon, one capable of dual monitors at 2560 x 1600.

DisplayLink and Targus announce the latest USB3.0 Dock, the Targus ACP7101USZ using DisplayLink's new DL-3950 Chipset featuring dual 2560x1600 resolution

I will buy one of these when released, hopefully not too far away. Sure, you may still need to plug in two cables (power and USB 3) everytime you place your laptop on the desk but that really isn't so bad. Im not sure if you will need to lift the lid to hit the power button (before closing it again) but again, pretty minor really.

I think the reason why there is no real docking station is because in these BYOD times (even macbooks!?!?!), businesses want docks with a common interface, hence USB 3.0. I have been using dedicated dock for years on my Latiutude E6500 which was nice but I don't see a big problem with this new USB dock, as long as it works as described.

 

Well, that one could be interesting. Except, it's March 12 now, and since that announcement on January 7, there's not a single peep, absolutely nothing, on the entire internet on that dock. Looks like vaporware to me, at this point.

 

It was an announcement to look for it at CES, hence the early January timing, but products demoed at CES routinely take several months to come to market, assuming they do at all.

 

Yes and even if it can power a higher res display, video through USB isn't without its drawbacks. It will be fine for mostly static desktop stuff though which is always nice if you need more desktop real estate.