MerkAmerica's Blog

Dell Precision M6600 Touchscreen Stylus Pen Demonstration

MerkAmerica Electronics — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:36:10 +0000

Another Dell Precision M6600 Notebook Review

MerkAmerica Electronics — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:24:32 +0000

Reviewed by Notebookcheck.com:

This notebook’s younger brother the Dell Precision M4600 was reviewed by us a few weeks ago, and left a lasting impression on our editorial team. Along with high performance and good portability, the review model was convincing from an ergonomic standpoint as well. This is why it was deservedly named our “Editors’ Choice” for September.

The Dell Precision M6600 falls into the 17-inch category, and at first the major difference you notice is its more generous proportions. This allows more room for cooling powerful components, for mass storage, for connectivity and for a vast number of configuration options. In the Dell online shop, for example, you can choose between 6 CPUs, 11 different mass storage devices, and four professional graphics cards. Prices currently begin at 1500 Euros without tax, while our modest review model reached a price of around 4100 Euros without tax. But for this you get an Intel Core i7-2920XM CPU, 8 GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD, an Nvidia Quadro 4000M, and a matt 17.3-inch screen with FullHD resolution.

Case

: Nit-picking really: small inaccuracy on the review model

The case only differs from the smaller Precision M4600 in its dimensions and its weight. The dark brown colouring, the metal finish and the square-edged design mean that the two models look similar enough to be mistaken for one another. The Precision M6600 is about 600 g heavier and about 4 cm wider. Because the notebook’s height has barely changed, the large workstation looks a little slimmer, proportionally, than the 15-inch model. To the almost 3.8 kg of weight you also need to add the more than 1 kg of the 240-Watt power block, bringing the total weight very close to the 5 kg threshold. For simple transport from A to B this is certainly manageable, but it’s not the best notebook to have to carry around with you the whole time.

As ever, you have to remove the laptop’s large base plate in order to reach the components. Nor is there any provision here for quickly interchangeable drives in a modular bay. If the battery is not slotted in, the case tips forward and to the right because it lacks the necessary stability without one of its rubber feet. Despite the case’s size, there is only a slight loss of rigidity. The lid can be twisted back and forth a little bit more than before, because of the larger dimensions, and on the left next to the on/off button we produced a very small creak by applying pressure. Other than a slightly larger gap than expected in one place on the case lid, the workmanship is flawless and of an extremely high quality.

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Connectivity

: FireWire 400 in 6-pin version

: Ports Dell Precision M6600

The range of ports on this machine is identical to the Precision M4600, apart from one small feature. Instead of a four-pin FireWire 400 port (IEEE 1394), the M6600 comes with the six-pin version that you see on Macs. This may offer no advantage in terms of transfer speeds, but it does offer its own power supply. This enables the use of mobile FireWire hard drives (usually from the ‘world of Macs’) without an additional USB power source. This will particularly please users who still have older FireWire hard drives in their repertoire, or who often work with Macs and Windows computers in parallel or in turn. We have represented the performance we measured for the individual ports in the graphic below.

At the suggestion of several users, this time we also tested the usefulness of the ports in conjunction with mobile hard drives that don’t have a separate power supply. The problem is that sometimes USB hard drives won’t run or are not recognised. But in this respect we could not ascertain any kind of limitations that the workstation could be responsible for. USB 2.0 hard drives worked on the USB 3.0 ports, and vice versa. Perhaps in the cases where there were problems it was because of energy-hungry hard drive models which did not correspond to the USB specifications. We have often observed this kind of bad behaviour in our accessory tests of external hard drives.

: Front: Lid opening mechanism

: Left: Kensington, 2x USB, Firewire (6-pin), audio in/out, Blu-Ray, card reader, SmartCard, ExpressCard/54

: Back: LAN, VGA, USB/eSata combo, HDMI, power socket

: Right: WLAN switch, hard drive slot, 2x USB 3.0, DisplayPort

Likewise, the problems that another user reported with the network connection and the audio ports (did not work after being in standby) did not show up in our review model. But what really didn’t work for us was the cloning of the notebook’s screen contents onto an external FullHD display with the usual resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. We could not get it to work with the HDMI or the DisplayPort. Only the analogue VGA port was able to fulfil this task. It worked so well that we were truly surprised by the sharpness of the picture and the good reproduction overall. All we had to do was correct the picture position on the external screen. So the VGA on this Dell Precision M6600, unlike many other notebooks we have tested, represents a fully adequate and useful alternative.

Warranty

The standard warranty is 36 months, as is usual for this class of machine, and can be extended in many ways, in typical Dell fashion.

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Input Devices

Keyboard

The keyboard looks just like the one on the Precision M4600, but has some give in it across its entire surface. This behaviour could displease demanding users in the long run, as it means the point of tactile response cannot be felt as precisely. In this respect, the ThinkPad-keyboard of the X220 would be much better, for example, or, to stick with the 17-inch models, the keyboard of the large MacBook Pro. Aside from this, the keyboard can offer a moderate travel distance and quiet typing. The Qwerty keyboard layout of the review model differs in a few aspects from the German version, with the latter holding no unpleasant surprises. The separate number block makes it easier to enter long strings of numbers, and important functions can be reached using FN-key combinations.

Touchpad

The touchpad, TrackPoint stick and accompanying buttons offer a good range of functions and ease of use. They are the same as those on the Precision M4600.

: Keyboard

: Qwerty layout on our test model

: Large arrow keys

: The usual key layout

: Solid touchpad

: Separate number pad

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Display

In contrast to the Dell Precision M4600, you can currently only choose between two types of display on the Precision M6600. Although the product description talks of an optional touch display with pen recognition, it is not yet possible to select this option in the online shop. Not even included in the options are an IPS panel or a display with RGB LED backlighting which would offer an extended colour space.

The standard display available for the base model has a resolution of 1600 x 900 pixels (106 dpi), and the alternative which is built into our review model has a 1920 x 1080 resolution (127 dpi). This gives you a lot of screen space to work with on the 17.3-inch screen, and can only really be beaten by notebooks with 1920 x 1200 screens in 16:10 format, which you hardly ever see any more. The reproduced size of symbols, text and icons will be large enough for most users on a setting of 100%, and anyone else can, as ever, adjust it to suit their own needs in the system options.


297 cd/m²	286 cd/m²	268 cd/m²
309 cd/m²	301 cd/m²	278 cd/m²
297 cd/m²	302 cd/m²	282 cd/m²

Information

Gossen Mavo-Monitor

Maximum: 309 cd/m²
Average: 291.1 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 87 %
Center on Battery: 301 cd/m²
Black: 0.33 cd/m²
Contrast: 912:1

ICC File (X-Rite i1Display 2)

Distribution of brightness

The LED backlighting delivers brightness values of between 268 cd/m² and 309 cd/m² at our usual nine measuring points. On average we measured 291 cd/m², giving a relatively even distribution of brightness at 87%. This is not just a good result in general, but has even more significance when you consider the size of the screen that has to be illuminated. The brightness can be controlled in 15 levels from 21 cd/m² up to 301 cd/m² (both centre). Thanks to the matt surface there are no disruptive reflections, and an ergonomic brightness setting can be used indoors. At level 4 we measured 102 cd/m², at level 5, 123 cd/m², level 6, 144 cd/m² and level 7, 163 cd/m².

With its average brightness of 291 cd/m², the display is well equipped for outdoor use. The brightness is, in most situations, strong enough to get the better of the ambient daylight. It is only a struggle to make out the screen contents when direct sunlight falls on it; in this case one should adjust the screen position accordingly.

A further highlight is the exceptionally good contrast ratio of 912:1. Pictures and films have much better vibrancy and saturation; black screen contents appear to be truly black, and text stands out noticeably more clearly from a white background than on the lifeless displays that you usually see.

: M6600 vs AdobeRGB (t)

: M6600 vs sRGB (t)

: M6600 calibrated vs sRGB (t)

According to Dell’s advertising, the panel should have a wide viewing angle and accurate colour reproduction. The colour space that we determined can’t quite cover the sRGB colour space. Although the sum of all the colours in the laptop’s initial state reaches about 94% of the colours of the sRGB colour space, the total sum of colours inside of the sRGB colour space is reduced to less than 90% because some parts extend far beyond it. The colour reproduction is accurate, if you take the sRGB colour space as a base, i.e. not as it is in its initial state, as green-blue and red-magenta values are missing and yellow-orange extends beyond the goal.

After calibrating with the goal of the sRGB colour space, Gamma 2.2, at a room temperature of 6500 Kelvin and brightness of 120 cd/m², the screen’s options are exhausted and about 95% of the sRGB colour space is covered. This is the best that is technically possible at present, the best that you can expect from screens with white LEDs. It means that the screen is also suitable for image editing, as promised by Dell, but only if you are willing to do without that last few percent of the colour space and use a colorimeter yourself. So overall the notebook covers a much larger colour spectrum than we are used to from the usual standard displays. But the screen does not approach the full rich colouring of a RGB LED display.

Whereas many screens quickly suffer from a displacement of colour tones, brightness and contrast when you change your viewing position or the angle of the screen, this sort of behaviour appears noticeably later and to a smaller extent in the review model in front of us. At extreme angles from the side, the colours develop a slight yellow tinge, and at extreme angles from above or below you can see the usual inversion or fading out of the colours. But this is in a reduced form compared to much of the competition. IPS panels with particularly wide viewing angles could offer better results in this area, but these are not offered for the Precision M6600 at present.

Resolutions between FullHD and 1280 x 1024, like 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 for instance, cannot be selected on the internal display, as with the Precision M4600.

: Viewing angles Dell Precision M6600

Ads by Google

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Performance

Our version of the Precision M6600 is fitted with an Intel Core i7-2920XM CPU, 8 GB of RAM, an Nvidia Quadro 4000M (2 GB of GDDR5) and a 256 GB solid state drive. The amount of RAM can be expanded up to 32 GB, as there are 4 RAM slots in all, as with the Precision M4600. Two of them are occupied in our review model, each with a 4 GB module, while the remaining two are free.

The CPU delivers top performance results, as expected, in the usual benchmarks. While single-thread applications in particular benefit from Turbo Boost (2.5 to 3.5 GHz), Hyperthreading allows up to 8 operations to be processed simultaneously in multi-core applications. Together, the two technologies ensure that the optimum performance is always available. The SuperPi 32M calculation (single-thread) required 580 s and wPrime 1024m (multi-thread) 264 s, while the Cinebench R11.5 (64 bit) produced a score of 6.2 points.

System information Dell Precision M6600

CB10 Rendering Single 32Bit	4450 points
CB10 Rendering Single 64Bit	5563 points
CB10 Rendering Multi 32Bit	17355 points
CB10 Rendering Multi 64Bit	21407 points
CB10 OpenGL 32Bit	6638 points
CB10 OpenGL 64Bit	6808 points
CB R11.5 CPU 64Bit	6.2 points
CB R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit	45.98 fps

Help

… in comparison

3DMark 06 1280×1024	17727 points
3DMark Vantage	10722 points
3DMark 11	2440 points

Help

… in comparison

The CPU performance is essentially at the same level as the Precision M4600, but the Nvidia Quadro 4000M graphics can add additional speed when working with graphics-intensive applications. The Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated into the processor is also serviceable, and enables the optimal graphics performance to be used in any given situation according to need, with the help of Nvidia’s Optimus technology. Essentially you choose (or allow Optimus to choose) between high performance and energy efficiency.

Naturally we carried out the graphics performance tests with the powerful Nvidia Quadro 4000M. In the 3D Mark Vantage it scored 10,722 points, in the 3D Mark 11 it was 2440 points, and in the Unigine Heaven it finished on 31.4 fps. These results are, depending on the test, around 50% better than the Nvidia Quadro 2000M in the Precision M4600. But again in the Precision M6600 we observed the graphics unit’s throttling while on battery power, which then produced a substantially lower level of performance (e.g. 3D Mark Vantage, 1441 points).

The ISV driver 8.17.12.7605 installed on our review machine was not available on the Dell homepage at the time of testing. Therefore for once we also tested the conventionally available driver versions (ISV 8.17.12.7519 and Standard 6.14.12.6883) with respect to CAD performance. Different driver versions can be responsible for noticeable differences in performance. In the SPECviewperf 11 benchmark, which deals with various CAD programs, we could not determine any differences (beyond a margin of error) between the different ISV driver versions. Only the Standard driver drew any attention to itself, with a more than 50% drop-off in the Lightwave test (17 fps to 42 fps).

Specific 3ds Max and AutoCAD performance drivers are not available for the Nvidia Quadro 4000M; at present only the Quadro 5000M can benefit from optimized drivers.

	Dell Precision M6600 Intel Core i7-2920XM, NVIDIA Quadro 4000M, Samsung SSD PM810	Schenker XIRIOS W710 Intel Xeon X5670, NVIDIA Quadro 5010M, OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G (RAID0)	Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Intel Core i7 2820QM, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M, Seagate ST9500420AS	Dell Precision M4600 Intel Core i7-2920XM, NVIDIA Quadro 2000M, LiteONIT LAT256M2s	Fujitsu Celsius H710 WXP11DE Intel Core i7 2820QM, NVIDIA Quadro 1000M, Toshiba THNSFC256GBSJ
SPECviewperf 11		9%	-18%	-17%	-40%
1920×1080 Catia AA:0x AF:0x	36.53	33.89 -7%	27.08 -26%	27.69 -24%	15.04 -59%
1920×1080 Ensight AA:0x AF:0x	24.89	36.73 48%	17.84 -28%	17.96 -28%	11.19 -55%
1920×1080 Lightwave AA:0x AF:0x	42.12	40.01 -5%	40.8 -3%	42.93 2%	35.99 -15%
1920×1080 Maya AA:0x AF:0x	51.38	53.62 4%	45.28 -12%	45.96 -11%	33.48 -35%
1920×1080 Pro/ENGINEER AA:0x AF:0x	10.59	7.99 -25%	9.45 -11%	9.83 -7%	8.32 -21%
1920×1080 SolidWorks AA:0x AF:0x	39.13	37.93 -3%	32.8 -16%	33.4 -15%	25 -36%
1920×1080 Tcvis AA:0x AF:0x	29.22	37.6 29%	22.13 -24%	22.52 -23%	16.17 -45%
1920×1080 Siemens NX AA:0x AF:0x	26.38	34.9 32%	19.28 -27%	19.32 -27%	13.3 -50%

The Nvidia Quadro 4000M’s results in the SPECviewperf 11 test are, compared to previously tested workstation graphics cards the Quadro 1000M and Quadro 2000M, as much as 100% better depending on the testing sector (Catia, Teamcenter, SNX). The differences are smallest in Lightwave, Maya and Pro Engineer, at around 5-10%. The results are patchy compared to the Quadro 5010M in the Schenker Xirios W710, although the differing driver versions could be responsible for the worse result in 4 tests of what should be the stronger graphics unit.

When it comes to converting videos, you have three different possibilities for changing them into another format: Intel Quick Sync, Nvidia CUDA or traditionally just through CPU work. For this test we used Cyberlinks MediaEspresso, which supports all three variants. Our test film ‘Seven’ was converted into an iPhone compatible format.

Intel’s transcoder unit, which only allows itself to be used when the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 unit is also ‘activated’ (requires the Intel graphics driver), has the lowest power consumption (90 Watts), works the fastest (03:18 mins) and puts the least burden on the CPU (18%). If you leave the job to the CPU alone, the power consumption climbs to over 100 Watts, the result is only ready after 07:58 mins and the CPU usage is 88%. Nvidia’s CUDA technology falls somewhere in-between these two, needing around 100 Watts, 34% CPU usage and 09:27 mins, the longest time.

: SPECviewperf 11.5 in comparison

: Video conversion in s, the smaller, the faster

7.1

Windows 7 Experience Index

Processor

Calculations per second

7.6

Memory (RAM)

Memory operations per second

7.7

Graphics

Desktop performance for Windows Aero

7.1

Gaming graphics

3D business and gaming graphics

7.1

Primary hard disk

Disk data transfer rate

7.7

PCMark Vantage	15591 points
PCMark 7	4539 points

Help

… in comparison

We checked the Precision M6600 workstation for possible latencies during the use of external devices, using the DPC Latency Checker tool. Even when using the usual energy profile, the latencies that occur are very moderate with a maximum of 1339 µs. If you use the special Pro Audio/Video profile, this reduces further to less than 200 µs. So it is unlikely that you will be troubled with crackles of sound, synchronisation errors or other reductions in quality.

The mass storage used in our review model is a solid state drive made by Samsung (SSD PM810) with a capacity of 256 GB. The transfer rates and access times are very good and surpass those of conventional hard drives many times over. However, the disadvantage of an SSD is the high cost and the relatively small memory capacity that you get for that money. To counteract this, the Precision offers countless possible combinations for you to tailor the amount of mass storage to your needs, with two bays for regular 2.5” memory drives and an mSATA slot. The combination of SSD with hard drive, RAID connections and lots more, is a configurable option.

HD Tune

CrystalDiskMark 3.0

AS SSD

Samsung SSD PM810

Transfer Rate Minimum: 152.1 MB/s

Transfer Rate Maximum: 173.5 MB/s

Transfer Rate Average: 165.8 MB/s

Access Time: 0.2 ms

Burst Rate: 56.7 MB/s

CPU Usage: 1 %

Gaming verdict

The gaming performance of the review model is on about the same level as an Nvidia Geforce GTX 570M, going purely on the benchmark results. The games that we tested ourselves could all be played smoothly and without problems on high details and with the native screen resolution. However, particularly power-hungry games like Metro 2033 or games that have yet to be released, may at times need a small amount of adjustment in terms of the quality settings. The resolution cannot be reduced very much, as the next lowest resolution option on this review model is 1280 x 1024 as already mentioned (we carried out the tests that had a resolution of 1366 x 768 on an external monitor).

	low	med.	high	ultra
Racedriver: GRID (2008)	188	148	117		fps
Sims 3 (2009)	279	165	79		fps
Anno 1404 (2009)	173			62	fps
StarCraft 2 (2010)	180	112	79	71	fps

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Emissions

System noise

One of the highlights of the Precision workstations with Nvidia Optimus is their outstandingly low system noise, which we also observed with this 17-inch review model. Many less demanding tasks like Office, internet, video conversations or undemanding image editing can be performed almost silently thanks to the solid state drive and an inactive fan. The only thing you can hear, if your surroundings are quiet, is an occasional, barely perceptible chirp from the SSD electronics. When somewhat more demanding work is being carried out or if tasks are being performed in parallel, the fan switches on and murmurs to itself, audibly but quietly, at a level of 33.1 dB(A). The optical drive is a little louder at 34.7 dB(A), but overall it is still relatively unobtrusive, and is certainly masked by the background audio when you play films, if not before.

With moderate stress, such as purely CPU conversion, you should expect 40.5 dB(A). If the graphics unit is asked to perform on top of that, the most you will have to endure is 42.3 dB(A). All these readings can be classified as ‘very good’, and are appropriate given the performance requirements at that time. We did not notice a high-frequency or otherwise unpleasant sound coming from the fan at any time.

Noise Level

Idle	29.6 / 29.6 / 33.1 dB
DVD	34.7 / dB
Load	40.5 / 42.3 dB

		30 dB silent	40 dB audible	50 dB loud
min: , med: , max: Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

Cooling of the internal components is ensured by two large fans, which do an exemplary job of handling the heat build-up from the CPU and GPU. The case temperatures that we measured reached a maximum of 42.1°C after continuous stress. That’s not just a low value for a workstation, but also comes in below many multimedia notebooks which have considerably less power under the hood. We did not observe any throttling as a result of higher temperatures.

Load


35.3 °C	40.2 °C	42.1 °C
29.3 °C	33.5 °C	31.3 °C
27 °C	24.7 °C	26.6 °C


36.4 °C	42 °C	34.5 °C
33 °C	39.8 °C	30.2 °C
25.1 °C	28.6 °C	27.2 °C

Maximum: 42.1 °C
Average: 32.2 °C

Maximum: 42 °C
Average: 33 °C

Power Supply (max.) 52.9 °C | Room Temperature 19.5 °C | Voltcraft IR-360

Speakers

The built-in speakers provide a decent basis for audio output, making a pleasant change from the usual standard. Mid-tones and bass tones are present, and offer sufficient space to keep the audible high-tones in check. So with the usual changing of settings on the equalizer, it is possible to achieve a relatively balanced sound. But for bombastic cinematic sound or for audiophiles to enjoy the listening experience, you still have to turn to external solutions. These can be attached via USB or the 3.5 mm audio port. Additionally, the HDMI and DisplayPort connections allow a transfer of sound to external monitors and TVs (not tested). We liked the separation of the audio input and output, so that headsets with two jacks can be used.

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Battery life

The possible battery options for the Precision M6600 are limited to two models with 9-cells, according to Dell’s spec sheet. You can get the standard version with a 97 Wh capacity, as with our review model, or a battery with an 87 Wh capacity and 3 years’ hardware service. We would have thought the lighter 6-cell battery from the Precision M4600 would also fit; it could be for marketing or for technical reasons that this is not offered for the larger workstation as well. We were not able to test this.

The minimum power consumption measured by us was 9.4 Watts, almost three Watts less than the smaller Precision, despite the larger display. But at medium and maximum settings without system stress, the values match up again (from 18 to 19.8 Watts), and with full system load the review machine allows itself about 30 Watts more on account of its more powerful graphics chip, hitting a maximum of 186 Watts.

Current consumption

Off / Standby	0.7 / 1.1 Watt
Idle	9.4 / 18 / 19.8 Watt
Load	138 / 186 Watt


Key: min: , med: , max: Voltcraft VC 940

: Reader’s Test

: Classic Test

This only has an effect on the battery life in the impractical scenario of energy-saving mode plus the lowest brightness setting and energy drains turned off (WLAN etc). This situation is simulated by the Battery Eater Reader’s test, and gives a maximum battery life of 680 minutes in this case. The screen brightness is 21 cd/m² at this point and would be enough to read by even in a dark room. But if you use the WLAN module, increase the screen brightness to about 200 cd/m² (level 9) and select the balanced energy profile, then a battery life of 421 minutes is possible.

When playing films at full brightness the laptop can last for over 5 hours, with all contents being handled by the Intel HD Graphics 3000.

In the Battery Eater Classic test (high-performance profile, maximum screen brightness, everything on) the battery run-time benefits from the reduction in speed of the Nvidia GPU to 162 MHz in battery mode. So 64 minutes was possible, instead of the purely mathematically possible run-time of less than half an hour.

Battery runtime

Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)	11h 20min
Surfing with WLAN	7h 01min
DVD	5h 23min
Load (maximum brightness)	1h 04min

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Verdict

Dell has created a very attractive piece of kit in the Precision M6600 mobile workstation. Fundamental aspects such as performance, quality and connectivity are dealt with effortlessly, with users having to accept very little in the way of limitations. The only compromises you have to accept are the flexing keyboard, the lack of a modular bay and the reduced graphics performance when on battery power. You are compensated for these by the great variety of configuration, support and warranty options, which allow you plenty of room to shape your own machine and leave little to be desired.

The FullHD display is likewise of a very high quality, and is convincing in almost every area. The only issue is the lack of an option to have your Precision fitted with an RGB LED display, which will be a disadvantage for some professional users.

On the other hand the system noise, optimally matched to every work situation, is absolutely without any disadvantage. From silent up to clearly audible, it is never disruptive, and has no negative effect on the case temperatures, which are also low. Nvidia’s Optimus technology ably demonstrates what can be achieved when it is combined with a well-conceived cooling system.

While the unwieldy case size and heavy weight is a bad starting point for portability, the battery life, again thanks to Nvidia’s Optimus and in spite of the powerful hardware, is very impressive. With run-times starting at one hour and going as high as 11 hours, you are suitably equipped to cope with a range of situations away from the power socket.

It is clear that all this good stuff has to be paid for with costly additional charges, bringing the price way over 4000 Euros (base model starts at around 1500 Euros). But you do get a 3 year warranty as standard, and therefore 3 long years in which to nurse your bank balance back to health.

Why the Dell m6600/m4600 beats apple in specifications, benchmarks, design, features, upgrades, etc:

MerkAmerica Electronics — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:12:53 +0000

If you are looking for a computer with a lot of processing power and limited fuss, it might be tempting to pick up an Apple Mac product over a Windows PC. Traditionally, Apple has been known as the brand with all the horse power, ideal for programmers and engineers.
However, the new Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 Mobile Workstations change all that. When it comes to sheer power and functionality with no superfluous asides, these two Windows 7 operated models cannot be beaten.
Firstly is screen resolution. Apple products have been getting an increasingly higher resolution due to technological advances allowing for more power in the machines. Yet it seems that the newer notebooks are subject to lower resolution, distributing power along other parts of the computer for a larger range of functionality. Although this might seem desirable, the sacrificing of good graphics and clear, bright visuals is certainly noticeable if you want to double up your laptop as an HD TV, as many people do these days. That in mind, the flexibility of the screen and brightness on the Dell M4600 model, makes watching movies at home or further afield a more in-depth experience.
Those interested in multi-media might be pleased by the range of functionality of, for example, the MacBook Pro, but the majority of media takes up a large proportion of space and although the Mac has memory, both the Dell Workstations (in particular the M6600) have far more, allowing them to store audio files, video files and photographs by the thousands without slowing down the computer at all. The power management systems are top-notch and its effective cooling system keeps it running off battery for several hours without a problem. The M6600 can easily handle both the DVDs or the more advance Blu-ray option without any adverse effect at all and with the vastly superior sound quality from both the surround-sound speakers and out of the headphone jack, you will not regret choosing a Dell Mobile Workstation whether you are simply relaxing at home or making a professional career out for music production and editing.
As far as the wireless broadband is concerned, the Dell Workstations handle fast downloads of fast speeds plus online applications. Video games will operate with faster loading times, less lag and limited crashing; a problem some people notice of their Macs is the eventual dip in function after a lengthily gaming spree.
The Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 Mobile Workstations are also far more adaptable to changes in software and programs, allowing for more control whatever your area of pleasure or business. You will be particularly impressed by the amount of extra options available with both, like the backlit keypad, four-finger multi-touch touch pad, Bluetooth, light sensitive webcam and noise-reducing microphone for flawless online meetings of friendly catch-ups for not much more expense. The Dell series has been optimized for the best performance in high-power, multiple operations for those who need the speed and ability to work hard and play hard.

Dell M6600 NVIDIA Quadro Professional Solutions

MerkAmerica Electronics — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:16:46 +0000

NVIDIA announced a new line of Quadro professional graphics solutions for mobile workstations. Designed for engineers, industrial designers, animators and film & video editors that need to take their work with them and these new Quadro graphics processing units (GPUs) leverage the NVIDIA Fermi architecture which combines fast visualisation performance with high performance computing capabilities. This massively parallel processing horsepower transforms laptop computers into mobile super computers.Featuring twice the number of CUDA cores and twice the graphics memory over previous generations and these new Quadro GPUs also incorporate NVIDIA Optimus technology, maximising battery life by automatically powering the GPU only when needed. Optimus also provides users with the ability to drive up to four displays at the same time.Building on a decade of innovation and leadership in professional mobile graphics, the new Quadro line of mobile graphics solutions includes:

Quadro 5010M (Ultra-High End): 384 CUDA cores; 4 GB GDDR5 memory; designed for new 17.3-inch mobile workstations
Quadro 4000M (High End): 336 CUDA cores; 2 GB GDDR5 memory; designed for new 17.3-inch mobile workstations
Quadro 3000M (High End): 240 CUDA cores; 2 GB GDDR5 memory; designed for new 17.3-inch mobile workstations
Quadro 2000M (Mid-Range): 192 CUDA cores; 2 GB DDR3 memory; designed for 15.6-inch mobile workstations
Quadro 1000M (Mid-Range): 96 CUDA cores; 2 GB DDR3 memory; designed for 15.6-inch mobile workstations

The new standard for mobile workstation graphics excellence-the NVIDIA Quadro 5010M.The flagship Quadro 5010M features Error Correction Code (ECC) and fast, 64-bit double precision capabilities to ensure the greatest accuracy and fidelity of results. From medical imaging to structural analysis applications, data integrity and precision is assured, without sacrificing performance.Quadro 5010M features an unprecedented 4 GB of fast GDDR5 memory to enable interactivity on the largest projects. Shattering previous 3D graphics benchmarks, professionals on the go can achieve nearly a billion triangles per second with this ultra high-end Quadro mobile graphics solution.Similar to the NVIDIA Quadro 5000M, the groundbreaking NVIDIA Fermi-based mobile workstation graphics solution announced last year, and currently available in both the Dell Precision M6500 and HP EliteBook 8740w mobile workstations, additional features of these new NVIDIA Quadro mobile professional graphics solutions include:

The NVIDIA CUDA parallel computing architecture – Quadro mobile GPUs deliver massive performance gains when running computationally intensive applications such as ray tracing, video processing and computational fluid dynamics.
NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro – support for the highest quality, stereoscopic viewing experience is helping drive the development of 3D capable visualisation applications from companies such as Autodesk, Dassault Systemes, Siemens and Agilent.
NVIDIA Scalable Geometry Engine technology – dramatically improves performance across a broad range of CAD, DCC and scientific applications, enabling a user’s work to flow interactively with models and scenes that are an order of magnitude more complex than ever before.
NVIDIA GPU Tessellation Engine technology – with support for OpenGL 4.1, Shader Model 5.0 and DirectX 11, tessellation automatically generates finely detailed geometry for cinematic quality environments and scenes without sacrificing performance.

Application certification support for the broadest spectrum of professional applications, including those utilising OpenGL 4.1, Shader Model 5.0 and Microsoft DirectX 11, plus DirectCompute and OpenCL standards. Companies such as Adobe, Autodesk and Dassault Systemes certify NVIDIA Quadro solutions for professionals whose livelihoods depend on maximum uptime with their applications.Mobile workstation manufacturers have relied on NVIDIA GPUs for the past decade and will integrate these Quadro solutions in their newest mobile workstations scheduled to be announced throughout 2011.

Using the Dell M6600/M4600 for Producing Music

MerkAmerica Electronics — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:53:52 +0000

Music production is an in-depth, complex process that requires a lot of concentration, precision and powerful hardware to support the best software. The Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 Mobile Workstations are optimised to fit your needs if you are in the business of music production.
The M6600 is the larger and more powerful of the two and therefore the faster. Its sensitive keys and multi-touch touch screen technology (stylus included) make absolute control possible whatever software you are using. The keyboard can also be backlit for greater visibility and the monitor is bright and high resolution, allowing for better visuals in the editing stage on the graphic user interface.
The smaller and more portable M4600 is no less of a choice as it even more adaptable with its adjustable screen position and multi-monitor capabilities to help you run and view several programs at once cleanly and clearly. Its anti-glare screen and adjustable brightness levels will help get maximum visibility all through the work. Accuracy in graphics is important in the digital age for identifying what changes need to be made to the audio, so it will be worthwhile to look out for the high resolution wide screens of the Dell franchise.
Of course, in music production, it’s the audio that really counts. Dell have not neglected the audio hardware in favour of the visuals; the M6600 has high definition audio surround sound for a crisp, all around resonant sound that properly transfers the audio data back into the outside, allowing you to hear its similarity to the sound from the amplifier or other device and make the correct decisions for editing the audio. The M4600 headphone jack transferred sound straight to your ears with unrivalled accuracy and precision.
With a large quantity of memory and fast speeds online, downloading, uploading editing and storing large music files will be vastly easier. If you do any editing or other heavy duty tasks online, the fast speeds and broadband options will aid you enormously. The processing power of both models is set so that output is at a maximum with minimum downtime, thanks to an affective triple cooling device on either side to prevent overheating and crashing during long stints of editing and listening.
The M6600 and M4600 are both designed for compatibility with a range of other hardware and as such have many ports on the sides of the laptop. Two types of USB port making up five in total can be found on both models, as can DVD-ROM (all the alternative Blu-ray) for those interested in multi-media functionality. There is also an SD card reader for direct upload of larger files and capabilities for external hard drives to add to the considerably memory of the Dell Mobile Workstations.
Too many variables affect the eventual output of music; ambient sounds noise, volume and equalising to name a few. It is vital that you have the hardware strong enough to support and work with comprehensive software in order to get the best results and both the Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 Mobile Workstations will provide.

Using SolidWorks Cad Program and Dell Precision M6600/M4600 Together:

MerkAmerica Electronics — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:25:35 +0000

Using SolidWorks Cad Program and Dell Precision M6600/M4600 Together:

The Dell Precision M6600 and its lighter option M4600 have the power to affectively aid you in all your design needs. With engineers needing a fast, efficient way to test prototypes of products and quickly sketch 3D and 2D designs, a low maintenance, high powered consistent performer is the way forward.

SolidWorks Computer Aided Design software has been the favorite design program of over a million engineers and professional designers with its easy interface and vast variety of options. Starting from scratch users can sketch, build and test a product in virtual reality at minimum expense, removing the need for buying costly materials. In addition, SolidWorks prides its programs on providing detailed information about the product; where to get materials, where and how to manufacture and where and how to dispose of waste.
This software requires heavy duty hardware to back it up so that you can get comprehensive usage out the program. Both the M6600 and M4600 models are designed and built for high power, high speed operations. To get your sketch onto the screen and running a visual test uses up a lot of processing power and the M6600 and M4600 will provide this power in a professional workspace, extensively designed for no-frills, practical and efficient work. Windows operating systems can be equally as powerful as anything else and the Windows 7 on these models supports the SolidWorks software that comes so highly recommended by engineers everywhere.
As the names suggest, precision is guaranteed with both the M6600 and its more portable M4600 counterpart. With high definition wide screen monitors and a sharp color palate for realistic images, superimposing designs in over photographed backdrops in programs like Adobe Photoshop will be no trouble. The M4600 is cased in aluminum and is as hardwearing as you could hope, offering protection from dust, high temperature and humidity making it a reliable option in any working condition. Its battery life runs from three to six-and-a-half hours, making it the best portable option. In addition, it is apt to several different lighting conditions, thanks to the adjustable brightness setting and adjustable screen position. The screen will also be viewable from any angle without interference in the color or detail; perfect for group designs or software demonstrations.
A powerful program should be run on a system that can handle the pressure it puts on the hardware. Both models are apt for cooling without external methods, using a variety of cooling techniques with fans on either side of the workstation. Much like SolidWorks itself, the computer will also inform and adapt to your specific power requirements and help you keep on top of workflow and reduce downtime – essential for challenging engineering jobs.
The M6600 in particular has a huge memory capacity and is complete with several ports for added convenience. There are five USB ports apiece of two different types, plus an SD card port for uploading pictures and other large files directly. This range makes the M6600 an M4600 models the best demonstrators of SolidWorks CAD software.

As the world’s most powerful 15” laptop, the M4600 is the ideal work computer and with its reasonable price its worth every cent.

MerkAmerica Electronics — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 22:53:40 +0000

Full Review of Dell Precision M4600 Mobile Workstation:

For a lighter option to a powerhouse computer capable of the most heavy duty tasks with minimal strain, the Dell Precision M4600 Workstation has all the right tools for the job. Designed to give maximum output and maximum power while maintaining all the features of a portable workstation, this model balances efficiency and travel convenience.

First up, the 15 inch matte textured and high definition widescreen provides clear, bright visuals that can be viewed from a distance and under a variety of lighting conditions. Especially convenient is the ability to push back the screen at an angle of up to 180 degrees in order to get the monitor in the best position for your needs. Additionally, the screen is viewable from all angles and is not affected by warped color or shadowing. Gently backlit, the monitor brightness has several adjustable levels to reduce strain on the eyes in during long work hours. The M4600 is also equipped with anti-glare to boost visibility outdoors or under artificial lighting.

The most notable upside of this model is its durability; cased in aluminium and magnesium, this laptop is tough and durable. No adverse effects from temperature, humidity or even high altitude will affect the machine’s operation and it is designed to reduce shock from dropping and prevent dust from getting into the electronics, affecting its functionality. Despite all this, the laptop is light and not large with a battery life of three to six-and-a-half hours depending on usage, making it the best portable option. At home or in the office, the AC adaptor is also conveniently sized and the battery charges quickly even while the M4600 is in use.

While all the desirable functions of older models are still present, this model has special functions such as its multiple monitor capability, helping you keep track of all your applications. As far as hardware is concerned, the M4600 features a DVD writer, five USB ports, an SD card reader for uploading photographs straight from a camera and ports for headphones and microphone. The audio both from the surround-sound speakers and headphone jack are top quality, with a clear sound for the best performance in video and other media. For security, the Dell encryption will protect your intellectual property from theft and you have the option of a finger print reader.

Standard hardware includes an improved keyboard layout, wireless LAN and a dual cooling system with three distinct parts, cooling the laptop and allowing longer runtime.

The price of a basic Dell Precision M4600 Workstation is around $800 and is perfect for transferring work from home. For prices nearing $1,700, you can pick optional hardware asides such as a handy backlit keyboard, Blu-ray as oppose to regular DVD writer, Bluetooth or a noise cancelling microphone plus light sensitive webcam; ideal for an important online business meeting that cannot afford to be interrupted by technical difficulties. As the world’s most powerful 15” laptop, the M4600 is the ideal work computer and with its reasonable price its worth every cent.

New in SolidWorks 2012: Large Design Rev…

MerkAmerica Electronics — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:28:29 +0000

New in SolidWorks 2012: Large Design Review

One of the coolest new enhancements in the SolidWorks 2012 release is something called Large Design Review. Included with SolidWorks Premium, this lets you open massive assemblies in seconds without the need for a high-end workstation. The view is fully interactive, just like working on a smaller assembly. You can explore, analyze, and then directly open the design to make changes. You can:

Record walkthroughs of the assembly during review
Create snapshots with detailed comments for clarity
Full view control gives you zoom, pan, and rotation at lightning-fast speed
Focus on specific parts of your design with the window selection tool
Use common section and measure tools to accurately quantify clearances

Watch the video below to see Large Design Review in action, then visit the SolidWorks 2012 website to learn more about what’s new for our 20th release.

Dell Offers SATA3 SSD Storage in Mobile Workstations M6600, M4600

MerkAmerica Electronics — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:24:37 +0000

Round Rock, Texas – Dell has released for artists, engineers, architects, and people who need serious mobile computing power the Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 mobile workstations, available with 512GB (SATA3) Mobility solid-state drives. The M6600 is also offering the Nvidia Quadro 5010M mobile professional graphics processing unit (GPU) with 4GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory.

Media & entertainment and other creative customers have consistently asked for a means to manipulate and render massive amounts of data faster, says a spokesperson. These customers regularly work with video content, and faster hard drives and enhanced graphics allows them to make faster edits, achieve faster playback speeds, and simultaneous video streams.

To help businesses address these issues, the Dell Precision M6600 and M4600 mobile workstations offer 512GB SATA3 Mobility SSDs, giving users quick 500MB/s read and 300MB/s write times. With the M6600 offering two full storage slots with up to two 512GB SSDs and one mini-card slot with up to 128GB, workstation users can experience more than a terabyte of solid-state storage in a mobile workstation.

With lightning fast read/write times, engineers, artists, architects, and other professionals can boot their systems and launch their professional software applications much faster. For instances where disc I/O is critical, they can greatly reduce the time it takes to access their data, enabling them to substantially increase their project workload in the same amount of time, or simply reduce the time it takes to accomplish a single project–while having the freedom to work wherever the job takes them.

SSDs, with no moving parts, have the highest durability with up to 15 times more shock, vibe, dust, and other impact resistance than standard hard drives. SSDs, as well as shock-mounted hard drives and free-fall sensor drives, can help reduce the risk of drive failure and potential data loss from impacts, vibrations and other movements. It provides the reliability and assurance data is protected without the need for a RAID solution. This is very important for users that are travelling, on set or in the field where conditions vary.

For customers who need the best graphics and computing performance to handle today’s professional applications, the Dell Precision M6600 is now available with the Nvidia Quadro 5010M, the company’s powerful, new flagship, professional mobile GPU. Professionals working with mission critical applications like computer-aided design (CAD), finite element analysis (FEA), and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can ensure they have the reliability and uncompromised computing accuracy they need with Error Correction Code (ECC) Memory and 64-Bit floating point precision, available on the Quadro 5010M.

The Quadro 5010M combines high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities with advanced visualization.

Merkamericaco.com

http://www.merkamericaco.com/categories/Laptops/Business/Precision-Workstation/

Dell Precision M6600 Workstation Laptop Review

MerkAmerica Electronics — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:47:01 +0000

I’ve had the pleasure this year of reviewing some of the world’s most powerful portable computers, including the ASUS EP121 tablet and Samsung’s RF711 gaming laptop, but this week I took delivery of a Dell Precision M6600 Advanced Workstation laptop. This machine is one of the most powerful portable computers on the planet with only Sony and Lenovo offering specifications to match it.

The machine that has arrived for me has a 2.5GHz Core i7 Sandybridge processor, backed up with 8Gb of 1,333MHz DDR3 RAM. This is the most powerful mobile processor Dell currently offer though the RAM can be increased to 16Gb of 1,600MHz DDR3 or even a massive 32Gb of 1,333MHz DDR3 if you wish. The hard drives, because you can have up to three, in mine are both 7,200RPM models, one with 250Gb and one with 750Gb. Dell offer options up to 256Gb SSDs and the third hard disk is a tiny mini-disc option just millimetres thick and the size of a match box.

The screen is a 17.3 inch four point multi-touch affair that matches the full Adobe colour gamut and runs at a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080. This runs on graphics that are switchable between the internal Intel chipset and a powerful nVidia Optimus 4000M processor with 2Gb of GDDR5 RAM. Internally there’s 802.11 b/g/n wireless (WiMAX is an optional extra), 3G, Bluetooth 3 and GPS. The machine is backed up, very sensibly for something of this power with a TPM chip and a fingerprint reader. There are a very generous selection of ports too including 2x USB2, Firewire, seperate headphone and microphone sockets, an ExpressCard slot, an eSATA/USB2 combo socket, SD card slot, full HDMI, VGA, Gigabit ethernet, display port and 2x USB3. Last but by no means least there’s an excellent webcam built into the screen bezel.

The options on the Dell website for this machine are simply staggering. You can pick up an M6600 for $1,600 (£1,280) but specify it up to around £5,000. The machine sent to me costs around £3,500.

This is an enormous amount of money to spend on a laptop but you won’t be lugging this to work and back every day. For starters it weighs around 4.5Kg but the lid and body are finished in a lovely bronze aluminium that you’ll really want to take good care of.

It’s very upgradeable too, which will come as a relief to anyone who wants to buy one. Just removing two screws allows the entire bottom of the case to come away. Underneath there’s quick and easy access to the memory, hard disks, module cards and more. It’s a very neat and elegant solution.

Battery life is reasonable at around five hours in light use, though you’ll be lucky to get two hours out of the battery when running at full power. The power supply is weighty too and quite a large slab itself.

But what is the M6600 like to use? The keyboard is excellent, one of the best I’ve used on a laptop. There’s the option of backlighting which I have on mine and it makes working much easier and is controllable through several settings. There’s no scrabble tile keyboard, Dell have instead opted for a more traditional approach but the tops of the keys are wide and well spaced. The Enter key is a very generous size and, although the left shift key is a little narrow, it’s excellent in general use. The cursor keys are sensibly placed and the number pad has full size keys too. Finally there are keys for the calculator and media playback and volume and mute controls above the keyboard.

Below the keyboard is a trackpad that also acts as a digitizer tablet and that comes with a powered stylus that has it’s own controls too. There is also a nipple control and a second set of mouse buttons if you prefer. The trackpad can also be turned off if you desire.

The screen is a little reflective but is extremely bright and good in strong light. The build quality of the laptop too is extremely solid and the machine has an accelerometer that works in conjunction with a motion sensor to lock the hard disks in the event it is dropped.

Performance is excellent with a responsiveness that’s every bit as good as a desktop Core-i7 processor. You can easily edit high-definition video on this machine. This is partly the target market though and Dell say the machine is very useful for CAD designers, engineers and people where sheer grunt is every bit as important as portability. The laptop is ISV certified for these tasks.

The Dell M6600 is an absolute beast of a machine that will comfortably cope with any task you can throw at it. It’s quiet too in general use with only a very faint whirr from the fans. It can get hot though, but you’re unlikely to have something this heavy on your lap. Optional extras include a dock that can connect the M6600 to up to five displays simultaneously via DisplayPort.

There’s really not much to say about this laptop other than state facts and figures about how powerful it is and what it can do. If you’re in the market for beast and have a budget to match it, I simply don’t believe you’ll find anything better. I compared the competition from Sony and Lenovo and while they might match the physical power and storage, they can’t touch the Dell for style. This laptop is a glory to behold and anyone who buys one will never regret their purchase.

To summarise the Dell M6600 excels at everything it does, which is nothing more than you’d expect for the price. While there are alternatives, I don’t believe any of them are up to this standard. Sure there are a few niggles but no real faults and so few in fact that I can safely award the Dell M6600 the full 10 out of 10 for quality, power and features. To order, please see our Dell M6600 Workstation online inventory stock list.