Dell Intros Precision M6500 Mobile Workstation

Dell Intros Precision M6500 Mobile Workstation

Dell today introduced its latest business powerhouse, the 17-inch M6500. It features an Intel Core i7 processor, available RGB LED screen (1920x1200), up to 16GB of RAM, three hard drives (RAID 0/1/5), and a choice of several workstation graphics cards (ATI FirePro M7740, Nvidia Quadro FX 2800M/3800M). The M6500 features an anodized aluminum chassis and is available now from $2,749; the estimated ship date is 22 December. The top-end M6500 Covet edition with an orange aluminum chassis commands $4,219.

Dell Product Link

 

I just saw this on Dell's website a few hours ago, looks amazing, and with 16:10 too.

The M7740 is the workstation version of the ATI4860, and its performance, as I understand it, is quite impressive. I do not expect the 2800M to outperform the M7740, but the 3800M, albeit with a huge price increase, should.

I'm thinking this is the first i7 business class laptop?

 

16:10 May pull me back to dell business line.

 

It has the newer FX2800M and FX3800M GPUs inside (latest were 2700 and 3700), uses i7, comes with 16:10 and has up to 16GB of RAM.

This thing is beautiful, too bad the price tag.

 

I for one will be awaiting the full review of this rig. Wont be able to afford it, but still a sucker for business class 17in WUXGA.

 

I'm waiting for someone to review even the M6400 with the ATI FirePro M7740...

 

Nice looking beast... beastly price tag too

Thanks for the news, Chaz.

 

Very nice --- wonder how long before HP and Lenovo come out with core i7 mobile workstations?

 

Astonishing. With a dreamy configuration, notably 16GB 1333 DDR3, RAID 0 256GB Samsung SSDs, Quadro 3800M, 920XM, and best-in-buisness warranty, you've got a $10,000 price tag! Foolishness

 

3x SSDs! Or SSD + 2x HDD (wonder if it's capable of 12.5mm drives...)

 

These are, without the doubt, the most powerful mobile workstations available.

Just noticed that the power adapter was 210W. And I thought my 150W was big!

 

Anyone know what the FX2800M and FX3800M might be? I haven't heard anything about them at all, and seeing as to how the FX2700M was the workstation version of the 9700M GTS and the FX3700M lower clocked and older brother of the GTX 280M, I'm really curious as to what these cards are.

The FX3800M could conceivably be a higher clocked GTX 280M as it has the same number of shades as the FX3700M and GTX 280M.

Has anyone seen a review of the M7740? I've seen some, not particularly comprehensive, but the data looks good though.

 

2800m has 96sp and 256bit gddr3. 3800m has 128sp, rest is the same. no idea about manu process though.

 

Hmm, at 96 sps, that makes it the 9800M GT/8800M GTX equivalent, depending on clocks of course. I had suspected that was the case, as these cards did not have a workstation equivalent.

FX3600M was equivalent to 8800M GTS.

Also, thank you.

 

Mmmmm. Dell. So hot right now.

 

Aye, making me wonder if I should hold off on my possible 8730w purchase right now.

 

I'm holding off any purchases til I see this bad boy in action.

 

Ah, about time. HP and Lenovo should soon announce their beasts as well.
Basically same Chassis as the M6300 with newer hardware. I was expecting some internal changes.
And FirePro is sweet! Although it's only 128 bit.

 

I think I'll skip the M6500. Looks gorgeous and amazing, but I've got a very nice offer waiting on a refurb'd 8730W. The price increase just isn't worth it.

WUXGA, FX3700M, 4GB, 3 year warranty, T9550 for 1.4k+tax. It's only a 160GB HDD, but that's easily fixed.

Was quite annoyed that I missed the Dreamcolor screen and a P8600, 320GB for about the same price, although also partially glad as the Dreamcolor screens appear to be giving issues to 8730W users.

And right now, I really don't see how the M6500, no matter how beautiful and amazing, is going to match up with that kind of price/performance.

PS: Han, the ATI card has been available in the m6400 for quite a while now, but not particularly well known. And it's the same chassis as M6400, not M6300.

 

I was going to comment the same thing about the ATI card and the M6400.

It's a sweet deal. You got there. I'm not all about that screen though. I tend to prefer the Dell Precision screens. Gotta see it to believe it though.

 

Yea, thanks. Well, I'm fine with the ordinary WUXGA, but Dreamcolor would have just made the deal sweeter.

Have you seen any reviews of the M7740? I've tried searching, but the only source is Notebookcheck, and I would prefer not to depend on them.

 

I think it's safe to say that power users can go with the M6500 in confidence. This is my view of 17" workstations:

3 brands: HP, Dell, Lenovo. Each has a unique benefit...

HP: The most mobile. Easily thinner than the other 2, with less weight (a pound less usually), and (arguably) the most visually appealing. Comes with an excellent warranty stock too. Best RGB LED LCD out there.

Dell: The most powerful. 16GB of DDR3 is a heck of a lot of RAM. RAID option without ditching your HDD (unlike the HP), and a handful of graphics options (though they all usually have the same high end card).

Lenovo: The most equipped? Dual screen option. Wacom digitizer for the graphic artist. Color calibrator built in. Lenovo's are built for those with special needs to fill.

 

The Dell and HP both use the exact same 8-bit TN panel w/ RGBLED backlight...

 

Hmm... I get to upgrade my laptop in about 6 months or so at work. I now know what I am shooting for!

 

Yeah I meant the M6400.
Haven't checked Dell's website for awhile, I guess I was behind on that GPU thing

 

I dont think I could ever buy a computer that costs as much as my Jeep.

 

Awesome, now if they would just release the M4500 so I can get one in the outlet sooner.

 

I wouldn't bet on that coming out this month.

 

I won't be buying until early 2010 anyway...even so I'm not sure if I'll be able to wait for a M4500 (i7+RGB) to appear in the outlet.

 

Any confirmation on those specs?
This is all I see http://ven.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761_la.html

Oh, and the M7740 is the same as the 4860HD mobility or the 4770HD desktop RV770 IIRC. GDDR5.

 

Nice to see a 16:10 screen.
Too bad this would be so overpriced when it hits Norway, but i guess you gotta pay up if you demand awesomeness!

 

The DreamColor panel is worth every penny once you have used/seen one.

 

<s>As far as I know, the M6400's M7740 is GDDR3, not GDDR5.</s> I don't know any more. I'm losing my mind!

The power draining issues are discomforting though.

 

According to notebookcheck it uses only GDDR5...and it would be strange if a 128 GDDR3 would be equipped on such a high end Dell laptop... http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-FirePro-M7740.18791.0.html

 

Yea, I know what Notebookcheck says and I know the M7740 was announced with GDDR5, I also know I wouldn't be too quick to trust Notebookcheck. Especially without a link to the test they are quoting. Case in point, where are the GDDR5 4870s that AW promised users? Or the GDDR5 4870s that users thought they were getting in the w90vp? I'm trying to figure out where I saw it mentioned that the M7740 came with GDDR3 instead of GDDR5.

Not really strange actually. <s> The FX2700M is a 128 bit card with GDDR3 and equips the HP 8730w, M6400. </s> Note, the M7740 also equips the M6400, unfortunately, I can't seem to find any tests on it, aside from the one quoted in Notebookcheck. Doh, brain fart.

 

The FX2700M is 256bit in fact

 

The FX2700M has always been a 256-bit GDDR3 card. It is 9700M GTS based.

 

Doh. Brain fart. You are both right. I know it's 9700M GTS based. I mentioned it myself in an earlier post in this thread. Unfortunately, for some reason I was thinking 128 bit 9700M GT-based. My bad.

My point was that 128 bit cards do pop up in high-end workstations. An example, albeit older example, are the FX1600M in 8710w, M6300? 128 bit GDDR3 cards have shown up in the workstations.

Tried looking around for M7740 GDDR5 user opinions, closest I found was this. Scroll to last post.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19291490.aspx?PageIndex=2&c=us&l=en&cs=04&s=bsd

At any rate, if the M7740 is GDDR5, it's a great $100 investment for M6400 owners as its projected performance was supposed to be comparable to the FX3700M at a much lower price. A few M7740 equipped M6400s were floating around in Dell Outlet for about 1.2-1.3K but were recently snapped up. Hesitated as there haven't been any results for the M7740 as far as I can find aside from the somewhat nebulous Notebookcheck test and I wasn't sure if it was GDDR5 . I'm trying to figure out where I saw that GDDR3 claim for the M7740, but can't seem to find it.

Hmm, ebay strikes again.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Precision-...temQQimsxZ20091126?IMSfp=TL0911262010001r8468

Doh. Just got locked out of my Dell account for forgetting my password. I think I'm losing my memory. I'm going to go with the assumption that M7740 = GDDR5 until I figure out where I read the M7740 might be GDDR3.

 

It should be GDDR5 since it is 4860 based. The GDDR3 version is 4830.

 

Ah, I see. Thanks! Looks like, I'll be watching the Dell Outlet to see if any more of those M7740 units show up.

 

The trackpoint and slot loading optical drive is making me drool. Even the very base configuration is something to aspire to have (minus the LCD).

 

Yeah, this thing is going to be a beast to drool after.

 

Wow this thing is phenomenal especially that 3800

Man on Man, Dell never disappoints when it comes to high end.

 

The Precision line usually doesn't disappoint.

 

I dont agree there, the M4400 was nothing jaw-dropping as this one. And the wavey design was IMO just ugly...

 

still better looking than all mainstream laptops though. i like boxy machines.

 

So do I but the thing on the lid...sorry, didnt make it for me, the Latitude instead is very nice looking.

And as performance goes, it was good, but the problems I read about the GPU didnt appeal me either...the M6400 on the other hand...

 

What are you talking about... when the M4400 came out, it was pretty phenomenal. Even to this day no other business 15" has WUXGA RGBLED, quad core CPU, relatively high end workstation GPU, digital output (DP), eSATA, backlit keyboard, and battery slice options. Closest is HP's 8530w and Lenovo's W500. In terms of pure CPU and GPU power alone, it topped both for quite a while (though the HP had started offering quad cores and FX 770M GPU, but the screen isn't as great for either). While the lid is subjective, I liked the wavy design...

 

I read tons of times of fried GPUs on the M4400, the RGBLED was offered the moment it came out? eSATA is a plus indeed, but backlit KB is just an add-on.

The W500 has switchable graphics, and basic configuration comes with a higher resolution screen not the WXGA the M4400 comes with, not to mention Dell is very pricey for ups on components IMO. So is the HP with higher res as a default and a comparable (some say even better) BQ than the M4400.

Indeed, the lid is subjective. I dont like it at all...

Anyways, back to the M6500...:drools: ^^ Me wants, but this thing is BIG and EXPENSIVE

 

Don't forget the default 1 year warranty on Lenovo's units, compared to Dell's 3 year. The warranty upgrade alone adds a hefty bill, as the Lenovo warranties are quite overpriced.

As for component prices, it depends on the timing. All three companies (Lenovo/Dell/HP) can have extremely ridiculous prices on their customizable units, especially HP. The CTO Elitebooks are so much more expensive compared to their pre-configured counterparts, but that's just me being bitter.

Can't wait for the M6500s to start hitting Outlet.