New M6500 Discussion Thread

We're talking $5.3k for the Covet, $3.1k for the Silver.

Hey, we get beer from all over the world here, and I've tried your stuff and you don't have a leg to stand on!.. although saying that, that's probably the effect you're hoping to get from it anyhow.

It's a tough, tough decision.

I realise what you're saying about portability. It may be a pain to cart the big guy round with me, not much battery life and such, but then what I don't want to do, is pay out what is still quite a lot and think, I shouldn't have held back, I should have paid the extra because it's worth it!

What I'm really hoping for, is a laptop that means I don't need a desktop - maybe I can add a tabletop monitor but that's just about it. I'd like it to be able to rotate Revit models smoothly with shadows and render at a reasonable rate. I'm a little worried that the smaller screen will be a strain on the eyes, I'm not used to laptops, I'm used to a 19" widescreen monitor, even then I could do with running two side by side.

I'm studying for the next two years so I will be in and out of the studio's and after that I could be heading anywhere, so I'd like to know I can keep my work with me even when travelling lite. What you say makes absolute sense and another part of me says: save the $2.2k, imagine what else that might buy me and the M4500 is a pretty good laptop anyhow!

If I went for the M4500 is it worth £220 ($350) to go from the 1 GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M to the 1 GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M?

 

Then, did you think about getting two devices? One powerful workstation like the M6500 or even a desktop and something light and powersaving like a subnotebook or netbook?
Three years ago I was in a similar situation like you. I needed a new computer for everything. So I bought a powerful subnotebook (12" display, Core2Duo, 3GB RAM) and it was fine. But then the netbooks came up and when I had one on my own the subnotebook almost never left my desk again. I just didn't need its computing power during travel, and the netbook was clearly superior in power consumption and weight. This was when I started to think about alternatives for the stationary part of my subnotebook which finally ended up in buying my M6500.

The M6500 might give you that, but also the M4500 might do. It depends on the things that are limited in a laptop: CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD. Both might be high end laptops, but you'll get desktop computers that easily leave both behind for only a fraction of the price.

Keep in mind that you'll be closer to the laptop screen, than you are to your monitor. So the 17" of the M6500 might seem like 19" while the 15" of the M4500 might seem like 17". You can add an aditional monitor or even two if you deactivate the laptop screen and VGA is ok or if you get a docking station.

In your case I guess it does, but I'm neither an expert for graphics cards nor for 3D modelling (any more).

 

I have a desktop that runs my software okay, not amazing, but not as high spec as the M4500 in question. Beyond running CAD and CS5 smoothly (and with good onscreen colour matching) what I really need is flexibility, because of space constraints at home (new baby moving into what was the spare room) the ability to move around the house, being in university for studio work, crits and meeting clients.

Because I can't update the desktop I also want my laptop to exceed my desktops specs and also to be good enough to justify a 5 year extended warranty. In other words I'd like it to last until we're somewhere with more space and I have the available cash to buy a really nice desktop.

I read in another forum that the 15.6" screen is actually RGB, but that Dell don't mention this... if that is the truth then it might tip the scales towards the Silver. The one thing deterring me from the M6500 is the Truelife glass panel, I'm not keen on the glossy screens.

The M6500 sounds like what I want, I mean it far exceeds my desktop and has room to be upgraded even more, but I'm not sure it's what I need, and $1.8k would make next semester a little easier to get through.

 

I'm not sure if I get you right. The M6500 always comes with a 17" screen. And you can have the RGBLED display and afaik USB 3 in the silver case too. Just order via telephone. So there is no need to chose one or the other. All you have to accept is that you won't get that stylish orange paint. Frankly, I'm fine without it. And you'll automatically get the matte display without a glas in front of it.

 

Yeah I love my m6400 Covet but am curious as to how the base m6500 that arrives today will compare side by side. Pretty similar I'd go silver if I were you. Also I'd get highest CPU you can; its easier/cheaper to upgrade storage & memory in the future.

 

I mean, the M6500 seems to only have the option of a glossy 17" screen which I don't really want, though I think the screen underneath the glass sounds awesome. If I can have the RGBLED with USB 3 on the 15.6" M4500 I'm beginning to think I'm going that way... it's a better price for me too, which is a big bonus!

Can I justify an extra £400 ($640)to upgrade to a One Intel® Core™ i7-920XM(2.00GHz,8MB,Quad Core Extreme,45W) Memory runs at 1333MHz from the One Intel® Core™ i7-820QM(1.73GHz,8MB,Quad Core,45W) operates at 1333MHz which looks pretty good anyhow? Would it make that much difference???

 

Well I am not real familiar with how resource-greedy CAD stuff is; the 3D stuff I do will eat up all the CPU (and RAM) you can give it with 2 spoons, and there is a noticeable difference when I hit the Render button. I guess only you can tell how demanding you are about performance.. but being a student and talking about a later super nice desktop, yeah you may be right about sticking with the 820. Then again you mentioned a 5yr warranty and hey, the better the CPU the longer the lifespan in a way.

 

No, the M6500 will always have a matte screen, no matter which option you chose. But if you go for the covet, you'll get this glass in front of it, which will give you some effects of a glossy display. If you take the silver case, you won't get the glass but a simple matte display.

I don't know if you can justify this difference. I couldn't. It was a pretty tough decision for me to spend the extra 130€ for the 820QM over the 720QM. I did it since I don't have to care for those 130€, but I cared for the extra 450€ for the 920QM. The increased QPI will only give you an advantage if the CPU is waiting for the memory. I don't know enough about current 3D modeling software to judge if this will be the case for you. I only knew that this is nothing I'd have to bother with, since my bottleneck would be the HDDs anyway. This is why I only went for the 1066MHz modules.
To put it this way: No matter how tough the work is that you put on the CPU, the most time it will be idling and waiting for your inputs anyway. So the question you have to ask yourself is: Are you willing to spend £400 for a 15% increase in performance that you'll only notice under maximum load?

 

Ahhh, I see, found it... So now the comparison is the afore mentioned M4500 against the Silver base M6500 which seems much more appropriate: a 17in Widescreen WUXGA (1920x1200) Antiglare Silver with RGB Led LCD Panel, the 1GB nVIDIA FX2800M above the FX1800M (main difference seems to be the 96 vs 72 CUDA cores) + USB 3 which I guess is good?... same processor etc. This would cost an extra £800 ($1275)...hmm, as I understand the M6500 could also be expanded more in the future, for a start, with another 8gb of RAM. Now I'm stuck again... I was almost settled on the M4500!!! The smaller one would be lighter, and £800 is a big chunk of cash!.. but this whole thing started when I was going to buy a 17in macbook pro and looked around for a windows machine that had better specs... saying all this I could get a Dell UltraSharp 27" (69 cm) U2711 Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor with PremierColor a little later on for £800.

No, I think you made some good points there and I'm thinking much the same.

 

Looks good and I use all of the same software and I would say you definitely need to upgrade to the higher processor. Especially if you are going to upgrade to Revit 2011 since it supports hyper threading. I'm definitely seeing some fast rendering especially with 3dsmax.

Just my input though, best of luck!