Precision M6600 CPU upgrade ability (e.g. i7-3920XM)

Good evening all,

First of all, thank you (collectively) for the wealth of information on this machine that this forum contains! I'm probably purchasing one of these soon, and this forum has contributed greatly to this decision.

I can get a reasonable deal on one equipped with the I7-2720QM processor, which will more-than suffice for my current needs (about 4x faster than my Macbook Pro 17in that is being replaced).

One of the attractions of this machine is the upgradability, and I was wondering if somebody here could shed some light on the future (say, 2 years from now) CPU upgrade possibilities? For example, by that time, the current latest i7-3920XM processor should be quite cheap (or something much better even).

What does the CPU upgrade path for M6600 owners look like? (memory and storage upgradability seems excellent)

P.S. Instead of fitting the machine - which will serve dual-purposes as hard-core software development and photo editing maching - with an IPS panel display (very expensive here, not available pre-built), I will instead rather eventually run a larger, external Dell IPS monitor for when I need colour accuracy (not required when mobile).

thanks!

 

Word is that on the mobile side you cannot upgrade from a Sandy Bridge CPU (Core i7 2xxx) to an Ivy Bridge CPU (Core i7 3xxx). Maybe some newer systems just now rolling out support both kinds of CPUs, but the M6600 does not. So, if you buy a M6600, the Core i7 2960XM is the best you're going to get. You will be able to upgrade to this CPU whenever you like, but they may be hard to find in a few years.

Benchmarks show that the performance difference between the equivalent Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs is not that great except under certain specific workloads. However, Ivy Bridge offers major advancements in power consumption (less of it, that is) and the integrated GPU.

It's generally anticipated that Dell will refresh the Precision line with Ivy Bridge CPUs (and a new round of GPUs) within the next few months. At the moment, we do not have any information as to the exact timing or any other details on the specs of the new machines.

 

Thanks - I was afraid of as much

Still, a 2960XM does represent a performance gain of at least 20% it seems. At the right time between them becoming really cheap - but before they are impossible to find - an upgrade might make sense a year or so down the line.

At this time, however, I would be glad getting the 2720QM at a reduced price, instead of paying a massive Dell premium for "the fastest" CPU in the offered lineup.

 

Does anyone positively know that Ivy bridge won't work because he tried?