MyPC8MyBrain

judging from past CTO builds these components usually are shared across platform models, although going off contradicting sales rep feedback atm i am questioning the info i received, in the past we could still see all available components in the manual, which atm is just incomplete and missing many options.

It cannot. I had our sales rep look into this, and the maximum GPU that fits under the hood is the 4090. I was planning to order it with the 13950HX—despite it being two and a half a generation behind, I would’ve been happy with that setup. But it wasn’t meant to be—the last 4090 unit was ordered just before I could place mine. Ideally, we’d see the 285 and 5090 offered in the final generation platform. But of course, if they gave us that, nobody would touch the new 16/18" “Max Crap Pro on a Plate.” FYI: The Precision line can easily support 128GB—just use 2×64GB SoDIMMs. There’s no need for CAMM modules, which—even with 4-channel config—are still outperformed by good old SoDIMMs. Not to mention the price: just get the base 8GB config from Dell, and grab 2×64GB or even 2×128GB from a third-party vendor for half the cost (if not better). that is correct, the issue isn’t compatibility—it’s update frequency and spesific gaming/title support. For newer titles that rely on frequent driver updates or patch support, the consumer RTX line is better suited. The RTX Pro GPUs are designed more for CAD workloads (which the OP hasn’t indicated he uses). If the priority is running VMs, then GPU type won’t make much difference. You can game on the Pro cards—just manage expectations when it comes to driver support for the latest games and features. It’s not published yet, but it is available. Our sales rep confirmed it’s visible in their backend system. This entire new line feels rushed—and it shows.

@win32asmguy interesting! so it converts back to 2280 from 2230

Thank you for the links @Aaron44126 i still don't see daughter boards in the explosion image (Direct Link) it also appears that not all 4 SSD slot are made equal, its 3 x M.2 2280 SSD and 1 x M.2 2230 SSD Sliding door (optional) GPU card Heat sink for computers shipped with discrete graphics Discrete FPC beam connector cable SSD1 thermal shield SSD holder M.2 2280 SSD Battery Battery cable Memory interposer board bracket Memory connector Memory module Memory interposer board WLAN card bracket WLAN card SSD3 thermal shield SSD2 thermal shield SSD4 thermal shield Inner frame Smart card reader WLAN antenna module Left speaker Darwin bracket Display bracket Right speaker Display assembly Power button board with fingerprint reader (FIPS) Power button board with fingerprint reader bracket Interposer board Power board Power button Power button board USH board cable System board Keyboard Power button board cable Keyboard bracket Fan assembly WWAN card bracket WWAN card WWAN card shielding cover Base cover for computers with sliding door M.2 2230 SSD

if it is then its not reflected in the image @Mambucho posted, red circles seem to be embedded USB-C ports, the other silver looking marked in blue i'm not sure what it is, if its usb ports it appears that only the outer shell is potentially replaceable, seems oddly conductive material whatever it is, either way i a m not seeing modular daughter boards separate from the main board the way it used to be, it seem cheaper and less modular then id expect from a flagship stepping around with shoes it cant fill. i cant wait to hear the verdict on thermals with the main nvme slot stacked with another nvme below and surrounded with ram slots and another nvme on the other side, and for good measure the new AI gpu right above to make sure heat buildup as much as possible, maybe its just my bad vision but it seem that the fans are all pointing in the other direction of that massive heat centered area, so heat is dissipated away from cpu and gpu mainly in this 3 fan layout that completely neglect the hottest area under the hood in this carefully thought out new design.

Oh no... the disappointments just keep rolling in, one after another. From the image above, it’s clear we've lost all port modularity. Aside from the GPU, Wi-Fi, and RAM, nothing appears to be modular anymore. If a port fails, you're either stuck living with it or replacing the entire motherboard. This is deeply underwhelming—a staggeringly uneventful product launch, perhaps the most forgettable in Dell’s Precision history. It feels poorly executed and hastily thrown together, made worse by the absence of a complete, finalized spec sheet. Once again, those of us who care about workstation-grade quality are left with little more than plain crackers to choose from. No surprise that none of Dell’s execs are chiming in on this—likely out of embarrassment, and perhaps because there’s simply no way to justify this brutal dismantling of a once-legendary product line. RIP Dell Precision. It was a great run—nearly three decades of innovation and reliability. Sadly, it seems even Dell has forgotten what made it great in the first place.

indeed, i read up on that link, you just quoted my response before i re-edited it. its somewhat of a 30% upgrade id say between the cpu and the gpu overall, it would been nice if intel didn't completely messed up 14 gen line and dell at least integrated with the 14900 for the last precision gen, but it still be lagging way behind the 285H or the 5090/6000 you could (potentially) fit in it now, still I'd grab a 7780 over the newer 18 pro max plus which im about to do to replace a 7770.

@yslalan In JEDEC-standard terminology you are correct, the “C” in CSODIMM and CUDIMM stands for “Clocked”, referring to the presence of a Client Clock Driver (CKD). In Dell/OEM usage, "cSODIMM" has also been used to mean "CAMM-based SODIMM", which adds to the confusion, but is technically inaccurate by JEDEC standards.

@yslalan as in XMP? (Extreme Memory Profile) that is true with a very big distinction, cSODIMM (CAMM-based SODIMM) = Laptop DDR5 SODIMM cUDIMM (CAMM-based UDIMM) = Desktop DDR5 UDIMM both are still essentially a CAMM adapter/interposer that allows you to plug in SODIMM modules into a CAMM memory slot, both of which are Dell-specific (and somewhat confusing) terminologies built around the CAMM platform.

@ceasar2k6 simple decision, get a Precision platform while you still can.

really, i didn't think they could find another superlative to string along, so there might be a pro max plus premium, then what? pro max plus premium supreme... with cheese 😄

@SvenC The "c" in cSODIMM stand for CAMM, or more precisely, "CAMM-based SODIMM". It's not a new memory standard — it’s standard SODIMM modules mounted on an interposer or conversion board that fits into a CAMM socket. Dell developed this to allow backward compatibility with regular DDR5 SODIMMs on motherboards designed for CAMM — mainly because JEDEC has approved CAMM2 as the future, but most users still rely on SODIMMs. as i mentioned above Camm isn't actually working yet on these boards, at this point in time Camm is mainly theoretical and more of a marketing hype, SoDimms performs as fast as Camm modules do on the same system and can run high density sticks, and they dissipate heat better, but Dell doesn't want people to know as they initially were set on pushing camm modules until they realized some of us are educated and don't just judge marketing hypes by the cover. edit: its important to note that Camm modules are more expensive then Sodimm modules with no actual benefit in this format.

it kind of starting to make sense now, i get why they renamed the line to pro max plus instead of precision, its illegal to call this crap precision. "you can roll manure in powdered sugar, but it still ain't a jelly doughnut" 😅

@Aaron44126 Thanks for the images, first time i see the 18 pro max plus insides, i don't think they are double stacking NVME's that's not feasible with the heat one NVME is dissipating, two in the same spot without dedicated heat spreader or fan will melt the chassis, this whole new engineering seem arbitrary without much thought put into it, its as if they learned nothing from earlier designs, grouping two (or 3) NVME's on each side of the SODIMM module is just fantastic to ensure a good heat spot. that new sliding door while very cool will likely effect the chassis overall rigidity at 18'. Edited: after inspecting your images closer it seems that they do stack two NVME's one on top of the other in slots 9 and 10 🤯

@Aaron44126 little typo there (corrected), Plus or not i still don't find it very attractive at this point in time, i heard from our Dell sales rep that there are 4 bays, but so far i cant find any images or literature that indicates 4 bays are still there. one other gripe i forgot to list up there is there's no Oled or 4k and or touch screen options even with these new pro max plus. its not like these options don't exist, they exist on other other models for many years yet they refuse to offer these for their latest so called new flagship models. i mean they do have Pro, Plus, and Max in the name it has to mean something 😆