Dell Precision 7550 Review

Our Verdict

The Dell Precision 7550 offers incredible performance, a beautiful 4K display and excellent battery life, but all at an extortionate price.

For

Powerful performance and graphics

Bright 4K display

Incredible autonomy

Comfortable keyboard

High quality speakers p>

Super configurable

Versus

Very expensive

Display could be more colorful for the price

Today's Best Dell Precision 7550 Deals

TO

$4,767.92

on Amazon

If you're looking for the king of workstations, we just might have found it. The Dell Precision 7550 delivers incredible performance thanks to its Intel Xeon W-10885M processor and Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU. There's also a bright 15.6-inch 4K display, long battery life, comfortable keyboard and even a pair of high quality speakers. Not to mention that this machine is super configurable.

However, you get all of this for the exorbitant price of $6,209.78, which is enough to buy a used car. To top it off, the display isn't as colorful as the price tag suggests. However, considering all the benefits of this laptop, especially battery life and power, the Dell Precision 7550 is definitely one of the best.

best workstations

that you can buy, that is, if you can afford it.

Dell Precision 7550 Pricing and Configuration Options

Dell Precision 7550 Specifications

Price:

$6209.66

CPU:

Intel Xeon W-10885M

GPUs:

Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000

RAM:

32GB

Storage:

1TB

Display:

15.6 inch, 4K

Battery:

8:45

Cut:

14.17 x 9.53 x 1.08 inches

Weight:

5.5 pounds

Dell Precision 7550 on Amazon for $4,767.92

The Dell Precision 7550 I tested costs $6,209.78, trust me I know that sounds like a lot, but you can customize it to keep the cost down. This particular laptop comes with an Intel Xeon W-10885M vPro processor, 32GB of RAM, an Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Class 50 SSD, and a 4K display.

If you want to save some money, you can choose the base model, which starts at $1,789 and comes with an Intel Core i5-10400H processor, 8GB of RAM, Intel UHD Graphics, M.2 NVMe SSD Class 35 with 256 GB and a 1080p screen.

Let's say you need a lot more from your laptop than the base model offers or even the model we reviewed. At a ridiculous price of $10,802.55, you can get an Intel Xeon W-10885M vPro processor, 128GB of RAM (yes, RAM), an Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, three 2TB M. 2 PCIe NVMe Class 50 SSDs and a 4K with HDR400 support.

If the Dell Precision 7550 doesn't fit your budget, check out our

best cheap gaming laptops under $1000 page

, which includes laptops that can also function as workstations.

Dell Precision 7550 design

The Dell Precision 7550 chassis is similar to other Dell laptops, such as the

Precision 5540

, displaying a sleek yet interesting aluminum design. The cover is a glossy light silver color that shimmers nicely against the glossy Dell logo in the center.

(Image credit: Future)

The interior of the laptop contains a smooth gray -Deck with a mid-size keyboard and numeric keypad. Three sides of the bezels are small, but the chin at the bottom, which features a glossy Dell logo, is extra thick and keeps the overall footprint of this laptop from being any smaller.

Weighing 6.2 pounds and measuring 14.2 x 9.5 x 1.1 inches, the Precision 7750 is a bit heavier than some of its competitors, but its size is comparable to other workstations. the

MSI WS65 9TM

(4.3 lbs, 14.1 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches) and the

Asus ProArt StudioBook Pro W700G3T

(5.4 pounds, 15.0 x 11.3 x 0.7 inches) weigh significantly less, but are similar in size, while the

Precision 7540

(6.2 pounds, 14.7 x 9.9 x 1.0 inches) (not to be confused with this Precision 7550) is nearly identical in weight and size.

Dell Precision 7550 ports

For a workstation laptop, the Dell Precision 7550 has what it takes should provide a good PC setup.

(Image credit: Future)

The

ports

on the Precision 7550 are essentially the same as the Precision 7540, just located in different areas. On the left side are two

Thunderbolt 3

ports and the Dell smart card slot, which can be used for

two-factor authentication

.

(Image credit: Future)

The right side includes a

Noble lock slot

, two USB 3.2 ports, the headphone jack and an SD card slot. Meanwhile, the rear has a Mini DisplayPort, an HDMI 2.0 port, an RJ45 Ethernet port and the power jack.

(Image credit: Future)

If you need more options for your workplace, check out our

best laptop docking stations

and

best USB Type-C hubs

.

Dell Precision 7550 Security and Durability

The Precision 7550 is equipped with many different security features, including technology

Dell Precision 3510 15.6in Laptop, Core i5-6300HQ 2.3GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB Solid State Drive, Windows 10 Pro 64Bit https://t.co/xIbmHwh2a2

— Oliver Goldsmith Sun Aug 08 21:14:40 +0000 2021

Intel vPro

, the Dell Smart Card (contact and contactless) and a

fingerprint reader

. Another feature is an infrared camera for

Windows Hello

and Express Sign-in, which recognizes when you're approaching or moving away from your laptop and locks it when you're away.

You don't have to worry about durability with the Dell Precision 7550. The Precision 7550 passed 17

MIL-STD 810G

tests, making it even more durable than the Dell Precision 5540. That means it can withstand extreme temperatures, altitudes, sand, dust, humidity, shocks and more.

Dell Precision 7550 Monitor

The 15.6-inch,

4K screen

was absolutely stunning to watch. You know when you put on glasses for the first time and think “Whoa, so this is what it's like to actually see”. Well, the same could be said with the Precision 7550. The anti-glare screen provided the best visuals for watching shows on

netflix

and video clips on

Youtube

. Sure, the model I reviewed had a 4K display, but there are other cheaper options.

(Image credit: Future)

Seeing anything on this laptop will make your jaw drop. Watching the Tenet trailer felt like I was sitting in a movie theater. The varying color tones of the city were stunning, with shades of blue, green, and black popping during nighttime scenes. The panel proved that it is not only

colored

but also that he is

bright enough

to capture detail even in the darkest setting. During a boating scene, the waves crashing into the ocean were vivid, and when the foam started to form, the screen did a good job of capturing every detail.

At 464 nits, the Precision 7550 has a much brighter screen compared to the MSI WS65, which peaked at 393 nits, and the StudioBook Pro, at 292 nits. However, the Precision 7550 barely topped the Precision 7540, which hit 462 nits, as well as the workstation average of 424 nits.

Our colorimeter tests determined that the Precision 7750 produced 164% of the sRGB color gamut, which is below the 197% workstation average. It does slightly better than the StudioBook Pro, which scored 162%. It can't even compare to the Precision 7540, which scored 227%, or the MSI WS65, which scored a mighty 251%. For the price of this laptop, it's not great, but it's fine.

Dell Precision 7550 Keyboard and Touchpad

The Dell Precision 7550 has a decent sized keyboard and the keys are very comfortable to grip thanks to the soft-touch finish. The keys are even quiet, which is perfect for the work environment.

(Image credit: Future)

I managed to score 49 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which isn't too far off my average of 53 words per minute. The keys were extremely easy to type, as the softest touch registered perfectly on the laptop. The palm rest provided a secure station for my palm thanks to its rubbery texture.

The keyboard has three different backlight settings, allowing the user to choose between no light, dim, and bright. I like to work in a darker setting, so the keyboard light on the highest setting isn't very bright for me.

The 4.1 x 2.6-inch touchpad was very smooth, but it seemed to struggle to stay with my movement. Below the touchpad are buttons to indicate left, right, and middle click buttons. Personally, I'm not used to having those extra buttons and I feel like they take up a lot of space that could have been incorporated elsewhere.

Dell Precision 7550 audio

The Dell Precision 7550 speakers have to be some of the best I've ever heard on a laptop. The two speakers, located above the keyboard, played incredible beats.

Listening to “Low” by Lund, the instrumental intro was so satisfying. I was worried the bass would get scratchy and muffled, but it played without any issues. The sound was very clear and crisp, with the voice resonating enough through the speakers. The Precision 7550 picks up bass and instruments quite well while balancing vocals with melody.

You can find audio software tools in the Dell optimization application, but there are no actual settings. The only thing it lets you do is enable or disable presets as well as change 3D audio settings to suit your needs better.

Dell Precision 7550 Performance

This machine is packing a

Intel Xeon W-10885M vPro processor

with 32 GB of

RAM

, capable of running five YouTube 1080p tabs with over 50

Google Chrome

tabs before it starts showing signs of slowing down.

(Image credit: Future)

overall performance test

, the Precision 7550 scored an incredible 33,636, which beat the workstation average of 24,481. It even topped the MSI WS65 (22,936, Intel Core i7-9750H), Precision 7540 (29,813, Intel Xeon E2286M) and the StudioBook Pro (21,434, Intel Xeon E-2276M).

It took the Precision 7550 an effortless 7 minutes and 13 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p while using the Handbrake benchmark, staying well below the 9:29 average, and was unmatched by the MSI WS65 (10:36 ), Precision 7540 (7:50), and StudioBook Pro (10:30).

In our file transfer test, the Precision 7550 copied 5GB of files at a speed of 1092 megabytes per second, which is in the range of the 1101 MBps workstation average. . It managed to beat the MSI WS65 (727 Mbps), but couldn't match the Precision 7540 (2,036 Mbps) and StudioBook Pro (1,272 Mbps).

Dell Precision 7550 graphics and professional performance

The Precision 7550 is equipped with a

Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU

, which scored 16,314 points on the 3DMark Fire Strike synthetic graphics benchmark, topping the 13,439 desktop average. It also outperformed the MSI WS65 (15,364, Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000) and the StudioBook Pro (12,075, Nvidia Quadro RTX 3000). However, the Precision 7540 (Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000) did slightly better with 16,390.

Although the laptop is not really designed for gaming, the Precision 7550 still has a fairly powerful graphics card. On the Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm benchmark (medium settings), it averaged 78 fps at 1080p and 65 fps at 4K. 4K at over 60 frames is ideal for a workstation laptop.

We also ran the PugetBench Adobe CC v0.91 benchmarks to give you an idea of ​​how it performs when running Adobe applications. The Precision 7550 scored 810.7 on AERender, 969 on After Effects, 805 on Lightroom Classic, 912.3 on Photoshop, and 603 on Premiere Pro.

Dell Precision 7550 Battery Life

There are two batteries you can choose from when customizing your Dell Precision 7550: the 95 watt-hour ExpressCharge-compatible 6-cell battery and the 68Wh ExpressCharge-compatible 6-cell battery.

The laptop I reviewed had the 6-cell 95 Wh ExpressCharge-enabled battery and lasted 8 hours and 45 minutes on the

Mag laptop battery test

, which flew by the average workstation battery life of 6 hours and 30 minutes. It also outperformed the MSI W65 (6:57), Precision 7540 (7:24), and StudioBook Pro (6:23).

Dell Precision 7550 webcam

The p>

the webcam

on the Precision 7550 isn't the best, but it certainly isn't the worst either.

(Image credit: Future)

Located in the center of the top bezel, the camera itself is 720p, so the image appears a bit spotty and hazy. It has no problem capturing enough light, but colors seem a bit off. My lip color came out much more peachy than it normally is, but it also picked up the rosy tones in my skin that some other cameras couldn't.

Dell Precision 7550 Heat

The Precision 7550 stayed pretty cool after streaming a 15-minute full-screen 1080p video. The underside of the laptop reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit, matching our 95-degree comfort threshold. The center of the keyboard reached 93 degrees, while the touchpad reached 79 degrees. The laptop's hottest spot was on the bottom panel, where it measured 104 degrees.

Dell Precision 7550 Software and Warranty

Dell offers a number of useful utilities to enhance your experience. Dell Command and Update which, as you probably guessed, checks for updates on the laptop. Dell Digital Delivery contains software purchases you have made from Dell (including the McAfee Small Business application). Dell Power Manager allows you to configure the battery power state according to your personal preferences. Finally, the Dell PremierColor allows you to optimize your experience by adjusting the colors to best suit your needs by adjusting the color temperature of the screen.

The flagship application of the Precision 7550 is Dell Precision Optimizer, which allows you to adjust performance in applications, improve audio and microphone performance, improve battery life through settings power and adjust the proximity sensor, which basically detects if you're in front of your laptop. Other than all those Dell apps, there doesn't seem to be any bloatware on this laptop.

The Precision 7550 comes with a three-year limited warranty. See how Dell performs in our

Technical Support Showdown

and

Best and worst brands

ranking.

Summary

In case you can't tell, I love the Dell Precision 7550 for its customization options, amazing 4K display, and long-lasting battery that'll last you an entire work day. However, the laptop can be expensive depending on its configuration, and the display can be more colorful.

If you are looking for a workstation with similar specifications but at a lower price, check out the p>

Dell Precision 7540

. And even though the 7540 was released earlier than the Precision 7550, it beats the 7550 in some categories.

But overall, the Dell Precision 7550 impressed me in many areas that I look for in a laptop.