I'm also considering the Dell M4600. Primarily because of the DisplayPort and high-resolution matte (?) screen options....
Very frustrating that it's not possible to compare the two full-HD options (IPS, standard) in real life - or even find a serious review on the subject!
However, as I see it the IPS option is much more expensive than 370$? You need the display (370$) but also the Quadro 2000M (470$ up from the FireGL M5950). The difference in the IPS/non-IPS configuration is 900$ on my screen (haven't found the last 60$ yet...
Regarding the graphics, I'd estimate the FireGL to be in the same class as the Quadro 2000M. The latter has double RAM - but if my asumption that M5950 equals HD6770 the benchmarks for the FireGL seems to be ~20% better for OpenGL and ~10% worse in DirectX. I'd expect the OpenGL advantage to be bigger with the FireGL drivers (and perhaps the DirectX to be slightly worse). My primary source:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Gra ... 844.0.htmlAnyway, my point is that I'd love to get the IPS (very happy with my Dell U2711). But at a 900$ premium (including a graphics card upgrade, I don't consider especially superior), I'll probably live with the standard full-HD display... Would have liked to see gamut values and viewing angles, though, or better yet: see the display in real life before buying!
Other Dell Precision thoughts:
- hope the screens are actually matte! Can anyone confirm this? Anti-glare might just mean "like HP Envy" - but I'd prefer the matte "like ThinkPads"...
- shame Dell has been moving to 16:9 for the last 2 or three generations... I'd prefer the 16:10 resolution (1920*1200) - we're not buying precisions to watch movies!
- wonder if anyone is actually buying BlueRay drives for the 400$ premium? If so I might be wrong about my previous statement!