new Dell Precision 5510 (Twin of XPS15)

That's a good point

I spent some time testing out keyboards with dedicated Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys and keyboards with Fn+combo keys (where Home/PgUp/PgDn/End were the "Fn" variant on other keys). In the end, a lot of Home and End usage is combined with Ctrl or Ctrl and Shift both--and having to press three to four keys regularly (to wrap in the Fn key) really slowed things down. And for whatever reason I kept having to stop and think about which combo keys I had to press even though I knew where the Fn+ keys were.

Switching to one of the keyboards with dedicated Home/End keys (in any position near the right side of the keyboard), I was able to pick up the distinct key location in a few minutes and experienced no cognitive slowdowns after that, even with shift+ctrl combos. Other people may have different experiences, but for HTML coding and programming tasks and such, gaining dedicated Home/End/PgUp/PgDn keys are enough for me to want to switch computers.

Interesting, hadn't noticed that. They're the same as the Surface Book, I believe?

 

I think developers are in a unique situation, as the hardware requirements may not be what would be considered the norm, or even what a company would tout as high-performance, or something that can be shown with a graphics benchmark. For example, 32 or 64GB RAM with quad core processor and hyper threading but only on-chip graphics, and full keyboard. I know that every programmer looks fir these specs but not every workstation purchaser us a programmer. I too fail to understand the omission but truth be told it doesn't affect me as much. I would venture this be the case for most CAD/CAM pros, medical field, researchers, audio and video engineers, and even enthusiasts moving from the mainstream lines.

 

Yikes, the keyboard is a dealbreaker. No dedicated Pg Up/Down and Home/End keys? And small arrow keys?

This is a prime example of what they could have chosen to differentiate between the business use case 5510 and the personal use case XPS15.

There's always the Thinkpad Retro to hope for.

 

It's certainly not true for your typical researcher/research scientist. They have to produce text content, and are therefore bound to exhibit non-trivial usage of text processing software. Which requires a fully functional keyboard.

 

What other interesting things we should be aware of? Like maybe XPS 15 supports Windows 7.

 

Are you sure?

The official Technical Specifications do refer to a CM236 chipset. That kind of motherboard often does support ECC RAM.

However, Notebookcheck says: HM170 chipset.

 

I was hoping for XP/95 support so I could play Crusader No Remorse....

 

if you choose vpro during configuration you have cm236 if not you have HM170 , HM170 have no support for vpro

 

Thanks for you post

That's interesting. So if you choose the Intel vPro™ Technology’s Advanced Management Features then Dell will place a CM236 inside, instead of HM170.

How do you know this? Still, how do we know that motherboard supports ECC DIMMs for sure?

If i'm correct, to be able to enable ECC:
-the CPU should support it;
-there should be 72 bit (instead of 64 bit) busses between the DIMM slots and the CPU;
-of course, you should install an ECC DIMM.
In theory, any chipset can be soldered on a motherboard with ECC support, right?

 

same here. I love the machine generally but am really struggling with the keyboard. it's not quite as bad as typing on a Surface Ttouch Covver, but it's not as good as the Surface Type Covver.

Also, I keep getting double letters, even after replacing the keyboard in my original unit and also after replacing the entire unit.

It's so frustrating that I am considering the Thinkpad P50, though it is a pound heavier.