Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Yeah, I think it's inevitable that touch will eventually become a key input method for computers. And when Apple does jump on board it'll once again give WinPC makers a masterclass in design, implementation and marketing, causing Apple fanboys to once again believe their beloved company invented the technology

 

Nonsense. I'll give you a hint: It is somewhat unlikely that Dell will sell people a laptop in a software configuration that does not support the hardware. Enough said.

 

Didn't get a "couple" hours, but I got to play with one today courtesy of my company's Dell rep. I'm mostly very pleased, but have the following comments:

1) GPU clock showed as 706mhz in GPU-Z, same as the prior collected data for the K1100M. So unless Dell is significantly underclocking the Geforce 750M in the XPS 15 version, that one should be a good bit faster for gaming (the reference implmentation collected 941mhz.)

2) The BIOS is an AMI-derived BIOS from Dell's consumer-line machines, not the Phoenix-derived BIOS from the other Latitude/Precisions machines. Other than the lack of a Optimus-disable option, I didn't see anything obvious missing, but all I got was a very quick look. This worries me a bit.

3) The power connector is not the same as the rest of the Latitude/Precision lines, and it will not interchange power adapters with those. No word from our rep about whether an auto/air adapter is or will be available. Minor disappointment, since I have a lot of Latitude equipment around and a little bit of older Precision.

4) Since there were questions about the wifi card, the test model I looked at had some kind of Intel 802.11ac card (7260?) -- not a point I was looking at in depth so did not mark down the exact model.

Other than that, it's a very sweet bit of kit. Unless someone else announces something very similar, or the W540 ends up a LOT lighter than expected, I'm still planning to get it or the XPS, dep (ending on which one comes in cheaper with 3-years support + completecare. (All other things being equal-cost, though, I'd get the XPS for the GPU clock bump.)

On a separate note, one of our helpdesk guys got to play with a W540; he was off-site so I didn't get to see it, but per what he said, it is a bit lighter/thinner but less dramatically so than Lenovo has been teasing. It also has a brand-new power connector, and a new docking connector, so W520/W530 accessories will NOT work with it.

Not sure if Dell will sell it with Windows 7, but Win 8.x Pro comes with downgrade rights so if you are comfortable installing 7 yourself there is no reason it should not work. At least for the one I looked at today, the only issue might be touch screen and touch pad drivers; everything else in the machine besides the screen (both super-high resolution and touch) is bog-standard. I didn't remember to check the touchpad to see if it was just a newer synaptics.

Not sure if this is a useful comparison to you, but the new 130W brick was on a quick glance about the same size as the newest-generation Latitude 90W brick. Significantly smaller than the older 130W.

Many people disagree. Regarding the user interface changes, there's no accounting for taste, and while the underlying infrastructure is unquestionably somewhat better, it's not like the XP-to-Vista change where it was hugely better... and people resisted Vista for a long time (until 7 came out, really) for much more minor UI changes than the radical change in UX/UI for 8.

Playing with it very quickly, it seemed fine.

Dell business line "availability" dates are very often when they start taking orders. Same thing happened with the last-generation (E6x30) Latitudes.

 

Great, guess we'll be seeing more and more of the m3800/xps 15 as we get closer.
How'd you like the screen? And how was the trackpad? What about fan noise?

 

Yup, Intel 7260, it's pretty much their only AC adapter as of now.

Likely Synaptics or Alps, so a generic driver for either of those should work out of the box. For the touchscreen, it will probably not be an issue, but even if it is, those reverting to 7 probably don't care for touch anyways. That is if 7 is not offered and given that businesses sometimes need to run a particular version of an OS due to constraints specific to said business, I'd be surprised to see 7 not in the list of available OSes.

Exactly, Windows 7 and Windows 8.x are both good OS from a what's under the hood perspective, the UI is a matter of taste.

There is no "someone is stupid for choosing one over the other". Anyone resorting to calling names, flaming and such on someone's OS choice in this thread. Official warning issued (even though it might not be necessary, it's part of the job): this is not a Windows 8 thread where we know the subject will be by nature controversial and we are slightly more lenient on members getting too emotional. In other words, help us in avoiding this thread going south. There is at least one moderator watching it closely. Refer to the forum rules if you are unsure.

In other words, keep the discussion about the M3800, yes, you can still discuss the OSes on the 3800, but leave the heated debates to the threads where they are already ongoing in the Windows forums please.

EDIT: As you may have remarked, some posts have already been deleted/edited to avoid said flamewars from truly starting.

More importantly, the Latitude and Precision crowd has been very helpful and polite. I'd like for it to stay that way and to all of the regulars and new comers alike keep up the good work. :thumbsup:

EDIT2:
I kinda went on a moderator tangent, but I felt that prevention would be better suited here than acting after things got out of hand. Not that they would necessarily go out of hand, but like I said, a preventive approach doesn't hurt.

I'm warming up to the M3800 by the way. Still sad that it shares so much with the XPS, not a fan of how it looks, but it's alright for me now (compared to how I previously felt). I am however extremely happy to see that there is no throttling and that it even has some thermal headroom. That will allow for some dust getting in the system and summer days in hotter arts of the world.

 

This is based on a 20-30 minute examination -- the screen was brilliant; best I've seen on a PC, better tham my memory of the IPS option on the W520/W530 which we don't usually pay for (but have a few around) and very closely comparable to a MBP 15 Retina which we looked at side by side.

The trackpad was a clickpad, which I am not fond of; less annoying than other clickpads, but coming from dual-pointer Latitude and Lenovo models I was not in a short glance a fan.

No noticeable fan noise, but we did not get any serious CPU load on it.

I've got fair faith that it will run OK on 7, as you said the worst case scenario is tracking down part-manufacturer's drivers for a few things (and no touch, but on Win 7, who'd want it?)

That's about where I'm at.

Given that Dell has abandoned the quad-core option for the E6440, and I really really despise the offset keyboard that entails from a number pad, I think the XPS/M3800 is pretty much my only option from Dell. I took a look across the aisle at the Lenovo T440p, and for those who can stand a somewhat weaker GPU, it may be a good option. 14" FHD, a good bit lighter than the W540/M4800, and goes up to the i7-4900MQ. Only the GT 730M 1GB, though, which (if I'm reading specs correctly) is a pretty anemic GPU compared to the 750M/K1100M.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm curious what you think of the overall keyboard/trackpad combo. How responsive do they feel and what kind of travel does the keyboard have? I imagine it's pretty shallow.

Did you actually see a T440p in the flesh? I'm trying to decide between the M3800/XPS15 and the T440p. They weigh about the same, but the superior quad-core options in the T440p are certainly offset by the rather disappointing GPU. The other advantage the T440p has, of course, is decent dock options.

 

Also, how were the speakers?

 

I'd like to start of by saying I am new here so please don't anyone attack me if I do anything wrong. Thanks.
I am a senior in high school looking for a laptop for college (i will be doing engineering). OVerall, this seems like one of the best laptops I have come across (can anyone recommend another one).
I also have a few more specific questions.
First, how well does the wireless card (intel 7260) work. I have a brand new asus rt-66r ac router at home so hopefully it wil get awesome speeds there, but in terms of a college environment with older wifi how will the card work?
Secondly, how portable is it overall?
Finally, do you think I really need this nice of a laptop just to run CAD and matlab or should i go with something cheaper?
THanks a lot I hope I didnt mess anything up

 

I would be more than surprised. This would be unheard of in the history of Dell's business class machines. I'd bet Dollars to Pennies that Windows 7 will be an option. As a matter of fact, to this day Windows 7 is indeed the default OS selection for all Precisions, including the 4800 and the 6800. I do not see why the 3800 would be any different.

Oh, and on the announcement page for the M3800 it explicitly says:

It will work fine, just like any other card would in a high-end product of this kind.

What do you mean? You have seen the specs, so what kind of answer are you looking for?

Only you can answer that question. If money's no object (for you or your parents), and you want ("want", mind you, there's no "need" here) maximum power and portability at the same time in a PC, this is probably it. You certainly don't "need" (in any rational sense of this word) this kind of a laptop. Any standard laptop or ultrabook can run the software you need in college. If you're on a budget, you should certainly be open to less expensive alternatives.