Dell Precision 7720 – With powerful processors, impressive cooling, good serviceability and excellent build quality, this 17-inch mobile workstation is hard to beat if you want to take CAD, viz and VR on the road
Dell’s 17-inch Precision mobile workstation has come a long way since the early 2000s when Dell simply put workstation parts inside a budget consumer Inspiron chassis.
The latest model, the Dell Precision 7720, is all about premium materials and build quality. With a machined magnesium alloy chassis, carbon fibre lid and soft touch palm rest it is both exceptionally strong and stylish.
Serviceability was all the rage a few years ago, but many vendors have now prioritised slender form factors over the ease with which key components can be replaced.
At 28.5mm (front) and 34.49mm (rear) the Dell Precision 7720 may be slightly thicker than the HP ZBook 17 and Lenovo ThinkPad P71, but all internal components have easy access. Notably, the battery and 2.5-inch HDD can be got at very quickly thanks to a tool free service panel.
Then, if you want to access the memory or the two M.2 NVMe SSDs simply remove two screws and slide off a second panel. Weighing in at 3.42kg, this is not a light machine, but pretty average for a 17-inch mobile workstation. The 240 Watt AC adapter is slim, but adds an additional 1kg, including UK plug.
Like most 17-inch mobile workstations, the Precision 7720 is all about performance. Our test machine came fully loaded with the kind of spec you’d expect to find in a mid-range desktop workstation. This includes a quad core Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 CPU (3.10GHz to 4.20GHz Turbo) and Nvidia Quadro P5000 GPU (16GB GDDR5 memory). Both are top-end models, but there are plenty of other options should you wish to reduce the £5,129 + VAT price tag. The GPU, for example, goes all the way down to an AMD Radeon Pro WX 4130 if you simply want a large 17-inch screen for precise 3D CAD work.
Dell Precision 7720 – product specifications
■ Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 (3.1GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo) (4 cores, 8 threads)
■ 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4 2,400MHz
■ Nvidia Quadro P5000 (16GB) (385.69 driver)
■ 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD Class 50
■ 17.3-inch UltraSharp PremierColor UHD IGZO (3,840 x 2,160) AntiGlare
■ 417 x 281 x 29-34mm 3.42kg
■ Windows 10 Pro for Workstation (up to 4 core
■ 3Yr ProSupport and Next Business Day on-site
CPU benchmarks (single threaded) Seconds (smaller is better)
SolidWorks 2015 IGES export (single threaded): 103
CPU benchmarks (single threaded) Seconds (smaller is better)
Luxion KeyShot 6.1 render test (multi threaded): 762
V-Ray render benchmark (CPU) (multi threaded): 167
GPU compute benchmark Seconds (smaller is better)
V-Ray render benchmark (GPU): 101
3D graphics benchmarks (3D CAD) Score (bigger is better)
SPECapc for SolidWorks 2015 (shaded + edges): 4.39 (test run at 4K)
SPECapc for SolidWorks 2015 (RealView + shadows): 7.87 (test run at 4K)
SPECapc for SolidWorks (RealView + shadows + AO):18.26 (test run at 4K)
SPECapc for PTC Creo 3.0 (shaded + edges): 8.81 (test run at 4K)
SPECapc for PTC Creo 3.0 (reflection): 13.3 (test run at 4K)
3D graphics benchmarks (design viz) Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)
LumenRT (hotel model) (FPS): 23 (test run at 4K)
LumenRT (roundabout model): 12 (test run at 4K)
Autodesk LIVE (Villa Enhanced model): 44 (test run at 4K)
Autodesk VRED Professional (AA off): 28 (test run at 4K)
Autodesk VRED Professional (AA medium): 16 (test run at 4K)
Autodesk VRED Professional (AA ultra high ):6 (test run at 4K)
3D graphics benchmarks (VR) Frames Per Second (FPS) (bigger is better)
VR Mark (Orange): 168.87 (VR resolution
VR Mark (Blue): 32.83 (VR resolution
VR Mark (Cyan): 98.03 (VR resolution)
Of course, the Dell Precision 7720 is all about the high-end 100W Quadro P5000 GPU which is powerful enough to run an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headset. In the synthetic VRMark benchmark, performance was almost identical to the Quadro P4000-based desktop workstations in this special report. However, it was notably faster than the PNY PrevailPro P4000 which has an 80W Max Q mobile design of the Quadro P4000.
We also tested its capabilities with an Oculus Rift. Initially we had problems registering the headset over HDMi.
However, after a little troubleshooting we found the root of the problem was that the Oculus was only picking up Intel Integrated graphics, which is way too underpowered to drive a VR headset. Disabling switchable graphics in the BIOS fixed this.
Once up and running we got a flicker free experience in Autodesk Revit Live and when using medium-sized models in Autodesk VRED Professional. With some datasets, we could turn on medium anti-aliasing to smooth jagged edges without any ill effects.
The 17.3” UltraSharp UHD IGZO (3,840 x 2,160) PremierColor display is a thing of beauty, delivering crisp CAD models, bright, accurate colours (with 100% Adobe colour gamut) and a wide viewing angle, which is great for presentations.
Having four times as many pixels to render as a FHD (1,920 x 1,080) display puts a big load on the GPU but we still managed to get decent, if not perfectly smooth, frame rates in all of our vizfocused benchmarks. 3D performance in CAD is a given for a GPU of this stature. However, in SolidWorks 2015, the benchmark figures were lower than expected. This did not impact our modelling experience, however. We expect this is a driver compatibility issue as the 2015 version of SolidWorks is not certified to run on the Precision 7720 (only the 2016 – 2018 SolidWorks releases).
The Dell Precision 7720 also performed well in our single threaded and multi-threaded CPU tests. This is partly due to the Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 being a top end CPU but, more importantly, because Dell’s excellent thermal management system allows it to run at high clock speeds without being throttled.
In our KeyShot and V-Ray benchmarks, for example, the CPU sustained 3.90GHz for the entire duration of the tests, only dropping to 3.70GHz after 15 mins. It was only when we got both CPU and GPU running flat out at the same time that speeds started to drop. And even after 30 mins, the CPU only went down to 3.5GHz while GPU dropped about 100MHz to 1,550MHz.
Most impressively, the fans did not run too loud during all of this testing.
Our test machine was maxed out with 64GB (4 x 16GB) 2,400MHz DDR4 Non- ECC SDRAM and there’s was a single 512GB M.2 PCIe SSD. Storage can be expanded with a second M.2 PCIe SSD or a 2.5-inch Hard Disk Drive (HDD) up to 2TB in capacity. While HDDs are significantly slower, they are perfectly fine for data and give you a much lower price/GB.
The 91Whr long life cycle Ion Polymer battery lasted 116 mins in the demanding PCMark OpenCL media test which pushes both CPU and GPU. This is pretty good considering the machine has a 17-inch 4K panel and power-hungry processors.
Under more balanced workloads we expect it to last considerably longer, plus with the easy access battery you can keep a spare in the bag.
The machine is well equipped for VR with one HDMi and USB 3.0 port on the left-hand side and three more USB ports on the right. All four USB ports are USB 3.0 (up to 5Gbps) and not the faster USB 3.1 (up to 10Gbps). This means slower data transfer rates, but probably not as slow as things looks on paper. Tests we’ve done with the Samsung SSD T5 show USB 3.0 to be only 7 – 19% slower than USB 3.1. The machine also has Thunderbolt 3 and Mini DisplayPort.
The back-lit keyboard is a joy to use — rock solid with a numeric keypad. The multitouch trackpad has just the right amount of friction but the two sets of mouse buttons (one above and one below) have a little too much travel for our liking.
For data security, there’s a number of features built-in, including SmartCard Reader and fingerprint reader. There’s also an optional Self Encrypting Drive (SED).
The Dell Precision 7720 is a very impressive mobile workstation, combining excellent build quality and good serviceability with powerful processors that sustain their performance under heavy load.
A 17-inch mobile workstation is never going to replace an ultra high-end desktop workstation — simply because it can’t compete on the number of CPU cores or ultra-high-end GPUs. However, if you’re looking for a great portable machine that is powerful enough to handle 3D CAD, real time viz and VR, it is very hard to beat.
This article is part of a DEVELOP3D CAD/Viz/VR workstation special report. To read articles and reviews in this report click on the links below.
Choosing a workstation for design and engineering is no longer straightforward
How to future proof your workstation to support new and emerging product development workflows
Desktop Workstation Buyer’s Guide
Essential advice for those looking to buy a workstation for product development
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Fujitsu Celsius W570POWER+
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Boxx Apexx S3
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Armari Magnetar R80 (Pre Production Unit)
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Boston Venom EPYC (Pre Production Unit)
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Iceotope EdgeStation
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Mobile workstation buyer’s guide
A rundown of the things to look out when buying a professional 3D laptop
Wacom MobileStudio Pro 16
Wacom’s legendary pen technology is embedded in a pro 3D tablet
HP ZBook x2 G4 (Pre-Production Unit)
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PNY PrevailPro P4000
This slimline 15-inch mobile workstation breaks all the rules by putting a powerful ‘VR Ready’ GPU at its heart
Fujitsu Celsius H970
This 17.3-inch mobile workstation offers incredible power for demanding VR and viz but there are some downsides
Samsung Portable SSD T5
This portable drive offers fast, secure solid-state storage in a sleek package
Download a PDF of the 36-page workstation special report, complete with charts
Intel Xeon E3-1535M v6 (3.1GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo) (4 cores, 8 threads)
64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4 2,400MHz
Nvidia Quadro P5000 (16GB) (385.69 driver)
512GB M.2 NVMe SSD Class 50
3Yr ProSupport and Next Business Day on-site
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