Here is a look at Dell’s 2021 mobile workstation product line.
Dell Precision 7760 and 7560
When was the last time you saw a mobile workstation with 16 TB of Gen 4 SSD storage?
The 17-inch Precision 7760 model is Dell’s high-end. With its highest configuration, the Precision 7760 easily replaces desktop workstations. The same can be said for the 15-inch Precision 7560.
Both models support NVIDIA RTX A5000 professional graphics. Both deliver up to 128 GB of 3200 MHz memory – or 64 GB of 3466 MHz memory. Both allow for high-capacity, fast storage: up to 16 TB of Gen 4 PCIe SSD storage. Both deliver 11th generation Core i9 and Xeon processors with turbo speeds up to 5.0 GHz. Both support 5G as well.
Look at that spec and then tell me how fast your desktop workstation is….
Besides size, the differences between the two workstations are minimal.
- The Precision 7760 does not offer an RTX A2000 GPU
- The Precision 7560 offers a touch display, but only at FHD
- The Precision 7560 uses a 180W power supply
- The Precision 7750 has a 240W power supply
The Precision 7000 series has always been the workhorse in the Dell Precision family, and the 2021 models continue the tradition. When you need power on the road, at home, or even in the office, the performance of the 7000 series can scale to nearly any level of performance imaginable.
Dell's InfinityEdge display gives Precision workstations more display in a smaller package
The Precision 7000 series has always been the workhorse in the Dell Precision family, and the 2021 models continue the tradition. When you need power on the road, at home, or even in the office, the performance of the 7000 series can scale to nearly any level of performance imaginable.
Weight (starting):
Precision 7760: 6.65 lbs / 3.01 kg
Precision 7560: 5.42 lbs / 2.45 kg
Prices:
Precision 7760: Starting at $2009. Fully configured with an NVIDIA A5000, Xeon CPU, 128 GB of RAM, and a whopping 16 TB of Gen 4 SSD storage at about $16,500. (Dell has gone whole hog on SSD storage. The 16 TB of Gen 4 SSD storage costs over $9200 – well over half of the costs for this desktop replacement.)
Precision 7560: Starting at $1940. At the time of writing, a fully configured system is not available for online configuration. Pricing should be similar to the Precision 7760.
Dell Precision 5560 and 5760
The Precision 5000 series is Dell’s thin and light mobile workstation line. Last year, the 50 series added the 17-inch model. The 60 series improves the technology on the inside for both systems.
The external design and the advanced cooling system inside remain the same as with the 50 series. The same is true for display options which include a 4K low blue light display.
Both the Precision 5560 and Precision 5760 have 11th generation Intel processors and options for two 4 TB SSD drives running on PCIe Gen 4. The 8 TB of fast SSD storage comes at a price, but for some power users, the higher capacity, extremely fast storage can be critical.
NVIDIA RTX A3000, Core i9-11950H and 8TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage make the Precision 5760 a powerful editing workstation
The graphics is faster. The 5560 model moves to NVIDIA T1200 and NVIDIA RTX A2000 GPUs. The 5760 model offers the NVIDIA RTX A2000 and RTX A3000.
This change for the Precision 5560 means that the NVIDIA T1200 should provide the performance similar to the T2000 in last year’s model. The RTX A2000 provides a jump to NVIDIA’s new Ampere architecture with much faster performance – especially in double-precision floating-point calculations.
For the new Precision 5760, both GPUs move to the Ampere architecture. This provides higher performance while remaining inside the power envelope needed for an extremely compact 17-inch mobile workstation.
Weight (starting):
Precision 5760 : 4.7 lbs / 2.13 kg
Precision 5560 : 4.06 lbs / 1.84 kg
Prices:
Precision 5760: Starting at $2009. Fully configured with an NVIDIA A3000, Xeon CPU, 64 GB of RAM, and a whopping 8 TB of Gen 4 SSD storage at about $9,150. (The 8 TB of SSD storage is over $4600, or 50% of the cost)
Precision 5560 : Starting at $1890. At the time of writing, a fully configured system is not available. Pricing should be a bit less than the pricing of the Precision 5760.
You can read our comparison of the Precision 5550 and Precision 5750 here.
Find the Dell Precision 5760's main specifications and features in our article: A Quick Look Inside Dell’s Precision 5760.
Check out the Dell 5760's performance results in our article: Checking Dell's Precision 5760 Performance.
And find out Why I love the Precision 5760 mobile workstation.
Dell Precision 3561
You might think that the Precision 3000 series is “entry-level”, but the maximum configuration is as good as the mid-range mobile workstation models from just one or two years ago.
On the outside, the industrial design is new, and on the inside, the technology is more powerful.
What are the new features in the PRECISION 3561 compared to the 3551? The new design is nominally slimmer and lighter, yet it delivers much higher performance.
The new model supports an NVIDIA T1200 professional GPU with 4 GB of graphics memory compared to the T500 with 2 GB of graphics memory. The 3561 model supports 11th generation eight-core Intel Core i9 and Xeon processors. The display options for the Precision 3561 include 4K resolution and hardware-implemented low blue light reduction.
Storage options include 4 TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage. Memory capacity is 64 GB of 3200 MHz RAM.
A less expensive storage capacity alternative to 4 TB of SSD storage is to replace the second SSD drive with a 2 TB SATA HDD. This choice reduces the cost for 4 TB, albeit with a performance trade-off.
This specification doesn’t match the maximum configuration of the Precision 5560, but it comes close. With the NVIDIA T1200 and the new Intel processors, the Precision 3561 can be a good option for users who don’t quite require the performance available in the Precision 5560 model.
Weight (starting):
Precision 3561 : 3.95 lbs / 1.79 kg
Prices:
Precision 3561: Starting at $1270. Fully configured with an NVIDIA T1200, a Core i9 processor, 64 GB of RAM, a 4K display, and 2 TB of SSD storage has a price-tag of $4600.
A Final Perspective
The 2021 Precision mobile workstation family is impressive. This new generation has performance improvements especially in Gen 4 SSD capacity and NVIDIA Ampere-based professional GPUs.
At the high end, capacity and performance jumps. In the 3000 series, a new design changes the power envelope for new processors and GPUs. That pushes the Precision 3561 to higher performance levels at the same cost.
Low blue light in hardware
Both the 3000 and 5000 series offer hardware reduction of the harmful blue light spectrum produced by computers. This hardware implementation has several advantages.
First, the hardware implementation does not use any of the workstation’s computing resources. The spectrum shift from harmful to harmless blue color spectrum is performed within the display.
Second, the hardware implementation does not produce a yellow tinged image which software implementations produce. With Dell’s hardware solution, proper color calibration and color accuracy is possible. The display provides 100% Adobe color gamut even with the low blue light reduction.
The Precision 5000 series supports low blue light reduction in last year’s 50 series and this year’s 60 series. This year, low blue light is available on the new Precision 3561.
For more detailed information on blue light, please reference:
Research progress about the effect and prevention of blue light on eyes
(2018)
What we know about blue light science and research in 2020
(2020)
What’s Blue Light, and How Does It Affect Our Eyes?
(2021)
Dell divides the Precision mobile workstation into three series. Each one with its unique characteristics. The range of configuration options is expansive and allows users to adapt configurations to their unique workflows.
