Need performance to get your work done, yet not in the office full time, if at all? Performance & mobility are important to your success. As for motivation, a touch of style and flare never hurts. The Dell Precision 5550 and 5750 target the “power-user with flare”. Here is a Quick Look

Precision‘s sixth generation thin and light workstations

Do you remember the Precision M3800? A revolution at the time, the Precision M3800 was Dell’s first thin and light workstation. It’s first MacBook Pro killer. It sat alongside the much heavier 15-inch Precision M4800 and Dell’ desktop replacement, the 17-inch Precision M6800. 

In the very next generation, the company launched new designs and branding for the entire mobile workstation line. The Precision M3800 successor became known as the Precision 5510.

The branding remains the same today. The Precision 5550 is the fifth thin and light 15-inch model after the M3800, and the Precision 5750 is 17-inch version of Dell’s thin and light mobile workstations. 

Dell's Original thin and light mobile workstation, the Precision M3800

Dell's thin and light workstation debut in 2013 - The Dell Precision M3800.

Here is a quick look at the specs. 

Precision 5550 Specifications

Precision 5550MinimumTest SystemMaximum
GPUIntegrated: Intel® UHD Graphics 630 / P630Quadro T2000 with Max QQuadro T2000 with Max Q
CPUIntel® Core™ Processor i5-10400H, 4 Core, 2.60GHz up to 4.6GHz TurboIntel® Core™ Processor i7-10850H, 6 Core, 2.70GHz up to 5.1GHzIntel® Core™ Processor i9-10885H, 8 Core, 2.40GHz up to 5.30GHz

Intel® Xeon W-10855M, 6 Core, 2.80GHz up to 5.10GHz
Memory8 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz (ECC or non-ECC)32 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz non-ECC64 GB, 2x32 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz (ECC or non-ECC)
StorageM.2 2230, 256 GB, Gen 3 PCIe x4, NVMe, Class 35 SSD 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD2x SSD drives for a maximum of 4 TB

M.2 2280, 2 TB, Gen 3 PCIe x4 NVMe, Class 40 SSD
- or –
M.2 2280, 1 TB, Gen 3 PCIe x4 NVMe, Class 50 SSD
- or –
M.2 2280, 1 TB, Gen 3 PCIe x4, NVMe, Opal Self-Encrypting Class 40 SSD
Display15.6-inch, FHD+ 1920 x 1200 InfinityEdge, 60 Hz, anti-glare, low blue light, non-touch, 500 nits, sRGB 100% min, wide-viewing angleGorilla Glass, 15.6-inch UHD+, 3840 x 2400 InfinityEdge , 60 Hz, anti-reflective, low blue light, touch, 500 nits, 100% AdobeRGB, wide-viewing angleGorilla Glass, 15.6-inch UHD+, 3840 x 2400 InfinityEdge , 60 Hz, anti-reflective, low blue light, touch, 500 nits, 100% AdobeRGB, wide-viewing angle

Precision 5750 Specifications

Precision 5750MinimumTest SystemMaximum
GPUIntegrated: Intel® UHD Graphics 630 / P630Quadro RTX 3000 with Max QQuadro RTX 3000 with Max Q
CPUIntel® Core™ Processor i5-10400H, 4 Core, 2.60GHz up to 4.6GHz TurboIntel® Core™ Processor i9-10885H, 8 Core, 2.40GHz up to 5.30GHz Intel® Core™ Processor i9-10885H, 8 Core, 2.40GHz up to 5.30GHz
 
Intel® Xeon W-10885M, 8 Core, 2.40GHz up to 5.30GHz
Memory8 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz (ECC or non-ECC)32 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz non-ECC64 GB, DDR4, 2666 MHz (ECC or non-ECC)

32 GB, DDR4, 2933 MHz (ECC or non-ECC)
StorageM.2, 128 GB, Gen 3 PCIe x4 NVMe, Class 35 SSDM.2 2280, 1 TB, Gen 3 PCIe x4 NVMe2x M.2 2280, 2 TB, Gen 3 PCIe x4 NVMe, Class 50 SSD = 4 TB total storage
Display17-inch, WLED FHD+, 1920 x 1200, 60 Hz, Anti-Glare, Non-touch display, PC Bezel, sRGB 100% min, 500 nits, WVA 17-inch, WLED UHD+, 3840 x 2400, 60 Hz, Anti-Reflection and Anti-Smudge, Touch display, ETE Glass, Adobe 100% min, 500 nits, HDR400, WVA, Gorilla Glass 17-inch, WLED UHD+, 3840 x 2400, 60 Hz, Anti-Reflection and Anti-Smudge, Touch display, ETE Glass, Adobe 100% min, 500 nits, HDR400, WVA, Gorilla Glass

Graphics

Both workstations can be configured with Intel UHD 630 graphics only, although why would you want to that? The NVIDIA Quadro options for the 5550 include the Quadro T1000 and the Quadro T2000. The Quadro T2000 and Quadro RTX 3000 are available for the 5750. 

Processor

Both workstations support the same eight core, Core i9-10885H CPU. Both offer Xeon processors, too. The Precision 5550 offers the six core Xeon W-10855H.

The Precision 5750 supports the same model as well as the eight core Xeon W-10885H. There is no price difference between the Core i9 and the corresponding Xeon W processor.

17-inch Dell Precision 5750

The Precision 5750 is a light, powerful, and elegant 17-inch mobile workstation

Memory

Frankly, I consider 32 GB of RAM the starting point for a workstation today. The Precision 5550 and 5750 both support up to 64 GB of RAM which is a reasonable limit for the thin and light category of mobile workstations. If you choose a Xeon processor and select ECC memory, you will pay a very small price premium over non-ECC memory – under 20€ - for 64 GB.

Storage

There are some thin and light workstations that limit your choice to 2 TB of storage, but not the Dell Precision 5550 and 5750. These workstations support up to 4 TB of total M.2 NVMe PCIe storage with RAID configurations. For those users needed more, you will need to look at the 7000 series.

Display

A non-touch FHD display and a 4K touch display are options for both workstations. Leaving touch aside, it is hard to image choosing a 1920x1080 full-HD display today. On the 5550, the 4K display is a bit more than 300€ more. On the 5750, a 4K display will run you nearly 550€ more. But honestly, this is a critical tool – don’t even think about a FHD display.

Dell Precision 5000 series of mobile workstations

Six generations of good looks and mobile performance.

Connectivity

These are thin and light workstations. Today, that means Thunderbolt ports: three on the 5550 and four on the 5750. Dell ships the workstations with dongles to support HDMI and USB-A peripherals. Both workstations have an SD card reader as well.

A Final Perspective

Dell has come a long way since launching the Precision M3800 in 2013. The Precision 5550 and 5750 bring the latest technology – and performance - to your shoulder-bag. And they do so with slim, light, elegant designs.

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