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Updated Dell Precision M3800 includes Thunderbolt 2!


mnrc

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For those looking to a sweet light alternative to using Macbooks for Thunderbolt powered eGPUs, check out this new beast!

- 4K 15.6" IGZO display

- Core i7-4712HQ (Haswell)

- Quadro graphics (dGPU) and Intel graphics (iGPU)

- Thunderbolt 2 port!

It's not cheap, but neither are Macbook Pros.

AnandTech | Dell Updates Ultrabook Thin M3800 Mobile Workstation With 4K Display

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Any idea whether this laptop would enable Nvidia Optimus on the internal display over thunderbolt 2? I imagine you would have to disable the internal Nvidia Quadro by using setup 1.30 or similar. Need a new workstation laptop and already have an EVGA GTX 970. Trying to decide between this and the (much cheaper) Lenovo Thinkpad w540, which is on sale now for less than $1000.

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Any idea whether this laptop would enable Nvidia Optimus on the internal display over thunderbolt 2? I imagine you would have to disable the internal Nvidia Quadro by using setup 1.30 or similar. Need a new workstation laptop and already have an EVGA GTX 970. Trying to decide between this and the (much cheaper) Lenovo Thinkpad w540, which is on sale now for less than $1000.

I wonder about this as well. I'm guessing optimus still doesn't support more than 2 GPUs. It should be easy enough to disable the PCIe addresses of the dGPU within the UEFI shell I suppose.

The lenovo is fine, but defeats the concept of a thin and light powerful ultrabook that can double as a gaming machine while connected at home. Will keep an eye out for the updated TB2 model.

I see HiDPI laptops as ideal for productivity and a beautiful desktop experience, but of course gaming as such resolutions is too taxing. In the case of my MBP, gaming is done at half the native resolution, which provides performance without much visual loss. I find that these displays still display lower resolutions very clearly without much noticeable aliasing.

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Or wait some time to get a W541 with TB2.

So the principal issue involved in me getting the w541 is the timing. I have no idea when it will be released, nor do my university IT folks who purchase through Lenovo.

The reason I am in the market for a new computer is that my Dell M6500 which I had been using in x4 mode with the PE4H and GTX 970 had its motherboard burn out. It was performing on par with TB1 speeds, as verified by CudaZ, but was a mess of wires. I'm not sure what happened, but something must have gotten bumped in the wrong way while the computer was on. I thought it was just a bad connection, but proper and careful reconnection also burned out my back up motherboard. I'm typing this on my backup laptop, and a new motherboard will be here on Friday....

I've already ordered an Akitio TB2 Pcie expansion box and powered riser cable. I have a corsair CX430 I'll be using to power it all. So I'm more or less invested in buying a new laptop that supports thunderbolt, but it also oriented for Windows.

I get a discount on the w540 through my university for a total of 32% off until tomorrow, resulting in a price of $950 for the starting config. I already have 32GB of DDR3, and the w540 has 4 DIMM slots to drop the RAM into. Also, it has an optical bay slot I can use for a second hard drive. Plus, it supports much faster cpus than the M3800 (one option). I believe you can go up to a i7 4930mx for an additional $600 or so including the 32% discount, which if there is no throttling, is fantastic due to the unlocked multiplier and throttlestop. I also want to run fully coupled numerical simulations for work on this computer when I want, so that aspect is important to me.

In addition, another person in my lab just received a w540 as their main computer, so I may be trying it out with theirs once I receive my akitio box in a day or so.

The M3800 on the other hand has full support for TB2 instead of TB1 and is available right now. It has the advantage of touch screen, much much lighter/thinner profile, and aluminum instead of a full plastic body like the thinkpad. Unfortunately, it does not have a removable battery, though it is configurable with up to a 91whr battery. The 91whr battery option apparently removes the 1 option for a 2.5in HDD, so you would have to make do with the mSATA slot. No custom fancy docking station connector here, but there appears to be a nifty USB 3.0 docking station (though I'm not sure how that actually works with regards to video, etc.). The only disadvantage is the soldered in, slightly slower, processor, and 2 DIMM slots for a max of 16GB of RAM. My lab is in the process of buying me a pretty powerful workstation for the office, so the ram issue may be moot.

The M3800 configuration I found was cheapest by swapping windows with linux for a savings of $100 (get windows through my university), and a 5% off coupon I found on the internet for precisions. Final price of $1450 (8GB of RAM, 500GB HDD).

The w541 appears to combine the best of both worlds, but if it's not available soon (tried to email Lenovo sales, no response yet), I may have to pass for the M3800, so tempting to pull the trigger on an already available product.

TL;DR: w540 vs M3800 = Battle between workstation vs. ultrabook, TB1 vs. TB2, 32GB RAM vs. 16GB RAM, Expandability vs. Ultimate Portability. Mainly care about TB2, Followed by CPU, Followed by Portability, Followed by RAM. Does anyone own one of these machines and can attest to its feasibility for egpu use?

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Does anyone own one of these machines and can attest to its feasibility for egpu use?<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7388-%5Bguide%5D-15-lenovo-w540-r9_290x-gtx780ti@10gbps-4gbps-sonnet-ee-se2-pe4l-2-1b.html

Working fine, but the built quality and no trackpoint mouse Buttons .... :/. I would choose the M3800 or wait for W541.

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http://forum.techinferno.com/implementation-guides/7388-%5Bguide%5D-15-lenovo-w540-r9_290x-gtx780ti@10gbps-4gbps-sonnet-ee-se2-pe4l-2-1b.html

Working fine, but the built quality and no trackpoint mouse Buttons .... :/. I would choose the M3800 or wait for W541.

I found a link with possible pricing information on the W541. Not too cheap. Hoping that actual direct to consumer pricing will be a little lower.

Search - PC Connection

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I found a link with possible pricing information on the W541. Not too cheap. Hoping that actual direct to consumer pricing will be a little lower.

Search - PC Connection

ZBOOK 15 G2 is a direct competitor to the Lenovo W541. It too has a TB2-16Gbps port. Starts at $1582 for a i7-4710MQ, 8GB, 1TB, K610M dGPU http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1095229-REG/hp_f1m31ut_aba_zbook_15_g2_mobile.html . Spending $1702 gets 16GB and a K1100M dGPU: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1108988-REG/hp_i7_4710m_zbook_15_g2_1tb_16gb_windows7p64.html . Or if want a faster i7-4810MQ CPU but 8GB RAM can get it for $1836: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1095213-REG/hp_f1m34ut_aba_zbook_15_g2_mobile.html

If you're looking at the W540 with a lower spec 10Gbps-TB1 port, then consider too the 15" ZBook G1 also with a TB1 port.

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