The case, as has already been mentioned, has been completely renewed and doesn”t have anything in common with the predecessor model Precision M4500, with the exception of many good features. What stands out is the metallic exterior with an unusual umber brown color scheme. The adopted materials altogether make a robust and high quality impression, although the work area surfaces are made of plastic. There aren”t any shortcomings in this area though. The palm resting area is firm, the gaps are even, and the surface feels pleasant. The same is true to a similar extent for the display lid, which can be warped a little with some force, but also makes a very robust impression. The back of the lid can be dented a little, but changes on the display are not generated as a result. The display hinges are more rigid than usual, and can be operated in both directions with one hand. The battery integrated into the front also assists in this case, since it provides for the necessary counterweight under the palm resting area.

However, the battery is also responsible for the first real point of criticism, since this sits relatively loosely in the case, and in addition contains one of the four feet. If the battery is removed the case is no longer stable and dips down towards the front right. Otherwise the base unit is very firm due to the omission of any maintenance panels. This has the disadvantage though that the whole base plate or the keyboard have to be removed in order to exchange or upgrade components. To reach the mass storage for example seven screws have to be removed. There is noexchange shaft for quick swapping of drives. We also found the rigid power cable which stands out towards the back unpractical, since this always necessitates a certain gap at the back of the notebook.

The measured weight of our reviewed device is approximately 3.2 kg, which is relatively heavy for a 15" notebook. Other than this the dimensions of 376 (W) x 256 (D) x 36.5 (H) mm also exceed the usual by several millimeters. The bulky overall impression is however created by the omission of curved surfaces on the case, which at least provide for an optically slim impression on many competitor models.

Following on from the good case Dell has created another highlight when in comes to the connectivity. In this case almost everything that could be required is available: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, eSATA and FireWire (IEEE 1394, 4-pole without power supply) cover the usual PC spectrum completely. Merely FireWire 800 and Thunderbolt could be added for the sake of completeness, both are so far meaningless for Windows notebooks though, and therefore also not available from competitors either. For additional interfaces or peripheral devices there is also an ExpressCard/54 slot available, which is above all else practical for extensions that aren”t always required.
Always on board are three possibilities for connecting external monitors: An analog VGA connector, which is primarily found on older displays, as well as two digital alternatives in the form of HDMI and DisplayPort.

Otherwise there is also a smart card reader, an SD card reader, a 2.1 MP webcam, Gigabit LAN, and of course also a Kensington Lock socket. Our optical drive is made by Matshita, and can read and write the usual disc formats as well as Blu-ray discs. We also like the separate provision of audio ports, which makes the use of headsets with mini jacks possible among other things.

The distribution of the interfaces has been thoroughly successful. The interfaces at the back may be slightly difficult to reach, but at least the connected cables don”t get in the way and provide for a tidy desk. The same is true for the ports on the sides, which are located towards the back.

Already when switching on the display for the first time its quality becomes apparent: Due to the brightness andcontrast level the difference compared to a standard display is clearly visible. With the maximum brightness setting we measured values between 300 cd/m² and 410 cd/m² at nine points. This is more than enough brightness to be able to work indoors comfortably. Thanks to a matte display surface users can also select more ergonomic settings for brightness, which are usually perceived as pleasant between 140 and 160 cd/m², without causing any concern. The brightness level 5 provides the associated 150 cd/m², whereby brightness level 7 provides a measured value of 200 cd/m².

What is not quite as good is the illumination of the display. The result of 73% is below average, and prevents a better overall display rating. At its peak the difference is as much as 100 cd/m², which can become visible on single colored backgrounds. As can be seen from the measured values, the high illumination at the center tapers off considerably towards the sides. During normal multimedia and office use this is certainly not a problem, but when carrying out demanding tasks such as image editing these discrepancies have to be taken into consideration. Graphic artists and photographers should therefore consider the IPS RGB Full HD display instead, which should at least provide better viewing angle stability and an extended color space.

Conventional hard drives are available with a capacity of up to 750 GB, and Solid State Drives with a capacity of up to 256 GB. Available are a conventional hard drive shaft, and an mSATA socket. A second drive is optionally configurable, although one of the mass storage drives has to be an mSATA SSD in this scenario. A second regular hard drive shaft is not available. Conventional hard drives can therefore only be combined with an SSD, and RAID is exclusively possible with mSATA SSD + SSD.

Our reviewed device includes a 256 GB capacity SATA IIISolid State Drive made by LiteOn. This provides peak transfer rates of up to 340 MB/s, and a good 240 MB/s on average according to HD Tune. The determined access time of 0.3 ms is relatively long for SSD standards though. In return about 400 MB/sare achieved during sequential reading, and 300 MB/s during writing. The subjective impression of the mass storage device is very fast, and the noise generated during times of utilization is only noticeable faintly in the background. The additional cost in the Dell configuration of 500 Euros seems a little high though, since similarly good SSDs are currently available for about 300 Euros.

Dell generally provides three different batteries for the Precision M4600. The online shop currently only allows the workstation to be equipped with the small 60 Wh battery though. Our reviewed device used the 97 Wh battery (143 Euros, 451-11742), and a further 87 Wh battery (132 Euros, 451-11744) is currently only available as an accessory or from other online retailers in preconfigured models.

The measured power consumption with the power connected spans from a minimum of 12.3 Watts to 104 Watts with a medium load, up to a maximum of 156.7 Watts with a full load. This power can be provided by the 180 Watt AC adapter at all times. Throttling due to a too low rated AC adapter, such as for example with theLenovo ThinkPad X220 or the Apple MacBook Pro, wasn”t detected by us.

The battery life is fortunately very good during use with moderate power consumption when carrying out tasks with a low load thanks to the very high capacity battery. During the Battery Eater Readers Test (minimum display brightness, Dell Maximum Battery Life, all wireless modules disabled) we reached a maximum battery life of 646 minutes. With an adjusted brightness (level 7, 200 cd/m²), enabled wireless modules, and using the power saving plan, we were able to surf the web for about 418 minutes and movies lasted for just over 5 hours with the full brightness. During the Battery Eater Classic Test (maximum performance, everything enabled, maximum display brightness) the battery lasted for 73 minutes, whereby the clock speed reduction of the GPU when battery powered also played a part in achieving the relatively good battery life.

The ”small” workstation from Dell impresses in all respects.

The system noise is not only very low for a professional device of this type, but also ensures that the Precision M4600 is generally one of the especially quiet notebooks despite high performance components. This is made possible thanks to Nvidia Optimus, a successful cooling system, and the almost completely quiet SSD.

The fact that this success doesn”t come at the expense of the heat generated or the performance capabilities is a further aspect that speaks in favor of quality of the Dell Precision. The test results are on a very elevated level, and also remain stable during consistent load. While the CPU performance makes an impact in all areas, the professional Nvidia Quadro graphics chip can show its strengths with CAD applications. Small disadvantage: When battery powered, the graphics performance is reduced.

The display provides many positive characteristics, and belongs among the above average variants that are currently available for notebooks. Very bright, with good contrast, and a matte display surface - all features that are tarnished by the uneven illumination of the display, which can become noticeable depending on the application area.

Smaller limitations such as the difficult to reach internal components, or the missing module shaft, can be overlooked in light of the exemplary selection of interfaces and the configuration possibilities.

The only really detrimental disadvantage of our reviewed configuration is the enormously high price of currently about 3800 Euros. With some omissions and a well selected configuration it is however also possible to take advantage of many of the advantages with a more affordable assembly, and to make a high performance entry into the world of workstations.

A good alternative to Dell”s online shop is meanwhile also provided by the usual notebook retailers, who have attractive affordable models that have been thoroughly tested.