Mobile Workstation Packs Engineering Performance

By DE Editors

Dell (Round Rock, TX; dell.com) says that its new Precision M6300a mobile workstation is for engineers and other high-level pros who place a high priority on their visual experience and who “want a mobile platform as a primary workstation.” Certified for more than 60 MCAD, CAE, CAM, DCC, scientific, and other compute-intensive applications from more than two dozen vendors, the Precision M6300 is said to provide true desktop-level processing, graphics, display resolution, memory, and connectivity performance.

In its base configuration, the Dell Precision M6300 leverages the 64-bit Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 dual-core processor, featuring 2GHz, 2MB L2 cache, and 800MHz front-side bus. CPU expansion options range from the Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.20GHz and 4MB L2 cache) up to the 2.8GHz X7900 processor.

The Precision M6300 deploys a 17-inch wide-screen WXGA+ (Widescreen Super eXtended Graphics Array) LCD display, supporting 1440 X 900 resolution. A 17-inch WUXGA (Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array) with a 1920 X 1200 display resolution is available.

Graphics are handled by the 256MB NVIDIA Quadro FX1600M graphics accelerator board, maxed out with 512MB of shared memory known as TurboCache. Dell says that it expects the M6300’s OpenGL discrete graphics to improve performance up to 70 percent in graphics-intensive applications when compared to the system’s predecessor, the Dell Precision M90 (click here for DE’s review of the M90).

Base system RAM is 1GB of dual-channel memory with 36-bit addressing; the latter allows use of all 4GB of the M6300’s potential system memory with a 64-bit operating system. Supported operating systems include 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista Ultimate, Vista Business, and Windows XP Professional. Red Hat Linux 5.1 will be available in November, according to Dell.

The Dell Precision M6300 comes with an 80GB hard drive. Drive options include units with 120GB and 160GB of storage as well as a 32GB solid-state hard drive. It has six USB, DVI, VGA, S-video, IEEE 1394, RJ-11, RJ-45, 5-in-1 media card reader, headphone/speaker out ports. Connectivity features include supplied wireless LAN as well as Bluetooth, broadband, and Wi-Fi options.

The Precision M6300 mobile workstation has a magnesium alloy case and an 8.5-pound starting weight when outfitted with a 9-cell battery, the 17-inch wide WXGA+ display, and a DVD-ROM drive. The Precision M6300 is said to meet or exceed the Energy Star Standard 4.0 rating. Its dimensions in inches are 1.6 x 15.5 x 11.3 (HxWxD).

Other supplied features include an 8X DVD-ROM, the 9-cell battery, A/C adapter, a touchpad, and built-in keyboard. Additional options range from a floppy drive to docking stations and from productivity and security software to recycling services.

Dell Precision workstations, including the M6300 mobile workstation, are certified by 26 partner ISVs (independent software vendors) for more than 60 applications, including Altair, ANSYS (including Fluent), Autodesk, CoCreate, Delmia, Mastercam, MSC.Software, NX, PTC, Simulia, Solid Edge, SolidWorks, and Teamcenter.

Click here for the current list of certified applications as well as recommended configurations. (Editor’s note: Due to the recent launch of the M6300, system certification with any given application vendor may not be completed.)

The Precision M6300 mobile workstation is available now. Pricing for a base configuration starts at $2070. For more information on the Precision M6300, click here.