Looking for someone with a Precision M70

Don't compare a consumer grade 17" laptop with a 15.4" enterprise grade one.

The Precision will probably give you enough performance, but also gives you the ability to use a docking station, a modular bay, integrated bluetooth, smart card reader and it is also more portable.

Do you need the new machine now, as in "right away"? If not, rumour has it that the M90 is right aound the corner, and I think (but don't quote me on that) that it will come with a 17" screen. In any case, the Dell Precision machines are of far, far better quality than the Alienware stuff. As somebody else noted, the difference is between a consumer product, and an enterprise-class product. In the end, given what you say about your work, my guess is that the screen size is most important. In that case, and if you need the machine right now, then why not go with an XPS M170?

You could probably put the 1400 FX in a 9300 or XPS2/M170. I've also heard of "soft-modding" the 6800 and 7800s into Quadro/FX enabled cards.

Hi. I have a 9300 with the original 6800Go, and i've attempted to softmod the card with the riva soft, without really enable the Quadro features ... the only is that the drivers really find the 6800 as a Quadro1400 and say all features are available, but after made a lot of real test, any of them show any powerful change, as if i've a real Quadro1400 ... so don't work the softmod, sorry ... and on the riva forums all you can read is that our ( and more ) 6800 with PCI slot are not soft modable, because they are hard locked ...

And my friend, if you do any design work, do yourself a favor and don't buy anything less than a 17" screen. Maybe it can be a good idea to wait for the M90, for sure much more better than the Alienware

Good luck

If you can wait until the end of year... Dell should be releasing new Precision models with what you want in them.

I'll run it tomorrow at work.

SpecPerf 8.1 BSOD'd on the first run.

"Note to self update to latest Dell supplied Driver."

ItemValue
OS NameMicrosoft Windows XP Professional
Version5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS ManufacturerMicrosoft Corporation
System ManufacturerDell Inc.
System ModelPrecision M70
System TypeX86-based PC
Processorx86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 8 GenuineIntel ~1995 Mhz
BIOS Version/DateDell Inc. A03, 9/30/2005
SMBIOS Version2.3
LocaleUnited States
Hardware Abstraction LayerVersion = "5.1.2600.2562 (xpsp.040919-1030)"
Time ZoneCentral Standard Time
Total Physical Memory1,024.00 MB
Available Physical Memory617.14 MB
Total Virtual Memory2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory1.96 GB
Page File Space2.40 GB

ItemValue
NameNVIDIA Quadro FX Go1400
Adapter RAM256.00 MB (268,435,456 bytes)
Installed Driversnv4_disp.dll
Driver Version6.14.10.7811
INF Fileoem2.inf (nv4_WSApps_NV41_WinXP_2 section)
Color Planes1
Color Table Entries4294967296
Resolution1920 x 1200 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel32
Driverc:\windows\system32\drivers\nv4_mini.sys (6.14.10.7811, 3.06 MB (3,208,960 bytes), 8/11/2004 6:08 PM)
NVIDIA Quadro FX Go1400YesDISPLAY7.8.1.17/6/2005NVIDIAoem2.infNot AvailablePCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_00CC&SUBSYS_019B1028&REV_A2\4&27EA4097&0&0008
Default MonitorYesMONITOR5.1.2001.06/6/2001(Standard monitor types)monitor.infNot AvailableDISPLAY\DEFAULT_MONITOR\5&F7304BD&0&00000120&01&00



Run All Summary
---------- SUM_RESULTS\3DSMAX\SUMMARY.TXT
3dsmax-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 25.29
---------- SUM_RESULTS\CATIA\SUMMARY.TXT
catia-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 25.33
---------- SUM_RESULTS\ENSIGHT\SUMMARY.TXT
ensight-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 11.81
---------- SUM_RESULTS\LIGHT\SUMMARY.TXT
light-07 Weighted Geometric Mean = 18.58
---------- SUM_RESULTS\MAYA\SUMMARY.TXT
maya-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 38.95
---------- SUM_RESULTS\PROE\SUMMARY.TXT
proe-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 32.04
---------- SUM_RESULTS\SW\SUMMARY.TXT
sw-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 19.16
---------- SUM_RESULTS\UGS\SUMMARY.TXT
ugs-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 20.64

Reference System Precision 380
ItemValue
OS NameMicrosoft Windows XP Professional
Version5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS ManufacturerMicrosoft Corporation
System ManufacturerDell Inc.
System ModelPrecision WorkStation 380
System TypeX86-based PC
Processorx86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 3 GenuineIntel ~3192 Mhz
Processorx86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 3 GenuineIntel ~3192 Mhz
BIOS Version/DateDell Inc. A06, 1/9/2006
SMBIOS Version2.3
Windows DirectoryC:\WINDOWS
System DirectoryC:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device\Device\HarddiskVolume2
LocaleUnited States
Hardware Abstraction LayerVersion = "5.1.2600.2705 (xpsp.050622-1524)"
Time ZoneCentral Standard Time
Total Physical Memory2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory1.67 GB
Total Virtual Memory2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory1.96 GB
Page File Space3.85 GB
Page FileC:\pagefile.sys

[Display]

ItemValue
NameNVIDIA Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI
PNP Device IDPCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_00CD&SUBSYS_029B10DE&REV_A2\4&390FD548&0&0008
Adapter TypeQuadro FX 3450/4000 SDI, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter DescriptionNVIDIA Quadro FX 3450/4000 SDI
Adapter RAM256.00 MB (268,435,456 bytes)
Installed Driversnv4_disp.dll
Driver Version6.14.10.7718
INF Fileoem0.inf (nv4_NV4x_DOEB section)
Color Planes1
Color Table Entries4294967296
Resolution1024 x 768 x 75 hertz
Bits/Pixel32
Driverc:\windows\system32\drivers\nv4_mini.sys (6.14.10.7718, 3.02 MB (3,168,192 bytes), 8/11/2004 6:08 PM)


Run All Summary
---------- SUM_RESULTS\3DSMAX\SUMMARY.TXT
3dsmax-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 32.23
---------- SUM_RESULTS\CATIA\SUMMARY.TXT
catia-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 27.35
---------- SUM_RESULTS\ENSIGHT\SUMMARY.TXT
ensight-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 20.52
---------- SUM_RESULTS\LIGHT\SUMMARY.TXT
light-07 Weighted Geometric Mean = 22.78
---------- SUM_RESULTS\MAYA\SUMMARY.TXT
maya-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 43.84
---------- SUM_RESULTS\PROE\SUMMARY.TXT
proe-03 Weighted Geometric Mean = 43.77
---------- SUM_RESULTS\SW\SUMMARY.TXT
sw-01 Weighted Geometric Mean = 26.07
---------- SUM_RESULTS\UGS\SUMMARY.TXT
ugs-04 Weighted Geometric Mean = 30.51

actually that is all just marketing, consumer grade, enterprise

I use latitude C and D lines, i had an D810 personally and have an inspiron 9300; its all the same basic hardware between historical ranges - barr the case and the plastic case of the C series latitude although looking crap was tough enough in a work enviroment

the inpsirion range is almost as well build case wise as the equivalent D series latitude

and the precision brand is the biggest business rip off, all it is is an D810 with a quadro card, which in itself is basically a 6800go

branding is everything, in canada latitude is much much less than presicion typically

there are 4 reasons to choose a latitude over its inspiron equivalent (IMO):

1. Long shelf life for models (for business purchases) for compatibility
2. Automatic built in warranty (at least in canada)
3. Case looks and is tougher
4. the docking station / modular harddrive availability

there is one reason to chose the precision over the equivalent latitude:

1. to get the quadro video card for specific applications (this is business purchase)


Most of these comments apply to 14.1" and 15.4" ranges