New Dell Precision M6300 Announced

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Dell announced today a new Precision notebook, the M6300 which is an update to the M90. It will have the latest Intel processors up to the X7900 as well as the latest NVIDIA Quadro FX1600M. The Quadro FX1600M is comparable in power to the NVIDIA 8700M. Dell hopes that this laptop will break into the business workstation market, replacing desktop models in favor of a portable notebook.

The M6300 will also come with options for Solid State drives (SSD), as well as more business oriented encrypted drives that are becoming more popular with confidential documents traveling with users on the go. Environmentally concious companies will also enjoy the EPA's highest rating of 4.0 in its Energy Star Performance.

With prices starting at $2,070 for the base configuration, this will surely ruffle the feathers of other companies such as Lenovo and HP with high end business notebooks.

A tour around the notebook and the ports offered are featured below:

 

Wow...looks like Dell found a way to still use their 'old' and 'outdated' previous chassis design...

This isn't going to win anyone over...

 

Bleh. My company got me the Dell Precision M90 for work back in June 2006. As of now, the left right of the chassis is slightly damage from extensive travels in a Dell backpack that has fairly good padding.

If Dell would leave the fans running at least at 15% throttle or so on 24/7, I would give this notebook higher praise. When using the laptop for just programming, office, and web surfing, the palm areas can get quite warm (I've actually had sweat marks on the palm rests). However, running F@H makes the fans run 24/7 at a low level which is enough to help keep the laptop relatively cool compared to before.

Would have liked to see them add a 2nd hard drive bay and possibly a numeric keypad. LED display would have been nice as well.

Overall, the chassis is pretty sturdy other than what I noted earlier.

Lastly, this thing is a beast when carrying around and don't forget about the power supply which is about 2/3 the size of the XBOX 360 power supply. And the battery for me lasts around 2hrs 45 minutes give or take and that's with wi-fi and 3/7 brightness for the display.

 

OMG, the first picture looks so ugly that I can't believe Dell really wants to sell something like that.
Doesn't it look like a smaller laptop sitting inside a larger one?

 

Yes, it's like a smaller laptop inside an anti-theft/rugged case.

 

Wow, that laptop looks so ugly... at least have a silver keyboard, the black keyboard just looks so out of place. FOR OVER $2000!?!?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

 

I dont know ill buy it looks good to me

 

Will its DVI port be able to drive 2560 x 1600 (for a 30" LCD monitor)?

 

Yeah looks gorgeous to me.

 

I guess Dell didn't want to traumatize people any further after the XPS 1730

 

Its the exact same design as the M90 people, this is nothing new. Its still as rugged as ever its not a bad laptop at all considering its not supposed to win anyone through looks.

On the other hand the XPS 1730 is all about style (i.e. XPS series), so there you can blast Dell for the upcoming designs.

But don't do it for a 'built to take abuse' laptop.....

 

Yep. Dissapointing that they didn't update the case, design and keyboard, but I guess thats probably a good thing, seeing what they have done to the XPS M1730.

Also kinda questionable as to why they didn't give this one SLI like the M1730.

 

Whaaaaaat??? Not only does it look just like the old M90 (which now looks dated and ugly) it STILL lacks a dedicated numeric keypad!! Very odd to say the least, since the Inspiron 1720/Vostro 1700 and the leaked XPS M1730 have dedicated numeric keypads. What the heck was Dell thinking?

I'm sorry, but for a 17" Mobile Workstation with a Quadro FX 1600M, I'd much rather have the HP Compaq 8710w, even if it is another $400 or so over the Dell. At least the Dell has a better price than the HP.

 

Probably because Nvidia doesn't offer Quadro SLI for notebooks to begin with.

And then the discussion about how many workstation applications (that's a mobile workstation) can really benefit from SLI... well, let's just say that there has been a lot of articles written about that ...

 

Wow... really surprised they kept the M90 design. I mean, I like the design of my laptop, and I really appreciate the very solid build, but the lack of a numeric keypad makes it a deal breaker for many, and almost did for me as well. I figured they would base it off the new Inspiron 1720; at least that has a keypad.

 

Personally, I may a minority but i'm very happy that DELL kept the old xps GEN 2 / M1710 / e1705 / M90 styling for the M6300. The precision line is not about "ooh look how shiny my computer is and the aluminum / carbon job on it", but rather about a computer that will not draw attention in class / business yet still deliver the devastating performance necessary by CAD users / F@H / and even ProTools. Think about it, imagine how many gawks one would get in a professional setting (ie: business, law team, etc.,) if someone showed up with an M1730 or an alienware m9750. DELL is sticking to a conservative formula that will not alienate business clients into buying IBM / Lenovo.

Now I will definitely agree that the M6300 could afford to use a facelift of sorts, but then again it could have looked like a brooks brothers version of the M1730 with the numberpad and all. I'm not going to go into the psychology details of how dell presumably designs their product for the clientele they are trying to attract, but in an age where casual friday has gone out the window to a good extent, it is a MUCH better idea to show up in the stodgy M6300 than a formula red, T7600'd XPS M1710 with more lights on it than an 18-wheeler.

(And if you feel like asking me about the psychology parts, PM me, i'll be more than happy to explain it)

 

Are DELL kidding , 2000$ for that , basicly a last gen inspiron/m90 with santa rosa ?

And as usual its the *base price* , in the m90 case last I looked it was almost a barebone and DELL charges an arm and a leg for every small upgrade on those machines .

I wouldn't even look at a DELL when you can have this :
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3864

 

I never liked the design of the M90, plus this notebook is too bulky and heavy even for a 17" notebook. Also, I would not call that professional design when it is just plain ugly... And, I pretty sure this notebook would draw attention as well... (I'm not going to go into the psychology details but part of the reason that Inspirons has/had such a eww factor is the design).

You are smart

 

No numeric keypad and it looks already old... I could just take it to a funeral! Unbelievable! Dell needs a kick in... It is really a pity because the configuration is almost perfect for my needs...

 

It LOOKS incredibly ugly and unsophisticated in the pics.
But the pics do not do justice to the laptop. Dell really needs to hire better photographers.
I have the M90, and it looks GREAT. The palmrest is darker than what the picture indicates. The black keyboard goes quite well (much better than a silver keyboard). The lid is metal I think, and looks really nice. The black trim is not as garish as the picture indicates. Often I just close the lid and run my hands all over it, its just so hot

And I dont think the M90 is too heavy for a 17". What other lighter 17" laptops are there ?

Better pics here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=64588

They could have put in the full keyboard, dunno why they kept the old one.

 

It is heavier and thicker compared to other notebooks, that is fact.

Have you heard about the HP 8710w?

The HP 8710w is 7.5 lbs. and 1.3" thin...

...and the M90 is 8.6 lbs. and 1.6" thin ....yeah, it's thick and heavy.


Read about the HP here: (the weight is mistaken in that review)

 

They could have at least put it in a Latitude case which is professional looking and still a lot better than that.

 

Yea, I would shop HP or Lenovo if I were in the market for a business model. Much better looking machines IMO.

 

I just took a look at the HP that everyone is going gaga for, and I can't see why someone would like to have such a scrunched up keyboard. Perhaps I'm part of a very small minority, but the appearance the HP has is almost toylike in comparison to the M90's "take no prisoners" look. Granted it's an extra pound and a half to carry around, but to avoid having the stigma of "ooh it's a toy!" put on me, i'll gladly take it.

As for the inspirons / vostros, this generation of the inspiron / vostro is a horror show. They look even more toy-like and exemplify DELL'S philosophy of "cheap as possible" to the point that it looks as though they merely bought apple's old "iBook" and "MacBook" shells of 4-5 years ago and DELL'd them.

If push came to shove though, I'd gladly show up with an M6300 / M90 because at least it doesn't look like a toy laptop you'd find in a college kid's dorm room.

 

I think the 1720 looks quite nice:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=156372

 

Well, we can't argue about subjective things like design...

Otherwise, I think that the XPS M1730 is the ugliest notebook ever, but there is one (only one ) guy in this thread who thinks it's beautiful and wants to buy it...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=151306

 

We're in agreement on the xps m1730.

 

Oh, well, yea, I guess that works too. I thought I saw an SLI notebook with the Go7950s swapped for equivalent Quadros, but maybe I was wrong. I know that nvidia has Quadro SLI for desktops, I figured that migrated to notebooks already.

And yes, the M1730 is ugly as sin. The M6300 isn't ugly, but it is very dated. Its basically just the XPS Gen 2 (2004 or so, right?) without the flashing lights.

 

Its just like Dell not to include a digital video port in an allegedly new model...
And it looks like some child version of a notebook with a strengthened chassis so it won't break if dropped.

 

It has DVI-D... that IS a digital video port, and it supports HDCP (notice the option of a Blu-Ray drive ). The only thing it lacks in comparison to HDMI (the only other major digital video port) is integrated audio and the smaller size, though DVI allows you to push much higher resolutions (like the 30"+ screens a lot of professionals use).

You know, it's really funny, because back when I bought my M90, it was considered by many a pretty good looking machine, and one of Dell's best at the time. Now that new Dells are out, everybody thinks its ugly. It still looks the same people. Of course, that happened to the last gen Inspirons too, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But to call this a "child version of a notebook" is pretty ridiculous. Try picking one up some time. No creaking, no body flex, the keyboard is firmer than any Thinkpad I've ever used, and the screen does not flex at all. This is a solid machine, and the most solid laptop I've ever used.

I'd also like to point out that while the M90 is 1.6" thick, the Inspiron 1520 is 1.65" thick, the Inspiron 1720 is 1.7" thick, the dv9000 is 1.6" thick (at 8+ lbs btw), the dv6500t is 1.7" thick at the back, and the Asus G2 is 1.8" thick. The only 17" laptops I found thinner than the M90, in fact, were the HPs. And IMO, those are ugly, especially the 8710w; it's just a bigger version of the Compaq business notebooks. It may not be a Macbook Pro, but come on, if you're going to say it's bulkier than "most" notebooks, at least have a way to back it up. Both Dell and HP have thicker 15.4" notebooks. Give me a break.

 

*Sight* How much I like fanboish posts.

Do you consider the M90 consumer-class notebook? Otherwise, I don't see why you're comparing it to consumer-class notebooks, which aren't supposed to be thin and light in general...

That's subjective but I personally NEVER liked the design of the M90, as for the last generation Inspirons, they were simply one of the ugliest notebooks on the market... I don't think that you will find many supporters of the white bumpers and that's not because the new Dells are out...

Exactly, what makes you think that I can like it yesterday and say it's ugly today? It's subjective understand it...

It's all yours.... don't worry I don't want it.

And, it's not like there aren't other "solid" notebooks around. The HP 8710w is a solid notebook as well, try picking one up some time. The Alienware Area-51 m9750 is also solid, try picking one up some time....

Besides the HP nx9240, nw9440, 8710p, 8710w and MBP check out these lighter (and some of them thinner) notebooks:

Samsung M55, M60 [1.3"]
Toshiba Satellite P100/105
Asus W2 [1.2"]
Clevo M570U

It would be a real shame if Acer happen to have a lighter 17" notebook, wait they do...

... probably there are a few others. I just don't want to check all possible known and unknown brands...

So what? It's not like anyone claims there aren't thicker notebooks around...

Again, the HP also has business line and thinner and lighter 15.4" notebooks, the HP 8510 is 6.1lbs and 1.1"... no?

And, surprisely Dell also has business line too - Latitude D830....no?

And IMO, the M90 is ugly, it's just a bigger version of the Dell Insprion notebooks. (ok, a bit "dressed up", and I know that's magnesium alloy, so calm down).

Otherwise, if we want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, then we should compare a mobile workstation like M90 to other mobile workstations... surprisedly, there is only one other mobile workstation on the market and it's called HP 8710w.... and I personally would not even touch the M90 when I could have the HP.

 

The 8710w does look nice, but its also $1000 more expensive than the M90.
Lets stick to 17" laptops with a WUXGA screen, a three year warranty, and under $2000.

 

Not sure about the price comparison but don't choose the Blu-Ray option and it won't be that expensive.

Otherwise, you aren't the one to tell me how I should spend my own money, plus I would not pay anything for something that I don't like.

In the end, if I needed a mobile workstation I would buy the HP and pay as much as necessary... because I like it and I don't like the other option (i.e. M90)... that's it.

You may feel differently....

 

How was that a fanboyish post? I have never pretended to be a Dell fanboy; I happen to like a lot of aspects of my computer, and there are a lot of things I dislike, and my last Dell was absolutely horrible (Latitude C640). I actually prefer the design of consumer laptops over the M90 as well, but I like the look of the M90. As for quality, the build is good, but I've already had two power supplies and a battery fail on me in a little over a year. I'm hardly waving a Dell flag right now.

Actually, as others have so astutely pointed out, it is the exact same chassis as the Inspiron 9400 and XPS M1710, so comparing its dimensions in that regard is pretty well justified. As a business laptop, it may be a bit thick, but it also had more heat to overcome. The HP 8710 uses a Quadro FX1600M, and that's the only option. It is supposedly faster than the 1500M, but its 128-bit bus and lower bandwidth have my wondering, though I doubt the thermal output is any better. But it's only rated at 50W... the M90 also supports an FX2500M and FX 3500M, which consume 60W and 65W respectively. Even the old HP nw9440 only had a 1500M. And now, the 6300 offers an Intel X7900, an option neither of the HPs does. Therefore, it could be argued that the additional 0.3" is necessary to keep the highest end configurations cool (heat has never been an issue for the M90).

And by the way, the only other laptops featuring the FX3500M (or the 2500M for that matter) are mostly rebranded Clevos (a lot of D900s in there), many of which are in excess of 2.3". Check here if you don't believe me.

Hey, I'm with you on the Inspirons. The cheap white with the cheap silver didn't really work. That's why I'm glad they went with Latitude gray and black with the M90 (not to mention the aluminum lid).

I wasn't offering.

Did I ever say that those laptops weren't well built? Absolutely not. I personally think the consumer Pavilions and Inspirons are pretty solid (though the keyboard leaves a little to be desired, especially with the Pavilions). You're making assumptions based on words I never said. That would be like me saying Hondas are reliable, and you inferring from that that I love Hondas and think all other brands are junk. There are a LOT of assumptions there, and you know what happens when you ASSume.

Wait, so first you tell me it's not reasonable to compare the M90 to consumer notebooks since it's a business notebook, and then you compare it to consumer notebooks? I'm confused.

Firstly, I believe the word you were looking for is surprisingly.

And secondly, this is way OT. I was simply making the point that it's a bit unfair to call the M90 too bulky when it's thinner than the top-selling laptops out there, and even thinner than many other similarly-configured laptops. Apple's 13.3" laptop is thicker than their 17" laptop, it just happens that way sometimes.

Actually, apples-to-apples, the M90s main competitor is the HP nw9440. You can configure the M90 with a much faster graphics card AND a faster processor, for several hundred dollars less. And going apples-to-apples, the M6300 is up against the HP 8710w, which also costs much less and has the option of a Core 2 Extreme X7900 (and the same graphics). Once again, I think power vs. size vs. heat dissipation should all be considered here, and the extra 0.3" could be debated back and forth. And as you say, design is subjective, and I personally prefer the smooth, curved surfaces of the M90 to the sharp edges of the Compaq... er... HP. But hey, different strokes....

 

Dell has better performance for a lower price, whereas the HP is sleeker and more portable. They will each attract different customers, but why one would care about lighter and thinner in a 17" notebook is beyond me.

 

Let me see, Dell use the same chassis for their consumer and workstation/gaming models that's way you compare their business models to their new thicker consumer models in order to show that your notebook is thinner... interesting logic.

You could argue who stops... but so what?

Can you point me out where exactly is written that a notebooks should be 8.6 lbs. and 1.6" thick in order to house the FX 2500M or FX 3500M?

Any requirements about the design? White bumpers...opps sorry those were black...

I'm aware of that but that's because not many people would pay 1000$ more for the FX 3500M considering that most of the workstation application are CPU limited not GPU... and the performance difference between the high-end Quadros is significant only in high-end Visualization applications.

Did anyone ever say that the M90 isn't well built? You're making assumptions based on statements like "And it looks like some child version of a notebook with a strengthened chassis so it won't break if dropped.".. hmm yes, it still looks like that.

No but you sound as if you have found the new Holy Grail and think that people have never seen a similar thing before.

Honestly, you seem to be better at ASSumptions and such...

It's not, I just added a few notebooks to your *comprehensive* list.

Surprisingly, exactly 3 (+4 HPs) of the notebooks that I mentioned in there ARE business-class...no?

Hmm, thanks, see I learnt something new today.

Err, the top-selling laptops out there are the notebooks that are cheap... if you feel happy to compare your notebook to them instead of to notebooks from the same class, then cool...

Btw, this is (your) off topic but...


( view large image)


( view large image)


so which is thicker at back?

Err, I would not compare any *notebook* to the Clevo D900 since it's a different kind of animal and my desktop may happen to be lighter than it... but then again if that makes you happy, then cool.

Weird, you haven't mentioned the weight difference at all and you're talking only about the thickness... do you find it easier that way?

I said what I would choose....so there isn't much of debate for me, all notebooks have their pros and cons, then it's up to you.

 

Whatever... Dell cannot put on the market a workstation without a numeric keypad... It doesn't really make sense and I wonder what kind of designers they have on their staff... There are 1000s of super designers in the world and it seems they just took the worst ones and send them with the time machine in the year 1997 to create the new models... I understand a workstation should not be a christmas tree, but there are many notebooks that look very simple but beautiful... This Dell (and also the HP) just look sad...

 

I think its awesome it uses the same case i have a 9300 and e1705 and since i love the case so much i would buy one of these

 

There's probably 2 reasons Dell maintained the design the way it is:
i) As a low-cost manufacturer, they need only focus on pricing, hence redesigning the notebook will incur greater costs, at times when margins are extremely thin.
ii) Corporate customers who demand Dell products usually don't care about design. They need components that work, great specs, support and good value for money, all of which Dell can deliver and still make a profit. From what I see, when corporate IT makes a purchase decision, beautiful looks are never a requirement at all. Companies will pay for features and durability, not design (unless it's some creative media firm who would have gone the Apple way anyway).
Most people whinging here are all individual consumers, who are not Dell's target market at all.

 

Quoted for absolute truth. Dell's business notebooks will get sold whether they change them or not, simply because they're Dells. It keeps things simple for companies as they can have predictable hardware, unified support, and common updates.

 

Yes I understand, but I think that even companies need a numeric keypad...

 

I just priced out Precision 6300 with 2.6ghz chip and HP 8710W with the same CPU, both with 1GB of RAM and minimum HD (who wants to pay those premiums, really, when newegg is around the corner). Guess, what, Precision is $800 less. You know, I would take the ugly Precision any day for that much less.

Edit: Btw, this was for small business site for both, and Precision has $380 off right now. Also, I am sure you could figure out a way to be even more creative with Dell pricing.

 

I did the same experiment here in Germany. It came out that HP has a better price. They are both around 3130 € (with 2.4 GH, 160 HD and 4GB RAM) but HP was with Vista Ultimate 64 included (Dell only with XP Professional 32)

 

Not sure about Germany, I did not bother pricing them out with upgrading HD/RAM, that's always better to buy from 3rd party, i.e. newegg/etc... in US.

 

In this case (buying exactly the same basic) the Dell is around 200 € cheaper...

 

It seems that the HP is cheaper is europe. Maybe they will drop prices in US ?
I spec'd out the HP with 2Ghz, 1GB ram, dvd-rom, wuxga, and it came out to $2600 excluding tax. Too expensive. Seemed overpriced by $800

 

Yeah, if WUXGA is not a requirement, you could get same thing a bit cheaper by ordering existing pre-built ($2300 or so from buy.com) and that comes with 2GB RAM and 80GB 7200 RPM drive. If it is, there is no going under that $2600 price unfortunately. For what it is worth, in US, 8510W/8710W seems somewhat overpriced. Now, whether that's because Dell is more expensive in Europe or HP is cheaper there, I do not know.

 

HP 8710w configured to Intel 2.4GHz, 4GB of RAM and 1920x1200 resolution is $2.375 here in Europe, Slovenia....

 

That sure is without VAT .

 

That's with VAT (20%) included!