Dell M6500: A Precision Strike on Bling
by Jarred Walton on March 9, 2010 3:00 AM ESTTesting Overview
We've been updating some of our benchmarks to newer applications and games, and we've added a few workstation tests for the M6500. We've included results for previous laptops where applicable, but on some of the new tests we only have M6500 scores. You can find the test configurations for the other high-end notebooks in our High-End (Clevo) Roundup and the ASUS G51J reviews. Here are the details of our M6500 test configuration.
| Dell Precision M6500 Test System | |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-920XM (4x2.0GHz+ HTT, 45nm, 4x256KB L2, 8MB L3, 2.5GT/s QPI, 55W) |
| Memory | 4x1GB DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800M 1GB NVIDIA Drivers: 188.43 |
| Display | 17.0" RGBLED Matte WUXGA (1920x1200) |
| Hard Drive(s) | 320GB 7200RPM HDD |
| Optical Drive | 8x DVDR SuperMulti |
| Battery | 9-Cell, 11.1V, 8400mAh, 90Wh extended life battery |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Windows Vista Business 64-bit (for SPECviewperf) |
| Pricing | Starting at $1799 (with $310 instant rebate) Price as configured: $4698 (with $310 instant rebate) |
Our tests will use standardized application benchmark suites like PCMark along with individual application results. Our in-house application tests place more weight on CPU performance, as we look at video encoding and 3D rendering performance. As you'll see, the M6500 with i7-920XM is extremely fast compared to any other "true notebook" (i.e. no desktop CPUs). Really, the question you need to ask yourself is whether you need a mobile workstation. If you do, few notebooks can match—let alone surpass—the M6500. NVIDIA doesn't make a faster mobile Quadro than the FX 3800M (yet), and short of desktop CPUs you can't beat the performance of the Core i5/i7 processors.
For gaming—not that it's really a major focus of the M6500—we're moving to some newer titles and switching to a standardized resolution of 1600x900. Like it or not, 16:9 aspect ratios are the new rage, mostly because LCD panel makers can get more panels out of a glass sheet that way. We'll include 1920x1200 results for the M6500, since it thankfully bucks the 16:9 trend (though we wouldn't be surprised to see the next generation Precision notebooks go the 16:9 route if current trends continue). We will also show 1680x1050 results on older titles where we have a back catalog of results. All of our standard gaming tests are done without antialiasing, as we generally don't have enough GPU power in mobile solutions to effectively run at HD+, 1080p, or WUXGA resolutions with AA.
Battery life testing will follow the usual suite, with laptops set to "ideal" settings for improving battery life. With the launch of Windows 7 we decided to showcase the best that laptops are able to offer in terms of mobility. If you run using a "Balanced" profile instead of "Power Saver", you can typically expect 5-15% less battery life, depending on the laptop. We will also include our LCD quality tests.
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FXi - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
The M17x sure could have used some touches to bring it more along the looks of the M6500. I have a M6400 and it's really a fantastic machine. It gets looks and questions wherever I take it.Why did the M17x lack a latch, USB3 and some of the other subtlety that the M6500 has in spades? It's not that the M17x is "bad", not at all. It just could have had a more subtle elegance with so little additional effort. And moreover, the M17x "could" have used the very same docking station as the M6500. Same chipset, same overall form factor. The grill bottom of the M17x could have taken a docking port without making it too weak.
Anyway I have a M6400 and it's really a fantastic machine. Moreover I get about 2-2.5 hours on the battery which is wonderful for car appointments sitting in the lounge getting work done.
Great machine. Only sadness is the case is so packed they can't fit SLI Quadro's. But that doesn't keep it from being a Class A machine.
hko45 - Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - link
I have an M6400. I like it's clean, serious look. Not like the over-the-top "fashion" toys I've seen from other laptop purveyors.As I said in an earlier post, the E-Port and E-Port Plus docking stations make Dell Precision & Latitude laptops my only choices for now. (Other docking stations that I know about do not offer multi DVI/DP options and require a USB connection, as opposed to the dedicated docking port on the Dells.
Although, I've heard rumors that NVidia is considering offering an external graphics card option (that I presume will use USB 3.0). If so, they'd be crazy not to include multiple monitor capabilities.
wicko - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
Would be nice to see a consumer version of this, I'd be completely interested if it weren't for the abnormal price range.geekforhire - Wednesday, March 17, 2010 - link
Goofy question, but would your opinion change if this machine were $3000 rather than about $6000? Check my review above.Lothsahn - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
We use about 20 of these (M6400) where I work, and they are extremely fast, but their quality is absolutely horrible (despite what the article says). We've had nearly one problem in each laptop within the first year (some worse, some better).My laptop was completely replaced by Dell due to 10 separate RMA requests, likely resulting from a defective powerbrick that Dell could not diagnose (even with my suggestion that they replace the power brick).
Some of the problems we've seen:
1) fan failures (requiring replacement of the ENTIRE graphics card daughterboard, not just the fan, because they're integrated together
2) battery failures
3) Motherboard failures
4) Power supply failures
5) Display issues-- the contrast is EXTREMELY poor on the displays ( http://www.google.com/search?q=M6400+display+color">http://www.google.com/search?q=M6400+display+color )
6) Numerous driver issues causing BSOD's in WinXP-64.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
Hopefully Dell provided good service at least in terms of getting things replaced? I did tech support for a giant corporation at one point, we had hundreds of Dell PCs and laptops, and they would send someone out within 24 hours to fix problems.Obviously, I can't comment on long-term stability when I only have a unit for a month, but I didn't have any stability problems at all. The PSU is now updated relative to the M6400, and for sure the LCD doesn't have "extremely poor contrast"... I tested this one, and it rates 670:1, which is great.
As for the color tint, that's partly a problem from too bright a backlight (run at ~40% and you'll be a lot closer to 6500K; 100% is likely in the 9000K+ range). For calibration, you do need hardware and software, but with a 1.8 gamma setting (see above and updated text in article) that issue is now addressed.
Lothsahn - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
Dell provided excellent service. No complaints there. But I would be terrified if we didn't have a 3yr onsite warranty--these units are all out of a typical 1yr warranty now and given the current failure rates, I would expect most of them to be dead within the next year if we didn't have them repaired.I should clarify the LCD issue--it's not "contrast" in terms of brightness of white to black. The monitor is extremely bright and contrasty. However, certain colors have NO grey definition whatsoever. There are details in this post:
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19243123/195...">http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19243123/195...
If you look at the yellow pushpin on the M6400 monitor, ALL greys in the yellow pushpin are nonexistent--the pushpin is one solid color. For graphics editing, that is clearly unacceptable. Thankfully, we don't graphics edit, but some webpages are still more difficult to see because of this problem.
People reporting this error have calibrated their displays, but that does not resolve the issue. It's more than a software or a calibration issue.
I have adjusted gamma and brightness settings in the Nvidia driver (from the default settings), which has been good enough for web browsing, although the problem remains. However, when you pay 4-5k for a laptop, you shouldn't have these sorts of problems.
mino - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
Just give me DUAL NIC for VMware worstation dual-node operation and I be in heaven.The node2 being something in x200 tablet class ...
Lazlo Panaflex - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
POS screen with unfixable blue tint, no DVI (vga? LOL!) and lack of other ports, expensive price tag and bland asthetics...sorry, but this is epic fail for Dell.Jarred, methinks you were a bit too kind in your overall assessment of this lemon.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - link
See above: LCD issue is "fixed" now and I updated the article. Docking station provides two extra DVI ports I believe, but it's still irritating. Still, that's not "epic fail" by any but the most limited perspective.