Dell Precision 7730 Review
f you need the most powerful laptop around, regardless of price or size, look no further than the Precision 7730. This workstation has blazing-fast performance and an alluring 4K display that bursts with color. Factor in a comfortable keyboard, premium design laptop under 40000 and rugged build quality, and this beastly machine hits (almost) all the right notes.
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Unfortunately, disappointing battery life and poor heat management are notable pain points. And the Precision 7730's high, $5,534 price isn't for everyone. But if you're an engineer or creative who needs a powerful workstation, take the plunge; you won't regret emptying your pockets for a Precision 7730.
Specs
Design
Do your wrists a favor and use both arms when lifting the Dell Precision 7730. Better yet, if you have a good chiropractor, carry this system around in a backpack. At 7.5 pounds, the laptop weighs more than the HP ZBook 17 G4 (7.1 pounds), but it's lighter than the sumo-size ThinkPad P71 (8 pounds).
from $1,399Visit Site from Dell Business
While the Dell machine is slimmer than its predecessor, the Precision 7730's 16.3 x 10.8 x 1.2-inch frame is best kept dormant on a desk. Its competitor, the Lenovo ThinkPad P71, is about the same size (16.4 x 10.4 x 1.2 inches), while the HP ZBook 17 G4 is longer on each end (16.5 x 11 x 1.3 inches).
With premium, durable materials -- a carbon-fiber lid, a soft-touch deck and a metal frame -- the Precision 7730 exudes class.
With premium, durable materials -- a carbon-fiber lid, a soft-touch deck and a metal frame -- the Precision 7730 exudes class. People will notice the machine for its sheer size, but its industrial black-and-silver design is easy on the eyes.
Aggressive dual vents, a shiny metal trim around the deck and a thin LED battery indicator on the front lip are all welcome additions. I just wish the lid weren't such a fingerprint magnet and that the display bezels were trimmed down.
Ports
The Precision 7730 has a comprehensive selection of ports that are conveniently located around the laptop.
On the left side, you'll find a smart card reader, an SD card slot and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
The right side is primed for peripherals, with two USB 3.1 Type-A ports as well as a Kensington lock and headphone/mic combo jack.
For stationary accessories, the rear houses an HDMI, a mini DisplayPort, an Ethernet port, a DC power jack and a third USB 3.1 Type-A port.
Durability and Security
Don't worry about your arms giving out when you hold the Precision 7730; this tank can survive a fall. The business laptop passed 15 MIL-SPEC durability tests, including those for high altitudes, extreme temperatures, dirt, shock and drop, according to Dell.
The Precision 7730 also has safeguards to protect your sensitive data. You have the option to add a FIPS fingerprint sensor in the palm rest to go along with a standard smart-card reader and an NFC sensor for contactless smart cards.
Display
The Precision 7730's 17-inch display gives you a theater-like viewing experience. Its bright 4K panel is incredibly detailed, and the colors it produces are exceptionally vivid and rich.
When I watched a trailer for the upcoming autobiographical film Green Book, I could make out the tiniest details in the set design, like individual records in Mahershala Ali's house during a wide shot of his chic living room and wisps of smoke rising from Viggo Mortensen's cigarette. The turquoise paint on the pianist's Chevy popped, as if the car had just driven off the show floor.
The Precision 7730's 17-inch display gives you a theater-like viewing experience.
Similarly, in the trailer for the upcoming sci-fi film Kin, the neon lights and colorful explosions burst with rich, saturated blues and oranges. Matte displays don't typically have the same wow factor as their glossy counterparts, but I was in awe every time I visited my favorite websites on the Precision. My main complaint with the display is that skin tones look oversaturated, but you can adjust the color temperature using Dell's included display-calibration software.
The display's outstanding qualities were quantified in our testing. The panel reproduced a staggering 211 percent of the sRGB color gamut, achieving among the highest ratings we've seen. While the Lenovo ThinkPad P71 (183 percent) and HP ZBook 17 G4 (173 percent) also impressed, their panels were nowhere near as colorful as the Precision's. The workstation average is much lower, at 149 percent.
MORE: Best Dell and Alienware Laptops - Laptop Mag
With this machine's matte display and impressive peak brightness, you should have no issue using the Precision 7730 in bright environments. The display reached a maximum brightness of 330 nits, which is higher than scores from the ThinkPad P71 (283 nits) and HP ZBook 17 G4 (256 nits). The workstation average is also dimmer, at 325 nits.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Pointing Stick
With an actuation force of 69 grams and a key travel of 1.6 millimeters (1.5mm to 2mm is recommended), the chiclet-style keyboard with numpad is comfortable to use, even during long typing sessions. Weighty and tactile, the backlit keys offer a rewarding amount of feedback and are well-spaced.
In the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 114 words per minute, with an error rate of 5 percent. That matches my 95 percent accuracy rate but is slightly slower than my 119 word-per-minute average, likely because of the key's above-average actuation force.
For a device this large, the Precision 7730's 3.9 x 2.1-inch touchpad is inexplicably small. Fortunately, it made up for its size by responding quickly to my gestures, including pinch-to-zoom, four-finger tapping to open settings and three-finger swiping to change apps.
MORE: Our Favorite Gaming Keyboards
If touchpads aren't your thing, you can use the little rubber nub in the center of the Precision 7730's keyboard. That is, if you can find it. The black pointing stick doesn't have a colorful ring around it, so it blends in with the dark deck. Still, I had no problems using the pointing stick and secondary set of left-, right- and middle-click buttons to navigate the web.
Performance
The Precision 7730 is a performance powerhouse. Equipped with an Intel Core i9-8950HK CPU and 32GB of RAM, the Precision 7730 quickly loaded 30 Microsoft Edge tabs, four of which played YouTube videos while two others streamed Fornite on Twitch.
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Unfortunately, disappointing battery life and poor heat management are notable pain points. And the Precision 7730's high, $5,534 price isn't for everyone. But if you're an engineer or creative who needs a powerful workstation, take the plunge; you won't regret emptying your pockets for a Precision 7730.
Specs
Design
Do your wrists a favor and use both arms when lifting the Dell Precision 7730. Better yet, if you have a good chiropractor, carry this system around in a backpack. At 7.5 pounds, the laptop weighs more than the HP ZBook 17 G4 (7.1 pounds), but it's lighter than the sumo-size ThinkPad P71 (8 pounds).
from $1,399Visit Site from Dell Business
While the Dell machine is slimmer than its predecessor, the Precision 7730's 16.3 x 10.8 x 1.2-inch frame is best kept dormant on a desk. Its competitor, the Lenovo ThinkPad P71, is about the same size (16.4 x 10.4 x 1.2 inches), while the HP ZBook 17 G4 is longer on each end (16.5 x 11 x 1.3 inches).
With premium, durable materials -- a carbon-fiber lid, a soft-touch deck and a metal frame -- the Precision 7730 exudes class.
With premium, durable materials -- a carbon-fiber lid, a soft-touch deck and a metal frame -- the Precision 7730 exudes class. People will notice the machine for its sheer size, but its industrial black-and-silver design is easy on the eyes.
Aggressive dual vents, a shiny metal trim around the deck and a thin LED battery indicator on the front lip are all welcome additions. I just wish the lid weren't such a fingerprint magnet and that the display bezels were trimmed down.
Ports
The Precision 7730 has a comprehensive selection of ports that are conveniently located around the laptop.
On the left side, you'll find a smart card reader, an SD card slot and two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
The right side is primed for peripherals, with two USB 3.1 Type-A ports as well as a Kensington lock and headphone/mic combo jack.
For stationary accessories, the rear houses an HDMI, a mini DisplayPort, an Ethernet port, a DC power jack and a third USB 3.1 Type-A port.
Durability and Security
Don't worry about your arms giving out when you hold the Precision 7730; this tank can survive a fall. The business laptop passed 15 MIL-SPEC durability tests, including those for high altitudes, extreme temperatures, dirt, shock and drop, according to Dell.
The Precision 7730 also has safeguards to protect your sensitive data. You have the option to add a FIPS fingerprint sensor in the palm rest to go along with a standard smart-card reader and an NFC sensor for contactless smart cards.
Display
The Precision 7730's 17-inch display gives you a theater-like viewing experience. Its bright 4K panel is incredibly detailed, and the colors it produces are exceptionally vivid and rich.
When I watched a trailer for the upcoming autobiographical film Green Book, I could make out the tiniest details in the set design, like individual records in Mahershala Ali's house during a wide shot of his chic living room and wisps of smoke rising from Viggo Mortensen's cigarette. The turquoise paint on the pianist's Chevy popped, as if the car had just driven off the show floor.
The Precision 7730's 17-inch display gives you a theater-like viewing experience.
Similarly, in the trailer for the upcoming sci-fi film Kin, the neon lights and colorful explosions burst with rich, saturated blues and oranges. Matte displays don't typically have the same wow factor as their glossy counterparts, but I was in awe every time I visited my favorite websites on the Precision. My main complaint with the display is that skin tones look oversaturated, but you can adjust the color temperature using Dell's included display-calibration software.
The display's outstanding qualities were quantified in our testing. The panel reproduced a staggering 211 percent of the sRGB color gamut, achieving among the highest ratings we've seen. While the Lenovo ThinkPad P71 (183 percent) and HP ZBook 17 G4 (173 percent) also impressed, their panels were nowhere near as colorful as the Precision's. The workstation average is much lower, at 149 percent.
MORE: Best Dell and Alienware Laptops - Laptop Mag
With this machine's matte display and impressive peak brightness, you should have no issue using the Precision 7730 in bright environments. The display reached a maximum brightness of 330 nits, which is higher than scores from the ThinkPad P71 (283 nits) and HP ZBook 17 G4 (256 nits). The workstation average is also dimmer, at 325 nits.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Pointing Stick
With an actuation force of 69 grams and a key travel of 1.6 millimeters (1.5mm to 2mm is recommended), the chiclet-style keyboard with numpad is comfortable to use, even during long typing sessions. Weighty and tactile, the backlit keys offer a rewarding amount of feedback and are well-spaced.
In the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 114 words per minute, with an error rate of 5 percent. That matches my 95 percent accuracy rate but is slightly slower than my 119 word-per-minute average, likely because of the key's above-average actuation force.
For a device this large, the Precision 7730's 3.9 x 2.1-inch touchpad is inexplicably small. Fortunately, it made up for its size by responding quickly to my gestures, including pinch-to-zoom, four-finger tapping to open settings and three-finger swiping to change apps.
MORE: Our Favorite Gaming Keyboards
If touchpads aren't your thing, you can use the little rubber nub in the center of the Precision 7730's keyboard. That is, if you can find it. The black pointing stick doesn't have a colorful ring around it, so it blends in with the dark deck. Still, I had no problems using the pointing stick and secondary set of left-, right- and middle-click buttons to navigate the web.
Performance
The Precision 7730 is a performance powerhouse. Equipped with an Intel Core i9-8950HK CPU and 32GB of RAM, the Precision 7730 quickly loaded 30 Microsoft Edge tabs, four of which played YouTube videos while two others streamed Fornite on Twitch.
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