Question regarding Dell pro vs consumer

#1

Yo, just wanted to get others’ perspective on my decision I am making.
I cheaped out last time on my laptop and am giving it to my daughter and am ready to buy a semi-macked out one:

I am leaning somewhere between Dell Precision 4700 (with k1000), Dell 6700 (k3000/k4000), or alienware m14x or m17x. I am family with budget line and XPS Dells but that’s the extent of my knowledge with them.

I’ll be doing modest 3D work, texture painting and maybe some light movies/ light gaming on trips.

I am looking at Dells because I get a nice discount thru my employer. Thanks in advance.

#2

well… the Alienware is also a Dell product now :slight_smile:

I’ve purchased a m11x and m14x for both of my sons, and they’re pretty incredible machines… however, the disks failed on both in a about a year… so consider getting a SSD with it if you do.

not so sure about the m17x, but the 14 is a hefty little bitch (as in weight)… carrying around in a backpack is not a problem, but definitely heavier than i would have imagined it to be… so i would guess the 17 would be a beast to lug around all day, but the display is larger… so /shrug.

as for airflow,… when enabling the nvidia GPU, they do get hot, so get a lap cooler. i wouldn’t consider it an option either, its’ a must, even when sitting on a desk.

The XPS are nice, but just feel larger and bulky to me, haven’t owned one of those, but i did own one of their consumer models a while ago (inspiron), and the damn thing was total crap (poor hinge design, bad powerblock plugin location and just not durable at all).

anyway, the Aliens will handle whatever you throw at them…

#3

kinda what I figured. Xps is not an option but between alienware and precision. I honestly prefer the 15 inches, I feel like the 17 will be to big, mine b4 my current was 17 and was huge and heavy, it was an hp… Granted tha was more than a fee years ago so I assume they’ve lightened em up. plus. I plan to carry a med intuos5 in the pack too for travel.

FYI- found out that I can get an Apple on discount too- still leaning towards pro precision Dell laptops but wanted to hear others’ opinions on the subject.

#4

The 17" MacBook Pro 2011 with 1920x1200 screen is great – I use it all the time with Maya, ZBrush, Mudbox, Nuke, etc. Refurb would be cheaper. Or you could go retina and get a slight boost from Ivy Bridge and newer GPU.

#5

The aluminium cases on the Macs are really nice. They look great.

The older 2010 45nm ones had a heating problem when rendering with Mental Ray, but I’m sure the newer hardware runs cooler.

Apparently Apple is going to start making them in the USA now as well.

If you use it a lot over many years, the removable $50 battery in the Dell becomes an advantage. You’ll have to send the Mac back to get a new battery for around $220.

-AJ

#6

I render all the time overnight on my 2011 17" MBP and it’s never had heating problems. The fan runs audibly.

I don’t think they are moving MBP production to the US. It’s most likely the Mac Pro 2013 edition that is being done there since it’s heavier (less shipping cost) and less in need of tiny hands for assembly.

#7

Good points- My main concern is that I have Windows Software (Maya etc)- I can get them through my employer at a very good rate however I will still be repurchasing them.

Several of my coworkers have them (mac retina) nowadays and have enjoyed them- I have never seen a Precision laptops before.

I do have a buddy who has an Alienware m17x but to be quiet honest I am not crazy about the look of it- just the price and hardware inside, plus the screen is nice- not retina nice but nice enough.

I was intrigued by the Precision with the 100% color gamut screen but have never seen it in person. Tried finding some good reviews on these but there aren’t any informative ones.

#8

FYI I ordered the m6700

#9

nice, i’ld be interested in hearing how the K3000m works!

#10

Take that back LOL- went with the 3000. To get double discount-

#11

FYI I ordered the m6700

good decision, i bought the m6600 earlier this year with the quadro 3000m and it performs really well. here is a review of the m6700 for anyone else who might be interested

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6512/dell-precision-m6700-notebook-review-the-enterprise-split

#12

OK WELL- snafu- between the Dell Rep and my ordering desk they couldn’t seem to get on the same page so after issues getting the price right and the hardware right I made a compromise and took the m6600- for some reason they weren’t giving us our GOV rate for the newer one. My purchase agent says it pretty typical of them to be screwy with there prices- doesn’t matter because it’s way below what I was originally thinking.

Quote Details
Item Number Quantity Item Description Unit Price Extended Price 225-0379

1 Dell Mobile Precision M6600 $1,471.50 $1,471.50 317-9246

1 Intel Core i7-2860M Quad Core 2.50GHz 8MB, Dell Mobile Precision M4600/M6600 317-6489

1 2.0GB, DDR3-1333 SDRAM, 1 DIMM, Dell Mobile Precision 331-1249

1 Internal Backlit English Keyboard, Dell Mobile Precision 331-2809

1 Tech Setup Guide, English, Dell Mobile Precision 331-2169

1 Documentation (English/French), Dell Latitude E-Family/Mobile Precision 320-1919

1 NVIDIA Quadro 3000M with 2GB GDDR5, Dell Mobile Precision M6600 342-2364

1 320GB Hard Drive, 7200RPM, Dell Mobile Precision 331-1279

1 No Fingerprint Reader and No Contactless Smartcard Reader, Dell Mobile Precision M6600 320-1925

1 17.3" UltraSharp FHD(1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee 318-0364

1 Full HD+ LCD Cover, Dell Mobile Precision M6600 421-8099

1 Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit, No Media, Mobile Precision, English 330-6322

1 Windows 7 Label, Latitude, Vostro and Mobile Precision Notebooks 330-4127

1 210W/240W switchable Slim 3-Pin, AC Adapter Dell Precision M6400 330-1838

1 6-Foot, 3-Pin Power Cord,Mobile Precision, US 421-4370

1 Cyberlink Power DVD 9.5,No Media, Dell OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision Workstation 421-4539

1 Roxio Creator Starter,No Media,Dell OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision Workstation 318-0352

1 Slot Load DVD+/-RW Drive, Dell Mobile Precision 331-1263

1 Slot Load Bezel, Dell Mobile Precision 318-0362

1 No Camera, with single digital microphone, HD/Full HD, Dell Mobile Precision M6600 430-4017

1 Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300, Dell Mobile Precision 331-1866

1 Intel vPro Technology Advanced Management Features, Dell Mobile Precision M6600 342-2435

1 All Hard Drives Non-RAID, Dell Mobile Precision 312-1174

1 9-cell (97Wh) Primary Battery, Dell Mobile Precision 331-2973

1 No Energy Star Enabled, Dell Mobile Precision M4600/M6600 410-0564

1 Adobe Reader X Factory Installation, Multi-Language 939-3512

1 Basic Hardware Service: Next Business Day Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis 2 Year Extended 953-4850

1 Basic Hardware Service: Next Business Day Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis Initial Year 935-4628

1 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus Service Extended Year(s) 929-9417

1 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus Service Initial Year 331-1639 1 Intel Core i7 vPro Processor A5750525 1 Your Dell Advantage benefits have been applied and $1 discounted from your primary order. $1.00 $1.00 Subtotal: $1,472.50 Shipping & Handling: $0.00 Tax: $0.00 Environmental Disposal Fee: $0.00 Total Price w/Discounts: $1,472.50

#13

Bummer bout the m6700 but whatever I don’t care. Won’t be here now until Jan 10th or something since they screwed the process up so much. LOL

#14

Your specs look close to what i ordered except for the memory. I ugraded my memory right after i got my system. Not sure why they make changing the mem so hard. On my m90 it was just removing a panel on the bottom of the laptop. For m6600 i had to pull the outer bezel off and remove the keyboard.

#15

Yeah, i noticed that in a thread i was researching about upgrades- Am currently browsing Newegg etc for RAM- GEIL has som RAM for 20% off at Newegg (32GB for $111)

You think 32GB running at 1333mhz or 16GB at 1600mhz? I figured the more the merrier? Especially for large res PS painting etc.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Other upgrade I am going to make will be the SSD from either Intel or Samsung. Already have a few 750GB 7200 HDDs.

Dude- I had to order this dam thing 4 times LMAO- first 2 my purchase agent screwed up and the 3rd Dell charged me the price of the higher chip so I called them back and told them to keep the price but give me the better chip so they did!!! :slight_smile:

Large Enterprise rate, No tax and no shipping so I am a happy camper. Hence the reason I ordered this way. The m6700 wouldn’t have been worth the price difference for my needs.

#16

You think 32GB running at 1333mhz or 16GB at 1600mhz? I figured the more the merrier? Especially for large res PS painting etc.

i bought my memory separately and went with the 16gb at 1600mhz because it was the more affordable option at the time.

#17

following my tracking- will be delivered tomorrow!!! Excited LOL! Was shopping Newegg for Ram and SSD. Ram is dirt cheap now so either will work just not sure if A. 32GB is overkill and if it’s bad to max system RAM B. what will performance differences really amount to? If I work in large PSD files which will be more important. I’m leaning towards 32 but even in my desktop I have it maxed out to 24GB (highest it supports) but have honestly been having issues that are either of the ram or image variety, just haven’t had time to really troubleshoot.

#18

i’ld max it out… your right, it’s so cheap right now, you can’t really go wrong there.

#19

when you get your laptop make sure everything works. i am getting the mobo in mine replaced tomorrow because the optimus feature is missing from the bios.

#20

what the… how in the heck did that get past QC!