Chalybion

Before I swapped from the E Port dock, I was (overly) concerned about reliability of the connector, but felt better knowing the cable can be changed, and (on the 7710) the port can be replaced. But really, no issues with USB-C reliability over the past six or so years. Only thing is that Dell docks don't prevent you from exceeding the display/resolution limits, which can lead to some really weird behavior

I've done a bit more digging: It sounds like the issues were specific to the TB16 dock. The "guts" of the WD19 and the WD22TB4 are essentially the same, so they should be equally compatible and reliable. If I were in your situation, I would definitely choose the WD22TB4 all the way.

The Precision 7710 is not officially on the compatibility list, but the WD22TB4 should work because TB4 is backwards compatible with TB3: https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/products/electronics-and-accessories/technical-support/dell_docking_compatibility_guide.pdf I've used the WD19 with Precision 751X/771X, and it will work without issues. Both the WD19 and WD22 output 130W, which is adequate unless you are heavily loading the CPU and GPU. Plugging a 180W power adapter to the computer (while still docked) will give it full power if you need it. I don't have experience with the WD22TB4, but have anecdotally heard that the thunderbolt docks are less reliable than USB-C (i.e. WD19). However, the WD19 has only one USB-C port (front connection), so you would not be able to connect your both your monitor and external SSD to the dock. I'm not sure (haven't checked the numbers) if high refresh-rate 4K video would bottleneck your SSD on the WD19. So the WD22TB4 is your best bet, unless you have heard any horror stories about it, in which case WD19 would still be workable, but perhaps limiting.

GTX 1650 for $170: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166885329100?_skw=gtx+1650+mxm&itmmeta=01JQ97J6ETGBER0TKH605X8ARV&hash=item26db2408cc:g:fCUAAOSw1y9mocoq&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1fF%2B6LzCsy3daAuyszZd5LUtC6psRAxna4zCMXiGa%2BF0dpXoMh7PcU%2Bqy95qEHAJljJ%2BFUCk%2BFG50GuxQGI5HRjdkL%2FoG%2BVnGRziUwDw5Z%2FQA7zi0wAA7rcid7oSYrN57f522fqRIimCZUHyDB6IBZsksT1VcbiNIMAmjRc0fOLt9kHVH390LNW0pE1bExAuzGreHkkQhmuKyahniq%2Bv%2BvDhP9QlI8RzSYlcUajfdMKCN1uHqpxkRnJbTjNMMdRLnJvFHTOguWBu7f8AfiD%2B1hoX3%2F3G%2FwJ%2BT3npVO3YDNGMA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8rnyKe6ZQ

WTF indeed! It's really cool that your 7540 can do this; it is something special. What is your cooling solution? I recently picked up a cheap 7740 with the RTX 5000 and swapped drives. My 7540 had a 24/7 stable undervolt of -90 mV cache/-175 core, and the 7740 has a stable undervolt of -120 mV cache/-120 core (at a few mV lower, it will lock up after a few minutes). After using PTM 7950, the 7740 maxes out at 4.2 ghz / 107W / 95 °C in Cinebench R23. It is stable there, but on the hairy limit of the more heat->more power->more heat->more power cycle. Score of 11050 (my 7540 maxed out at ~10900, on a cold day)

I've installed Windows 11 on two 7520's using Rufus to bypass the hardware requirements (and use a local account). Windows 11 works fine with no hardware-related issues. Only compatibility issue was with a couple of the Dell drivers (free-fall data protection, and one other), but the problem was with Dell's installation "wrapper" - it worked fine to extract the actual driver exe and run that

Hmm, I don't have experience with Kepler GPUs, but do have experience with Maxwell/Turing GPUs on Precision workstations. Some observations: - P5 is usually a power-saving state that locks the GPU to low clockspeeds. - P0 is the max-performance state that performs at the base clock, and boosts to higher clocks as power/thermals allow - P5 is a normal power state when using battery power - P0 should be the normal power state when using AC power - I've experienced a computer incapable of using P0 due to a BIOS issue when connecting with a dock.

One last thought since I'm spending way too much time caring about laptop naming convention: I honestly don't understand why Dell didn't keep their distinctive, well thought-of business brands (Latitude, Precision), and instead merged Inspiron/Vostro into a new brand name. While making the change, they could also do away with the stupid product segmentation where Precision 3000 series = Latitude 5000 series, Precision 5000 series = XPS, and Latitude 3000 series = Vostro = Inspiron. "XPS" could even become the thin-and-light version of each line-up (Latitude XPS, Precision XPS, etc).

These prices are shit; compared with the current XPS 13, Dell is asking 60% (edit: accounting for currency conversion and no VAT) more for a "new" processor with maayybe 5% performance increase, and a fancy new name?

I'm disappointed by the lack of AI! I only count 2 AI; if I'm paying 3,000 quid for a laptop, I expect at least 8 AI!

I'm staying tuned to this thread in hopes that the 4060 works. There should be a solution to the power issue, as long as the video BIOS allows tweaks. Options I've thought about: - Use MSI Afterburner to set a power limit (may not play well with Optimus) - Use nvidia inspector to apply a power or temperature target. Both can be configured to autorun using the Windows task scheduler. And if all else fails, the card's built-in thermal protection will shut the computer down (my experience installing a new MXM card, before noticing that the heat sink spacing was incorrect)

Welcome to the party! Feel free to ask questions if you get the upgrade bug again. What tool did you use to remap the media keys?

My workplace is a Dell shop - out IT guy has dealt with many 'spicy pillows' and said that the most significant difference between OEM and non-OEM batteries is that non-OEMs often skimp on, or ignore, protections for overcurrent / shorts. So buy OEM to prevent fire hazards.

Update on Windows 11 24H2 issues: - On a clean install, 24H2 always makes the discrete GPU "GPU 0," no matter installing drivers in the correct order. This can cause problems for some laptops. - No major issues on my Precision 7540. Clean 24H2 installation is snappier than old 23H2 installation, and Optimus works fine. - On my Precision 7520 with not-officially-supported Kaby Lake processor, lots of problems with discrete graphics. 1) New "Unsupported PCIe device" error, preventing discrete GPU from entering low power states. 2) On battery power, discrete GPU often fails to activate, causing "Driver Power State Failure" BSOD - 24H2 monthly update downloaded (but did not install) files for Edge and OneDrive - so I had to delete them, stop the edge update service, and remove OneDrive links from the file explorer and personal folders. GRRR

115 watts should be no problem for a heatsink with 2+ heatpipes on the GPU. It looks like the M17x R4 has three heat pipes, so it should run cool. Probably need a 240W power supply minimum