Aaron44126

I have "modern standby" disabled and I don't see an option for "Sleep" with BIOS 1.10.1 either. I didn't worry about it too much yesterday (after installing the update) — my organization blocks Sleep through Group Policy and I have to jump through hoops to enable it — but I checked the powercfg output just now and it looks the same as @Ionising_Radiation.

I just updated to BIOS 1.10.1 (from 1.5.0) without issue.

Very interesting, thank you... I grabbed just the bit from the Precision systems (a bit easier to see here on the forum if it's not so vertical). OCR: 移劫端3 系/5 系新增14 寸工作站 3470/5470 7670 提供戏机身版本（経便版／高性能版） CPU 升级！ 全新Intel 12 代Alder Lake CPU ，性能提升25% , H 系高性能，部 分提供P28 版本 內存升级！ LPDDR5 內存，性能提升 15% GPU 升级！新一代高性能RTX 造璜，提供Intel 夸此狓晁(5470/7770) 人性化没计，防盜亻考感器( MWS 5/7) 更小的适配器(MWS 7) 硬件低盔光 Al 近汤沢別和快速登入2.0 Optimizer 軟件优化、散熱优化 包裝100％使用可回收材料 MWS3 系零部件，风扇l 屯池框架采 用可回收材料 桌面端3 系全新没计， 3660 性能強劭 (27 升） 最高125W 高性能12 代灶理器， 68% 性能提升 最高128G 支持DDR5 4400Mhz 內存，50％ 性能提升 可造RTXA6000 高性熊GPU 提供液冷方案，最高降低26％的温度 和33％的信噪比(3660VS3650) Google Translate: Added 14-inch workstation 3470/5470 for 3-series/5-series 7670 is available in a game body version (Scene version / High performance version) CPU upgrade! The new Intel 12th generation Alder Lake CPU, the performance is improved by 25%, H series high performance, some provide P28 version Memory upgrade! LPDDR5 memory, 15% better performance GPU upgrade! A new generation of high-performance RTX design, providing Intel's praised Xingchao (5470/7770) Humanized design, anti-theft sensor (MWS 5/7) Smaller adapter (MWS 7) Hardware low helmet light Al Kinyuzabetsu and Quick Login 2.0 Optimizer software optimization, thermal optimization Packaging is 100% recyclable MWS3 series parts, fan and pool frame are made of recyclable materials Brand new for desktop 3 series, 3660 powerful performance (27L) Up to 125W high performance 12th generation cooker with 68% performance boost Up to 128G supports DDR5 4400Mhz memory, 50% performance improvement Can build RTXA6000 high performance bear GPU Offers a liquid cooling solution that reduces temperature by up to 26% and SNR by 33% (3660VS3650) Analysis: Despite being mostly focused on the Precision MWS systems, they seem to have some Precision desktop bullet points in here. They did report Precision 3470 which has not been widely reported and has not yet been announced by Dell. (Precision 3470 has been observed in the parts list and in registration filings.) It looks like they are claiming Intel Arc graphics only for 5470 and 7770. We already knew 5470 was getting it, and a high-end Arc GPU has appeared in the parts list for the 7X70 (just one entry and not two), so this seems to line up. The release dates are not in the infographic, but 4/19 for 3000 and 5000 seems reasonable. 5/10 for 7000 is a bit earlier than I thought, but not entirely unrealistic. They are clearly working on these systems, so maybe they will be available almost immediately after Intel's announcement of the HX line? (Still no real hint on exactly that will happen, AFAIK. I had been assuming early May, but it could come yet this month.) In the 10+ years that I've been following them, Dell has never had the high-end Precision MWS systems available immediately after a CPU launch, but there are a lot of things that are unusual about the Alder Lake rollout. ...Anyway, I'll believe it more if the 4/19 date is accurate, we'll find out next week.

I haven’t seen anything like this from MS. Grouping is coming back, it is available in current preview builds. I am using Start11 which has a good “Windows 10 style Start menu” option, if you actually preferred something like that.

Refreshed the link, try again. (Expiration is now 2022-12-31. I keep hoping that I can get a new build out, but I do not have time to work on it.)

Downgrade is free and installation media can be pulled from Microsoft. (Just make sure to install the same edition of Windows that the system came with, Home vs Pro.) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

There, I am just describing the normal behavior of the laptop under EC control (i.e. not using fan management software). With “automatic control” there are more speeds available than with manual control…. you cannot force it to one of those speeds though.

For Windows 11 specifically, there is a tool called ElevenClock for customizing the date/time display. https://github.com/martinet101/ElevenClock

For desktop systems, ECC support with Alder Lake requires the W680 chipset from Intel. I saw this article earlier today, it looks like this chipset is just now starting to roll out. I'm sure it'll show up in new Precision desktop models soon. (Highly doubt that the mobile RTX GPUs will be that close together in price when we see the actual order configuration pricing. They would never sell any A4500's...)

http://laptopforum.net/ and http://notebook-review.com/ also appeared, and both of those have since closed down.

Checking out the Dell parts list again... Precision 7X70 chassis parts seem to have some real prices now and not placeholder "$99,999.00" prices. Alder Lake HX CPUs are now showing up in the Dell parts database. It looks like everything on offer is 8P+8E, except for the i5-12600HX which is 4P+8E. (i7-12650HX, previously leaked as 6P+8E, is MIA.) Only this batch at the end has prices listed... The i7-12800HX hasn't shown up in online leaks that I have seen, but the rest of these have. I think that the "V" and "NV" stand for "vPro" and "no vPro"... The list seems incomplete. Note — Parts prices might not line up with the prices offered as config choices when ordering a system. Also found NVIDIA GPUs. (16GB means this A4500 is the mobile version and not the desktop version.) That's a surprisingly small price difference between A4500 and A5500. Only one entry for each of these GPUs... So either the parts haven't all been entered yet, or 7X60 and 7X70 are sharing GPU cards. (This might be just the 7X70 GPUs because there is no A2000 listed.) [Edit] The parts spreadsheet has all of these GPUs listed together. There are multiple entries for many of the GPUs (presumably 7X60 and 7X70 versions). There is also a GeForce 3080 Ti lumped in with the RTX A-series GPUs, so maybe Dell will be offering up that option again as well. (Maybe 3080 for Precision 7670 and 3080Ti for 7770?) Looking at the same codes in the parts database dump, it appears that there are doubled-up GPUs in there... They just don't have consistent names so I didn't catch them at first. [Edit 2] Found this pile of memory options. Hard to know if it is for the Precision 7X70 or not. It does go up to 128GB ECC (holy cow $$$), so the only thing it could be for I think would an upcoming Precision desktop with W680 chipset? (Currently available Precision 3X60 desktops do not appear to support ECC memory, and I don't think that they have any DDR5 servers out yet either.) On one hand, there are some LPDDR5 options mixed in to the same batch (not pictured) so that makes me think these must be laptop memory options. On the other, we have no hard indication that Alder Lake HX systems will support ECC memory at all.

M6600 is known to have issues with NVIDIA GPUs. Some kind of BIOS conflict. I would not expect Maxwell GPUs to work. I've heard a couple of people saying Kepler GPUs work but more people saying that they don't work. Unfortunately... AMD is really the only way to go for GPU upgrades with this system. (If you can somehow manage to trade up to M6700 then there are more upgrade options. A lot of parts can be moved forward like the display panel, memory modules, drives, ...)

Honestly, it could be beneficial to be able to upgrade on your own timeline without being nagged. But, support for Windows 11 version 21H2 Home/Pro will end by the end of year 2023 (well before Windows 10 support ends). It might be possible to extend this by shoving in patches sent to Windows 11 Enterprise users, but not by more than one year as Enterprise edition support ends by the end of 2024. As end of support approaches, Windows 11 users running "unsupported hardware" will have to decide whether to stay on 21H2 (and forego security updates), jump through the hoops necessary to upgrade to Windows 11 version 22H2, or switch to a different OS.

Yes, this is how it works as I understand it. Not quite sure why they went this way. I think that the LVDS port on the board is just 40 pins? Probably needed extra bandwidth for the 10-bits-per-color display output to the IPS panel. And again... Dell was limiting IPS panel / eDP configs to NVIDIA GPUs only when this system released. No idea if it will work with an AMD GPU at all. (I don't remember hearing a story of anyone trying it.) It might just be that AMD GPUs of the day didn't support 10-bit color output, so there was no point pairing one with the IPS panel. Assuming that the eDP port works with an AMD GPU, you could also attempt to fit a "standard" eDP display by using the M6700 "3D cable" which I mentioned before. It should be able to connect directly from the eDP port on the motherboard to the back of an eDP panel. (Note that if you're using the IPS panel then you also need to replace the display enclosure. The one holding the IPS panel is slightly "thicker" than the standard one. All of the needed parts are in the post that I linked above.) I know that using the eDP port unlocked additional GPU upgrade options on the Precision M6700. It works with, for example, Quadro P5000 which does not support LVDS.

Just some notes. While you do have to pay up for a license for Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC (which I have been "promoting", along with others), you don't have to pay anything to move from Windows 11 to Windows 10 if you just use the same edition (Pro or Home or whatever). Microsoft allows downgrades. In fact, Windows 10 and Windows 11 product keys are cross-compatible and come from the same pool, so I think you should be able to activate one or the other without issue. ...Now, going this route would only be advisable for users who are comfortable doing a fresh Windows install, and of course there may be issues finding Windows 10 drivers for a system that shipped with Windows 11 if the OEM is not providing them. (...Not really a problem at the moment, with most systems, but this will get worse over time.) Getting media is not a problem. Microsoft makes it available for free. No, it's not all bad. I'd argue that Windows 10 brought its fair share of legitimate improvements. Serious display scaling improvements, as you mention. (As an aside, I'm not of the same opinion as @Mr. Fox here. I love the increased sharpness/definition/readability from high-DPI displays. I run 4K systems at 200% and I don't have any scaling issues that can't be worked around. Admittedly, I do occasionally have to change compatibility settings on a broken app to disable scaling. 200% is nice because you get straight-up pixel doubling and not "blurriness" if an app runs with scaling disabled.) Other improvements that come to mind are WSL, a very awesome feature for people using Windows who are familiar with Linux (developer types in particular). System-wide dark mode is nice. While Windows 11 launched without any real improvements other than the "fresh coat of paint", I would say, it's getting some more interesting things like Android app support and (finally) tabs for File Explorer. My problem with the direction of Windows basically focuses on the increasing pervasiveness of monetization features, treating ordinary users as "beta testers" by pushing out new builds and features before they have been through a proper QC process, and Microsoft's lack of commitment to feature stability (functionality changes are rolled up with security updates — you can't take one without the other, and that's not the way that things used to be). I go into all of this in more depth in my "The problem with Windows 11" post (link in sig).

M6600, like M6700, has separate eDP and LVDS connectors on the motherboard (right next to each other). There was an IPS panel option that uses the eDP connection. M6600 and M6700 used largely the same parts for the eDP panel hookup. (It does include an "interposer" between the motherboard and the panel, but it did connect to the eDP port on the motherboard and not the LVDS port.) This thread describes the parts needed to "upgrade" to an IPS panel configuration, but most of those parts are probably hard to find now. M6700 also had a 120 Hz "3D" panel option which also used the eDP connection on the board. That configuration came with a "3D cable" which is an eDP cable that you could use to attempt to mount a different eDP panel in the system (without an "interposer" or anything). It appears to be still available on eBay. I believe @TheQuentincc had it working with a standard 4K panel in the M6700 at one point, and demonstrated that (in the M6700) you can actually use both the LVDS and eDP connectors at the same time to drive two different displays. There are some unknowns with regards to the M6600. I believe that the IPS panel configuration required an NVIDIA GPU (in both M6600 and M6700), so you may or may not be able to make use of the eDP port with an AMD GPU. And since NVIDIA GPU upgrade options are limited(/nonexistent) for the M6600... kind of stuck with AMD. AMD supported LVDS in their MXM cards a little bit longer than NVIDIA did (IIRC). If you attempt to use the eDP port, you'll probably have to pull the coin-cell battery to reset the BIOS/NVRAM after connecting the eDP display before it will be functional. So, yeah. I'm not that up to speed on the AMD GPU options, so I'm not answering your question... but hopefully providing some context (for you or anyone else who happens across this thread).

Checked this out a little more carefully and I ran into something odd. I started with the XPS 17, which is available to order now, but Dell is only offering up to 2TB for that system. So, on the Precision 5770 spec sheet, they list a 4TB option but it says "only with discrete graphics configuration". Why would a dGPU be required? Precision 5470 and 5570 sheets list a 4TB option without that stipulation. (Still unclear if these are "double-sided" NVMe drives or if they have some manufacturer that is making single-sided 4TB NVMe drives.)

Many memory modules have lifetime or 10-year warranties. You might be able to get it replaced!

Microsoft starts offering Windows 11 ARM VMs in Azure. (...But they still won't license Windows on ARM for individual purchase, or use in a local VM setup for use with i.e. VMware Workstation/Fusion, or Parallels on a M1 Mac.) https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-brings-arm-support-to-azure-virtual-machines/ https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/now-in-preview-azure-virtual-machines-with-ampere-altra-armbased-processors/

I noticed that for the docks. There's not a new dual-connect dock for >200W power delivery to the laptop. (Maybe there is something yet to be announced with the Precision 7X70 systems.) But... For Precision 7770 we have... CPUs moving up a notch in TDP (45W→55W base TDP — not sure what Alder Lake HX boost power will look like but seems like it'll have to be higher than Tiger Lake H) GPUs moving up a notch in TGP (140W→165W boost TGP) ...A chassis that looks like it is made to support a three-fan cooling solution, or at the very least a significant increase in the rear fin stack surface area for better cooling. Honestly, I'll be a bit disappointed if the 7770 still ships with a 240W PSU (at least for high-end configs like Core i9 HX + RTX A5500). We already have stories of the 7760 GPU getting throttled with a dock attached that can (supposedly) deliver full power to the system. They may have decided that dock users just have to also have a separate power brick plugged in for now. (Still speculative. Not that much longer until we find out, though...)

Note – Speculative, my “best guess” based generally on past patterns. Announcement in first half of May. Available to order in late May or early June. First batch of systems received by customers in July. Intel announcing Alder Lake HX is the next thing needed to get things moving. (Not really up to Dell. They can’t announce until Intel does.)

RetroArch has save states built in. (F2 = save, F4 = load)

I feel like I should ask for clarification on your first post here, regarding support for Intel Thread Director and Windows 10, as this was not the answer that I expected. To date, this is a feature that Microsoft has supported only on Windows 11. There have been hints that support might be backported to Windows 10 but there has been no public or even rumored/leaked comment from Microsoft on the matter, as far as I know. What we are referring to with Thread Director is Intel's dedicated hardware thread monitoring / scheduling assistant feature. (Here's a page that describes how it works.) (Windows 10 does have some awareness of "performance" vs. "efficiency" cores and will schedule threads accordingly, but it does not utilize information provided by Thread Director for scheduling.) So the question is, to clarify — does Dell have some way of getting Windows 10 and Thread Director working together? Or are you aware of Microsoft adding support for Thread Director on Windows 10 in the near future? As for "why someone would want to do this" — There are some compatibility issues with regards to the two different types of cores and certain workloads. Some games that have DRM protections would fail to run, because P cores and E cores have different CPU IDs and the DRM software would flip out about that. (I believe that these have all been patched by now.) The main issue now is that some software which runs CPU-intensive workloads in low-priority threads will have those threads inappropriately scheduled to run on the E cores only, hampering performance. @AL123 posted a link to a review that has a good discussion on this issue. Disabling the E cores is one way to solve this problem. (In my opinion, this would be a "last resort" type thing — there are other ways that it can be addressed.) Ideally, problematic software will be updated in short order to address this and then such workarounds will be unnecessary.

RetroArch with the Snes9x core. RetroArch is nice because it basically separates out the front-end and back-end configuration for emulators. You can set up your display config and audio config and so forth once, and then use that with any number of emulators (NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX, N64, handhelds, ...). I do a fair amount of gaming via emulation, and I'm rather picky about smooth video (vsync, no frame drops, no tearing) and smooth audio (in sync with no pops) and RetroArch not only handles these things quite well, it removes the need to "figure it out all over again" when I want to add another platform to the mix. It's got a small learning curve to get into how custom configs work, but it works pretty well "out of the box". It also has a ton of "shaders" (visual filters) so you can pick if you'd like you games to look basic/pixely or if you'd like to try out a CRT filter to sort of bring it more in line with what things used to look like. https://www.retroarch.com/index.php?page=shaders It also integrates with RetroAchievements if you'd like to try classic games with achievements. (For SNES, bsnes has also been ported as a RetroArch core if you want a 100% accurate emulator. It has a higher performance cost and does not support RetroAchievements.)

Technically, you could plug a USB "type B" device like an external hard drive or a printer into a USB-A or USB-C port on your PC, you just need the appropriate cable. USB "type B" is just the device-side connection. The actual USB data protocol is the same no matter which type of connector you use. (...Well, USB-C adds some additional optional capabilities like multiple streams and DispalyPort support.) You can totally get cables with a USB-C connector on one end and standard USB type B or micro USB on the other end. So, yeah. I have a USB mice with a USB-A cable and that's the only USB device that's always plugged in. My personal laptop doesn't actually have any USB-C ports, but when I replace it in a few months, I'll have a few and I think that I'll get some cables needed to switch other devices that I plug in (i.e. Xbox game controller or external hard drives) over to USB-C... If only because USB-C is less hassle to deal with because you don't have to worry about which way you orient the cable when you plug it in!