Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

I wrote back with a "formal letter of complaint", pointing to a few different places where single-cable docking is clearly an advertised capability of this dock. I got another reply:

Ok, well at least there is some action happening, or so it seems. We'll see...

 

Wow, thanks for posting these experiences with 7730 and 7530 TB18D issues.
These kind of issues are the only thing that's keeping me from going full on with a 7730 instead of a 7720.
I'm willing to loose my e-Port replicator docking solution if the TB docking worked perfectly.

BTW - Dell supposedly "confirmed" that the 18,000mAh Power Companion will work with the 7520/7530 and 7720/7730, though it likely won't simultaneously charge the battery and run the computer at the same time and will likely throttle things down a bit (which in my case is OK). Essentially this is what happens on my M6700 when I plug in the 130W power supply from another Dell - it complains, but keeps working at a decent performance level.

 

It's great to know 18,000mAh Power Companion will work with the 7520/7530 and 7720/7730.

 

Well, I said "confirmed" . . . . we'll see.
I have one of these included in my 7720 quote from Dell

 

Will it be compatible for 5530?

 

It's shown on the Dell website to be compatible with the Precision 5520, to which the Dell guys said that is should be for the 5530. In my case they said they'd give me my $$ back if it didn't work with a 7720 (or 7730).
I would call them first and get a second opinion.

 

Hi
I need to add extra storage, currently have 256GB NVMe
would either of these 2 work without needing to buy any extra fittings etc?

Crucial MX500 CT1000MX500SSD4 1 TB Internal SSD (3D NAND, SATA, M.2 Type 2280SS)
Samsung 970 EVO 1 TB V-NAND M.2 PCI Express Solid State Drive

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0784...olid=3OXPA0O0Q5NWK&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0784SY...olid=3OXPA0O0Q5NWK&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

cheers!

Spoiler: specs

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version 10.0.17134 Build 17134
System Model Precision 7530
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz, 2208 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. 1.1.7, 25/05/2018
SMBIOS Version 3.1
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
NVIDIA Quadro P1000

 

Yes, both will work. I use two 970 EVOs without problems, but as others reported m.2 slots support both NVMe and SATA modes.

 

For anyone looking for an experience without a lot of throttling, I am happy with the 7730 in the configuration I selected to get good performance without crazy TDP parts. With the i7-8750H and Radeon WX4150, I can max out all cores with prime95 small FFTs, load up the radeon with cinebench (with 2 4k displays attached) , and all cores still run at higher than base clock (base is 2.2, cores fully loaded run around 2.8). The fan gets loud in the sense that there is a lot of air movement, but it has less of the high pitched "hair dryer" whine that both my previous 2014 macbook pro and Lenovo W540 had. It also ramps down in speed very quickly. Cold booting Windows 10, logging in and loading up my base handful of productivity apps results in little to no fan activity. There is a surprising improvement in overall responsiveness coming from my 3rd and 4th gen i7 systems.

Things I am not as happy about:
Getting to the machine's internals requires removal of four tiny screws into plastic, a very fragile, thin battery ribbon cable connector, and averting one's eyes from an embarrassing grammar error printed on the battery itself.

 

The downward firing speakers are nicer if you work in a configuration with external monitors/keyboard/mouse and the laptop closed on a desk. Speakers that fire up against the lid while closed muffle the sound and make speakers in meetings harder to hear.