new Dell Precision 5510 (Twin of XPS15)

I think you're on to something. Dell must have sold tens of thousands of XPS 15s and Precision 5510s, there's not much voice to those who have no issues.

 

Dell is coming out with a new Latitude that's similar to the 5510, albeit with a carbon fiber shell. And I actually prefer the look. I'm hoping their high end model will feature such configuration. But yes I agree that memory is not what gobbles the Iris Pro graphics.

 

But the Quadro is double precision floating point, and GeForce limited to single precision. The Quadro can execute two single precision operations as one double precision operation as well. This graphics accuracy is not needed in games and mainstream apps, maybe even video editing. Plus you need software that takes advantage of the Quadro's features. More specifically if you are not running software on the ISV list, it probably does NOT make sense to get a Precision.

Performance of Quadro is not limited to graphics, some software takes advantage of OpenCL and double precision floating point for complex calculations.

 

the new Latitude is a core-m based 13" ultrabook. Its a glorified Officebook not a quad core Iris pro based professional machine

 

Still, Core m7 still a pretty capable chip, 3.1GHz max frequency and dual core with hyperthreading. For someone doing light programming and not running amore than a couple VMs it could suffice, and likely last all day doing so.

Really, unless all you run are single threaded apps there is no benefit right now to the Xeon except for a 200 MHz boost over Core i7-6820, and that benefit all but disappears when using multiple cores. Leaving ISV certification the only true benefit of getting the Precision over the XPS 15.

 

Surface i7 would be much better buy for light programming and vms than core m based latitude. for anything moderate or even remotely based on databases (sql server etc) Full voltage quads are the way to go

 

This is my biggest question with the precision. I do a lot of traveling with my laptop and I'm about to have to turn in my Latitude E6530 and am looking for a real workhorse both from a hardware and chassis/construction standpoint.

To be 100% honest a macbook pro is still a legit choice on my list. It checks all the right boxes and after using a MBP with parallels, I didn't feel like I was sacrificing anything from an OS standpoint. I'd just have to accept the fact that I can't do jack squat about what's under the hood and as someone who likes to tinker with stuff, it brings the XPS/Precision back into the fold.

I mainly just want something that's all metal. I'm tired of plastic laptops that flex and feel cheap but still have $1500+ price tags attached to them.

I setup a lenovo thinkpad for my wife to use at her office a couple years ago and despite a $1700 and change price tag, the thing is literally almost all plastic :/

Seems like my choices have come down to the MBP, Precision 7510 or the XPS 15.

I know the 7510 is going to be a bit bigger but the extra HDD capacity is nice but I'm curious how much plastic I'm going to find inside and overall, how sturdy or premium does it feel vs the XPS15 or MBP?

 

5510 is XPS 15...by all means other than a slightly modified Bios and a partially disabled 960M in form of Quado M1000M.
It looks premium, no doubt about that. It is durable(from the viewpoint that is not exactly a workstation) and that I can guarantee after seeing the whole laptop dismantled into pieces. And you won't find any plastic, the palm rest is made from carbon fiber which is different. The display border...that is slightly something which I think is made of plastic, but can be carbon fiber too.
Thinkpads are primarily made of glass fibers or something similar, so what you get is a flexible casing which can withstand rough usage. All metal construction represents another approach to durability, but not necessarily means a better laptop.
MBP is really outdated. Sure the Iris graphics can handle the workload on its own, but Haswell processors are old. Also the service which Dell provides is clearly better than what Apple might give (see all the recent issues with display coatings cropping up on RMBP).

Go with XPS 15 if you don't want to spend on ProSupport or you are not into Quadro. You will save enough money to buy one of the new Thunderbolt 3 docks, which I may say, are really good.

Edit: Extra HDD is not something which is unique with 5510. It is simply a trade-off between larger battery or additional storage capacity, and is available with XPS 15 too.

 

Thanks for the info.

So if I did go with the XPS15, is there any way possible to have the laptop closed to the side and drive 3 separate 1440p monitors?

I work with several screens and would like to have that setup using I assume a docking station but can't seem to find a way to drive 3 of them. Only 3 1080p screens.

 

You mean 5510, not 7510, right?