Precision 7670 & 7770 pre-release discussion (Alder Lake)

[operator]

  

25 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

What estimated delivery date are you getting?

 

Estimated shipping date August 9th.

Estimated delivery date August 22nd.

[__starrify__]

On 6/7/2022 at 8:24 PM, Dell-Mano_G said:

All are concurrent CPU/GPU: 7670 thin: 109W, 7670 performance: 136W, 7770: 162W

I have to say that I used to be pretty much sure about getting a 7670.. yet there's much more tendency towards 7770 once I saw this.. still hesitating

(thanks again @Dell-Mano_G)

[Aaron44126]

22 minutes ago, __starrify__ said:

still hesitating

 

There's always a tradeoff (size vs. performance)...

Keep in mind that the actual % performance difference will be less than the % power difference.  (Efficiency decreases as power use goes up.)

[Aaron44126]

Not sure what is up with this, but if you leave the cheap base 256GB SSD in the configurator and then try to add an additional SSD, it will complain that the 256GB option is not compatible with additional drives.  (Seems to happen with both systems.)

 

I do not expect that there will be an issue adding drives if you order the system with the 256GB SSD, but this is making me a little bit apprehensive; I'm thinking about ordering a 512GB drive instead just to ward off any potential trouble.  256GB is 2230, but the other drives are 2280, maybe that has something to do with it.  Precision 7760 with 256GB/2230 shipped with an "extender" and a regular 2280-size heatsink covering it, but this is not yet confirmed to be the case with 7X70.

 

I'm going to see if I can get some official clarification on this (...but I'm not going to hold up my order while waiting).  ...I'll be able to repurpose the a 512GB drive more easily than a 256GB anyway.

 

Also, I noticed that Precision 7770 requires you to upgrade the battery if you fill out the system with four drives.  (I wonder why that is...)

[FabeFromBOD]

6 hours ago, operator said:

My Dell sales rep was able to 'activate' my order and I just got the order confirmation. 🤗

Same thing for me, I'm waiting for delivery date.

[Aaron44126]

U.S. configurator pages are live.  Going to call up a rep and try to order in about an hour, as soon as I am done with some work meetings...

 

The U.S. configurator seems to show the proper price difference for each CPU choice and also allows you to select the i9 CPU.

 

128GB CAMM costs "only" $1,700.

[Aaron44126]

Just noticed the U.S. site is showing July 27 estimated delivery for 7770.

[FabeFromBOD]

1 hour ago, FabeFromBOD said:

Same thing for me, I'm waiting for delivery date.

[-batab-]

Am I stupid or when I checked this morning a 120Hz screen was available for the 7670? Because I only see 60Hz displays now.

 

Anyway, a decent configuration gets up to 5k€ sadly. When do you guys say that talking with reps is usually a good idea, are you thinking of single % discounts or even some serious double digit stuff? 

[Dell-Mano_G]

Hello all, I'm happy to answer some questions now that we are live.  FYI, Asia & China will be live tomorrow, 7/8.  

[Aaron44126]

35 minutes ago, -batab- said:

Am I stupid or when I checked this morning a 120Hz screen was available for the 7670? Because I only see 60Hz displays now.

 

Anyway, a decent configuration gets up to 5k€ sadly. When do you guys say that talking with reps is usually a good idea, are you thinking of single % discounts or even some serious double digit stuff? 

 

120Hz panel is only for the Precision 7770.

 

My experience is that the reps can knock hundreds of dollars off of a high-end configuration.

 

One month ago, I got a quote from a rep for i9/3080Ti/128GB RAM/etc. and 5-year ProSupport Plus and it came out to about $6,050.  When I quote out the same spec on the U.S. web site right now, it is coming out to about $7,060.  A little bit fudged since you can't select 3080Ti on the web site (I have selected A4500 in its place, price should be similar).  So, yes, that's a >10% discount.

 

I feel like they have wider latitude to lower the price on warranty upgrades than they might on actual hardware components.  (Sort of speculating based on experience.  Nothing hard to go on there.)

 

So yes, for the best price, get in touch with a rep.  Call the small business sales line, or you can just use the online chat if it is available in your market.  When you get a quote, check it carefully to make sure that everything that you asked for is accounted for.  I almost always have to get them to change something.

 

I don't have a final price on a system to order today just yet.  My quote from last month is expired.  I'm waiting for a call back from my rep.

[Aaron44126]

1 minute ago, Dell-Mano_G said:

Hello all, I'm happy to answer some questions now that we are live.  FYI, Asia & China will be live tomorrow, 7/8.  

 

Regarding the online configurator...

• Europe seems to be blocking i9 orders, if you select the i9 CPU it will say that all of the available OS choices are incompatible.  Assuming this will be fixed soon ...?  (Doesn't seem to be a problem on the U.S. site.)
• If you order a system with the base 256GB SSD (M.2 2230) as the first drive, and try to add an additional SSD, it will complain that the 256GB SSD is not compatible with additional SSDs.  Some questions follow:
  • Why is this?  Is there a practical/physical limitation?
  • If a user orders the system with the base 256GB SSD, will the heatsinks & screws be included to install additional drives?
  • Will it be possible to replace the 256GB SSD (2230) with a larger drive (2280)?
• Also if you try to fill out four drives in the Precision 7770, it will require you to upgrade the battery.  Does the base battery occupy one of the M.2/NVMe slots?

Also, can you share PL1/PL2 power limits for the CPU?

 

Thanks!

[Dell-Mano_G]

3 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

Regarding the online configurator...

• Europe seems to be blocking i9 orders, if you select the i9 CPU it will say that all of the available OS choices are incompatible.  Assuming this will be fixed soon ...?  (Doesn't seem to be a problem on the U.S. site.)
• If you order a system with the base 256GB SSD (M.2 2230) as the first drive, and try to add an additional SSD, it will complain that the 256GB SSD is not compatible with additional SSDs.  Some questions follow:
  • Why is this?  Is there a practical/physical limitation?
  • If a user orders the system with the base 256GB SSD, will the heatsinks & screws be included to install additional drives?
  • Will it be possible to replace the 256GB SSD (2230) with a larger drive (2280)?
• Also if you try to fill out four drives in the Precision 7770, it will require you to upgrade the battery.  Does the base battery occupy one of the M.2/NVMe slots?

Also, can you share PL1/PL2 power limits for the CPU?

 

Thanks!

Europe issues with i9, that is just online issues.  There are no restrictions for i9.  I hope they are able to address those issues soon.  

256GB is only available for first drive.  This is the same as on the 7x60's.  We are not allowing 256GB to be ordered in another location, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th M.2 location.  

If you order only a single drive, we continue to offer everything in the system to add additional drives. 

4 drives requires a bigger battery, yes this is correct.  Think about the total power consumed by these systems.  With 4 drives in the system, you are looking at a possible max power consumption scenario.  We have to think about the max configuration.  Think, i9, RTX A5500, 128GB memory, 4 x M.2 drives, UHD panel, etc.., and they are all running at the same time.  In that event we need the larger battery to be able to handle the max system load.  That is why we default to the larger battery with 4 drives in the system.  

[Aaron44126]

1 minute ago, Dell-Mano_G said:

256GB is only available for first drive.  This is the same as on the 7x60's.  We are not allowing 256GB to be ordered in another location, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th M.2 location.

 

Thanks for the quick reply.  I'm still a little confused on the situation with the 256GB drive.  Let me ask this — since it is a 2230 drive not not 2280 like the others, does it still ship with a M.2 extender and full-size 2280 heatsink covering it so that you could replace it with a 2280 drive later if you like?  (I believe this is how last year's Precision 7X60 systems worked.)

[win32asmguy]

15 minutes ago, Dell-Mano_G said:

Hello all, I'm happy to answer some questions now that we are live.  FYI, Asia & China will be live tomorrow, 7/8.  

Are you able to comment on power limits allowed by the 12950HX, when the 7770 is in its highest performance mode, and the dedicated graphics is idle? Thanks!

[-batab-]

Which GeForce models are actually available besides the 3080Ti that was already mentioned?

[Aaron44126]

3 minutes ago, -batab- said:

Which GeForce models are actually available besides the 3080Ti that was already mentioned?

 

That is the only one.

[Dell-Mano_G]

27 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

Thanks for the quick reply.  I'm still a little confused on the situation with the 256GB drive.  Let me ask this — since it is a 2230 drive not not 2280 like the others, does it still ship with a M.2 extender and full-size 2280 heatsink covering it so that you could replace it with a 2280 drive later if you like?  (I believe this is how last year's Precision 7X60 systems worked.)

Yes that is correct.  We are using the same behavior with the current 2230's.  

[Dell-Mano_G]

29 minutes ago, win32asmguy said:

Are you able to comment on power limits allowed by the 12950HX, when the 7770 is in its highest performance mode, and the dedicated graphics is idle? Thanks!

It is over 100W.  It all depends on what else is running and what the thermal conditions of the system are.  

[Dell-Mano_G]

25 minutes ago, -batab- said:

Which GeForce models are actually available besides the 3080Ti that was already mentioned?

No others.  The only GeForce card we are offering is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080Ti.  That's it.  

[Aaron44126]

Just put my order in.  Got the same price as before.  (Well, up just a little because I did decide to go with 512GB SSD.  I'll end up moving it to a different system.)  Estimated ship August 2, estimated receipt August 5.

 

(I hope they are early and not late.  I am traveling starting August 7.  I'd like to bring it with me, rather than have to wait for it if it arrives while I am gone.  😛 )

 

Also.  I'm still using the Precision M6700 as my personal system, which I got at launch in 2012, and this Precision 7770 is replacing.  August 9 would mark the ten-year anniversary since I received the M6700.  Fun timing 🙂

 

Back to waiting.  (Now to refresh the order details page an unreasonable amount of times every day to see when it advances to "in production".)

[operator]

1 hour ago, -batab- said:

When do you guys say that talking with reps is usually a good idea, are you thinking of single % discounts or even some serious double digit stuff? 

 

The % might depend on your configuration and also on your country. When I now put in the configuration I just ordered into the Website, my discount would be a nice two digit %. 

[operator]

7 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

Estimated ship August 2, estimated receipt August 5. 

 

Strange that even your ship date is earlier... Thought they would be built in the same little chinese backyard garage. 🙂

[1610ftw]

I just checked the configurator for Dell Germany and as expected the CAMM modules are an issue.

Last generation I got the 7760 with 32 GB of memory and 256GB of storage and I was able to upgrade my system from there. The final configuration of a total of 9 TB SSD NVME TLC storage and 128GB memory added about 1650 Euro. Right now I would have to pay 1970,11 Euro for an upgrade to 128GB CAMM memory alone!

 

 

[Aaron44126]

3 minutes ago, 1610ftw said:

I just checked the configurator for Dell Germany and as expected the CAMM modules are an issue.

 

Hopefully, CAMM becomes a standard and we get more manufacturers, places to order from, and competition.  Right now, it's going to be inflated for sure 😕