New M6500 Discussion Thread

Could you elaborate? I had much better luck with 4870/5870/M7820 under linux with the latest catalyst than with Nvidia cards and their latest drivers.
Also, Phoronix Lightsmark showed much better results for 4870 vs 280M running Ubuntu Lucid.
I know, ATI drivers for linux were far from perfect last few years, but dunno if it holds true still...

 

Maybe they've gotten better...I just know Nvidia always works for me....I remember putting Sabayon on an Acer Ferrari about three years ago and the ATI x700 worked OTB no problems back then...I've just heard of a lot of quirks with ATI...but, maybe that's old news, I don't know because I always buy Nvidia gpus, Intel wireless, HP Printers and Epson Scanners because of linux

 

Thanks YBcold. So far as I understand both i7820-QM and i7 920-XM have 4 physical (8 virtual cores) and support hyperthreading technology so should be pretty good at doing the job? If the difference between the two is a marginal increase in speed when the processor is maxed out, then I'm thinking it's better for me to economise and save the £400.

 

Or invest in an SSD

 

The problem with graphics drivers under Linux is the following:
Free ATI drivers are pretty good, but often not good enough for 3D tasks (especially for newer cards). Proprietary drivers work fine for the card, but you never know if they'll still work with the next X-Server version since ATI is pretty lazy to update.
The free NDIVIA nouveau driver is still experimental and not fit for most every day tasks. The main reason is, that there is no big technical reason for it since the proprietary NVIDIA driver works fine and gets regular updates if a new X-Server is released.
So the question is not "Does it work now?" but "Will it still work with the next release?". And this often means that NVIDIA is the better choice.

Correct. They only differ in frequency.

 

I'd love too, a luxury I can't afford...

 

Well guys, thanks very much for all your input, I think I'm going to lay this beast to rest now. I guess I should move any discussion to the M4500 thread as I think I'm gonna go that way. The 15.6in Full High Definition (1920 x 1080) White Led Antiglare LCD Panel is RGB and Adobe certified so that suits me down to the ground, everything else is a huge step up from my present rig. Only thing I must decide now is whether or not to pay for the 9 cell above the 6 cell battery - do you know if the 9 cell is heavier?

Once again thanks for all your input, you've helped my come to a decision on this I feel comfortable with!

My final config (pending talking to the sales rep) will be:

Base Precision M4500 : Standard Base
Microsoft Operating System English Genuine Windows® 7 Professional (64Bit OS) Recovery DVD included
Memory 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel (2x4GB)
Keyboard Internal UK/Irish (Qwerty) Keyboard
Video Card 1 GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M (with 1GB dedicated memory) 45W
Hard Drive 500GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Modem Worldwide Internal 56.6K V.92
Optical Devices 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with Roxio and Power DVD Software Included
Wireless Networking EMEA Intel® Pro Wireless 6200 (802.11 a/g/Draft-n 2x2) Mini Card
Shipping Documents English Shipping Docs
Gedis Bundle Reference W08M4501
Standard Warranty 3Yr Basic Warranty – Next Business Day
Enhanced Service Packs 5Yr Basic Warranty - Next Business Day
PalmRest No Security Included
Bluetooth Dell™ Wireless 375 Bluetooth
Primary Battery Battery : Primary 6-cell 60W/HR
Carrying Cases Dicota Challenge Backpack - Brown - compatible with up to 16in notebooks
Processor One Intel® Core™ i7-820QM(1.73GHz,8MB,Quad Core,45W) operates at 1333MHz
Windows Live Windows Live
Dell System Media Kit Mobile Precision M4500 Diagnostics and Drivers
Camera Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Camera with Microphone
Color Choice White Led Silver LCD Back Cover
Image Restore Dell Backup and Recovery Manager for Windows® 7
Labels Intel™ Core Label I7
LCD 15.6in Full High Definition (1920 x 1080) White Led Antiglare LCD Panel
Microsoft Application Software Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 ( Excel Starter 2010, Word Starter 2010)
Protect your new PC English Trend Micro™ Internet Security(15 month subscription) Antivirus Software
Power Supply Worldwide 130W AC Adapter with UK/Irish Power Cord

This comes to £2,535.64 inc VAT
I should be able to get a 10% discount which means I end up paying £2282.08 ($3,638.38)

 

rcruk,
Not sure who gave you the information on the FHD panel on the M4500 but they were wrong. The FHD panel on the M4500 is NOT RGB LED. It is a WLED panel.

 

On the Dell website for the M4500 features tab it says "The M4500 is the only 15.6" mobile workstation with a sequential RGB display that provides daylight viewability"..."See your work in crisp, true-to-life detail with 15.6" (40cm) high-resolution displays including the 100% adobe(r) color gamut" I had read somewhere that someone wondered why Dell didn't make more of this so I searched for some evidence of it. Is it not true?

 

Sorry but that is not true. I'll have that information removed. Can you send me the link to where you found it?