M4800 Owner's Thread

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M4800 service manual:
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_precision_mobile/precision-m4800-workstation_Owner%27s%20Manual_en-us.pdf

Memory-upgrade: page 21+22
SSD-upgrade: page 24
CPU-Repaste: page 34



For 32GB RAM I selected KHX16LS9P1K2 (Kingston Technology HyperX)
with faster latency timing for higher performance and speed.

4x 8 GB DDR3L (low voltage 1,35-1,50 Volt),
1600 MHz (JEDEC: PC3-12800S), SO-DIMM 204 Pin
CL9-9-9 @ 1.35V (Plug n Play, Non-ECC)
EAN-Codes: 7406172132946, 0740617213294 ASIN: B009W0ZFUY

Datasheet:
http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX16LS9P1K2_8.pdf

Reviews:
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Kingston Technology HyperX Plug n Play 16 GB Kit (2x8 GB) 1600MHz DDR3 PC3-12800 Non-ECC CL9 SODIMM 1.35V Notebook Memory KHX16LS9P1K2/16



For 1000GB SSD I selected MZ-7TE1T0BW: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 1TB, 2.5", SATA III 6Gb/s

read: 540MB/s • write: 520MB/s • IOPS 4k: 98k/90k • Cache: 1GB (LPDDR2) •
4.11Watt 0.32Watt (idle) • NAND-Typ: TLC Toggle (19nm) • MTBF: 1.5 Mio. hours • Controller: Samsung MEX (400MHz) • 12GB Turbo-Write-Buffer, incl. Clone-Software

EAN-Codes: 5054230388891, 5054063088319, 0013201037249, 8806085767584, 0013329044624 ASIN: B00E3W16OU

Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-EVO-Series-2-5-Inch-MZ-7TE1T0BW/product-reviews/B00E3W16OU/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1



For thermal compound I selected Coollaboratory Liquid PRO Thermal Interface Material
ASIN: B001PE5XAC

Reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Coollaboratory-Liquid-Thermal-Interface-Material/product-reviews/B001PE5XAC/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-19.html

Warning: Do not use this with Aluminium-heatsinks
- only copper on silicon!
Warning: Coollaboratory liquid pro is conducting

Beginners may use "Gelid Solutions GC Extreme" or "Arctic Silver V" (both non-cunduction, work with Aluminium and more easy in application).

IMHO the M4800 today is an ideal basis for a quiet notebook. With a good repaste even under some load the fan should be low or off (e.g. work with Dragon Natuallyspeaking).

 

I'm about to pull the trigger on buying a M4800 in the next 48 hours, but I'd like to know if there are any reviews of one with FHD screen? I've looked and all I can find are ones with QHD+ screen.

I guess I'll have to ask here, how good is the FHD screen? Do the earlier models, M4600 and M4700, use the same screen? I had a M4600 with FHD screen and that looked very good.

 

I am using pre-installed Win8.

 

The FHD panels fitted in M4800 are sadly rather budget screens—pros with a lot of cash are apparently expected to go QHD+.
Two of the usually supplied FHD LCDs have been reviewed by Notebookcheck.com in Latitude.
AUO B156HW02 did they review in E6540.
It’s a 60%-NTSC white-LED-backlit (somewhat bluish) TN LCD with only so-so viewing angles (not enough for corners not to fade at the usual distance). For me, it was an utter disappointment when I ran my M4800 for the first time, but I’m getting used to it. At least the contrast do I find okay. And my eyes will adjust to the slight tint. I have not yet tried to calibrate colors.
LG LP156WFC has been reviewed by Notebookcheck in E6530. It came out slightly better in review but there has been some complaints in this forum about its bluish tint too.
I don’t know of a review of Chimei Innolux N156HGE, except that one of the ‘locals’ here found it so bad that he replaced it DIY with a much better aftermarket RGB-backlit 95%-NTSC AUO B156HW01 V.4 (if I’m correct). That’s the kind of screen one would expect in a workstation.

 

To update, after using it for a while:

Fan noise: I believe the fan control is working correctly, as the fans sometimes do go down on their own. Temps might just be too high, perhaps heatsinks need to be re-seated and thermal paste reapplied.

Dock issue: Updated to Windows 8.1, and strangely now the dock works along with all USB ports.

Had to install video drivers, worked.

Got the start menu back.


New issues:

No Eyefinity options to be found anywhere in Catalyst control center. Using 2 additional native displayport monitors connected to dock. Changing screen order in windows settings wouldn't work right. I reordered the screens to match my physical setup, but then after a few seconds the settings would kick back. Kept trying and then everything went slow and then froze, lol. Had to do a hard reboot. Restarted, things work, but screen order still messed up. Was busy and decided to live with it for now, so I logged out of admin and into my user account, and. . . screens were magically ordered the way I wanted.

Need to get busy with work, so after installing SolidWorks the night before, I start using it today at work. The videocard performs well, nice and smooth. . . at least for a while. After a few minutes things, in SolidWorks get slow. Rotating the view, etc., is sluggish. Goes back to normal every once in a while, but 90% of the time its slow. Check GPU clocks and temps using GPUz, nothing out of the ordinary. Temp is fine, card doesn't seem to be throttling. Unless GPUz is lying.

Gonna try again when I get home using the other power adapter, to rule that out.

 

I have definitely not seen that sort of behavior from SolidWorks.

 

I've received my eBay refurbished m4800 today. Came with Win 8, I've updated to 8.1. Very confused for now! Big display problems on external monitor. (blurry or too sharp)
So just a quick question : is it possible to downgrade to Win 7 Pro 64 bits? How have I to proceed? I have to pay a Win7 product key and download the OS? I have to burn to a DVD or can I install it from my internal SSD or from an external HDD? Sorry I'm not a tech guy!
Thanks!

 

This may be a stupid suggestion, but could it be so that Enduro kicks in every while?
(You may disable it in BIOS to see if that makes any difference. Then you might re-enable it and try to find some custom options in the driver…
Also, there’s some “Dell Performance Optimizer”. I just read about it; have not tried it myself yet.)

 

sigh, should have pulled the trigger when I had the chance, saw a M4800 /w i7-4800MQ, FirePro M5100, FHD screen on Outlet for around £750, figured I'd wait a bit and look around, 30 mins later, decided I wanted that one, it's gone.

The next best alternative I can find on Outlet is M4700 with dual core i5-3340M, FirePro M4000 and FHD screen for £627, if it wasn't for the dual core CPU I probably would have gone for it.

 

Is it possible to define 2 different scaling level for 2 monitors? I have the m4800 which I want the scale to 125% and my external 24" monitor wich I want the scale to 100%. I have tried everything but the scale in the same in all displays!
Even when I disable the "Let me choose one scaling level for all my displays" I don't understand how can I set 2 different scaling. Help!!!!
PS : I have updated both Intel 4600 and Quadro K2100 to latest drivers version.


Another question : Do I have to install all drivers that are suggested in the Dell support service? There is 48 files to update! For example is it important to update to A07 bios? I have the A05 installed now!
Is it better to download latest driver from manufacturers website (that's what I've done for intel 4600 and Nvidia K2100) or take the files from Dell support service (the listed Nvidia K2100 driver is not the latest available in Dell support service)?