Dell Precision Workstations

Are they worth the extra $ ?

I notice that the least expensive ones are still 10th generation Intel Core, 2 generations behind the latest and the greatest.

Worth it, is relative I guess. My job provides me with a Precision 5550, with a Core i9 CPU in it. I've had it around a year I think. Honestly for what I do day to day, it's overkill. I'd actually prefer a lower performance model that improved my battery life....but I'm not really given a choice, just assigned a laptop. The precision I had before this current model had an Intel Xeon in it....again it was overkill would have opted for better battery life.

I guess it depends on what you want to use it for. The extra is good if it fits your needs.. right tool for the job

I've run nothing but Precision and Optiplex PCs for many years. I always bought used and rebuilt to what I wanted. Both lines were real workhorses. There was a time when one could physically look at either of them to see the difference in the quality of components in a computer built for enterprise use over one built for consumer use. Not so much anymore.

The chief difference between PCs and workstations has traditionally been the workstation's advanced graphics and data-processing capabilities. But graphics and microprocessors of high-end PCs these days can make them barely distinguishable from low-end workstations.
Dell is riding on it's own coattail, using the reputation of these high end computers to sell them at such prices today. I have a new Optiplex and the quality is no longer there.

So to answer your question, discern your needs on how you plan to use your computer. Compare the specs vs the price. And remember, a computer can have all the processing power in the world but will only use as much of that processing power as the workload demands. I know, because my new Optiplex has hyperthreaded only one time since I got it, and that was during a stress test. It's way more computer than I need for how I use it and I've been kicking myself for spending so much money on it.

But it does look pretty sitting on my desk.

Workstations are usually for designers working on 3D models or CAD environment. My work issued laptop from 3 years ago is this 9th Gen HP Zbook Studio G5 workstation. At the time, I was very suprised it runs 5x smoother than my desktop workstation. Still working great right now.

If what you do lines up with its intended use, of course it is worth it.
Otherwise, use the money to build your own work horse.

I'd define a "workstation" by its graphics. Workstation graphics are usually optimized for OpenGL performance for CAD, and may have more VRAM than consumer cards. Workstation cards may not have processors that have higher performance than consumer cards, but they are made for different uses.

At my last job, the Dell on my desk was a workstation model. Its graphics card was low end, but it was some sort of Quadro.

I am doing nothing fancy, just typical officy type of work, even the little graphics that I sometimes do is officy graphics, not graphics bureau graphics.

I try to be as 'interworkable' as possible with the rest of world. Some time ago, I collaborated with someone on an MS Word document. I had/have the latest and the greatest with MS 365, he had an older version, and there were formatting issues. I sent the document to him in my formatting and he sent the document to me in his formatting LOL but a little bit frustrating. In any case, I try to use only apps that 90% of world also has (plus a few apps for my own use)

glasskuter said:

I've run nothing but Precision and Optiplex PCs for many years...I have a new Optiplex and the quality is no longer there.

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That is disconcerting. Precision or Optiplex, I know that I won't pay the extra $ for the medium performance demands that I have, but I would like to pay extra $ for quality, reliability, longevity, etc.

I've had mostly Dell XPS laptops for some 20 years with an occasional excursion into Asus and Microsoft Surface. I like Dell support and I've never had any major problems. My System One below is fast and works well for Photoshop, Lightroom, and my market trading.

TraderGary said:

I've had mostly Dell XPS laptops for some 20 years with an occasional excursion into Asus and Microsoft Surface. I like Dell support and I've never had any major problems. My System One below is fast and works well for Photoshop, Lightroom, and my market trading.

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As well it should. It's pretty high-end. I9-11900H, 32GB of RAM, discrete graphics, etc. Most desktop PCs wouldn't have an OLED display like that laptop.

There's been comments on the Dell forums that a similarly equipped Precision is less $$ than an XPS 8940 or 8950. In addition the talked about Precision towers still use conventional parts such as power supplies. The new XPS' use a proprietary TFX style power supply, for example.

I see a very cute looking Precision Compact (desktop) which is size wise between the Small Form Factor and the Micro. The good thing is that the Compact has a regular processor number without a suffix, unlike the Micro that has a T suffix that stands for 'power saving lifestyle'. The Compact does have an external power supply, presumably to keep the heat out of the small case.

Haydon said:

I see a very cute looking Precision Compact (desktop) which is size wise between the Small Form Factor and the Micro. The good thing is that the Compact has a regular processor number without a suffix, unlike the Micro that has a T suffix that stands for 'power saving lifestyle'. The Compact does have an external power supply, presumably to keep the heat out of the small case.

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Is that the 3240?

Funky. I see that Dell offers the mobile Quadro RTX 3000 graphics with it. (Only 6GB of VRAM.) looks like the machine is some sort of hybrid desktop with laptop components.

Cute, but I wouldn't want one. Even with the upgraded 240W external PSU. (Base is 180W.)

Haydon said:

would like to pay extra $ for quality, reliability, longevity, etc

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Whereas, these systems USED to be built with all those qualities, they no longer are so as with most things these days you're in a crapshoot.
No longer than I have left, I hope this one will last as long as i do.

On top of the purchase price, the bad tale of this PC is too long to repeat here. Dell has replaced the motherboard…twice. Because of insufficient cooling, I basically had to rebuild it, adding premium cooling and additional fans. And yes, all the parts are proprietary and Noctua cooling wouldn’t work. Kept throwing fan errors so I had to use Dell premium cooling parts. I had to replace the power supply, also proprietary, in order to add a GPU. On a premium system, all these things are poorly engineered.

I’m 8 months in now and have an on-going feud with Dell about a ram issue. It came equipped with 16 gb ram (2 8gb sticks) in slots 1 & 2. When I added 2 more matching 8gb sticks into slots 3 & 4 ram speed dropped from 2933 to 2400 (less than memory speed of an i3). It doesn't matter which sticks are in those slots, speed still drops. Dell is trying to make me believe it's normal which I know it's not. An i9 is supposed to run at 2933.

I know everyone doesn’t experience all the woe I have had with this one PC. Lucky me, I’m the exception to have drawn a lemon. But, Dell has cut a lot of corners in their so-called quality builds. Unless your purchase their premium warranty support, you don’t get much help with their basic warranty. You better learn to speak Hindi or some such if you want to communicate with them.

Have you built your own PC? Because that is the only way to go if you want a good performing machine since you are willing to pay extra.

badrobot said:

Have you built your own PC? Because that is the only way to go if you want a good performing machine since you are willing to pay extra.

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^^This. It's a bit more work but in the end it's the way to go.

BunnyJ said:

^^This. It's a bit more work but in the end it's the way to go.

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I actually enjoy building. I always volunteerto build /ugrade my friends' PCs. The unboxing is the best part.

badrobot said:

I actually enjoy building. I always volunteerto build /ugrade my friends' PCs. The unboxing is the best part.

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Oh my cats love the unboxing bit. I got a parts box and Phoebe was in it before I got the part out.

No, I don't build my own computers, I'm not good at it. I'm much better at building Egyptian pyramids.

What's the general feeling in the group about 10th generation Intel Core? Those are the least expensive items in the present semi-annual sale at Dell. I think that at the next semi-annual sale, 11th generation Intel Core will be at the bottom of the price range. Also, W11 may then come pre-installed (instead of W10 with the free upgrade to W11) for these items. Buy or wait?

Haydon said:

No, I don't build my own computers, I'm not good at it. I'm much better at building Egyptian pyramids.

What's the general feeling in the group about 10th generation Intel Core? Those are the least expensive items in the present semi-annual sale at Dell. I think that at the next semi-annual sale, 11th generation Intel Core will be at the bottom of the price range. Also, W11 may then come pre-installed (instead of W10 with the free upgrade to W11) for these items. Buy or wait?

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It's easier than you think. You can never mess up the wiring. Each connector is unique.
The easiest way to learn is to transfer an off the shelf PC to a new case. That is how I started. I just wanted a nice case from the start. Then started upgrading components from there... PSU, GPU, hdd to SSD, and so on. And decided to build one from scratch after that. It is a very rewarding and fun experience.
We'll help you along the way. Just do it!

Haydon said:

No, I don't build my own computers, I'm not good at it. I'm much better at building Egyptian pyramids.

What's the general feeling in the group about 10th generation Intel Core? Those are the least expensive items in the present semi-annual sale at Dell. I think that at the next semi-annual sale, 11th generation Intel Core will be at the bottom of the price range. Also, W11 may then come pre-installed (instead of W10 with the free upgrade to W11) for these items. Buy or wait?

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Always wait. You'll be able to get something better and/or cheaper.

Of course, that means that you'll never buy a new machine.