Dell Precision 7670 & Dell Precision 7770 owner's thread

[1610ftw]

9 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

I ordered the pad version. Lenovo does seem to have had success with using it. If anything it seems to have a more consistent result from the factory.

 

Also to rule out the heatsink I ordered a replacement from Dell. It took about 30 minutes of troubleshooting then they sent an overnight parts dispatch. The new heatsink has Sunon fans instead of Delta. The specs are slightly different on the fans (Sunon, 5v, 0.8a, 9.4cfm) vs (Delta, 5v 0.5a, 9.2cfm) and they have a different sound cycling on/off which is quieter. The stock TIM also appears to be better than what was shipped originally from the factory, I will use it this week to see how it performs. This one is already exceeding what was sustainable with the original.

 

 

It is quite obvious that you really want this one to work and rightfully so given the fact that it ticks all your boxes except for performance.

And very good idea to just go with the stock heatsink first, maybe that will also be the heatsink that others get going forward so it will be a better representation of what they can expect with regard to performance.

 

Looking forward to hear about possible improvement with the Honeywell pads, I have them on order, too.

[win32asmguy]

6 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

Did you repad the new one or are you using the stock pads for now?

I used the stock pads. I did straighten a couple of them just to make sure they would sit squarely on the component and not cause the heatsink to lift off of the CPU.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the bios. I want to check and see if they silently fixed the IA AC/DC loadline values with the update as well.

[microdou]

Just received 7770. I notice there is a sticker on my touchpad. It cannot be easily peeled off. What is it for?

 

 

[Aaron44126]

1 hour ago, microdou said:

Just received 7770. I notice there is a sticker on my touchpad. It cannot be easily peeled off. What is it for?

 

I think it's just an indicator that the touchpad is the NFC touchpoint for the system.  You can pull it off from the tab on the right.

[microdou]

2 minutes ago, Aaron44126 said:

You can pull it off from the tab on the right.

Thanks 👍

[Light]

Just got my new 7770! It's a pretty nice looking machine!

 

One question -- the power button on the 7770 feels a bit odd.

 

It's about 1/2 the height of the other keys on the keyboard and when pressed makes kind of a suction/click sound but doesn't give much physical movement compared to the keyboard keys.

 

I much preferred the power button on the 77x0 laptops. Not sure if mine got pressed during shipping, but it seems to work normally other than feeling weird.

 

Are others' power buttons like this on the 7770? 

[Aaron44126]

20 minutes ago, Light said:

Are others' power buttons like this on the 7770? 

 

Yeah, the power button is different from the other keys, and it definitely has more of a "hard click" to it than the other keys.  It's actually not even part of the keyboard, but a separate part.  (Precision 7X50/7X60 were the same way.  Check out keyboard images, power button not included.)

[Light]

It seems to work ok. I don't want any surprises later on, so tested the power button 50 times with no issue. It doesn't feel as good as the 7760 power button, but I'll get used to it. Thanks!

[Light]

In bios, it says i9 12950HX

max cpu speed 4.4 ghz
min cpu speed 0.8 ghz.

 

In windows task manager it says

base speed 2.3 ghz

 

How does the bios 4.4 ghz "max" match up with the spec to 5.0 Ghz - Intel Core i912950HX Processor 30M Cache up to 5.00 GHz Product Specifications ?

[brunooo84]

Hello!! 

I just ordered mine, will take about a month to be delivered... I picked the rtx 3080ti, 4k screen and 64gb of ram. 

 

I ordered through dell chat and the rep said the option with the rtx 3080ti comes with 3dp but searching on the internet, I only found photos of this laptop with a single one on the back... 

 

I have 2x Dell G3223Q monitors, 4k 144hz, does anyone have this or a similar monitor? How do you connect them to the laptop? Do you have any issues getting 4k @ 144hz for external screens? 

 

I thought about getting a dock as well, wd22tb4, does it charge the laptop too or do I need to to connect the charger while using the dock? 

 

I don't think that a docking station that supports dual 4k @ 144hz exists, do they? 

 

How would you recommend me to connect my monitors? 

 

If the wd22tb4 still requires the charger to be connected, I think I will get a simple one with more usb a ports and connect one monitor directly to the single display port and the other one using the mini dp. Would that be ok? 

 

Thank you! 

 

 

[Aaron44126]

15 minutes ago, brunooo84 said:

I ordered through dell chat and the rep said the option with the rtx 3080ti comes with 3dp but searching on the internet, I only found photos of this laptop with a single one on the back...

 

There are no DP or mDP connectors on this laptop.  If you saw a photo with one on the back, that was a prior model (Precision 7X30-7X60 featured this).  There is also no situation where the GPU that you pick changes the port layout on the laptop.

 

There are three USB-C ports which can pass through a DIsplayPort signal from the GPU, with an appropriate adapter.  That would be the best way to connect a high-spec display.  Get a USB-C to DisplayPort (or mDP) adapter that supports DIsplayPort 1.4 (something like this), or a dock that supports the same.  I am not sure of any docks that support two monitors at this high of a resolution and refresh rate.

[pintie]

or just a USB-C - DP cable. this one works perfect for me...

 

[brunooo84]

Thanks for clarifying! 

 

Does anyone know about the dock? 

[SilverAzide]

18 hours ago, Light said:

In bios, it says i9 12950HX

max cpu speed 4.4 ghz
min cpu speed 0.8 ghz.

 

In windows task manager it says

base speed 2.3 ghz

 

How does the bios 4.4 ghz "max" match up with the spec to 5.0 Ghz - Intel Core i912950HX Processor 30M Cache up to 5.00 GHz Product Specifications ?

Not sure if I believe the BIOS... *or* the specs from Intel.  I've seen the 0.8 Ghz, but I haven't hit anything over 4.9 Ghz.

 

 

[SilverAzide]

6 hours ago, brunooo84 said:

I thought about getting a dock as well, wd22tb4, does it charge the laptop too or do I need to to connect the charger while using the dock? 

 

I don't think that a docking station that supports dual 4k @ 144hz exists, do they? 

 

The WD22TB4 will not charge the laptop, you will need to plug in both the dock and the laptop.  The WD19DC/S will charge the laptop, according to Dell.  According to the WD22TB4 docs, it does not list any refresh rate over 60Mhz, so it seems you would need to connect the monitors to the laptop directly.

[Aaron44126]

1 hour ago, SilverAzide said:

Not sure if I believe the BIOS... *or* the specs from Intel.  I've seen the 0.8 Ghz, but I haven't hit anything over 4.9 Ghz.

Typically, the given top boost speed is for a single thread and (in my experience) is tough to hit with any background activity.

[Light]

In bios there is an option "Intel Turbo Boost Maximum Technology 3.0"

Quote

When enabled, a processor core running a high workload will perform at a higher frequency than the marked maximum turbo frequency of the processor package. Additionally, if supported, it will disable Nvidia dynamic boost 2.0

 

It's disabled by default.  Is this something to enable and is required to get the 5.0 ghz rating?

[TwistedAndy]

A new unboxing video with Precision 7670 is out: 

 

[TwistedAndy]

For some reason, the CB R23 and GB5 results are pretty low. Here's what I get on XPS 17. Probably, there are some issues with power management.

[Light]

For what it's worth, I really, really like the physical chassis style of the 7770. 

 

I've had it for two days now, and it's my favorite look of the 7xxx series. It sounds silly, but it's one of those things that is styled nice enough that it's a pleasure just looking at it and something you are proud to own.

 

Like a porsche.

 

The subtle curves on the back sides.

 

The triple vents and the way they are placed between the two beautiful strong hinges.

 

The subtle curve of the back panel and the display.

 

All together, very very nice piece of hardware.

 

 

[Light]

I've seen a high of 4.76 ghz now. Impressed, but I'd like to see task manager report 5.0 ghz and am still wondering what that value in bios of max 4.4 ghz means ??? (is it a report of current status or a setting, and a setting of what?)

[Light]

24 minutes ago, TwistedAndy said:

A new unboxing video with Precision 7670 is out: 

 

Thanks! Really enjoyed the side by side comparison in this one.

[serpro69]

4 hours ago, TwistedAndy said:

A new unboxing video with Precision 7670 is out: 

 

 

I haven't watched all of it, but I must say the parts I did scroll through were completely uninteresting and boring. And the "disassembly"... he really should have prepared better, at least skim through the manuals or something. Not knowing where the other drive is supposed to go and being confused about the camm module... why do a disassembly at all in this case? I'm not impressed at all

[win32asmguy]

18 hours ago, TwistedAndy said:

For some reason, the CB R23 and GB5 results are pretty low. Here's what I get on XPS 17. Probably, there are some issues with power management.

 

I am not sure about the 7670 capabilities, but for the 7770 my performance issues were fixed with a replacement heatsink. It can now get over 22,000 CBR23 with stock pads and thermal material and no undervolting.

[serpro69]

4 hours ago, win32asmguy said:

I am not sure about the 7670 capabilities, but for the 7770 my performance issues were fixed with a replacement heatsink. It can now get over 22,000 CBR23 with stock pads and thermal material and no undervolting.

 

Looking at how almost everyone got the same poor results initially, can we assume that they released a bunch of defective heatsinks? And is replacing a heatsink what should be done first if a new unit performs poorly? I wonder if anyone else tried to get a replacement and seen improvements with rest being stock.
While some users reported that re-paste and changing thermal pads helps, I don't see why a top-of-the-line workstation would need re-padding or re-pasting out of the box. This is just nonsense and completely unacceptable...