Precision 7550 & 7750 Owners' Thread

I just ordered a 7550 today and it is on 19-21 days delivery

 

Decided to stick with 7740 instead after comparing it to 7750. Migrating from a M6700 with 32 GB RAM to the 7740 with 128 GB ECC RAM and Xeon 2286-M. Here is my reasoning:
1) 7750 - harder to remove base cover - need to use plastic scribe to pop it open, that is prone to problems or breaking off compared to all the other dell precisions including 7740 that you just slide out on the bottom
2) No difference at all between the 14nm Xeon 2286-M vs Xeon 10885-M other than the small jump in max turbo from 5 GHZ to 5.3 GHZ
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...0885m-processor-16m-cache-up-to-5-30-ghz.html
vs
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...eon-e-2286m-processor-16m-cache-2-40-ghz.html
3) Pointing stick in 7740
4) 4 NVMe + option of 2.5 with smaller batter in 7740 vs 4 NVME in 7750
5) Same USB-C, USB 3.1/3.2 - note 7750 has it just renamed to USB 3.2 Gen 1
(USB 3.1 Gen 1 (formerly known as USB 3.0), which offers speeds up to 5 Gbps, will be rebranded into USB 3.2 Gen 1)
6) Carbon fiber option in 7740 looks great, didn't see that in 7750
7) Unknowns with new build, hinge quality etc., and availability of 7740 - arrived in just 5 days from order
Using it for AI, MSDN and other work, will be loading WIndows Server 2019

 

Sh|t. I almost pulled the trigger on 7550 with Xeon W-10885M, I thought i9 wasn't an option because of thermal concerns or something.
But having said that, I've just checked and i9-10980HK and Xeon W-10885M are almost identical, apart from Xeon supporting ECC RAM and some other trivial sh|t that almost nobody uses.
What would be the point if any of picking i9, can anyone enlighten me? Also if and when it becomes availabe, is it rolled out globally, or as usual USA gets it first and then the rest get it some day, maybe. I'm in UK if that changes anything.

 

There's really no reason to go with the i9. You won't be able to overclock. You also won't be able to undervolt with either CPU as that is unavailable with most 10th gen platforms. The Xeon if I recall is only $70 more than the 10885H.

In terms of rollout, I have no idea if Dell uses a staggered release or a global one. Maybe someone who lives in another region can enlighten us.

 

As nearly as I can tell, ECC memory and about $150. I would like to see some benchmarks and frame rates. Where are the chip reviews?

Homer

 

Saving a little money and that's it. In prior generations you could jump through some hoops to override the power limit with the Core i9 and that wasn't possible with the corresponding Xeon, which would help in power throttling situations; not sure if that is still the case with 10th gen. (I know that you can't undervolt any of the CPUs anymore...) Might not matter anyway as Dell has raised the power limits a bit for this generation. Otherwise, Xeon W-10885M will perform the same. It has ECC memory support but you can use it with regular non-ECC memory as well.

 

I would go with Xeon with ECC, ECC is a minor cost upgrade ($288 for 32GB ECC) and can help with long running systems like Windows Server that I am running on Precision.
See article
https://www.atlantic.net/hipaa-comp...tical-financial-medical-businesses/#gsc.tab=0
"Memory errors can cause security vulnerabilities, crashes, transcription errors, lost transactions, and corrupted or lost data.

The chances of a memory error occurring are estimated by experts to occur at rates of 2000–6000 per GB per year of uninterrupted operation. While desktop computers may not have noticeable memory errors very often, systems that operate for long periods of time, like data-centric servers, are at a greater risk. The risk also increases with larger amounts of memory and the age of the system. In a sensitive, high-demand work environment, all caution must be taken to prevent any likelihood of errors. The most common type of memory error is a single-bit error."

 

Is there a noticeable difference in cooling performance between 7550 and 7750? Obviously 7750 is a bigger slab of metal, but how much of an impact does that have, if any?

 

The difference between the 7540 and 7740 was quite large due to them having different heatsink designs. The 7740 had significantly larger vents all around, heatsink fin area, and larger fans.

The 7550 and 7750 continue this trend, but from the service manual photos, the vent size differences aren't as massive as they used to be. They both share the same heatsink design now, with the 7750 having a bit more heatsink fin surface area and slightly larger fans. The difference will likely be smaller than before.

 

Do we know which brand of RAM is used in these laptops?
If Dell uses some mediocre RAM, do you guys think it's better to buy it separately or is it not worth the hassle?