Precision M6800 questions and upgrades

[Annihilator]

3 hours ago, panda_zzz said:

Don't forget that with this processor, you will be limited to 2 RAM slots and a maximum of 16 gigabytes.

 

and where is the problem? 16GB is more then enough for everything except big photoshop / video files, n for this the supported CPUs r way to slow atm(except i like to wait for hours 😄 ) 

 

 

[AaronD]

11 hours ago, Annihilator said:

and where is the problem? 16GB is more then enough for everything except big photoshop / video files, n for this the supported CPUs r way to slow atm(except i like to wait for hours 😄 ) 

Every once in a while, I use mine for live FHD video.  (cameras, local sources, etc., with production and encoding all in the moment and all "in the box")  That tends to eat RAM.  And CPU cycles, even if it does offload the encoding part to the GPU.

 

It's not the sort of thing that can wait either: each frame *must* finish before the next one starts.  But this 10-year-old design with mostly original parts (all except storage, GPU, and OS) does keep up with it!  32GB and an i7-4940MX.

[Annihilator]

1 hour ago, AaronD said:

Every once in a while, I use mine for live FHD video.  (cameras, local sources, etc., with production and encoding all in the moment and all "in the box")  That tends to eat RAM.  And CPU cycles, even if it does offload the encoding part to the GPU.

 

It's not the sort of thing that can wait either: each frame *must* finish before the next one starts.  But this 10-year-old design with mostly original parts (all except storage, GPU, and OS) does keep up with it!  32GB and an i7-4940MX.

 

ordered a 4930MX, 20 bucks cheaper then the 4940MX(or the 4980HQ) n the OC results for both r the same, so no need to waste money on that 😄 n found another 2x 4GB 1866 mem in a old 2570P here, so could go for 24GB... but will short the battery life, the reson i only will install the 1TB mPCIe SATA SSD, less power using stuff in the system as possible... 

 

now will think about to optimize the heatsinks... sadly is not from the bottom like HP where u can use the bottom plate as huuuuuge heatsink 😄

[DynamiteZerg]

On 1/10/2026 at 3:15 AM, Annihilator said:

first parts arrived, ordered a wifi 6/AX BT 5.2 card with native mPCIe so no adapter needed, works pretty well, installed win11 as clean install on a 256GB samsung 850pro which i found in the corner, but a 1TB mPCIe SATA is on da way n will do a fresh install there(since i know is bootable) then n the HDD bays possible will mod to fan-slots for better air flow(like i did with my former elitebooks) when possible. putted my gskill 1866MHz mem in n installed XTU to undervolt the CPU, -0.070V n all core boost on max ended up in 5% singlecore n 6% multicore performance(just quick test with cinebench)

 

im getting really excited that the NV cooler arrive soon, want try the GTX 880M n still not sure which CPU 4930/4940MX or 4980HQ(yeah u can order socket version for G3 socket = will fit n work in M6800)... in games the 128MB L4 cache from the HQ gives a huge burst(10-40% when no GPU bottleneck), but the open multiplicator from the MX on the other side will give more performance everywhere. next upgrade would be then a P5200, more then enough power for 1080p n mid settings + max details bcs 16GB of vram will be more then enough 😄 

 

U can install a WIFI 7 card (Intel BE200HMW) though. So not sure why you went with WIFI 6. I made the same mistake until I came across a post on this thread of another member successfully installing the Intel BE200HMW and went with it as well.

 

Like panda_zzz mentioned all 4980HQ CPUs currently on the market, adapted for the socket in the M6800, are limited to 2 RAM slots. Previous reports of one guy being able to use 4 RAM slots are unconfirmed and unlikely to be true at this point as no evidence were furnished to show all 4 RAM slots in use. All postings I come across online all points to being limited to 2 RAM slots and sellers that I spoke to all said the same as well.

 

If you want to overclock, the 4930MX has better potential than the 4940MX and is cheaper as well. If you want to try an Nvidia GPU, why not start with the GTX 980M or M5000M? They have better performance and are widely available and price is quite reasonable. Unless of course you have a GTX 880M available on hand, then there's no point getting another one.

 

The P5200 is good but is a power hungry beast and with that produces a lot of heat when running. Depending on the revisions, Rev A & B is about 100W-115W and C & D can go up to 150W. I know as I still have the P5000 (100W) on my M6800 running and it runs pretty hot!

 

The RTX 3000 might be a better bet as it is cooler (80W) and slightly cheaper and gives you ray tracing and more advance features than the P5200. Though in terms of raw power, it lags behind the P5200 and P5000. I will be swapping to the RTX 3000 soon and just need to find the time to take apart the M6800 to do the swap. I am using a LVDS motherboard and screen and using SG btw.

[Annihilator]

11 hours ago, DynamiteZerg said:

 

U can install a WIFI 7 card (Intel BE200HMW) though. So not sure why you went with WIFI 6. I made the same mistake until I came across a post on this thread of another member successfully installing the Intel BE200HMW and went with it as well.

 

Like panda_zzz mentioned all 4980HQ CPUs currently on the market, adapted for the socket in the M6800, are limited to 2 RAM slots. Previous reports of one guy being able to use 4 RAM slots are unconfirmed and unlikely to be true at this point as no evidence were furnished to show all 4 RAM slots in use. All postings I come across online all points to being limited to 2 RAM slots and sellers that I spoke to all said the same as well.

 

If you want to overclock, the 4930MX has better potential than the 4940MX and is cheaper as well. If you want to try an Nvidia GPU, why not start with the GTX 980M or M5000M? They have better performance and are widely available and price is quite reasonable. Unless of course you have a GTX 880M available on hand, then there's no point getting another one.

 

The P5200 is good but is a power hungry beast and with that produces a lot of heat when running. Depending on the revisions, Rev A & B is about 100W-115W and C & D can go up to 150W. I know as I still have the P5000 (100W) on my M6800 running and it runs pretty hot!

 

The RTX 3000 might be a better bet as it is cooler (80W) and slightly cheaper and gives you ray tracing and more advance features than the P5200. Though in terms of raw power, it lags behind the P5200 and P5000. I will be swapping to the RTX 3000 soon and just need to find the time to take apart the M6800 to do the swap. I am using a LVDS motherboard and screen and using SG btw.

 

the wifi 6/ax card i got near by for 5 bucks, n 1500 down n 1400 up(tested) more then enough... 

 

n 2 mem slots more then enough, dont know who set the "32GB needed" thing into the world when not doin video/photo editing, im gamer n even in 4k not one single game i know which need 32GB, n photoshop i only do on the PC, more threads, more mem etc. so 16GB is fine for 99.9% of users.

 

ordered a 4930MX anyway, goal is 4.5GHz, lets see its possible(with optimized cooling, maybe LM instead of grease)...

 

yeah, the 880M already here, but want more power 😄 i have the eDP display, so pascal cards should run flawless anyway when seen it right? n the advantage of the RTX3000 is DLSS, at quality mode will already outperform a P5200, big red flag is only 6GB of vmem, will limit even in 1080p in a lot of games. so RTX 4000 or even better 5000 would be the better option(when possible?). 

 

 

[DynamiteZerg]

On 1/9/2026 at 2:49 AM, Will said:

Hey, did you get it installed? Did it work?

Haven't got around to it yet as i had to fix another friend's laptop. Will try it this weekend. 

[DynamiteZerg]

1 hour ago, Annihilator said:

 

the wifi 6/ax card i got near by for 5 bucks, n 1500 down n 1400 up(tested) more then enough... 

 

n 2 mem slots more then enough, dont know who set the "32GB needed" thing into the world when not doin video/photo editing, im gamer n even in 4k not one single game i know which need 32GB, n photoshop i only do on the PC, more threads, more mem etc. so 16GB is fine for 99.9% of users.

 

ordered a 4930MX anyway, goal is 4.5GHz, lets see its possible(with optimized cooling, maybe LM instead of grease)...

 

yeah, the 880M already here, but want more power 😄 i have the eDP display, so pascal cards should run flawless anyway when seen it right? n the advantage of the RTX3000 is DLSS, at quality mode will already outperform a P5200, big red flag is only 6GB of vmem, will limit even in 1080p in a lot of games. so RTX 4000 or even better 5000 would be the better option(when possible?). 

 

 

Those cards beyond RTX3000 either have a slightly different offset layout that needs extensive mods on the gpu heatsink or is build a tad too big to fit the M6800. 

[Annihilator]

1 hour ago, DynamiteZerg said:

Those cards beyond RTX3000 either have a slightly different offset layout that needs extensive mods on the gpu heatsink or is build a tad too big to fit the M6800. 

 

just took a look, the 4000 card seems impossible without modding chassis from the m6800 bcs mounting holes on different places, the 5000 seems to have everything on the right place, but need soldering some copper plates on the heatsink for proper cooling(but nothing serious) but price of the 5000 card is 🤐

[DellBoy]

As the 4980HQ is an unsupported CPU with no specific M6800 drivers, is the full performance and L4 cache actually able to be utilized? Are there any caveats such as having to run a specific version of Windows or Linux?

[Aaron44126]

21 minutes ago, DellBoy said:

As the 4980HQ is an unsupported CPU with no specific M6800 drivers, is the full performance and L4 cache actually able to be utilized? Are there any caveats such as having to run a specific version of Windows or Linux?

 

You don't need drivers for a specific CPU. Dell doesn't offer any "CPU" drivers for the Precision M6800 (or any other system). The chipset drivers are there for other onboard components, not the CPU. Cache is managed by the CPU itself, not the OS/drivers. There's no issue running any "compatible" 4th-gen CPU in the M4800, other than the RAM slot limitation that has been mentioned recently.

[DellBoy]

25 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

 

You don't need drivers for a specific CPU. Dell doesn't offer any "CPU" drivers for the Precision M6800 (or any other system). The chipset drivers are there for other onboard components, not the CPU. Cache is managed by the CPU itself, not the OS/drivers. There's no issue running any "compatible" 4th-gen CPU in the M4800, other than the RAM slot limitation that has been mentioned recently.

 

You are indeed correct about the CPU not needing drivers, apologies as I was thinking about the chipset drivers. Thanks for the further clarifications as well.