Dell Precision M6700 Owner's Review

Even the Nvidia Settings only allow
1920 x 1080
1280 x 1024
1024 x 768
Unfortunately there`s a huge gap between FHD and the next possible resolution.

 

And there in lies the caveat of fine print: The claim is only that it drive 4 monitors. But did it state 4 HD monitors? It also can support 4k resolution, but its unlike that would be with 4 monitors! Perhaps one 4k plus an HD?

Anyway you have to be realistic. Multi-display monitors and/or 4 K out of a laptop is still an extraordinary feat.

 

You already lose some with 4K. I'm not sure about DisplayPort, but I know that HDMI 1.4 (used in the M6700) only supports 4K (3840x2160) at up to 30 Hz. I wouldn't be surprised if the current version of DisplayPort has a similar restriction.

As for being able to drive a boatload of displays, it might be a laptop, but this isn't any old laptop. These Quadros have a ton of memory and a high price tag so I think it's reasonable to expect that they should be able to drive a nice set of displays without issue. For xPat's situation, I think it is more a question of what the DisplayPort spec supports with daisy-chaining (can all of those pixels really go across a single link?). There shouldn't be any trouble if you hook the displays each up to their own DisplayPort.

 

Actually, its DP that's limited to that slightly lower UHD resolution. The HDMI 1.4 can achieve the higher of the two @ 4096 pixels wide by 2160 pixels high.

Yes, of course, that's not what I meant.

 

Yes this is true, and at that resolution you're stuck at an even lower 24 Hz if I understand correctly.

 

I must say I've been impressed by Dell's attitude/policy toward this.

The tech support guy was crystal clear in saying he has no idea whether or not this is actually going to work. But they are taking the position that it's a "supported configuration", so they will take all the risk. They shipped the monitors to me here in Mexico, and assured me that if it doesn't work, they will happily take all 3 monitors back no questions asked, with Dell picking up the shipping both ways.

I'm still skeptical this is actually going to work, but hard to argue with the fact that Dell is supporting their advertising claims with outstanding service.

Sounds like if this does NOT work, you guys think it would work if I spent another $200 on a docking station. I'll propose that solution to Dell if it comes to that if they are willing to send down a dock with the same policy of shipping it back at their expense if it doesn't work, I'm willing to shell out a couple hundred more to get a working configuration.

xPat

 

Just a note on docks. You can get a used docking station for way less than $200. I'm thinking about getting one and I see them on eBay as low as $40. The "E-Port Plus" comes with two DisplayPort connectors and my understanding is that older ones should be compatible with the M4700/M6700 (you just might miss out on USB 3.0 connectors on the dock).

I'd love to get comments from anyone who has used an older dock on the M4700/M6700 and if there was any compatibility trouble.

 

Well you will certainly get a lot of of obsolete ports you will likely never ever use again. USB 3.0, DP, HDMI and throw in a VGA for good measure, and just in case I need to plug-in for a presentation. Other than multiples of these, I have everything I need.

Incidentally, does anybody have any trouble getting DP 1.2 cable? I just got my order after an 8 weeks wait and it was oh so expensive. And no, it wasn't even available at Monoprice. The HDMI 1.4 was available, but it was high priced as well.

Fine if they will support the latest resolution. Not so much if they do not. I've learned the hard way you have to be way careful when making sure of this. That's why I didn't bite when I first saw it. My experience with ebay is 50/50.

 

Yup, the older docks are compatible with the M6700, I'm using a PR03X myself and it is working flawlessly with the M6700. I bought mine for ~50$ (in Canada), but it didn't come with a PSU, so I also bought a second PSU for it, you can just use the PSU that came with your M6700, but having a second one makes docking and undocking more convenient since it becomes a 1 button affair. I don't have a monitor I can use to check whether the dock can do over 1080p unfortunately.

 

Hi,

AFAIK DisplayPort 1.2 supports 4096 x 2160 pixels at 60Hz with 30bit while HDMI 1.4 is restricted to 24Hz at 4k x 2k.

Cheers,
Alex