Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

Ah, that happened to me, too. Consider reinstalling the driver (make sure you head into Device Manager and remove the driver altogether first).

I've got the FIPS scanner, and even that's quite finicky.

 

Just got BIOS 1.5.2 from Windows Update. Don't see it on the Dell driver pages. They are still on 1.4.2. So no info what was changed or fixed. Hope nothing is broken

 

And also new Firmware for the TB18 dock.

 

Installed as well, so far no issues.

 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...e=dell-thunderbolt-dock-tb18dc&driverId=GCHJD

Fixes:
- N/A

Enhancements:
- Improves audio performance.
- Improves Thunderbolt Firmware support capability.


So... Doesn't appear to fix any of the known dock issues (power or USB stuttering). Going to install it right now anyway...

[Edit]
Unlike the previous dock firmware update, this one installed entirely in Windows and did not require a reboot.
There *is* an update for the ASMedia USB controller, so I suppose there is a chance that it addresses the USB issues...

(Despite the scroll bar, only two components shown here have an update.)

 

Thank you for doing this. I agree that the battery life is unacceptable considering the internals. My 7510 was able to get 8-9 hours on a charge, so it feels bad to take a large step down. Part of me wonders if this is a characteristic of the Coffee Lake chipset. It seems all laptops of this gen seem to have considerably worse battery life than Kaby Lake machines did, though that could just be my own personal perception of the reviews I've read/watched.

Either way, between the high idle power consumption, lackluster "premium" 1080p IPS panel, problematic thermals (entirely possible this is a symptom of my now unremovable heatsink), sound/DPC latency issues and Dell's inability to correct said issues in a reasonable timeframe, it's safe to say my faith in the Precision brand has been shaken. I've considered looking for a replacement but honestly I don't even know where I'd start. There's nothing out there with the performance, form factor and reliability I'm looking for. Why is it that I can build a desktop PC and expect it to run for 5-7 years+ no problem but laptops, which are obscenely more expensive for equal performance, so easily break down within 1-3 years? I just feel like I'm becoming cynical about a market I used to be so passionate about. I digress...

Fortunately, I can say that Dell's warranty support has been excellent. I just wish their quality control/engineering were up to par.

 

Just upgraded the firmware to 1.5.2 from 1.4 i9 8950HK 32Gigs of ram Quadro p5200

Fixes:
1. Fixed the incorrect Windows operating system logon message that is displayed when the Windows 10 secure sign-in feature is enabled.
2. Fixed the issue where the system does not resume from sleep after you undock it from either a Dell WD15 or Dell TB16 docking station with USB power share enabled.

Enhancements:
1. Enhanced the supportability for BIOS attribute management through Windows Management Instrumentation service.
2. Replaces Absolute Software service from Computrace to Absolute Persistence Module service.
3. Set the default setting of Discrete Graphics Controller Direct Output Mode to Disable.
4. Updated the embedded controller engine firmware.
5. Updated Thermal Algorithm that balances the power and acoustic level to improve the performance of the system.

Went from 14,488 and 14,455 (2 runs) Firestrike to 14,205 and 14,254 minimum drop maybe inside margin of error. So no improved performance.

 

BIOS updated.
For TB18DC firmware, Dell provides no way to update without windows... too bad.

 

It says that you can update from MS-DOS (!). Probably could find a way to get a DOS bootable USB drive for this sort of thing...
(Maybe FreeDOS would work?)

 

Any Windows install media provides a command prompt inside the "Repair" option.

• Start (or boot) your computer from the installation media. Insert the DVD or USB flash drive and restart your computer.
• If you see a message asking you to “Press any key to boot from DVD,” do so.
• When you see the Install Windows page, tap or click on Repair your computer to start the Windows Recovery Mode.
• In the Windows Recovery Environment, on the Choose an option screen, tap or click on Troubleshoot.
• Click on Advanced Options.
• Then on click on Command Prompt.
  
• Run the update executable.

No Windows license is required.