Dell brings next-gen Precision performance to M4500 15.6-incher

By Paul Miller

posted March 9th 2010 8:01AM

The super-high-end 17-inch M6500 is all well and good for giant people, but we're glad Dell's finally giving us regular-sizers a shot with the new Precision M4500. Naturally, compromises have been made, but only just barely. The new 15.6-inch laptop rocks a 16:9, 1920 x 1080 display, backed up by NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M or 880M graphics (the 6500 supports the 3800M, 2800M and ATI M7740) and your choice of Core i5 or Core i7 processors, on up to the Core i7-920XM Quad Core Extreme Edition. This being Dell, there are plenty of tweaks and perks on offer, like a HD+ sRGB LED screen with 100 percent color gamut, a 64GB SSD mini card for dual drive configs without losing the optical drive, a 3 megapixel camera, backlit keyboard, multitouch trackpad, Precision ON, and a multi-carrier-friendly Gobi 2.0 wireless chip. Perhaps most excitingly for us on-the-go regular-sizers, you can supposedly squeeze out 7 hours and 40 minutes of battery with the 9 cell option, and there's a 12 cell battery slice option less than half an inch thick that should send it over the moon. On its own the laptop is 1.1-inches thick and weighs 6 pounds, and while exact pricing hasn't been ironed out yet, it should start at less than $1,700. Start counting out those regular-sized green dollars of yours, the laptop should be out in the "coming weeks."

That not enough for you? Dell's also upgrading its Precision T7500, T5500 and T5300 workstations to Intel Xeon 5600 Westmere EP processors for you desk slaves within a similar timeframe. PR and another M4500 press shot are after the break.

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LIBERATING CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS, 3D ANIMATORS, ENGINEERS AND RESEARCH SCIENTISTS FROM THEIR DESKS, DELL UNLEASHES THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL 15.6-INCH MOBILE WORKSTATION

· Hardware Certification On More Than 95 Applications From More Than 35 Key Independent Software Vendors , Assures Compatibility and Optimized Performance

· First 15.6-inch Mobile Workstation to Offer Optional SSD MiniCard for Additional High-performance Data Storage

· Dell Precision T7500, T5500 and T3500 Tower Workstations to Be Among the First to Offer Intel® Xeon® 5600 (Westmere-EP) Processors

ROUND ROCK, TX, Mar. 9, 2010 – For those with the passion to discover, imagine and create the future, "on-the-go" access to workstation-class computing provides the freedom to work wherever inspiration strikes. This passion to create is why Dell continues to push the boundaries of workstation performance and mobility with the announcement today of the world's most powerful 15.6-inch mobile workstation¹-the Dell Precision M4500.

The Dell Precision M4500 joins Dell's family of mobile workstations, which includes the world's most powerful 17 inch mobile workstation, the Dell Precision M6500.

The new mobile workstation is designed to liberate creative professionals, designers, animators, engineers and research scientists from their desks. The M4500 also supports the missions of defense customers who require mobile workstation performance and security, including authentication and data encryption, when in the field.

Workstation Mobility Redefined: The Dell Precision M4500The M4500 is the world's first mobile workstation to offer a 64GB SSD MiniCard for additional high-performance data storage and user selectable thermal tables that enable better performance in turbo mode along with extended battery life. In addition to the M6500, the M4500 provides near instant access to email, calendar, contacts, the Internet and virtual remote desktops with a new revolutionary technology called Dell Precision ON.

Other product highlights include:
· Available with optional Intel Core i7-920XM Quad Core Extreme Edition, Core™ i7 and Intel® Core™ i5 processors linked with fast 1066MHz and 1333MHz memory for compute intensive and memory bandwidth sensitive applications;

· Optional NVIDIA® Quadro FX 1800M or Quadro FX 880M graphics with 1GB of dedicated memory for large models and models with high texture;

· Optional HD+ sRGB LED 15.6-inch screen with 100 percent user selectable color gamut support;

· Optional 3MP camera and Gobi 2.0 mobile broadband support with a multi-touch touchpad for greater user flexibility;

· Enables easy portability with a starting weight of only 6.0 lbs; and,

· Support for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, XP, along with Red Hat® Linux 5.3 64-bit.

Like the Dell Precision M6500, the M4500 offers compatibility and optimized performance on 95 key applications from leading Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) such as Adobe, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes and Schlumberger.

The Dell Precision M4500 mobile workstation will be available for order globally in the coming weeks. More details can be found at www.dell.com/precision.

Compatibility for Ease of Use and Deployment
The M4500, as a part of the Dell E-Family product line, is compatible with E-Family accessories, including port replicators, notebook stands, display and monitor stands and external storage modules. In addition, the M4500 comes with optional security features including Dell ControlVault security, FIPS fingerprint reader and a contactless smart card reader, delivering comprehensive security options.

Dell Services offers a suite of highly customizable service and support solutions throughout the PC lifecycle including Dell ProSupport and Dell ProManage. Dell also offers a robust set of services for organizations looking to migrate to Windows 7. In addition, Dell offers flexible computing solutions, working with organizations to build a comprehensive solution for virtualization-infrastructure sizing, deployment and ongoing support.3

Dell Precision Tower Workstations to Adopt Intel® Xeon® 5600 Processors
As the technology demands of workstation professionals continue to evolve, customers are seeking standards-based solutions that enable greater flexibility, improved performance and the ability to help their business thrive. To this end, Dell also announced today that it plans to support the new Intel Xeon 5600 "Westmere-EP" series of processors on the three recently announced Dell Precision tower workstations. The new Intel Xeon 5600 processors will be available on the Dell Precision T7500, T5500 and T3500 workstation to order in the coming weeks. More details can be found at www.dell.com/precision.

Quotes
"The Dell Precision M4500 establishes new heights for performance and mobility for a workstation," said Greg Weir, senior manager, Dell Precision workstations. "This system provides the freedom to discover, create and imagine on your terms, wherever creativity takes you. Top that off with the assurance that you are backed by our robust 'eco system' of partner certifications and our ability to deliver the application performance you need to be productive...now that's getting it done!"

"It is truly amazing the amount of power that has been packed into the new Dell Precision M4500 mobile workstation," said Dr. Jon Peddie president of Jon Peddie Research, the industry's consulting and market research firm in Tiburon, CA. "With a high resolution screen, a super powerful processor and a choice of high-performance GPUs there's not much I can think of that you can't do with this machine."

About Dell
Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) creates, enhances and integrates technology and services customers count on to provide them reliable, long-term value. Learn more at www.dell.com.

1 The only 15.6" mobile workstation with Intel Core i7 Extreme edition processor and NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800M graphics solution.
2 Based on lab testing. Varies by configuration, operating conditions and other factors. Maximum battery capacity decreases with time and use.
³Availability and terms of Dell Services vary by region. For more information, visit www.dell.com/servicedescriptions.
Dell, Dell Precision, Precision ON, and ProSupport are trademarks of Dell Inc. Dell disclaim any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others.