Dell unveils monstrously powerful Precision M4500

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By Sasha Muller

Posted on 9 Mar 2010 at 13:43

Dell has hailed its new Precision M4500 as the “world’s most powerful 15.6in mobile workstation”.

Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors take centre stage, with available processor options stretching to the top-of-the-range i7-920XM Extreme Edition. Graphics duties are handled by Nvidia's workstation-class Quadro FX 1800M or 880M chipsets.

Also impressive is the ability to install a 64GB SSD alongside a higher-capacity mechanical hard drive. The 64GB SSD module fits into one of the spare PCI Express Mini Card slots, allowing for faster boot times and a more responsive OS.

Users can choose between a 1,600 x 900 pixel resolution display with a switchable high-contrast mode for use under direct sunlight, or a higher resolution 1080p panel. There's no sign of USB3, though, with only USB2 and eSata in evidence.

On the bright side, a 3-megapixel webcam and noise-cancelling microphone array are included as standard. The Precision M4500 also features Dell's instant-on OS, which allows users to access a basic flash-based web browser and form remote desktop connections to other Windows PCs without needing to wait for Windows to boot up.

Portability

And while Dell's Precision M6500 stretches the boundaries of portability, the M4500 is altogether more viable as a genuinely mobile workstation. Dell claimed a weight of 2.73kg with the basic 6-cell battery, but both higher capacity 9-cell batteries and long-life “3-year” 6-cell batteries are also available.

Dell claimed these long-life batteries can handle two or three times the number of power cycles of a traditional laptop battery.

Power management is high on the agenda, too, with Dell's ControlPoint software allowing the user to minimise power consumption or maximise performance with low-level control of operating voltages, clockspeeds and screen refresh rates.

The Precision M4500 will be available in the coming weeks with pricing starting at £1,319 excluding VAT.