M6800 Owners' Thread

No, the IPS panel requires a separate connector on the motherboard to bypass the Intel HD graphics in order to enable the 10bit capability necessary to run the screen.
This was discussed back in the 20's pages, if you want a more detailed response.

That is assuming the panel is truly IPS, which since they don't offer a part number I am not sure.

 

Hello,

I have a problem with my laptop, below are all details. Please if you have M 6800 with Windows 8.1 Pro
could you disable (Nvidia Optimus technology) in BIOS and then check if this problem exists or not on your laptop. Please write me about your results!

MY SETUP/ARRANGEMENT:
1) Dell Precision M6800 laptop (Intel HD 4600 graphics, Nvidia Quadro K3100M),
switchable graphics (Nvidia Optimus technology) is disabled in BIOS;
2) Windows 8.1 Pro x64, all firmwares, BIOS and drivers are the latest versions, all latest windows updates
are installed (I performed a clean OS installation, then installed all necessary drivers, then installed
all Windows updates, no additional software were installed);
3) I always use "Maximum Performance" power plan with the following settings in its section "screen":
-- turn off display (on battery: 10 min, plugged in: 15 min),
-- display brightness (on battery: 85%, plugged in: 85%),
-- dimmed display brightness (on battery: 85%, plugged in: 85%),
-- enable adaptive brightness (on battery: switched off, plugged in: switched off);
4) There is uniform dark grey background on the Windows desktop (this background might be any other
dark color, uniform or not, without any bright areas).

PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
Display brightness changes in spite of the adjusted settings in active power plan. The problem exists
in two cases only: (i) I work on battery; (ii) transition from battery to mains or vice versa. In case "i"
display brightness increases when a bright object appears on the uniform dark grey background of my Windows
desktop (for instance if you run notepad.exe and its mainly white window appears over the desktop) and
display brightness decreases when the above bright object disappears from the uniform dark grey background
of my Windows desktop (for instance if you close or reduce to the taskbar the notepad.exe window). In case
"ii" display brightness decreases when you pull a power connector/plug off the laptop and increases when
the connector/plug is plugged into the laptop again.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT THE PROBLEM:
This issue does not have a place if switchable graphics (Nvidia Optimus technology) is enabled in BIOS,
and the laptop screen is driven by, I assume, Intel HD 4600 graphics. As I utilize on my laptop
10-bit color depth workflow and correct color reproduction, it's much comfortable to work without
switchable graphics. I tried all latest video drivers, from both the laptop manufacturer web-site and
Nvidia web-site drivers including their latest beta-drivers, but the problem exists regardless of
the driver version installed. There isn't the problem under Windows 7 Pro x64.

 

Try this

Intel Graphics
Media Settings.
Power
Uncheck Display Power Saving Technology

 

Bought an M6800 back in December, and recently tried to upgrade the RAM to 4x8GB 1600MHz using two G.SKILL kits (model F3-1600C9D-16GRSL). Regardless of the combination of sticks used, the system would not boot (BIOS Revision A07).

I bought a 2x8GB Kingston kit with the same specs (model KHX16LS9P1K2/16) to replace it, since the stock RAM was made by Kingston. The system booted just fine.

For some reason Dell and G.SKILL RAM don't work well together. I don't even know how much trouble I'm going to have selling these things, since the problem may not be limited to Dell laptops.

In the mean time though, I'm going to buy another 2x8GB Kingston kit with the same specs. The problem is that the original Kingston kit is now discontinued, and it's been replaced with a new Kingston kit (model HX316LS9IBK2/16). The spec sheets are nearly equivalent, so I expect it'll work, but I'll report back if it doesn't.

 

I believe that Gskill ram not working has been documented before earlier in this thread.
Ram is still that one finicky thing that just doesn't always play nice.

 

Finally i've got my m6800. But....

Issue description - on reboot\powerup laptop just stuck on Dell logo. One sigle SSD installed in system Samsung 840 pro 512gb with latest firmware (laptop itself also have latest BIOS A07). Attempted to get in BIOS with no result - blue bar and yellow Preparing to enter setup....

removing SSD from laptop helps to enter the BIOS. I did so and put USB as boot device to be able to boot from USB. But again - installing SSD back caued Dell logo.

3 different SSDs was used Samsung 840 pro 512 and 256Gb and SK hynix 256gb (comes with laptop) with same result.

Next step - using Paragon Migrate tOD to SSD i made a copy of my bootable SSD from M4600. And m6800 was able to boot in my previous system. All the drivers was installed. System was stable for like 20 hours (office, intenet, som gaming). And then on a reboot i've got Dell logo again with no possibility to get into BIOS or boot menu.

Plus to all of that - Plextor 256M5M not detected in BIOS while connected to mSata slot.

Do you guys have any ideas on way forward?

PS All the SSD's working just fine with my M4600.

 

Small update - looks like issue was with W7 installation\migration. After 3 attempts on W7 intallation system working fine for 2 days.

But still Plextor 256M5M cause system to freeze at Dell logo.

digging deeper - firmware update for mSata from 1.04 to 1.05

 

Plextor firware updated - no results. Laptop still got stuck at Dell logo with no possibility to login to BIOS or Onetime boot menu....


Any ideas?

 

Is there any possibility that it is in the wrong slot?

mSATA uses the same connector as a PCIexpress slot but with different signals (though some interface chips can detect which kind of card is in the slot). (Mini PCI Express & mSATA)

The Dell Precision M6800 Workstation Owner's Manual / Removing and Installing Components / System Overview (pdf) shows the locations of the slots.

Another possible forum to try to ask for help diagnosing the problem is Dell Precision M6800 Laptop - Spiceworks which seems to be monitored by Dell.

 

Hey all

Just got me a used Precision M6800 and having some issues with it.
Seller mentioned he upgraded to bios a07 and after this, it performed rather sluggish.

I got it home and true enough, response time was 1-5 seconds and cpu usage was always 100%. Also the fans were running constantly.
Reinstalled the Win7 to factory didnt help anything.
Tried a numourous of things; removing ram, wifi card, ssds. Also downgraded the bios without luck.

After some googling, i read about disabling speed step in the bios. This helped instantly, but i feel the system is still a little sluggish. The fans still run all the time.
If i compare this model to the M6500 which i had before, i would say the M6500 was a more quiet laptop.

Anyone having issues like me ?

best regards