Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

The enthusiasts at https://egpu.io/ say best compatibility is iGPU-only. Do you have first-hand experience?

Any views on thermal performace of the i5-8400H?

 

My comments are based on the new multi-graphics/eGPU support in Windows 10 1803 (this is the April 2018 release). The best write-up that I've found is here: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsex...ng-windows-10-insider-preview-build-17093-pc/ (the section labeled "New Graphics settings for Multi-GPU Systems"). Before this release, Windows was not particularly eGPU-aware, so information that you come across that is older than this past April may not be quite up to date on the current status of support. Prior to this release, you would have to jump through more hoops to get an app running on an eGPU, if an internal dGPU was also present.

In systems with graphics switching available — this means that there is an Intel (U)HD Graphics GPU paired with a discrete GPU — the discrete GPU may be used to render content which will be flushed over into the Intel GPU's framebuffer for display on the screen. This means that the dGPU can be used to render content on displays that are connected to the Intel GPU. I only have recent experience with NVIDIA GPUs so I will mention NVIDIA specifically but supposedly AMD works in much the same way.

To decide which GPU to render content, the priority order is:
* The application gets to pick which GPU to use for rendering — some applications specifically request a GPU, some offer an option to let the user pick, but most applications are not multi-GPU aware (though this is changing as graphics switching setups are becoming pretty common)
* If the application does not pick a GPU, the GPU selected in the Windows settings "advanced graphics settings" will be used (and if there is both an eGPU and an internal dGPU, the eGPU will take priority when "high performance" is selected)
* If the application has not been set up with a specific GPU in the Windows settings "advanced graphics settings", the settings from the NVIDIA control panel will be used (you can select which program runs on which GPU under "Manage 3D settings" -> "Program settings" tab)
* If the application has not been set up with a specific GPU in the NVIDIA control panel, the NVIDIA driver gets to pick based on built-in application profiles
* If the NVIDIA driver doesn't have a profile bumping the app to run on the dGPU, the app will run on the Intel GPU

Admittedly I have not had much of a chance to play with eGPUs at this time, but I have done pretty extensive messing with Optimus and I can confirm that everything else regarding the workflow works as I have laid out.

 

@Aaron44126 We're going off on a tangent but check my discussion here.: https://egpu.io/forums/which-gear-should-i-buy/disabled-chump-looking-for-laptop-advice/
The iGPU advice is from the admin of the site and tester of the bulk of setups discussed there. Admittedly the advice is not argumented but as you'll read I have little resources to do elaborate research at the moment.

 

I know for sure that you don't want a dGPU-only system like the Latitude 5591 mentioned. You need graphics switching / Optimus to allow the eGPU to write to the notebook GPU's framebuffer for display on the laptop screen... That requires an Intel GPU driving the laptop screen.

You do get this in the Precision 7530 (even if you include a dGPU, if you have graphics switching enabled in the BIOS, the Intel GPU drives the laptop screen). My contention is, as of Windows 10 1803, there won't be any downside to having a three-GPU setup (Intel GPU, NVIDIA internal dGPU, NVIDIA eGPU). Well, aside from the cost obviously. (If adding a dGPU is pushing your budget then by all means forget about it.) If you use the Windows advanced graphics settings to set the apps that you want to run on the "high performance" GPU, they'll use the eGPU when it is available, and the internal dGPU when the eGPU is missing.

Unfortunately, hard information / results for this situation is hard to come by. First off, Windows 10 1803 is still pretty new. Secondly, people are far more likely to be trying eGPU setups if their notebook doesn't have an internal dGPU (less of a benefit if there is already a decent internal dGPU).

You know what, I'll call on @anuraj1 for comment. He has a Precision 7530 with Quadro P3200 and also a GeForce 1080 Ti eGPU setup (see Task Manager snapshot) and has commented that it works well for gaming. Have you had any trouble getting apps to render on the GeForce (to the internal display) instead of the P3200 when it is plugged in?

 

Glad you figured this out. I rolled back last week. Let’s us know if they get that sorted.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Just read about the battery wear level issue. Mine has also 5% wear level. Should I talk to Dell and claim for a replacement ?

 

Speaking of batteries, my battery wear has skyrocketed to 12.1%, and I've ordered a replacement that's coming in on Tuesday:

 

See my thread posts on this, I also got my new 7530 with a battery with 5.0% wear (and strangely had the exact same capacity as yours 92158 mWh). I complained and pushed about it and they sent me a new battery which came with 3.9% wear.

I paid for ProSupport and Complete Care for my laptop and even with this level of service initially, for a minute or so on the phone, they said it wasn’t covered unless the battery was malfunctioning, but then they agreed to send a new battery after I said I got a used part. If you haven’t paid extra for that level of service the YMMV.

Is it worth it to likely receive a similar battery with a little less wear? I don’t know, probably wasn’t worth the hassle.

Not sure what is up with these batteries maybe the manufacturer they are getting them from are making batteries which actually don’t have the designed capacity or, like i said before, the batteries aren’t being stored properly during shipment or storage.

 

That seems like a high level of wear since not too long ago you were at 6% or something.

What are the battery temps like? I don’t remember seeing it but does a temperature sensor report this? If your battery temps are getting into the 30s chronically that will accelerate wear. Li-ion batteries like being at 25 deg or less.

Didn’t you also say you are fully cycling your battery like 3 times a day? That to me is quite a lot and would also indicate why you are accumulating wear so quickly. I wish these batteries reported the number of cycles because that would give an indication of why wear is where it is, I remember my old Lenovo did.

Also, are you letting your battery fully drain each time you cycle? Li-ion batteries do not like being constantly discharged down to single digits or zero. It’s best to recharge at 20% and never less then 10%. Only once every couple months or so fully deplete the battery and fully recharge to recalibrate.

 

That would indeed be interesting to hear indeed.

Btw, Quadro cards give little benefit in the softwares I'm using. GTX cards are much more performant there. I'd see little return on investment for opting for a Quadro. Intel HD is fine for light work.