Dell Precision M6700 Notebook Review: The Enterprise Split
by Dustin Sklavos on December 12, 2012 7:43 PM ESTDisplay Quality
For whatever reason, ColorEyes Display Pro just refuses to cooperate with the LG Philips IPS panel Dell uses in their Precision M6700 unless you calibrate at a Gamma of 1.8 instead of 2.2. This produces a fine image, but it visibly loses a lot of the pop, saturation, and gamut of the display's default calibrations. Note that Dell includes PremierColor software that actually allows you to switch between different color gamuts, and it's a welcome feature.
The measurements are generally solid, with the PremierColor display at least offering a solid sRGB color gamut. Unfortunately due to issues with ColorEyes Display Pro I'm unable to confirm whether or not it can truly produce the entire AdobeRGB1998 color gamut like Dell claims it can, but honestly I believe it can.
Frankly it's a beautiful display and anecdotally it's on par with the DreamColor display-equipped EliteBook I currently have in house for testing, maybe even a step up due to Dell's PremierColor software which allows you to not only choose the color gamut you want to work with, but will even detect applications and adjust accordingly.
Battery Life
Where these workstations are still lagging substantially behind their consumer counterparts is in their power management technology. NVIDIA's Optimus has been thriving for years now on consumer GPUs, but Quadro chips still don't benefit from it. AMD just got Enduro working well on their mobile GPUs, but it's not functioning on FirePro chips either. As a result, the Dell Precision M6700 is forced to employ an oversized battery to compensate.
Update: Mea culpa. While Optimus is functional on NVIDIA's mobile Quadro GPUs, the use of a 10-bit IPS panel (along with either a 120Hz panel or touchscreen) precludes it due to bandwidth limitations. As a result, the M6700's battery life is going to be substantially lower with the PremierColor display, but I would actually expect M6700s with a standard TN panel to produce running time closer to the Alienware M17x R4, which has a smaller battery but similar silicon.
Optimus-enabled notebooks are able to get at least a little more mileage. The M6700's battery life actually isn't that bad given that it's a workstation notebook, owing at least somewhat to both Ivy Bridge's frugal power consumption and Kepler's superior idle power compared to Fermi.
Heat and Noise
Thankfully, the Dell Precision M6700's beefy cooling system keeps the notebook running both reasonably cool and quiet. Keep in mind that we're working with a combined TDP of roughly 155W on the CPU and GPU in this system when you take a look at the thermals below.
The CPU runs nice and toasty, but the M6700 is actually very effective at keeping the K5000M cool. Noise levels are very good, with the notebook basically inaudible at idle and fan noise being a low, quiet whoosh under load.
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spiceshaper - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
Kid, buy you that MBP and be happy, stop trolling the comments here. Yes, my M4700 (15") is almost as big as my old 17" MBP. But it costs half the price (and would cost at least 1.5k less than lesser equipped current Retina MBP), has 32GB, a 830 SSD and makes me happy every day I don't start iphoto and chose some serious software instead. It weights a ton, is bulky, but it gets shit done, none of the other options would be able to.I don't want pretty, I want something that helps me pay my bills.
They do the cooking, you just try to order something entirely not on the menu. Go to apple, they have that Michelin star.
hrrmph - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
Nice try...But, Apple's 17" is still sporting a crappy display.
Why 'downgrade' to a 15" machine to get a better display?
Is no one capable of building a better 17" or 18" display?
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PubFiction - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
Is simple, the ability to put non workstation graphics in them. They would move a ton more units as gamers would start using them as conservative good looking well built gaming platforms. But they can never understand that so the price always ends up over $1000 more than a gaming notebook.It would add almost nothing to their supply chain as really the GPU is the only thing you need to swap out to save money. They even have 120hz displays which are lacking in even gaming laptops.
lx686x - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
It wouldn't be a workstation anymore....ijozic - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
It's just an extra customization option - some people don't need it for professional applications, but for occasional (or full-time) gaming as they dislike the design of the gaming notebooks. If that means sticking a big disclaimer sticker on the box saying "This is not a workstation anymore", I don't think anybody would mind.Silma - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
I am quite astonished by this test.First to my knowledge Dell has been number one in the Workstation market for many many years and has produced great laptop workstations for years. My M4400 was and still is outstanding.
Second to say that the 6700 is not serviceable because you have to unscrew 2 screws for a change you rarely do is quite exxagerated.
Last I don't know on which planet you are living but the companies I worked for purchased workstations for a reason: power, robustness and certified for the applications that will be used. And not because they won a beauty contest. So to hesitate to recommend a robust laptop with very good screen and solid performances based on looks seems strange.
Hrel - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
Lenovo Thinkpad's are the single best workstation laptops that exist. While I prefer working on Dell desktops over Lenovo, it's by a slim margin. Overall I'd always recommend Lenovo. Though Dell is honestly a close second, despite how much I hate their consumer offerings and general scheme of charging WAY too much for consumer products unless you're a student.Hrel - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
I'd like to add that I'm in love with that keyboard layout. Every laptop made needs to adopt that RIGHT NOW! I prefer chicklet myself, so offer both. But that layout, damn sexy.critical_ - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
I like ThinkPads too but I've owned the last two versionos of their W-series workstation laptop. The cooling solution is terrible. With a Core i7-2960XM and the Quadro 2000M, I found the system couldn't run full tilt for more than 60 seconds due to the single heatsink-fan used to cool the discrete GPU and CPU being overwhelmed. I even ordered a new heatsink-fan unit and used new thermal compound but that didn't solve this issue. The HP has the same issue.I believe Lenovo needs to redesign their cooling system on the W-series chassis. The engineers at Lenovo assume that we'll use Optimus so, at most, they're only going to be actively cooling either a CPU or discrete GPU running at full tilt but not both. Even then, the CPU will thermal throttle. When both are used them all bets are off.
Dell has done a great job with the cooling on this system. I seldom see any issue even when the intake vents are blocked. I can leave the CPU and GPU running full tilt for days without any thermal problems. The other great thing in the M6700 is the Core i7-2920XM and i7-2960XM will run at the 4C Turbo speed forever under these situations even though there are no overclocking options in the BIOS. It is these things that a review like this cannot or does not test but should. Maybe AnandTech should add a 24 hour rendering test that utilizes the CPU and discrete CPU together and then let us know how quickly and how often the unit thermal throttled in addition to telling us how much work was accomplished in that time period.
Maraque - Friday, December 14, 2012 - link
I come to Anandtech because you used have one of the most objective reviews around. I usually prefer to be a silent reader and refrain from making comments. But this has got to be one of the most biased analysis I have ever read in any Anandtech review. After everything the benchmarks said, that the Dell outclasses the HP in all of the benchmarks (the one reviewed anyway, not the 8770w), he still rates the HP higher just because it looks better (subjective). the HP is also a great machine, no doubt, not dissing it. But if he has already made up his mind as to which business notebook is better right out of the gate based on just its looks (contrary to what actual businesses buying these types of laptops do, which base their decision on the performance, build, serviceability, certifications, etc.), I do not see what right he has to review machines like these. I would recommend a reviewer who actually has an idea of the target market for these types of systems.