Hands on Dell Precision 7710

Soon... I think high-end Kaby Lake CPUs are still not available yet, I think it could be anytime between November and first quarter next year before we see the Precision refresh.
[Edit] - Didn't see page break, Bokeh responded already

 

Has anyone confirmed whether the gpu throttles for no reason when the cpu is under load, with the 100w gpu's?

 

I've installed the latest BIOS (1.7.3) and the only thing that stopped working was Hibernation (it fails with an "Windows failed to resume from hibernate with error status 0xC0000411." error at boot).

Anyone has any idea as to how to resolve that problem (I know that there's probably nothing to be done, but it's worth asking)?

 

Maybe turn off hibernation and then turn it back on?

 

Been there, done that, didn't work. =(

 

I currently have two 4k monitors attached to my 7710's mDP and HDMI ports, as well as have my laptop open for a 3rd, albeit not very useful, screen. Can I attached a 3rd external monitor off the USB-C (TB3) port with a USB-C-to-DP adapter (which I don't have or otherwise I would just try it out!)? The 3rd monitor has relatively static apps (todo list, windows explorer), so resolution/refresh is not that important.

...and can someone explain [again] which graphics adapter controls which port, or does that just depend on the status of the dGPU enable/disable in the Bios and then one can choose?

Lastly, what's the latest on the TB15 dock? I don't see it on Dell's website. I couldn't get my D-Port Plus 3.0 working with my monitors, though it might have been a cable issue, which I have now swapped out.

TB15 threads suggest the ones that are out there are starting to get more stable.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/tb15-dock-discontinued.791673/
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hp-thunderbolt-3-dock-with-my-xps-13-9350.791945/page-7

 

If you have graphics switching turned on, all outputs are driven by the Intel GPU except for the DVI/DP ports on the ePort dock. (And you have an option in the BIOS to have one of those be driven by the Intel GPU as well.) If graphics switching is turned off, all outputs are driven by the NVIDIA GPU.

I'm not sure how many displays the Intel GPU can drive at once. The prior generation was just three but I think it has been increased for this one? I wouldn't be surprised if you can get an extra screen by hooking up a USB-C -> DisplayPort adapter/dongle, but I can't confirm that this would work... I think it should definitely work if you have graphics switching turned off and the Intel GPU is out of the mix. You can pick up such a dongle for $10ish on Amazon so not a huge cost to try it out.

The Thunderbolt dock was pulled from sale because of ongoing issues and Dell has been silent on any chance of reinstating it... When I spoke with Dell about the issues we were having, they mentioned that the engineering team is considering a hardware revision to the dock to fully correct the issues. Although recent BIOS updates have supposedly increased the stability of existing docks somewhat. You can still find them elsewhere like Amazon if you want to try one.

 

At one point Dell had a whole organized "team" in their REC center to handle the TB15 dock. They sent out a mass email to all those who had contacted them about it saying they would give weekly status updates (never happened). Then they sent another mass e-mail saying engineering had solved the problems with the TB15 and would require software and hardware updates (read: send your old TB15 back and get a new one) and the new hardware was planned to be available by the end of August.

Well after a few weeks of not hearing from them, I sent an email to get an update on the status - after all there are plenty of variables that could delay hardware production. Took 2-3 e-mails to different people in the REC dept to finally get a response. The response was "We have no ETA on hardware update but the refund option is still available". Reading between the lines of the full e-mail, it seemed to be indicating or suggesting that I should get a refund and move on.

 

@Aaron44126 @bobthebarker and anyone else who currently has a TB15 dock

dell BIOS updates 1.5.04 and also 1.6.06 both note: "Resolved Dell Thunderbolt Dock issues.".

What has been your experience? Have you seen previous TB15 issues resolved? Any at all? Thanks.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...de=precision-m7710-workstation&driverId=7HGW6

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us...de=precision-m7710-workstation&driverId=2D61C

 

Actually shipped all of ours back some time ago and replaced them with WD15 docks (which have been working fine).