Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Prices removed to not show my company's Premier Account info.



Processor


Intel Core i7-4702HQ (Quad Core 2.20GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo, 6MB 37W, w/HD Graphics 4600)

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Intel Core i7-4702HQ (Quad Core 2.20GHz, 3.2GHz Turbo, 6MB 37W, w/HD Graphics 4600) [Included in Price]


Operating System


Windows 7 Professional, English, 64-bit (includes Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit License)

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Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit, English add $0.00


Windows 8.1 Professional, 64-bit English [subtract $]


Windows 7 Professional, English, 64-bit (includes Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit License) [Included in Price]


Video Card


Nvidia® Quadro® K1100M, w/ 2GB GDDR5

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Nvidia® Quadro® K1100M, w/ 2GB GDDR5 [Included in Price]


Memory


8GB (1x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3

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8GB (1x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3 [Included in Price]


8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 add $0.00


16GB (2x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3 [add $]


Keyboard


Keyboard US

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Keyboard US [Included in Price]
STORAGE AND MEDIA OPTIONS


Hard Drive


512GB Solid State Drive Full Mini Card

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500GB 2.5” Solid State Hybrid Drive [subtract $]


128GB Solid State Drive Full Mini Card [subtract $]


256GB Solid State Drive Full Mini Card [subtract $]


256GB Solid State Mini-card Drive, Encrypted (Opal 2) [subtract $]


512GB Solid State Drive Full Mini Card [Included in Price]


512GB 2.5inch Serial ATA Solid State Drive add $0.00


DELLPLUS NO [subtract $]
NETWORKING OPTIONS


Wireless


Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0

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Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0 [Included in Price]
OTHER OPTIONS


LCD


15.6" UltraSharp™ FHD Touch(1920x1080) Wide View LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee

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15.6" UltraSharp™ FHD Touch(1920x1080) Wide View LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee [Included in Price]


15.6" UltraSharp™ IGZO QHD+ Touch(3200x1800) Wide View LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee [add $]


Additional Hard Drive


No Additional Hard Drive



No Additional Hard Drive [Included in Price]


500GB 2.5 Solid State Hybrid Drive [add $]


256GB 2.5inch Serial ATA Solid State Drive [add $]


Primary Battery


6-cell, 61Whr primary battery

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6-cell, 61Whr primary battery [Included in Price]


6-cell, 91Whr primary battery [add $]


Placemat


No Quick Reference Guide



No Quick Reference Guide [Included in Price]


Operating System Recovery Options


Windows 8.1 English OS Recovery - USB



Windows 8.1 English OS Recovery - USB [Included in Price]


Dell Backup & Recovery


Dell Backup and Recovery Basic

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Dell Backup and Recovery Basic [Included in Price]


Dell Backup and Recovery Professional [add $]


Installation Optional


Select options below



Client Installation - Addon - Data Migration of Additional 10GB and above [$]


Client Installation - Addon - Software Application Load [$]


Client Installation - Addon - Image Load [$]


Client Installation - Addon - Installation of a Wireless Network [$]


Protect your new PC


No Security Software

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No Security Software [Included in Price]


Digitally Delivered Software


Select options below



Adobe(R) Acrobat(R) XI, Digital Delivery [$]


Adobe Lightroom 5, Digital Delivery, Activation Key [$]


Dell Backup and Recovery Professional, Digital Delivery [$]


Cyber link PowerDVD 13 UltrA [$] Product Details


DVI to VGA Adapter


No Accessories



No Accessories [Included in Price]


Dell Mini DisplayPort(M) to VGA(F) Adapter [add $]


Dell Mini DisplayPort(M) to DisplayPort(F) Adapter [add $]


Dell USB3.0 to RJ45 Adapter, DBJBCBC064 add $0.00


Dell Mini DisplayPort(M) to DVI-D Single-Link(F) Adapter [add $]


DC Converter Cable add $0.00


Office Productivity Software


Microsoft® Office Trial, MUI

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Microsoft® Office Trial, MUI [Included in Price]


Microsoft® Office Home and Business 2013, English, French and Spanish [add $]


Microsoft® Office Professional 2013, English, French and Spanish [add $]


Carrying Cases


Select options below



None


Dell Sleeve – 15” Fits Latitude, XPS and Precision M3800 [add $]


Also included in this system
To modify these selections, choose the Continue button to proceed to the next page.


3 Year Basic Hardware Service with 3 Year NBD Limited Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis

The following options are default selections included with your order


Dell Precision M3800 CTO Base
Dell Webcam Central Software
Safety/Environment and Regulatory Guide (English/French Multi-language)
US Power Cord
130W AC Adapter (Includes USB to RJ45 Ethernet Dongle)
Windows 7 Downgrade
Palmrest 80 key
Dell Wireless 7260 Driver
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Label
Shipping Material
MOD,BDG,M3800,WW
Standard Shipment
No XP Mode
US No Canada Ship Charge
TPM

 

You mean 256GB SSD+500GB HDD?
Is that really possible? Are we still talking about M3800? 256GB mSATA+500GB HD is in one hard drive?

 

Two separate devices (of two different form factors) in two separate slots.

 

Is this 256GB mSATA placed at the vacancy produced by the smaller battery?

Is it convenient to show how much more is needed for this configuration?

By the way, the original configuration for the lower-end model is 500GB SSHD. So you mean 500GB HDD or 500GB SSHD?

The 500GB SSHD contains only 8GB flash, really think it's too small.

 

Order a m3800
I don't why the original price for m3800 (more than £2000 before discout) is more expensive than new XPS 15 (about £1700)?

 

A few reasons:

1) Quadro. Probably doesn't cost NVIDIA any more to make since the GeForce chip is the same silicon (though there may be extra related costs around supporting professionals, R&D on those features and associated drivers, etc), but the extra features enabled on Quadro chips, drivers, and ISV certification are all worth something to customers in certain segments, thus they cost more.

2) ProSupport as I understand it is also somewhat different from Enhanced Support since you get single-agent accountability throughout the troubleshooting and remediation process. You also get guaranteed North American support reps.

3) Precision M3800 includes a dongle to accept the regular-size AC adapters as well as a USB to Ethernet dongle. Both of those are accessory options on the XPS 15.

4) Most XPS 15 specs ship with Windows 8.1 Core, not Pro.

5) Precision has TPM but maybe not NFC, the XPS appears to be the other way around (EDIT: XPS is confirmed to have both TPM and NFC, not sure about Precision).

I'm still confused by the weight discrepancy though. I know a while back it was speculated that the 4.15 lbs quoted for the Precision would be with an mSATA drive, the small battery, and no HDD, but that doesn't appear to be a spec that can be ordered. Then again, all of the Precision specs list the same 4.15 lb weight when they surely don't weigh exactly the same; same goes for the different XPS 15 specs, though there the claimed weight is 4.44 lbs.

In any case, I ordered a top-spec XPS 15 that should arrive soon. I had planned to order an M3800 until I learned that there was an XPS 15 that would be identical. I just never even bothered to look at the consumer-grade stuff since I've been a sucker for Latitude and Precision equipment for so long. Glad I did because it saved me a nice chunk of change, especially considering that my employee discount for some reason can only be used in the Home store where the Latitudes and Precisions aren't available anyway and thus I'd have had to pay full price for an M3800 rather than saving 17% on an XPS 15!

 

No. The configuration I was referring to is similar to what Bokeh had metioned originally:

That is, two separate drives of two different form factors co-existing: one is mSATA SSD ("full mini card") and the other one is 2.5" SSD (or HDD, or hybrid flash/HDD, or whatever).

The 2.5" drive would be sitting next to the small battery, as in this picture that Bokeh posted in the first page of this thread.

 

On my Dell order page, the top-of-the-line configuration is in fact only configurable with Windows 7.

 

Just to make sure that everyone is clear on this: the second configuration on the US website, the one with 256 SSD ($2249) is actually a dual-drive configuration!

It's not obvious from its brief description, but it comes with two drives: one (bootable) mSATA 256 GB SSD and one 2.5" 500 GB hybrid drive (essentially a hard drive with SSD cache). And of course it comes with a smaller 61 Whr battery to make room for the second drive.