Dell Precision M6700 Owners Thread

Converting is easy but someone bought up the screens earlier this year, I've bid one two and won on one ultimately getting an unwelcomed surprise. I've seen plenty 6500s and a few 6400s but no 6800s and three 6700s turn up this year so far. One was in great condition but didn't get a chance on it, the second one I got outbid and the third I won but returned. To note the screen assembly of the covet editions is really nice with the edge to edge glass. If you really want one just keep checking daily and one is bound to turn up but be ready to burn $300-400 just to get one that isn't too dated.

I did try to test the screen on one of my M17x R2s that has an edp port but found it to be different from the m6700's, it looked to have been the same however it didn't fit.

 

if you already have the 3D screen you can upgrade directly to the standard eDP 40pins lcd (yes, the same standard used on precision 77x0 and many more laptop these days) but it's a little bit tideous to fit these screen since the M6700 screen bracket are not compatible with "eDP screen", but it work, I'm using a 4k display on my M6700 using "3D display cable".

 

Hi all. I have just placed an order for an M6700 i7-3840QM, Quadro K4000m 1920x1080 screen, 16GB Ram, SSD 256GB and a HD 750GB. Very excited to join the group! I will be making this the gaming/homeschooling/video editing workstation.

As a gaming PC, it should be better than what I am running now which is an intel i5-8250U with UHD 620. I was thinking of getting the i7-3940XM or the i7-3920XM but after perusing the postings here, members have stated that the i7-3840/20QM series is enough and will run cooler. It will be interesting to see how the i5-8250U compares to the i7-3840MQ as both have 4 cores and 8 threads. From the UserBenchmark comparison, the Quadro K4000M should have a lot more lifting capabilities than the UHD 620. Can't wait to try.

The cover LCD has dents but I think everything else seems to be in working order and from what I've read on forums, this thing can take a beating. Just love the fact that this model is upgradable and also very serviceable!

The only thing is that this unit does not come with a webcam. Is it worth it getting parts to install the webcam or would I be better getting a stand alone webcam?

 

It's a great machine, I am still using mine after nearly 8 years.

For gaming, K4000M is probably more capable than an Intel integrated GPU but it is still pretty low-end for gaming. You can drop in a GeForce 980M or a Quadro M5000M and you'd be looking at a ≈250% performance boost for the GPU. These cards can be found on eBay... With some patience you could get one for $250 or less.

The 3840QM CPU will probably not perform as well as the 8th-gen CPU that you have now since it can turbo boost higher and it is based on a newer architecture, but the difference will not be that drastic.

Replacing the web cam probably requires getting the bezel with the hole in it, the data cable, the webcam module itself. I imagine these parts are cheap if you can find them. Installation would require removing the entire palmrest to access the port on the motherboard that the webcam plugs into, plus you'd have to remove the display to run the data cable. I'd say it depends on how often you think that you'll even use the webcam. If you'll be using it infrequently then probably it would make more sense to get a small "clip-on" USB webcam.

Check support.dell.com and look up the section for the M6700 and you can find the service manual PDF which has directions for installing and removing all of the parts.

 

That's the thing that boggles my mind that this model is that old and people are still using them! I was thinking of getting a M6800 but some members have stated that the 4700/6700 series are better built, runs cooler and less troublesome. There are not many m6700s around in comparison to the 4800/6800 and the going rate is not that cheap anymore. I got mine for about USD 520 and it seems on the higher pricing than normal and there are dents and all, but I was willing to do it due to the CPU/GPU spec. The mint condition 6700s with lower specs are selling around USD 680-800. I thought I would save the money to upgrade the GPU instead. Perhaps the popularity of this series is out and/or the WFH situation has gotten more people to buy more laptops.

Yes, I was following the discussions on the GPU upgrade possibilities and I am looking to drop a GeForce 980M as I am not doing any CAD work. Do these GPUs have to be specifically made for Dell? In previous postings some have mentioned looking out for ones that are compatible for Dell or the alternative is to modify certain things to make the non-Dell work. I have to go back to those postings to learn a bit more.

I was actually impressed with the the small difference between the i5-8250U and the i7-3840QM when I ran the comparisons. But seeing how most of the time my CPU usage doesn't go up more than 30%, I reckon the i7-3840QM will suffice. Will be interesting to see if this setup can handle video editing software like DaVinci.

Thanks, I will look more into this. The sad thing is that WFH has really skyrocketed the pricing of webcams. I might just keep using my work laptop for webcam sessions and leave the M6700 as is.

 

HP cards are sometimes troublesome because of the odd way that they handle the vBIOS, but cards from other vendors normally work fine. People have put GeForce cards sourced from Clevo systems into the M6700 without issue, for example.

If you are looking to upgrade the GPU then I recommend that you keep an eye out for a good deal on both cards (GeForce 980M and Quadro M5000M). The performance will be pretty much the same as both cards have the same GPU chip and specs. The Quadro used to cost more, but it looks like that has evened out now, so maybe you will find a better deal on the Quadro card first. You have to do an INF mod to get the driver to load (this is basically the case for any "unsupported" NVIDIA laptop GPU upgrade) and I think that it is a little bit more straight-forward with the Quadro card.

 

You are right, the prices are now around USD 265 for both. I was under the impression that the Quadro was geared more for CAD work and other specialized softwares. So if my intentions are for gaming and video editing, there would not be any differences from either card?

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

You can also get a 970M which is still capable for a cheap price, the M4000M is also an option (it's faster than a 970M because of 256bits vs 192bits memory bus width).

 

They are both GM204 NVIDIA chips, 8GB GDDR5 RAM, 1536 CUDA cores, and 100W power cap. Quadro is sort of a super-set of GeForce, it has a few extra features enabled that are used by CAD and other pro apps. Until recently, the "GeForce Experience" app (which I don't care to use) was exclusive to GeForce cards, but NVIDIA has recently released "Quadro Experience" which is basically the same thing for Quadro cards.

I use the Quadro M5000M for gaming and it is fine for me. I haven't had any games that I couldn't get running good (but newer intense ones have to run at pretty low settings or lower than 1080p).

 

Yes, thank you. I looked up those cards and they are slightly cheaper than the 980M and M5000M, respectively. Will keep looking for the best deal down the road.