M6800 Owners' Thread

Not only color accuracy, but also vertical viewing angles are terrible with the M6800's FHD screen. I ordered an M6800 twice and returned both because of the screen.

I'm hoping Dell brings back the IPS screen option with the M6900.

 

Would any lvds cable based screen work? Are there any better ones out there one could purchase and swap themselves?

 

Not just any screen. It must be compatible with the M6800.

There are companies that sell replacement screens to swap yourself. I haven't done this myself, so I can't tell you if they are any better.

Some people have reported that the ones from AU Optronics (AUO) are better than the ones from LG Philips. The ones from Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) are generally reported to be worse.

Please note that you can't install an IPS screen in the M6800, because these require an eDP port (10 bit per primary color) and the M6800 only has LVDS (8 bit per primary color).

 

Unfortunately, no. I calibrated mine with a Spyder4 Elite puck and now the screen matches my IPS desktop monitor very well. If someone can tell me where Windows stores the calibration file maybe I can email you my icc profile and see if that works any better for you?

 

Okay, I got the icc file. PM me if you're interested and I'll email to you.

 

Hi,
I am new to the forum and investing in a laptop after many years. I am in the process of configuring and m6800. It will be used mostly for Autocad, Revit, Photoshop and 3D Studio Max.

Harddrives:
At first I was considering a 512 SSD for OS/Programs and 1 TB secondary drive for data, however, I am not sure I will ever load enough software to fill the 512. For almost the same price I could do 2, 256 SSD (1 mini card, 1 2.5") and 1 TB HD in third bay. Are there any issues with the mini card? Can I upgrade them easily down the line should I need more space?

Graphics Card:
Is the AMD FirePro M6100 w/2GB GDDR5 adequate?
Dell tried to sell me the Nvidia® Quadro® K4100M w/4GB GDDR5....is the Nvidia® Quadro® K3100M w/4GB GDDR5 a good compromise?

Processor: Will there be noticeable difference between these two, or should I spend the money elsewhere?
Intel® Core™ i7-4810MQ (Quad Core 2.80GHz, 3.80GHz Turbo, 6MB 47W, w/HD Graphics 4600)
Intel® Core™ i7-4910MQ (Quad Core 2.90GHz, 3.90GHz Turbo, 8MB 47W, w/HD Graphics

Other specs:
32GB (4x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3L
17.3" UltraSharp™ FHD(1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit
Windows 7 Pro.

I am also considering the M4800 similarly configured, but had some concern about the QHD screen, scaling issues and no support for Optimus. Any thoughts?

I look forward to reading the comments, thanks in advance.

 

Nvidia is better at the programs you posted, on the other hand when your not working you can play a game at decent IQ with the m6100, it's much like a 860m for gaming.

I got the same specs sans i7 4930mx. Its a good machine, that's why I recommend this line to anyone that's not a hardcore gamer. I don't know how people can stand consumer based laptops.

Don't worry about laptop screens, there are threads here with 100+ posts complaining of such things, when a screwdriver and 100 bux can get the best screen made, sillyness to the core.

I would buy a 256mb msata first and save the other drive bay for the future cheaper SSD or massive storage.

You will love it, back by 3 year NBD prosupport you will fall in love.

 

The AMD M6100M will be around the same speed as the Quadro K4100M. The K5100M is around 83% faster than both of them. If your software does not require CUDA processing, the AMD has much more bang for the buck. I am happy to see OpenCL gaining in popularity since it is supported by AMD and Nvidia. The only issue that you may have with the AMD card is the amount of RAM. If you are working with extremely large arrays in Autocad, you may want the 4GB of RAM that the K4100M has. I would personally avoid the K3100M.

The mSata SSD can be easily upgraded. Keep in mind that the Dell warranty on the whole machine may be longer than the warranty on a stand-alone drive. I have been mSata drives for a few years and have not had a problem with them.

The CPU question is tougher to answer. The M6800 does a really good job at keeping the CPU in the higher speed turbo modes, so you will get all of the performance that the chip has to offer. I would get the i7-4910MQ since it has more cache RAM and runs a little faster. The extra $200 will give you faster render times over the life of the machine. The i7-4940MX has an extra 10 watts of TDP which means that the CPU turbo modes will be able to maintain higher long term speeds.

 

Just curious about what you consider the 'best screen made' that is available for 100 bucks. Can you give a manufacturer and type number?

In my opinion, the best screens are IPS RGB LED (PremierColor), which you can't install in an M6800.

Until you see the terrible vertical viewing angle of the FHD screen...

 

I agree with Bokeh that the Core i7-4910MQ would be the better choice, mainly because of the extra L3 cache memory. In my opinion, the extra cost of the Core i7-4940MX does not weigh up against the performance difference of approx. 5%.