Dell M6500: A Precision Strike on Bling

Testing Overview

We've been updating some of our benchmarks to newer applications and games, and we've added a few workstation tests for the M6500. We've included results for previous laptops where applicable, but on some of the new tests we only have M6500 scores. You can find the test configurations for the other high-end notebooks in our High-End (Clevo) Roundup and the ASUS G51J reviews. Here are the details of our M6500 test configuration.

Our tests will use standardized application benchmark suites like PCMark along with individual application results. Our in-house application tests place more weight on CPU performance, as we look at video encoding and 3D rendering performance. As you'll see, the M6500 with i7-920XM is extremely fast compared to any other "true notebook" (i.e. no desktop CPUs). Really, the question you need to ask yourself is whether you need a mobile workstation. If you do, few notebooks can match—let alone surpass—the M6500. NVIDIA doesn't make a faster mobile Quadro than the FX 3800M (yet), and short of desktop CPUs you can't beat the performance of the Core i5/i7 processors.

For gaming—not that it's really a major focus of the M6500—we're moving to some newer titles and switching to a standardized resolution of 1600x900. Like it or not, 16:9 aspect ratios are the new rage, mostly because LCD panel makers can get more panels out of a glass sheet that way. We'll include 1920x1200 results for the M6500, since it thankfully bucks the 16:9 trend (though we wouldn't be surprised to see the next generation Precision notebooks go the 16:9 route if current trends continue). We will also show 1680x1050 results on older titles where we have a back catalog of results. All of our standard gaming tests are done without antialiasing, as we generally don't have enough GPU power in mobile solutions to effectively run at HD+, 1080p, or WUXGA resolutions with AA.

Battery life testing will follow the usual suite, with laptops set to "ideal" settings for improving battery life. With the launch of Windows 7 we decided to showcase the best that laptops are able to offer in terms of mobility. If you run using a "Balanced" profile instead of "Power Saver", you can typically expect 5-15% less battery life, depending on the laptop. We will also include our LCD quality tests.