Kaby Lake Precision pre-release discussion (5520 / 7520 / 7720)

In my 7720 are two Samsung 1TB 961 installed.

 

good to know that!

curious about the RAM too.. what model/brand are they?

 

...Can you order the XPS 15 with a "class 50" SSD drive? I think you have to order class 50 to get the high-end Samsung, and that is Precision only.

 

oh... i failed to conisder that!

 

Few more queries regarding the storage options. (Sorry If I'm asking too many noob questions here)

I'm lookikng at the 7520 model

1. For my requirements, a SSD (and not a NVMe) is said to be sufficient for the Boot Drive (from https://www.pugetsystems.com/recomm...iere-Pro-143/Hardware-Recommendations#storage)

(a) Would a SSD for the boot disk be sufficient, in your opinion?

(b) I will go for the '1TB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive' - what class would that be? Class 20 or Class 30?

[In the 512 GB options, there is a '512GB 2.5" 7mm SATA SED Solid State Drive Class 20' and a '512GB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive' (whose class is not mentioned)]

[Also, the option on 7720 is '1TB 2.5" 7mm SATA SSD Class 20']

(c) And would the '1TB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive' be a Samsung OEM?

2. I'm also considering buying the storage myself and fitting them. In that case, I will go for

> a 1 TB 850 EVO for the boot disk (since a SSD is sufficient as per the previous link)
> a 1 TB 960 PRO for the second disk

Given that I have to fit both these in the 7520, which among the 3 different 850 EVO models should I buy? Which would fit into the 7520 laptop in conjunction with the 960 Pro?

See > http://www.samsung.com/us/compare/#category/N0002506/products/MZ-N5E1T0BW,MZ-75E1T0B/AM,MZ-M5E1T0BW

Thanks!

 

I think any SSD would be fine for the boot drive. Just don't use a traditional spinning HDD and you are in good shape. Do realize, however, that high-end NVMe drives can be around 5-7 times faster than a SATA SSD.

Regarding (c), there is no telling whether or not you will get a Samsung drive, no matter what you buy. Dell commits to meeting certain performance criteria for each class, but does not commit to a certain manufacturer for the drives. If you want a specific model, you should buy it separately.

I don't know why you would use the 850 EVO for the boot disk and a 960 Pro for the second disk. It is the most beneficial if your boot disk is the fastest disk, in most cases, which would be the 960 Pro.

From the link, you would want to purchase the 2.5" SATA drive (the one that looks like a black box). You can mount one 2.5" SATA drive and one M.2 drive.

 

I can see how it might make sense if the 2nd (data disk) were also used for virtual machines, but I agree that the fastest drives in your setup be used for the OS.

Host drive selection doesn't usually affect the guest VM OS that is on another physical drive. But the drive the guest VM sits on does benefit if on a fast drive. So if the primary use of the system is to host VMs then using the 850 for the host OS while the 960 Pro houses the guest VMs then that makes sense. I guess it depends on what the purchaser plans to use the laptop for.

 

I would be using it for video editing.

 

I will be receiving a 5520 as a replacement for a broken 5510, having a multitude of issues with the latter. How long did it take to receive your 5520 (for UK/EU based people)? Mine is currently "in production", so how much longer would it take?

 

So, in the case of a 7520 with a NVIDIA M2200, what is supported DisplayPort 1.2 / 1.3 / 1.4?