PC maker Dell Inc. is launching a new group of workstations specially tailored for users in content creation or engineering, or anyone who needs to run scientific software applications.
On Monday, Dell announced it’d be rolling out both mobile and tower workstations, branded as part of the “Dell Precision” line.
With its mobile workstations, which are named the M4800 and the M6800, the company said it’d be the first to bring a 15.6-inch Quad HD+ IGZO panel to market, with the panel featuring a higher resolution than the Apple Inc. MacBook Pro Retina display. And as an extra add-on, it can also come with a 10-finger multi-touch option on a 17.3-inch display.
The mobile workstations also feature WiGig wireless docking, WAVES MaxxAudio Pro integration, and have up to 16 gigabytes (GB) of 1866MHZ memory. Their processors are fourth-generation Intel Core i5, or up to Core i7 Extreme Edition, and the graphics use NVIDIA Quadro and AMD FirePro, with up to eight GB of graphics memory on the M6800. That means these workstations can handle complex work with 3D animations, including rendering and simulation.
The workstations also feature all-day battery life, a secondary slice battery, new AMD Enduro and NVIDIA Optimus, and are outfitted with encryption as well as malware protection.
For Dell’s tower workstations, those come with workstation-class processors and professional graphics capabilities, as well as Intel Cache Acceleration software.
Running on Windows 8, these were designed for scientific analysis, engineering, and 3D modeling. They are built with Intel Xeon Phi co-processors, which are x86-based. And when users run them as co-processors on a PCIe card with Intel Xeon processors, they can make workstations have a much faster performance.
For storage, Dell’s tower workstations also offer PCIe Solid State Drives (SSD), combining SSD technology and PCIe system communication to give a high performance storage option.
They will also be using Dell’s Precision Performance Optimizer, which is an automated workstation performance tool that configures settings based on the application being run. The tool will be updated for Siemens NX 8.5 and Dassault Systèmes CATIA, and it will also run in French and German.
Among its tower workstation offerings, Dell is touting the T7610 as “the world’s most powerful tower workstation,” featuring up to 512 gigabytes (GB) of system memory and the ability to run three high-end graphics cards. Its T3610 also has advanced single Intel Xeon CPU performance, and its T5610 model is described as “a high-power … workstation in a small footprint.”
Pricing for the M4800 is $1,989, and the M6800 starts at $3,129. Pricing for the T3610 starts at $1,139, while the T5610 starts at $2,209. The T7610 is $3,159. The workstations come to Canada on Sept. 12.
The news of Dell’s new line comes the same day Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor fighting to take over Dell, announced he was giving up his attempts. Icahn said he is surrendering to founder Michael Dell before shareholders vote on a buyout offer on Thursday.
