Chalybion

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

A few corrections/notes: The Precision 7530 didn't have the silver aluminum lid. It does have a UHD-specific carbon fiber lid; the importance is that UHD screen lids only fit the IR camera, and as a result don't have space for the WWAN antennae I disable two cores of my 9980HK in the BIOS, and then was able to overclock to 4.7 GHz all-core (six cores) with an undervolt (-185 mV core, -85 mV cache) and full fan speed. Based on that, 4.4-4.5 GHz seems a reasonable speed for the 8950HK in daily usage. You have a good undervolt! The BIOS variables are useful to: 1) Enable undervolting if currently disabled, 2) Enable a persistent undervolt if using virtualization in Windows 11, or 3) reducing IMON slope to enable CPU power to exceed the PL1/PL2, which are normally limited by Dell's embedded controller The RTX 4000 is the Max-Q variant, power-limited to 80 or 90W, so it always runs cool. It is worth it if you want more than 4 GB VRAM, more speed, or a similar feature set to modern nvidia cards (ray tracing, etc) - it is equivalent to an RTX 2070, and in the realm of an RTX 4050.

The 8950HK is an intriguing processor at a reasonable price: eBay Link The heatsink can dissipate a maximum of ~110W from the CPU; this limit is challenged by the octa-core CPUs. However, the unlocked hex-core 8950HK should have plenty of headroom for tweaking and overclocking; it is potentially the most fun CPU in this computer model. Extrapolating my 9980HK voltage frequency curve to the 8950HK - 4.8 GHz all-core should be do-able; the magic 5.0 GHz all-core might be possible if the CPU undervolts well and with a good cooling pad.

Welcome! Some thoughts on upgrades: - CPU: It is BGA of course. The highest upgrade option is the Precision 7540 motherboard with a 9980HK or Xeon 2286M. If you go this route, it is probably best to get a whole, working computer for cheap and swap out the mobo. This would solve your BIOS issue too... - RAM: The memory controller isn't good. The only upgrade is a lower latency. I tried 3200 MHz RAM from the small list of 'officially supported' DIMMs, and it gave a bunch of errors no matter how I tweaked. 2933 MHz might be possible, but I didn't want to spend more time/money, and 2933 MHz DIMMs are rarer than 2666 or 3200. 128 GB of 2666 MHz is also possible, if you can use it. - Delta fans are less whiny than Sunon, but harder to find. Look for the white connector (instead of black): eBay Delta Fan Listing - GPU: I have a spare Quadro T1000 if you want to double your P1000 performance for cheap. It uses the same heat sink. Midrange is the RTX 3000 (~$200 + 2nd heat sink design), high end is RTX 4000/5000 ($300-450 + third heatsink design - best to buy a complete machine) - Screen: The LG LP156QHG-SP(V1) is the best available option - 40 pin, 0.4mm pitch eDP connector, 1440P, 400 nits, 240 Hz. Requires the UHD screen cable, which is only compatible with the silver lid and IR camera. - PTM7950 is a super, stable thermal interface material - Undervolting can be enabled via BIOS variables (see Precision 7540 thread); your 2176M should accept a healthy undervolt and run max all-core turbo speeds at <80°C - Wi-fi: Not sure if Wi-Fi 7 would work, if you find an A+E key module? Otherwise, the only better Wi-fi modules are the AX210 and the Killer (Intel) AX1675

You've got some options! The P5000, GTX 1070, and Quadro RTX 3000 are all nice upgrade options that provide a similar level of performance. Their pros and cons: - RTX 3000: Pro - Newer (Turing) architecture for better performance/watt, supports ray tracing. Con - 6 GB RAM, mid-high priced - GTX 1070: Pro - 8 GB RAM, low-priced. (Perhaps con) - no ray tracing -P5000: Pro - 16 GB RAM. (Perhaps con) - no ray tracing. Con - mid-high priced Higher-performance MXM Type B cards that are available include the GTX 1080, Quadro RTX 5000, RTX 3060, and RTX 3080. Some versions of these have a non-standard, non-rectangular form factor. I'm not sure if those would fit the Precision 7720, or require a heatsink mod. Any with a standard rectangular PCB should fit with no problem. Here's a reliable seller of secondhand MXM cards: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=shawn882014&store_name=shawn882014&_oac=1&_nkw=mxm Some NotebookTalk denizens have also ordered from https://www.x-vsion.com/product-category/mxms/mxmn/. I haven't heard confirmed success of these cards in a Precision yet, so let us know how it goes if you order!

Didn't see the 110W at first 🤣. I wonder if the embedded controller sets a limit on power draw? HW info says my 1650 consumes 35W - I'm not sure whether to believe that. The M2200 was reputed to have a 55W TDP, which seems like the maximum that the Precision 7520's thermal solution can handle. An RTX 4060 at 50W performs at ~75% of max performance - if voltage controls are enabled, I could see getting another 5-10% above that.

I'm curious as well; I've been eyeing that 4060 for my Precision 7520 too, and hoping the X-VSION card plays well with eDP

Adventures in performing a clean install of Windows 11 24H2: - Modded graphics driver installations (e.g. .inf mod or using NVCleanInstall) now fail due to driver signature enforcement. Driver signature enforcement can be disabled in "Advanced Startup Options" to enable successful installation - CPU performance is about the same on a 7th gen quad-core (Cinebench R20 was consistently 2026 before, now 2016) I don't think a standard Windows install would be bearable. I used NTLite to nuke Copilot, Recall, OneDrive, Edge, Game Bar, etc. and the result is a nice, classic, Windows experience. The clean installation used ~125 process and 2.4 GB of ram before driver installation.