Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

As a prospective owner of 7530, I would like to ask if a model without dGPU will be able to drive two 2560x1440 monitors (one through straight HDMI cable the other through mDP -> HDMI cable)?
What about connecting TB18DC, would a 7530 without dGPU be able to drive those monitors if connected through a dock?

Is the TB18DC dock usabe on Ubuntu Linux (either Dell provided 16.04 or vanillia 18.04)?

 

I can confirm that on Windows, the Intel GPU by itself can drive two external 4K monitors (plus a 4K monitor in the system) — plenty of bandwidth. I've done this with the TB18DC dock, and also with two DisplayPort connections (mDP and USB-C connections on the system). So, it should be fine for 2x 1440p. I can't confirm the HDMI bandwidth... The Intel GPU might be limited to HDMI 1.4?

 

The specs say it is Linux-compatible. Salesperson says there are issues.
I ordered one anyway. I'll let you know how it goes, but probably not before the end of november...

 

Interesting. I didn´t know anything about anti-ghosting. In the end I disabled the C-States as suggested and now keyboard works fine.

 

I think I discovered something that will be very helpful for fellow owners regarding the fans...

I did some side-by-side testing plugging external 4k monitor into TB3 and mDP and comparing to running the laptop display eDP as reference. At this point I didn't play around with the PCI Express Link State Power Management options and it was set to Off or Moderate Power Savings (which give the same results below).

Running mDP external or eDP laptop the Intel PCH temperature is actually steady around 77 - 81 deg C and fans will hang out at 2800 RPM:



When I switch to TB3 connected to the display, PCH temperature goes up and stays at 90 - 92 deg C and fans increase to 3200 RPM:



Now that 400 RPM difference doesn't sound (pun intended) like much, but its audibly very significant to me, the fans kick up to another level and become way too loud for a laptop that is doing nothing. I've commented before 2800 RPM is tolerable but I still think it's too much for a laptop at idle so after reviewing all the temperature sensors it's clear when the laptop is idle Intel PCH temperature is the main driver of fan speeds and cooling on the Dell 7530 (and likely 7730) if you have not applied ASPM power savings.

I then started playing with the PCI Express Link State Power Management options and as mentioned Moderate Power Savings didn't have any improvement compared to Off. But when you set Maximum Power Savings then voila PCH temperatures drop accordingly and fans completely turn off, which is the way it should be on an idle laptop.

eDP laptop and mDP external:



TB3 external:

 

Are these PCI Express Link State Power Management options in BIOS or in Windows?

 

Windows... under the Advanced power settings for your power plan you will see there how to set it.

 

@kittenlips
Definitely going to play with LSPM. Thanks for the tip.

 

Ok, I checked and I already had LSPM set to maximum power savings. Maybe that's why I've been fine with the fan behavior while other users have been complaining.

I'll also mention that I've put the Windows "power mode" slider all the way to the left ("best battery life") — second to left when actually on battery power. This seems to help the CPU stay at low clock speeds when there isn't much going on but I haven't observed any issues with it jumping to high speed when it is actually busy.

 

You should be able to do so. On my 7530, with settings in BIOS and Windows power plan advanced options to not waste battery, HWiNFO shows as low as -9W power draw, and I have the UHD panel and three Samsung Pro NVMe SSDs installed. If you have any questions about my settings I'll be happy to answer.