New Precision M2800 announced

I do not know why Dell is doing this, and feel they are devaluing the Precision brand. Before there were just two, the M4XX and M6XX etc. These two were highly customisable and everyone knew that when it came to serious mobile workstations they were among the best you can get.

Now they have the 3800 and the 2800. Why not just add more options to the XPS and Latitude lines rather than dilute the Precision brand name.

I would have been seriously considering buying the M6900 or M7000 but I am concerned Dell is spending too much time trying to attract larger numbers to this brand than to really push the boat with the top of the line.

I know some people will say, you do not need to buy them (or even read about them) if you are not interested, but like I say, why not just add more options to the XPS and Latitude lines rather than dilute what I regarded as la crème de la crème in professional mobile workstations.

It would be like Rolls-Royce or Bentley coming out with a hatch back under the same brand name.

 

You mean like Aston Martin selling a rebadged Toyota iQ?

From the Dell Precision 2800 Press Release,
“Prior to the Dell Precision M2800 many AutoCAD users were running their software on a non-professional workstation due to budgetary constraints,” said Amy Bunszel, vice president of AutoCAD products, Autodesk. “Now our customers will be able to upgrade to a workstation-class system that has been tested, optimized and certified for AutoCAD, increasing performance for minimal cost.”

“Many designers and engineers are not realizing the full potential of their professional software because they are using a business or consumer-class PC instead of a workstation,” said Andy Rhodes, executive director of Dell Precision workstations. “We are filling that gap by introducing a new mobile workstation at a price that lets more professionals and students maximize their software while on the go. This is the right tool to help more people design and deliver innovations faster – no matter where they are.”

I was hoping for a smaller 12" Precision...

 

I fall into this camp. I have a few users of AutoCAD and Solidworks who have E6540 and E6530 latitiude. They don't want a massive brick like the larger precisions, and they don't use the applications enough to justify the cost. This is a great product and I suspect quite a large niche.

 

I think this is a great idea. I had a Precision M20 back in the day. The M20 was the D610 with the dedicated graphics with a bios upgrade/change to be the Firepro something instead of the standard ATI graphics. For the relatively low power CAD I was doing at the time it was a great system. It was much lighter than the M70 (the 15" alternative), had much better graphics than the standard systems and the GPU had proper SW drivers.

Since this system is a Latitude model I don't think we should worry about build quality and the like. It will have things like a doc connector for those who want it. For people who want to have CAD on the go this and the far more expensive M3800 are Dell's best options. I have an M4400 which is lighter than the M4800. Nice system but not on the go portable, not like the M3800 and this new one will be. While I like the power of my M3800 I suspect, if my budget was $1k less, I would be happy using this new system.

 

Think again. While the 6530 was sterling, there are numerous reports of throttling and poor build quality on the 6540. Unless they have dramatically improved the cooling, a quad core CPU and a FirePro 4170M would probably exceed the thermal budget of the 6540½ alias Precision 2800.

 

I suspect they also sell a lot of them. Which car model has more total problems, the Lotus Esprit or the Honda Accord. Well the Accord. They sell so many that even a few problems will result in a lot of reports.

 

My vote for rebadged e6540 - thermal problems and all.

 

I'm going to partially correct myself. I thought this system was a 14" model, not 15. If it were based on a 14" chassis I would really like it as I think there is a reasonable need for CAD capable but light systems. Certainly many college engineering students would we well served by such computers. At 15" it's no longer the light system I thought it would be. Still decent enough and I do think the low cost CAD model is a good idea. However, low cost, low power and small might be a good fit while large negates one of the laptop advantages. Still, I bet that system is more powerful than my M4400.

 

It'll be fine for light to moderate cad work aimed at students and engineering firms purchasing multiple systems for day to day work of their designers. I bet its a fairly large market that doesn't need the always-on high performance of the 4800, or the glass and carbon fiber affair of the 3800. It's for those willing to sacrifice some things to save a few thousand dollars on a group order.

 

Since I ordered my M3800 in December I wasn't aware of this system. Had I been ordering about now and had it been coming out of my pocket or had my work budget been smaller this would have been high on my list. You don't need a SW certified machine to run the program but it really does make a difference at times. I recall seeing graphics errors with a Dell that used the same basic video card as my M20. The other one was using the gaming rather than CAD version of the same card.