M4800 Owner's Thread

How out of sync are Dell's order-tracking status updates? According to my order status...

Status: shipped
Estimated Delivery Date: 10/31

... but then, directly below it...

Tracking Number: waiting on carrier's information
Shipped on: 10/31/2013

Based on this, should I abandon all hope of playing with my new toy tonight, or is Dell's order tracking kind of like USPS Priority Mail's, where they'll show a package as being 'in transit' until a week or two after its delivery, then retroactively update it to say it was delivered on some date in the past?

Update: adding to the confusion, I just got an email saying that my order has shipped... with today's date as the estimated delivery date. Grrr... I know that as a matter of practical logistics, either the shipping notification is late, or the delivery date is a fantasy, but not knowing is killing me right now. Sigh. I swear the people who design these workflows have no idea that people buy laptops, then spend their day sitting on the curb eagerly watching for the FedEx truck, ready to jump in front and make him stop if he doesn't see the house number & might drive by without stopping ;-)

Update 2: OK, it's official. It shipped this morning, the estimated delivery date chaged to 11/1, the tracking number finally appeared, and it's scheduled for delivery by FedEx tomorrow afternoon.

 

If it really shipped today, you probably won't receive it today.
Within 24 hours of it being marked "shipped," the tracking number should be available. At that point it's better to check the carrier's website for details on where your package is and when it will arrive.

 

Estimated Delivery Date: 11/15/2013

 

I posted this in the M6800 news thread before we had this thread.

But... have you guys noticed that on the specs the M4800 is supposed to be thicker and heavier than the M4700, Anyone who has handled both, do you notice it?


According to the technical manual, the Precision M4800 is thicker and heavier than the M4700, can someone confirm this? I guess it would make sense since you can get it with the IGZO monitor.

Height (M4700): 32.7mm - 36.8mm
Height (M4800): 36.25mm - 39.9mm

Weight (M4700): 6.15lbs with 6cell
Weight (M4800): 6.35lbs with 6 cell


4mm thicker seems like it would noticeable to me. Can anyone comment on this? Someone who might've handled both generations?

I'm on the fence between the M4800 and M4700... pro's and con's... since I'm in the U.S. I don't have much config choices for the M4800, so I'd probably get the cheapest one with the IGZO, K2100m, and the M4800Q(which I'm quite unimpressed with, in all reality it's about equal or even slightly inferior to the 3740qm, while showing little to no battery life improvement..).

 

This is actually the first Precision laptop I have ever seen in person or used in my life (currently my colleagues, mine is still shipping). We are coming from a lab full of Mac Pros and MacBook Pros (or Elitebooks for a few).

For the weight, I really don't think you will notice it just because of how heavy it is already. Dell specs are with the lowest weight possible (6 cell battery, air bay, no HD, mSATA only, etc.). With the weight of all the components people actually need to use added on we are looking more at probably 6.8 pounds. That is more than the 17" MBP (my last lab-provided computer). So no, I don't think this weight is something you should be worried about between the two.

I'm not expecting a performance improvement processor wise over Ivy Bridge, so I expect to be pleased with the performance of this system. Overall I still suggest you look at the M4800 (I bought the same config as the one you are looking at). Screen is better, temperatures (check the NBC review) are IMMENSELY better, graphics are improved, you have more USB 3.0, and it really isn't that much more expensive. If you want more config options just give them a call, you don't need Premier status or anything to get options, but my online price was much better.

The only thing I am truly disappointed about is the situation with Optimus. No one knows if it has it. And since you wondered about size/weight, I assume you are probably going to carry it around, so battery life may be important. With no Optimus, battery life will be abysmal. The response I get from the tier 2 hardware team (who don't know either) will decide whether I even open my box or directly return it and buy a W540, as I will probably be replacing my cMBP with this for everyday use.

 

If screen resolution matters, then the M4800 wins hands down. That's one of the selling points for me over the M4700.

Also, processor wise, I do agree it sucks that the 4900MQ isn't at least available on the $1989 configuration. However, processor speed wise, the 4800MQ is faster than the 3740QM and should also be a tiny bit faster than the 3820QM. It should have almost 3840QM power. Single-threaded the 4800MQ is even a tiny bit faster than the 3940XM, stock for stock of course.

 

Just wanted to say thanks to you guys for the advice on spec'ing out an m4800. I found lots of good advice on a few other threads here as well.

After weeks of research, I ended up pulling the trigger on a new m4800 today. I am coming off of an almost 4 year stint with a 17" Macbook Pro - and I almost bought one of the new 15" retinas - until I saw the m4800! It was a close call between this and an Alienware 17. Loved the specs on the AW17 (including HDMI in and a 3d display), but the thing just looked too big, especially for my Midwest --> California business trips.

I logged into the Dell member site today using my company's employee member code. The m4800 was discounted by 30%, and I found another 20% off coupon by digging around online.

Original sticker price was $3,500, but I got it down to $1,983 after the discounts, $2,122 after tax with free 3-5 day shipping. Not bad for the following:

Precision m4800
Windows 7 Pro x64
15.6" QHD+ 3200x1800
Intel Core i7-4900MQ (Quad, 2.8 GHz)
9 cell battery
8X DVD+/-RW
256GB SSD SATA primary HDD
Dell 1601 802.11n WiGig
16GB 1600MHz RAM
Nvidia Quadro k2100m 2GB video

Should have it no later than November 18th.

I plan to put in an additional 500GB Samsung SSD in the extra HDD slot, as well as upgrade to 32GB Ram down the line.

I do a lot of Maya/Max animation, and Adobe CS6/CC video editing and compositing. This machine should work out well.

 

I got some more updates from Dell about the situation with Optimus. After checking with a "Resolution Specialist," it was found that there was an open ticket in engineering regarding the issue and they are working on a fix. No ETA is available. May require a motherboard replacement after it becomes available (not sure if just a generic statement or not as I thought it would just be a BIOS update).

Right now I am just worried about whether the fix will come within my return window. Considering that battery life and Enduro/Optimus are in big text on their product information page, this seems like a major oversight. I would say right now if battery life and Optimus are important to you I do not recommend buying the M4800 until this is resolved (if it does get resolved).

 

Awesome price! Mind sharing what you mean by "using company's employee member code"? I too, have a member contract and Premier account, though I don't see the M4800. Did you log on through Dell's site... again, I'm trying to use my own company's, not yours of course, but was wondering how you logged on/the process to get such an amazing deal!

 

So I just got my m4800 in the other day. I see everyone went Nvidia, but I went with the proprietary FirePro 5100, and the thing is absolutely blazing. All I've had time to benchmark is a game called Dota 2, but it averages 80fps doing that 1080p maxed out, and compared to other notebook cards that's blazing. Curious if anyone else got the FirePro 5100, and what their experience is.