Precision 7550 & 7750 Owners' Thread

Yes, any time you swap the heatsink you should clean+remove the old thermal paste and apply new paste. (This goes for basically any build, not just this specific laptop model.)
Removing the heatsink does not void the warranty. If you swap out parts then Dell can require you to restore the system to its original configuration before performing service. If you *break* something while performing service, that is not covered under warranty unless you have accidental damage protection.

I don't think that you need to remove the heatsink to clean it. I just remove the system bottom panel and then blow everything out with compressed air.

 

On older models the fan was removable from heatsink.
The thermal paste can be of any kind (except mayonnaise)? should i complicate myself with top notch "best of the best" paste?
I will try compressed air first.

The thing is: The dust and organic particles clutter between the fan exhaust and the radiator fins and it makes some sort of blanket there. I will see how compressed air can handle that especially with those new metallic fans.

Thanks

 

I suggest you just find a well-liked but cheap and easy to apply paste. I've been happy with Arctic MX-4.

 

Hello!

Is the heat sink for the 7750 safe for liquid metal use?
I've got some Conductonaut LM and Kryonaut Extreme on hand and I'm tempted to try LM!

I get frequent throttling while compiling C++ code.

My CPU is i7-10875H, has anyone managed to undervolt this?

 

7750 doesn't support undervolting (thank you, plundervolt). The BIOS is pretty strict, I haven't heard of anyone getting around it.
Throttling is expected, the time is gone when laptop CPUs can run at max turbo speed indefinitely. Whether or not a thermal paste swap will help depends on if you are hitting a thermal limit or a power limit.

 

So, I replaced the thermal paste with Kryonaut Extreme and I'm pretty happy so far.
(I was a bit too nervous to experiment with liquid metal)
No thermal throttling seen with HWInfo when building my code or when running Cinebench R23.

The screenshot above is my latest score. Bright orange is with SpeedStep off, the dark orange is with it on. I may turn it back on regardless.

Has anyone played with Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility? It only allows me to configure Turbo Boost Power Max. The Ratio/Voltage Tuning (Package/Per-Core) mode seems configurable but I don't think it actually has any effect. I think I read somewhere that this tool can be dangerous though?

(Apologies for the massive screenshot)

 

As @Aaron44126 has mentioned above, you cannot change the voltage on Intel 10th-gen and later CPUs because of CVE-2019-11157, aka 'Plundervolt', which has since seen a hardware/microcode patch. No dice.

 

Hi. It has been a while since I posted in the forum. I currently use a 7710 so familiar with the precision line (also had M6500, M6700 and some others).

I am getting my son a computer for college (engineering) and looking at the 7550. One of the school recommended systems is the 7550. He uses Autodesk Inventor now and also wants to use it for programming and gaming.

I am looking at the following:

1. Intel Core i9-10885H (8 Core, 16MB Cache, 2.40 GHz to 5.30 GHz, 45W,vPro)
2. NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 w/16GB GDDR6
3. 15.6" UHD HDR400, 3840x2160, 60Hz, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 100% Adobe, 500 Nits, WVA,IRCamMic/WLAN
4. 64GB, 2X32GB,DDR4 2933Mhz Non-ECC Memory
5. M.2 2280, 2TB, Gen 4 PCIe x4 NVMe, SSD
6. No RAID
7. No Additional Hard Drives
8. Palm Rest – No Security.
9. Intel VPro Technology Disabled.
10. Windows Pro (not the workstation one)

I have some questions:

1. On the SSD, I am debating on the 1TB or the 2TB. His current desktop (old XPS) he uses a 1TB drive and always deleting games! One option is go with the 1TB Class 50 and get a second drive later (Samsung). Is there a performance difference between the 1TB Class 50 and the 2TB 2280? I also see an option for a 1TB Class 40.
2. On the memory, the price for 64GB 2x32 and the 4x16 is the same. Is there any reason not to go with the 2x32 so we can easily add more later?
3. What is VPro technology? I read it is for system management and I do not think he needs this. Is this just a setting in the bios?
4. Any reason to go with the Windows for Workstation opposed to just the regular pro?
5. What are the current Docking Options? Is the WD19TBS the current dock to get?

Any other comments are appreciated.

thanks,

Mike

 

Quadro RTX 5000 is only worth the cost if you are going to make use of the extra vRAM. 3D performance is in line with the RTX 4000. (This is because even though the RTX 5000 has better specs, both cards share the same 90W power limit, and the power limit ends up being the determining factor for performance here since the GPU chips are lifted off of desktop cards that would like to run at 150W+.) Also note that the Precision 7750 has a 110W power limit for both of those GPUs. Even though they are named the same, the performance is different between the two systems.

If you can stand to wait a little bit, we are expecting Precision 7560/7760 systems to launch in perhaps June or July. These will feature NVIDIA Ampere GPUs (perhaps doubling the performance of the RTX 5000 at the high end) and Intel Tiger Lake CPUs (Intel's best CPU upgrade in quite a few generations, in terms of both performance uplift and power efficiency). I discuss the new NVIDIA GPUs in the Precision 7X60 pre-release thread. It looks like NVIDIA is ready to break their long-standing power limits for these GPUs, but we have yet to see what power limits Dell will set.

Regarding your questions:
1. If you're a bit tech-savvy, I'd suggest ordering the system with the base/cheapest SSD configuration and then going out and buying a Samsung 980 Pro 2TB. This is a first-class SSD; you'll save money and end up with more space to boot. You can use the Samsung 980 Pro as the system drive (Samsung provides cloning software, downloadable from their web site) and then use the original SSD as secondary storage, or move it to another system (like your own 7710!). Dell's premium on SSDs is a bit ridiculous. If you want to go crazy then you could look at adding a Sabrent Rocket Q for more secondary storage. It is available in capacities up to 8 TB (for around the same price that Dell charges for their 2 TB SSD).
2. Go for 2×32 so you can add more memory later, if you want.
3. vPro is something that you'd use in a business setting for system management. For a personal system, you can ignore it.
4. NO. "Pro for Workstations" is a cash grab from Microsoft in this case. It does have some extra features, but aside from the ReFS file system (which I would not recommend that you use), the Precision laptop does not have the hardware to make use of them. (As part of their OEM agreement, Microsoft requires that systems purchased with a workstation CPU come with Pro for Workstations, so if you try to configure the system with a Xeon CPU then you will be forced to upgrade. It makes a bit more sense with desktop workstations which actually do have the hardware to use some of the PFW features.) Another note is you can save yourself some money by ordering the system with Ubuntu Linux and then install Windows yourself... again if you feel that you are "tech-savvy" enough to do it on your own. Most colleges and many high schools even will give you licenses for Windows 10 Education, either for free or at a very small cost ($5-$15). In the U.S. you can check for eligibility for your school at OnTheHub.
(Even if you order the system with Windows 10 Pro, if the Education edition is available to you, I'd suggest that you upgrade to it. Education and Enterprise versions get longer support so you have more flexibility with regards to when you install the Windows 10 feature upgrades.)
5. You would want to get the WD19DC if you do not want to also have to plug a power cable into the system along with the dock cable. The downside to this dock is that it gobbles both of the USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, and the dock itself does not have a Thunderbolt port on it. The WD19TB does have a Thunderbolt port on the dock, but it can't power the laptop by itself so you'll also be plugging in the regular laptop power cable in that configuration. (The "S" versions of these docks are "simplified" versions that lack 3.5mm audio ports.)

 

thanks. I thought of waiting for the 7560; however, we want the system by 8/1 and concerned we will not have it in time. Separate from that is the student pricing The price quoted for the specs I listed and 5 year pro support plus and accidental damage (not sure if we will get that) is $4,257 plus a $100 dell gift card. With just the base 3 year warranty it is $3,665. I am not sure if the 7560 will be more or not available for student pricing.