November 2014

DAT/EM Hardware Configurations Update
By Brian Barnes

New Desktop Configurations. As you may already know, Dell has discontinued the Dell Precision T7610 Workstation, which was DAT/EM’s recommended workstation for a long time. It has been replaced by the Dell Precision T7910 Workstation. The T7910 has many new options, such as dual 14-core processors (a bit much for most of us) and includes options for NVIDIA’s new line of graphics cards. DAT/EM currently recommends the NVIDIA Quadro K4200 video card, which is the best compromise between performance and price.

DELL Precision T7910 Workstation

The Dell Precision T7910 Workstation still comes with the option of either Windows 7 Pro or Windows 8.1 Pro. If you choose Windows 8.1 Pro, we highly recommend the Classic Start Menu for Windows 8 available for download at http://www.classicshell.net. This free open-source program adds a Windows 7-style start menu, which seems to make the transition to Windows 8 much easier.

Laptop Recommendations. Our recommended Dell laptop is still the Precision M6800 Mobile Workstation. Their options have not changed very much, with the exception of the newer mobile video chips: NVIDIA Quadro K4100M with 4GB RAM or K5100M with 8GB RAM. As you can see, there was a significant memory increase with the K5100M. We have also changed our recommended "Dual-Link DVI" adapter to the Startech brand (Manufacturer Part# : DP2DVID2), as it seems more impervious to abuse in the field.

We also recommend the EUROCOM laptops for those of you who want an integrated 3D display in the laptop. EUROCOM currently has two 3D Workstations: The EUROCOM Panther 5D and the EUROCOM Scorpius 3D2. They both have the option if an internal 120Hz 3D monitor.

Find DAT/EM’s current hardware configurations here: https://www.datem.com/support/configurations/