Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

The Dell UK website is now selling the XPS 15 with the i7-4712HQ processor.

Does anyone know if/when this processor will be offered on the M3800?

I'm assuming there is not any big difference in performance. Is that correct?

XPS 15 Touch Screen Laptop Details | Dell UK

 

You can compare specs on ark.intel.com (great resource when shopping), but the only difference shown there is a 0.1 GHz difference in both base and Turbo clocks, which is less than 5%. I'm thinking Intel for whatever reason is discontinuing the 4702HQ and this is their replacement. Maybe the new CPU is part (or all) of the coil whine fix. Someone this morning posted in the Dell Communities thread on the subject that laptops from other vendors with this processor seem to be exhibiting this issue as well, and that it could be related to the CPU.

In any case, I wouldn't consider the CPU change a performance refresh, just a change necessitated by Intel's product planning and/or a coil whine fix.

 

Thanks, that's interesting.

I guess if it is possibly related to coil whine then I should wait for i7-4712HQ to come to M3800 before buying.

I found that Dell Communities thread and it says a new System Board is coming soon to address the coil whine issue. It doesn't mention the new processor, but it sounds like your (educated) guess is it might be a combination of new System Board and/or Processor to fix the coil whine issue.

It would be good to know from Dell if/when i7-4712HQ will come to M3800.

 

Well the CPU on this system is actually soldered onto the motherboard as opposed to a removable component -- so even if a new CPU was the only change, it would qualify as a redesigned board. But with the announcement that redesigned boards to address coil whine will be available soon, and a new CPU coming for these systems... I just kind of read between the lines.

As for availability, the Dell US site still shows the 4702HQ on both the XPS 15 and M3800, so maybe it will be a phased rollout or maybe some regional stores are jumping the gun on revising their specs. I wonder when the first 4712HQ-equipped system will be in a customer's hands. Terry B in the Dell Communities thread said new boards will be available to tech support between late June and early July, so I would expect the new CPU to be available around then as well depending on whether Dell gives priority for the new boards to new systems or repairs.

 

OK, so if I understand correctly, someone that has a motherboard change to address the coil whine on an existing system will get the new 4712-HQ at the same time, as the CPU is soldered to the motherboard?

 

That's my assumption, but there's nothing in the official communications from Dell about any of this to confirm that. If the coil whine is caused by the CPU, then unless Intel is going to release a new revision of the 4702HQ to fix it (doubtful given the existence of the near-identical 4712HQ), then presumably we'd get new boards with the 4712HQ. If the CPU is not the cause of the coil whine, then it's less clear. Yes, the CPU is soldered onto the motherboard, but that of course happens at the Dell factory. So I suppose that if Intel continues to supply 4702HQs (which they probably would for several years given that systems with warranties occasionally have CPU failures), then I suppose Dell could decide to make two boards: one with the 4702HQ and the coil whine fix, and the other with the 4712HQ and the coil whine fix. I kind of doubt that they'll do that, but we'll have to wait and see what happens when the coil whine fix is available and someone gets the service performed.

 

Well, I just wanted to work on the kernel patch, but out of a sudden, the USB-to-Ethernet adapter (SMC LAN7500) worked perfectly well on Linux (Kernel 3.14, ArchLinux x64). On my previous tries, it didn't, for some odd reason (Kernel 3.13). I've checked the kernel source and compared the VID / PID and everything seems to be perfect and I'm still wondering, why it didn't work the first time I tried it.

Whatever. I can fully confirm now, that the Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (USB 2.0 to Gigabit) is working out of the box on Linux Kernel 3.14. Earlier versions should work aswell, since the smsc75xx module has been added in 2010. Source code can be found under linux/drivers/net/usb/smsc75xx.c.

 

Hi all,

I'm another Arch Linux user and am also thinking in buying an M3800 for work. It will run linux exclusively, and while I have read quite positive overall experiences, I have some particular concerns with buying a model with an HiDPI screen. I know Gnome3 (my choice of a DE) has generally pretty good support for such screens but it would help a lot to read some hands-on experiences from actual users here, especially as we always run non-gnome software a lot too (firefox, virtualbox, etc). Working professionally in software development (particularly with Java/Scala), I would also love to know how Java applications can handle the high resolution screen - IntelliJ IDEA comes to my mind as the priority one.

Apart of the HiDPI screen, the coil noise issues got getting resolved by now (end of May 2014) if I got it right? Any other nasty surprises I should still better get prepared?

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

Hello
After many weeks of deliberation I finally took the plunge and ordered M3800 with QHD screen via Dell Outlet UK (for those interested, until the 9th of June all orders will be shipped for free and there is a 5% discount on Precision line). The laptop was qualified as 'certified refurbished' and should be delivered in less than two weeks. Is there anything apart from coil whine and dead pixels I should check right after getting my hands on the laptop?
Thanks for your help.

 

No. In fact I've argued that going hunting for dead pixels is pointless too. If you notice dead pixels in the course of your regular use, then you have at least 1 year's worth of warranty coverage to sort it out. But if you do things like put up a white background and go off looking for problems and see some, then you'll never be able to "un-see" them. At that point knowing about those problems will bother you even if they never would have constituted an ACTUAL problem in your general usage. What's the value of that? Especially given that people requesting replacement displays have found that they have dead pixels and/or dust as well, hunting for problems under conditions that do not represent your actual usage just seems like a recipe for becoming less happy with your purchase. Use it the way you normally would, because that's all that matters, and address any problems that arise in that context IMHO.