The Dell Precision M4500 is the latest 15-inch mobile workstation featuring powerful Intel processors up to the Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition and Nvidia Quadro FX 1800M discrete graphics for video editing, animation, and CAD manipulation. The Precision M4500 boasts an optional 64GB SSD MiniCard for fast start up and your choice of up to a 256GB SSD or a 500GB HDD for file storage. Is this the most powerful workhorse on the market? Take a look and see if it's time for an upgrade at your office.
Our review unit of the Dell Precision M4500 features the following specifications:
- Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) with option for Windows XP Professional downgrade
- Intel Core i7 620M @ 2.67GHz
- 4GB DDR3 (1333MHz)
- Nvidia Quadro FX 1800M graphics (1GB dedicated memory)
- 15.6" FHD LED Back-Lit Display (1920x1080 resolution, matte screen)
- 64GB Solid State Drive MiniCard (operation system)
- 500GB (7200RPM) HDD (storage)
- Blu-ray disc drive (DVD recordable)
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6200 802.11a/b/g/n Half Mini Card
- 802.11 Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), 802.11i (WPA2), Virtual Private Networks (VPN) 802.1x with EAP modes and compatible with CCX 4.0
- Dell Wireless 375 Bluetooth Module
- Integrated webcam and microphone
- Backlit keyboard
- Dell Precision ON Reader
- FIPS Compliant Fingerprint Reader and Contactless Smartcard Reader
- Weight: 6.0 lbs (with 6-cell battery)
- Dimensions: 14.72 x 1.15-1.42 x 9.96 inches (W x H x D)
- 130 Watt AC adapter
- 9-cell (90Wh) extended life battery
- 3-year basic limited warranty and 3-year next business day on-site service
- MSRP: $3,664.00 ($3,280.00 with instant savings)
Build and Design
The Dell Precision line of mobile workstation notebooks has long been a staple of corporate IT where users need the fastest multi-core processors and the most powerful discrete graphics for 3D animation, video editing, and CAD applications. Whether you're a Hollywood animator working on next year's blockbuster, or an engineer developing the next generation of communications satellites, you need extreme computing power with workstation-class certifications so you know it will work with the software you use every day.
Dell offers the Precision M4500 with several different 15-inch screen options with 1366x768, 1600x900, and 1920x1080 resolutions. Our review unit came equipped with the 15.6" FHD LED Back-Lit Display (1920x1080 resolution, matte screen). This 1080p high-definition display is perfectly usable both indoors and outdoors and features excellent color with rich contrast. The LED-backlit panel offers excellent brightness and we typically left the brightness set to between 50% and 70% when using the notebook indoors. The M4500 features an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust the screen brightness based on the available light, but we disabled this feature during our lab tests so that the screen brightness would remain constant.
The one-inch stereo speakers used in the Precision M4500 provide excellent volume range with fantastic highs and midtones with a modest amount of bass. Thankfully, these speakers are located on either side of the keyboard and are positioned to direct sound up and toward the user. I can't tell you how much nicer it is to have speakers in this position rather than lap-firing speakers found on most smaller notebooks. Lap-firing speakers direct sound down at your lap or your desk and result in muffled audio. You can easily fill an office with music or the audio track from a video you've been editing thanks to the speakers on the M4500.
The single headphone jack on the M4500 works well with the two different brands of earphones I used during the test. No static or other noise was noticed through the jack besides imperfections in the audio source itself.
Keyboard and Touchpad. The full-size keyboard on the M4500 features perfectly shaped keys with just the right depth to each press, perfect key spacing, and soft feedback without the loud click-clack sounds you'll often hear when typing on business-oriented notebooks.The one negative aspect to using this keyboard was the surprising amount of flex or "bounce" while typing. I could feel a significant degree of flex around the "F", "C" and "V" keys as well as the "L", ";", "'" and "." keys on the M4500 even when using modest typing pressure.
Dell also includes a textured trackpoint/touchpoint with three additional dedicated buttons. The trackpoint movement isn't nearly as fluid as what we've seen on Lenovo ThinkPads and HP EliteBooks, but it's there if you hate using a regular touchpad.
Ports and Features
The M4500 features an impressive number of ports and external features crammed into a 15-inch notebook. You get both a PC Card and an Express Card slot for expansion and external peripherals, three dedicated USB 2.0 ports, one combo USB/eSATA port for connecting external hard drives, DisplayPort, FireWire, and even an additional Smartcard slot. Let's take a brief tour ...
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