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3D artist or digital artist opinion? Dell Precision 5510 - Xeon - Quadro M1000M
I just purchased a Dell Precision 5510 with a Xeon CPU and the Quadro GPU: http://www.ebay.com/itm/291755935648
I plan on promptly upgrading the SSD to a PCIe NVMe SSD if it does not have one, the 16GB RAM is fine for now but I like that I have the option to go up to 32GB when I choose to.
I had some questions for anyone who is using this for more intense work in 3D or digital imaging, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information out there except that the Quadro 1000m is mostly better than a GTX 960-970m GeForce card because most 3D software is more compatible with it and it is more efficient in rendering which means better performance overall – is this true or just marketing for a lower powered GPU?
I mainly use Maya, Cinema 4D, After Effects and Photoshop in my workflow, most of the work is performed by the CPU but a decent GPU helps to boost render times with certain software and plugins for said software.
I read that the Xeon CPU is built for 24/7 high load server work and enterprise solutions and that it is more effective at heat dissipation than a GeForce variant. I really liked the idea of the laptop handling heat and performace better in this workstation type of a laptop, I plan to keep it cooled with a pad because I know that rendering can be a huge task for most laptops. What I gathered from that info is that I could use this for rendering and not really worry about frying the mobo like might happen with an i7 and GTX combination for this kind of work.
Do you think the Quadro is good for this? I'm super excited that I might also be able to game on medium to high settings in down time, it seems like an all-around workhorse laptop as opposed to a hardcore gaming machine.
Are my assumptions correct? Does anyone here use their Precision 5510 for this kind of taxing work? Can you tell me what bothers you if anything with your laptop?
Also, what type of M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD is best for this model? What do you recommend?
Thanks for your input!
RetroRick
3 Posts
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December 14th, 2016 16:00
Hey jdrodrig,
Let me preface this by saying I sold my MacBook Pro 13" 2015 to purchase this, I was looking for something with a similar build style and design, this was the closest I could find at the time. The fact that it came with a Xeon and a pretty capable GPU I decided to give it a shot.
I only had it for about 4 days, I had to send it back because the SSD had horrendous coil whine that could be heard even in noisy environments. I also could not get the DPi scaling to properly work with any Adobe apps and 3D programs that I rely on.
The CPU was above the GPU, the CPU was blazing. I played with processing 4K video in some video programs and it did so at phenomenal speeds, it was also really good with 3D rendering. The scaling problems drove me insane though, it's a Windows issue that requires lots of workaround solutions that didn't really sit well with me. I know that the FHD version is available with a 1920x1080 display but once you've tried high res (MacBook Pro) it's really hard to go back to such a constrained work area
When I upgraded Windows 10 the mouse driver went bad and I noticed that the trackpad become very inconsistent and would skip around, reinstalling the old driver didn't really help...all these little inconveniences that I tried to look past began to build up into a big list.
I got a good deal on mine, but at the end of the day I ended up going back to Apple and purchasing a 15" MacBook Pro 2015 with an i7...Dell was really good in their marketing but the overall feel of their laptop felt unpolished compared to what the MacBook offered.
I was tempted to get a gaming laptop instead and pocket the leftover money, but there were too many unknowns in that scenario, I just went with the safe option because in the long term I know the Mac will still hold some value and still run great, many industry professionals use the MBP for a reason. The 5510 was super close to a home run but it just didn't seem like it could handle the abuse it was designed for.
I did love the Xeon on the 5510
I did some reasearch on what it would cost to equip my desktop workstation with it instead of the i5 it currently has installed and I was surprised to see how affordable it was, you can pick a 3.3 Ghz one on eBay for around $100...this makes sense for what I want to do because it is heavily CPU reliant and the Xeon is built to withstand higher temps for longer periods of time than the consumer i7.
jdrodrig
25 Posts
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December 12th, 2016 16:00
I am new to these forums; how is your precision 5510 experience so far. I have had mine for 3 days.
in short, I think CPU is above GPU in this machine. the M1000M I would say is barely adequate for heavy tasks, but the CPU (I got the Xeon) I think is at par with most powerful machines.
I think that this is a good compromise if you plan to use your computer in different settings, move it around. for sedentary type of work, i think the precision 7000 is a better option as the extra chassi space allows better ventilation and turbo mode for longer stretches.