2015 Dell Precision M3800 mobile workstation

[Welly Wu]

I am in the market for a second notebook PC to serve as my primary PC. I own a Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC and it runs Ubuntu 14.04.2 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux. Here are the PC technical specifications:

Intel Core 4th generation "Haswell" Core i7-4700MQ 2.4 GHz quad-core with Hyper Threading CPU
Crucial Ballistix Sport PC3L 1,600 MHz 16.00 GB DDR3 SODIMM RAM
Crucial M550 SATA-III 6 GB/s 1.0 TB solid state disk [LUKS & dm-crypt AES XTS 256 bits SHA-512]
Transcend M.2 42 mm NGFF SATA-III 6 GB/s 256.00 GB solid state disk [LUKS AES XTS 256 bits SHA-1]
Intel 7260 802.11 2.4 GHz B/G/N Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0
Gigabit Ethernet
DUAL nVidia Geforce GT 755M with 4.0 GB GDDR5 video RAM discrete GPUs [nVidia does not support Scalable Link Interface or SLi on mobile platforms within GNU/Linux]
Lenovo Ultrabay
Lenovo Accutype red illuminated keyboard with number key pad
Synaptics clickpad
HDMI 1.4a
DUAL Super Speed USB 3.0 ports
Single USB 2.0 "Always On" port
VGA port
JBL 1.5 watt stereo speakers
15.6" LED 1920 X 1080P screen
Kensington lock
Kensington Click Safe Keyed Ultra laptop lock with Kensington Desk Anchor
Headphone jack
Microphone jack
1.0 MP web camera
Microphone port
Logitech G440 hard mouse pad
Logitech G35 USB 2.0 gaming headset
Logitech G502 Proteus Core gaming USB 2.0 mouse
Western Digital My Cloud Personal Cloud 4.0 TB NAS drive
Western Digital My Elements 2.0 TB USB 3.0 portable hard disk drive [LUKS encrypted: AES XTS plain64 256 bits SHA-512]
PNY USB 3.0 16.00 GB thumb drive
Microsoft XBOX 360 USB 2.0 controller
2012 ASUS Google Nexus 7 with Google Android 5.0.2 Lollipop

I paid $1,892.23 USD for my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P notebook PC last year.

1. http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-m3800-workstation/pd?ref=PD_OC


2. https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/1058/5566/8/i.dell.com/sites/imagecontent/business/smb/merchandizing/en/PublishingImages/Infographic.jpg


3. http://www.itproportal.com/reviews/hardware/dell-precision-m3800-review/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+itproportal/rss+%28Latest+ITProPortal+News%29

PC technical specifications:
Intel 4th generation Core i7-4712HQ 2.3 - 3.3 GHz quad-core with Hyper Threading CPU
Ubuntu Linux 14.04 SP1 64 bit
nVidia Quadro K1100M with 2.0 GB GDDR5 video RAM GPU
16.00 GB DDR3 1,600 MHz SO-DIMM RAM
256.00 GB full size mini card SSD
6 cell 91 Whr primary battery
15.6" UltraSharp IGZO 4K UHD Touch Wide View Premium Panel
Intel 7260 802.11 dual-band 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz AC Wi-Fi with Bluetooth 4.0
Trusted Platform Module 1.2
1 HDMI 1.4a
1 Thunderbolt 2.0 & Mini Display Port
2 Super Speed USB 3.0 ports with Power Share
1 USB 2.0 port with Power Share
1 SD card slot
1 USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet adapter

130 Watt power adapter
0.71" thick
4.15 pounds
Backlit full sized keyboard
Mutlitouch gesture enabled trackpad with two buttons
Noble Wedge Lock
1 year hardware on-site warranty


Grand Total: $2,106.69 USD

The reason why I want a second notebook PC is due to the fact that I want a more modern PC and I want an Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux certified mobile workstation. This will be used to do general purpose computing tasks such as web browsing, e-mail, social media, and to play Arena Chess 2D PC program. I can afford and I do want a fairly robust modern notebook PC and I am willing to pay a premium for it. My Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P is 1.40" thick and it weighs 6.40 pounds and the 170 watt power adapter weighs an additional 1.50 pounds. I think that it is too bulky and heavy for my personal preferences and I want a new notebook PC that is significantly thinner and lighter. While I understand that I could get by with a basic entry level notebook PC, I am willing to pay a premium for a high end mobile workstation. I also want a lithium ion or polymer battery with a significantly higher watt per hour rating so that I get significantly longer battery life. Currently, my Lenovo IdeaPad Y510P lasts roughly two hours unplugged which I think is too short given its' slightly older and powerful PC hardware components.

I was wondering if anyone in this community owns a Dell Precision M3800 with Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux SP-1 and what are your thoughts about it?

I did take a look at a System76 Bonobo Extreme and a ZaReason Spec X345 or Verix 547, but I want a 13.3 - 15.6" IPS or IGZO 4K UHD Touch LED screen because I am getting tired of looking at 1920 X 1080P TN LCD screens. Currently, only Dell's Precision M3800 offers such a premium screen with a Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux SP-1 certified notebook PC on the market at this current time. It is also the only notebook PC that offers Intel's Thunderbolt 2.0 port as well which I will find to be useful. I plan to purchase this Western Digital My Passport Pro RAID-0/1 4.0 TB Thunderbolt portable hard disk drive to copy my data:

1. http://www.amazon.com/Passport-portable-integrated-Thunderbolt-WDBRNB0040DBK-NESN/dp/B00ITI0514/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1428673095&sr=8-3&keywords=4tb+portable+hard+drive

It should be compatible with GNU/Linux when I format it to use the Linux /ext4 file system and I will encrypt it using LUKS AES 256 bits XTS SHA-1.

If anyone also owns this product, then please let me know your thoughts.

I plan to get my Dell Precision M3800 in early December 2015. I may or may not get the WD My Passport Pro portable hard disk drive later next year.

I would like to get some opinions about these two new products from this community. Thank you.

[slickymaster]

<---snip--->

I was wondering if anyone in this community owns a Dell Precision M3800 with Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit LTS GNU/Linux SP-1 and what are your thoughts about it?<---snip--->
See this thread: Dell launches two new Ubuntu-based systems (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2272939)

[pgmer6809-gmail]

Hi.
I just received my 3800 with Ubuntu installed two days ago. Still evaluating everything but first impressions are mostly positive. Just open the box, power it on, go thru the install process and things work, including the Wifi.
I still have lots of checking to do re the possible problem spots, such as the camera, the SD card slot, the HDMI port etc. but that is going to take some time.
The SSD disk is GPT format with an ESP partition at the front so I assume that it is booting in EFI mode, but again that needs checking.
Things I did not like:
No 1. No 1A, and No. 2 THE DELL ORDERING PROCESS IS ABYSMAL.
The web site lets you specify incorrect configurations then after a week you get a call from a Dell rep to straighten it out.
DELL have a 'Verification Team' whose sole business is to phone you and ask you if your credit card is really valid. IF you are not at home they will not leave a message or a direct phone number but will call you back. Another 2-3 days delay.
The Courier company they use is much slower than Dell think they are.
Altogether it took a good 5 weeks to get this thing delivered.

Next Pet peeve is the startup text. Before the Ubuntu install starts, you get a 21 clause EULA full of fine print that says that DELL have the right to snoop on your computer to make sure you are using the software according to the EULA>
this is probably a Windows artifiact. I cant believe it is legal under the GPL. But it is there.

There are no docs or CD's shipped with the unit. You have to scour the internet to find the PDF's that explain for example how to get into the BIOS setup and Boot menus.

Hardware though is good so far. Kbd nice. Display crisp and clear. Wifi fine. SSD fast. Suspend Resume works fine. Ubuntu Software Center works fine; lots of pkgs downloaded already.
Touchpad -- I am a bit unused to using one, I prefer a mouse but this one seems to be properly integrated with the UNITY interface. Tap to Click works. Two finger scroll works.

More to come when I know more. ......