Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

All Dell PSUs include a chip indicating their power rating. This is interrogated by the computer via the centre pin in the PSU plug. The M3800 is likely to throttle if it does not receive the expected information (but I recall reading that someone connected a 90W PSU without serious performance problems).

I would note that I tried feeding my E7440 (supplied with a 65W PSU) with a Dell 45W PSU since (i) the maximum power drain under load is around 35W and (ii) Samsung get their ultrabooks to run with a 40W PSU. The result was that the E7440 ran after giving a warning, but at the speed of a crippled snail. The CPU limited to 800MHz and the system bus throttled as well. Running wPrime showed a maximum power drain at the socket of 12W so the actual power capacity was not an issue. And the computer refused to charge the battery using this PSU, either when running or off. It was reminiscient of my E6400 which didn't like the auto/air/AC adapter that Dell sold me as an accessory. On that occasion Dell fixed the incompatibility through a BIOS update after a few months.

Some sellers use a system where the VAT is paid through a company that handles the process before the item is shipped. Alternatively, once the goods arrive in UK the courier will be contacting you for payment of the VAT (plus, possibly, a handling fee) before they can get the shipment released through customs.

John

 

Spoke to the seller yesterday. They advised that purchasing through eBay would result in a tax ~$400, whilst purchasing via their website would result in tax of ~$100. I suspect they'll declare it as a $500 laptop, or something like that. When questioned they said eBay's global seller programming fees were high...
If they're right about all costs being what they are, I could be looking at around £1150-£1250 for the 512ssd, 3200x1800, 4702hq, 16gb ram version.. Refurbished. About half the price of a new unit with slightly better CPU..


Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Don't forget that a US laptop has a different keyboard layout (and no £ sign). Because I switch between different laptops, that's a show-stopper for me.

 

I'm trying to get seller to confirm what keyboard layout this model has on it. The pics aren't clear, neither is the item desc for the keyboard.

I remember many many years back using a US keyboard. I set the PC to use a UK keyboard and continued using the same key layout that I was used to. The physical layout itself doesn't restrict the input, although it can be very annoying having to remember differently to the printed cues on the keys.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

You want to ensure that the value for insurance purposes reflects the true cost. The shipper probably only provides insurance for whatever is the declared value. Do you have to have the M3800 because of the GPU? They are a rare sighting on Dell UK Outlet but the XPS15-9530 is more common. There's one as I type this with good specs ( Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 4712HQ Processor, Windows® 8.1, 16 GB Dual Channel DDR3, 512 GB Mobility Solid State Drive, 15.6 inch LED Backlit Touch Display with Truelife and QHD+ resolution (3200 x 1800), 91 Whr battery) for just under £1200 including VAT.

The issue I recently had when using a US keyboard is that some of the keys are different sizes eg: small left shift, big right shift and different shaped enter key. I'm by no means a touch typer but I was getting a lot of errors. Changing the keyboard will involve changing the complete keyboard / keyboard surround / palmrest unit (the hole sizes will be different due to the different shaped keys), which costs a lot more than a simple keyboard unit.

John

 

Just saw this. Just checked. Its gone already. Do they come on in the morning every day? Every time I look.. usually in the evening.. there's nothing there.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

You need to keep watching the page. They seem to get posted at any time and sometimes they disappear then reappear a while later (probably someone putting the computer in their basket then deciding to not proceed). Last evening there was an FHD dual core version with Intel graphics that was there at 7 and gone by 8 at which time the one I referred to above appeared.

Anyway, there have been several QHD XPS 15 appearances in the past few weeks. A good spec is usually just below £1k (+ VAT) at which price it makes importing questionable. You need to do your homework in advance to know what features you want, because they are expensive or impossible to rectify, and those that are optional (eg a small SSD is easily upgraded, the 91Whr battery is very difficult to find as a spare part). Also watch the ebay UK listings. The resellers get a lot of stock from Outlet and, I think, get economies of scale or have negotiated packages such as a 3 year warranty. A good reseller will also give you the service tag so you can check the hardware specs in Dell's system (but it appears that Dell Outlet stock may not have software benefits such as both Windows 7 installed and Windows 8 media supplied).

John

 

I checked in the BIOS and there is an 'adaptor warning' which can be disabled. Not sure if disabling the warning will disable the PSU check. Anyone with a 19v 4.5 amps adaptor to test with the warning disabled? otherwise I'll have to buy one and test myself

 

All,

Just looking for some help, I have a M3800 UK spec - Does anyone have problems with displaying resolutions higher that 1080p using the HDMI port?

I have two DGM IPS-2701WPH (native 2560x1440) - however I can not seem to get anything higher that 1080p while using HDMI. everything is fine using mini-dp.

Thanks

 

[deleted incorrect statement about HDMI]

Just to reiterate what John says about the keyboard, the US/UK keys are different sizes, so it's not just a matter of putting stickers on the keys.