Dell Precision M3800 Owner's Review

Standard grain of salt with Dell reps here. Note the lack of any actual details, just marketing speak about the alleged chassis differences. As I said, I was told in-person by a Dell colleague managing a demo booth for new products that the two chassis were identical, and I got to see both side by side myself since he had both, plus photos in this forum show the motherboards to be identical. It simply wouldn't make sense for Dell to make two chassis that were ALMOST identical but not quite when they're trying to reduce costs with measures like fixed SKUs rather than full customization.

I believe that Win8 full install keys can be used for upgrades if desired, but verify that with Google first. Personally I'd never run a Windows upgrade, though; a clean install is much, well, cleaner, and totally worth the effort.

 

Can the OP comment more on the gloss screen or if anyone has any more info on the 'gloss'? I have been using a HP middle of the road TN screen for several years with a gloss screen and I swore in my life I would never own a gloss screen again, as it works great as a mirror, but the reflections of any light source of horrible to the point that I am baffled who ever thought this was even remotely a good idea. Was this designed to work in the dark in a basement?

So now we have the m3800, a workstation, which I like the specs of, but damn if they thought a gloss screen was just what a workstation needs. I haven't used a Dell gloss screen with whatever coating they claim limits reflections. Whatever it is seems kind of dumb to make a screen gloss to then add coatings to to not make it glossy, but whatever. So what do we know, how is this screen with reflections? Is there a miracle coating, or will I again be blinded to the fantastic resolution by the reflection of my great looking mug in it?

 

Post 236 in this thread has a side-by-side picture next to a Retina MacBook Pro and the comment is that they look about the same, so if you have an Apple Store nearby you could check one out as a reference. And that would be near-worst case in indoor usage based on how Apple Stores are lit, so unless you plan to use it outside a lot, chances are your reflections during usage would be better than what you observed there. Link to pic:http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ision-m3800-owners-review-24.html#post9431998.

Also, here's a comment from an XPS 15 owner from that thread:

 

My M3800 Order details show the following line item:

620-AASO Windows 8.1 USB OS Recovery(English)

Which I believe is a USB flash drive with Windows 8.1 installation image. It is included with the system.

 

Fwiw, I don't have any mention of recovery media on my XPS 15 order. I know this is the M3800 thread but just in case people are cross-shopping and that matters to anyone.

 

XPS 15 being a consumer system comes with Windows 8.1 (or 8.1 Pro if you order from the business site) pre-installed. M3800 comes with Windows 7 Professional pre-installed and Windows 8.1 Pro license and media.

 

I'm a Windows (8.1 Enterprise + start8) user.
Touch screen is unnecessary in my case.
Just decided to get the MacBook Pro (late 2013, maxed out config); will minimize OSX partition and install win8.
1TB of fast PCIe flash (what's left of it) was the major plus over the M3800.
Maybe I will be wrong... but I cant have both.
Let me know your thoughts.

#Apple #MacBook #Pro 15 vs #Dell #Precision #M3800
Apple MacBook Pro 15 vs Dell Precision M3800 - YouTube

 

I would be careful before you take the plunge to the MacBook Pro. While everything looks good on paper, there are a couple of problems with using the Mac hardware as a PC. For instance as far as I know there is no way to take advantage of the integrated graphics when launching win8 in bootcamp. I have also seen reports of having issues just installing windows 8 using bootcamp. The only alternative I have found is using some VMware, but again I am not sure if it will allow you to us the integrated graphics. Without the ability to run off the intel graphics battery life will be terrible. With the m3800 you have the ability to select with graphics the application uses. You also have to consider the extra cost of buying windows 8 (pro) and the VMware software (total ~$300). The last thing that concerns me about the Mac is the 85W power supply and the need to draw off the battery for really intense CPU/GPU usage. For most people that may not be a problem but if you run some multiphysics simulation (engineering application) this is kinda a deal breaker.

From your post I think I am in the same boat as you, I love the apple hardware but given the software I use I need windows in some form. I am little disappointed that every PC I have come across makes some sort of trade off, but honestly I think the xps 15 or m3800 are the best options in the PC ecosystem.

 

Thanks for that info. That doesn't sound too promising, as I will be using this in an architecture office with plenty of natural and artificial light during the daytime and not in some darkened editing room. I just have a sinking feeling I will be cursing Dell for making me view my reflection all day long. Hopefully someone can report more to the contrary soon.

 

Well you might still check out a Retina MacBook Pro for comparison; it sounds like Apple's bright store lighting might be a reasonable approximation of your work environment. People have also mentioned matte display covers which have been used on other laptops. If you really like this system except for the display, you might want to look into one of those rather than switching to a completely different machine.