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Those docks are a mess. USB-C/Thunderbolt is an AWFUL connector for a dock. The strain on the cables (docks are always shoved in weird corners with tight turns
by a2tech 4y ago
Those docks are a mess. USB-C/Thunderbolt is an AWFUL connector for a dock. The strain on the cables (docks are always shoved in weird corners with tight turns and pressure on the cable) and the ports get worn out very fast with the stress. HPs slimline docks with the retractable plug on the side was probably the best/most reliable dock I've ever seen in production.
And the Precisions have bad heat management. All it takes is a little dust and the temps go nuts. I have engineers using them on shop floors and they have to clean them constantly so AutoCAD doesn't overheat (especially when they're on the dock running full tilt with a couple of external monitors)
- EvanAnderson 4y agoI'm nursing an older Elitebook w/ that side connector along right now. It's wonderful. The people sitting around me with newer models using Thunderbolt docks have been having fits-- blue screens, wild CPU usage, monitors going out, etc. I'll give up the slimline dock when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
- adrian_b 4y agoThere is a great difference between "true" Dell Precision series (e.g. the 7000 series) and those Dell Precision which are just rebranded Dell XPS and which are marketed as thin and light laptops. The Dell Precision 7xxx have excellent heat management. I have a 6-year old Dell Precision 7510 mobile workstation, in which the CPU can dissipate in the steady state 60 W for hours (even if its nominal TDP is only 45 W), while the NVIDIA Quadro GPU also dissipates around 100 W at the same time, and this without overheating and without excessive noise. Obviously, this is a rather thick and heavy laptop, not an ultrabook.