Barton's Blog

Now available — Precision 3541 mobile workstation, dev edition

Dell makes some pretty brawny Linux-based workstations. Witness the uber-powerful Dell Precision 7000 tower and rack workstations.  These beefy systems can be ordered with either Ubuntu or Red Hat preloaded and are perfect for exploring intensive workloads like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

Getting started at the right price

If you’re just starting out however and are looking to get going with a budget-friendly mobile workstation you may find some of these workstations a bit out of your price range.  Well look no further.

Introducing the Ubuntu-based Dell Precision 3540 mobile workstation, developer edition

Today we are announcing the latest addition to the Project Sputnik line up — the next generation of the Dell Precision 3000 series mobile workstations, the Dell Precision 3540 and 3541 developer editions.

The Precision 3540 which is available today, is our most affordable mobile workstation and comes with all the essentials (see specs below).  The Dell Precision 3541 mobile workstation, which will be available in late May, kicks it up a notch offering the option of either a 9th generation 8-core Intel® Core™ or 6-core Xeon® processor and NVIDIA Quadro graphics (4GB).

Dell Precision 3540 and 3541 specifications

Dell Precision 3540 mobile workstation, developer edition – Available today

Power within reach

• Latest 4-core Intel® Core ™ 8th generation processors
• Ubuntu 18.04 LTS preloaded
• Certified for Red Hat 8.0
• Up to 32GB of DDR4 memory
• Optional AMD Radeon® Pro graphics with 2GB of dedicated memory
• Up to 4TB of storage
• Optional Thunderbolt™ 3 connectivity
• Starting at 4.04 pounds
• Available worldwide

Dell Precision 3541 mobile workstation, developer edition

Powerful, yet affordable

• 9th generation 8-core Intel® Core™ and 6-core Xeon® processor options
• Ubuntu 18.04 LTS preloaded
• Certified for Red Hat 8.0
• Up to 32GB of DDR4 memory, Optional ECC memory with Xeon processor
• Next generation NVIDIA Quadro® professional graphics with 4GB of dedicated memory
• Up to 4TB of storage
• Thunderbolt™ 3 connectivity
• Starting at 4.34 pounds.
• Available worldwide

We want to hear from you

Dell’s Project Sputnik has been driven since day one by input from the community.  While we have continued to gather input on an ongoing basis we recently decided that it was time to step back and get a broader view.  To that end we have partnered with Canonical to produce the 2019 Desktop developer desktop survey. 

If you have the time, please fill out this short survey and help us deliver software and hardware to better meet your needs.

Stay tuned

Project Sputnik keeps rolling and today’s announcement represents the first of the fifth generation of the Precision developer editions.  If you’re a developer, data scientist or student and are looking for a Linux-based mobile workstation at a budget-friendly price you owe it to yourself to check out the Dell Precision 3540 and 3541 mobile workstations.

Watch this space for more news in the upcoming months around the Project Sputnik portfolio.

Extra-credit reading

• The Dell Precision 3540 and 3541 Mobile Workstations – Making Workstation-Class Performance Accessible for All Budgets – Direct2Dell

Pau for now…

We wanted to end 2018 on a high note.  As of Friday, the developer editions of the Precision 5530 and 3530 mobile workstations are now available with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

• Dell Precision 5530 mobile workstation, developer edition

The Precision 7530 and 7730 mobile workstations, built for even more compute-intensive workloads, will be offered with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS soon.

How did we get here: A quick look back

It all started back on November 15, 2013 when the Precision M3800 mobile workstation unofficially joined Project Sputnik.  This came about thanks to the efforts of Dell Linux architect Jared Dominguez.   Ever since Sputnik launched there was a group of customers who were asking for a beefier system beyond the original XPS 13 developer edition.  With this in mind, Jared got his hands on an M3800 and put together a rough set of instructions explaining how to get Ubuntu up and running on the system.  Rather than satiating folks however, Jared’s instructions only made the customers’ hungrier for an officially available, workstation-class system.  On January 27, 2015 that request was answered and the Precision M3800 joined the XPS 13 as a part of the Project Sputnik portfolio.

From there, the rest is history

• March 3, 2016 — mobile Precision, developer edition xx10 line announced (5510, 3510, 7510, 7710)
• January 9, 2017 — xx20 line announced
• March 24, 2018 — xx30 line announced

A double click on the specs

As a refresher, here are the specs of the newly upgraded systems:

Dell Precision 5530 mobile workstation developer edition

Dell’s thinnest, lightest and smallest 15″ mobile workstation with enhanced graphics, and a stunning design and display

• Available in Platinum Silver or Brushed Onyx, with a 15.6-inch display fit into a 14-inch chassis.
• Next-gen graphics up to NVIDIA® Quadro P2000.
• 8th Gen Intel® Core™ and next-generation Xeon® processors, including i9 processors
• Enhanced 2666MHz memory speeds up to 32GB
• Up to 4TB of storage
• Thunderbolt 3.0 with x4 PCIe, USB 3.1 and HDMI 2.0 ports
• Available worldwide

Dell Precision 3530 mobile workstation, developer edition

15-inch fully customizable and high-performance mobile workstation at an entry-level price point

• 8th Gen Intel® Core™ and next-generation Xeon® processors
• Memory speeds up to 2666MHz up to 32GB
• PCIe storage capacity up to 2TB
• NVIDIA Quadro® P600 professional graphics cards with 4GB of memory
• Support for 4K video to an external monitor at 60fps via HDMI 2.0
• Ports include HDMI 2.0, Thunderbolt and VGA
• Available worldwide

Closing out 2018

2018 has been a particularly busy one for Project Sputnik.  The year had barely begun when the 7th generation XPS 13 developer edition debuted.  In Spring the 16.04-based Precision xx30 mobile line began rolling out and in mid-summer the XPS 13 was upgraded from 16.04 to 18.04.  With today’s news we’re closing out the year with an upgrade of the Precision mobile line.

Looking forward, as of 2019, Dell has been shipping Linux preloaded on client systems for 20 years.  We’ll be making some noise around that and we have a bunch of other things up our sleeves as well.

Happy Holidays and stay tuned for 2019!

Extra-credit reading

Precision xx30 developer edition line, News and Reviews

• Dell Precision 5530 with Ubuntu Review – Linux Unplugged (review starts at ~36min and goes to ~52min)
• Dell Precision 5530, Ubuntu Pre-Installed – This Week in Linux (13:44)
• Dell Unveils New Ubuntu Laptops — OMG!UBUNTU!
• Dell Precision ‘Developer Edition’ mobile workstations run Ubuntu Linux and are RHEL certified – betanews
• Dell refreshes Precision laptops with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed – ZDnet
• Dell stuffs Intel Coffee Lake CPUs and Ubuntu into latest Precision workstations – The Inquirer
• Dell launches new Precision mobile workstation line-up powered by Ubuntu – Softpedia
• Dell Precision 5530 sale a la venta con Ubuntu y certificado para RHEL » MuyLinux
• Welcome the new Dell Precision developer editions – Barton’s blog
• Developer Editions of Precision Workstations Now Available — Direct2DellEMC
• Introducing the Dell Precision 7530 and 7730 with Ubuntu — Ubuntu blog
• Precision Developer Editions 7530/7730 now online — Welcome the power pair – Barton’s blog

Pau for now…

We are happy to announce that the last of the Ubuntu-based Precision xx30 Mobile line is here.

The Dell Precision 5530 mobile workstation developer edition features the latest Intel Core and Xeon processors, blazing-fast memory and professional graphics.

Dell Precision 5530 mobile workstation, developer edition

The 5530 joins the already available:

• Dell Precision 3530 Mobile Workstation, developer edition
• Dell Precision 7530 Mobile Workstation, developer edition
• Dell Precision 7730 Mobile Workstation, developer edition

A double click on the specs

Dell Precision 5530 mobile workstation developer edition

Dell’s thinnest, lightest and smallest 15″ mobile workstation with enhanced graphics, and a stunning design and display

• Available in Platinum Silver or Brushed Onyx, with a 15.6-inch display fit into a 14-inch chassis.
• Next-gen graphics up to NVIDIA® Quadro P2000.
• 8th Gen Intel® Core™ and next-generation Xeon® processors to include i9 processors
• Enhanced 2666MHz memory speeds up to 32GB
• Up to 4TB of storage
• Thunderbolt 3.0 with x4 PCIe, USB 3.1 and HDMI 2.0 ports
• Ubuntu 16.04 LTS preinstalled
• RHEL 7.5 certified (details below)
• Available worldwide

RHEL 7.5 certification and drivers

• As mentioned above The Precision 5530 mobile workstation, developer edition is certified for RHEL 7.5 and the needed drivers will be included in the distro.  That being said, the NVIDIA drivers that come with 7.5 are inbox drivers.  We will be posting drivers for all graphic cards that will include professional features not included in the inbox drivers.  Stay tuned

Enjoy!

Extra-credit reading

• Dell Unveils New Ubuntu Laptops — OMG!UBUNTU!
• Precision workstations: Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Machine Learning solutions – com
• Dell Precision ‘Developer Edition’ mobile workstations run Ubuntu Linux and are RHEL certified – betanews
• Dell refreshes Precision laptops with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed – ZDnet
• Dell stuffs Intel Coffee Lake CPUs and Ubuntu into latest Precision workstations – The Inquirer
• Dell launches new Precision mobile workstation line-up powered by Ubuntu – Softpedia
• Welcome the new Dell Precision developer editions – Barton’s blog
• Developer Editions of Precision Workstations Now Available — Direct2DellEMC
• Introducing the Dell Precision 7530 and 7730 with Ubuntu — Ubuntu blog
• Precision Developer Editions 7530/7730 now online — Welcome the power pair – Barton’s blog

Pau for now…

When project Sputnik debuted over five years ago, we launched with one config of our XPS 13 developer edition and it came with Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

Today, thanks to the interest and support of the community, we are announcing that in the US our seventh generation XPS 13 developer edition now comes with Ubuntu 18.04.  Europe and Canada will soon be following suit.

18.04 represents Project Sputnik’s fourth preloaded LTS as we have progressed from Precise Pangolin (12.04) to Trusty Tahr (14.04) to Xenial Xerus (16.04) and today, Bionic Beaver.

What’s an LTS

In case you’re not familiar with it, LTS stands for “Long Term Support” and a new LTS release comes out every two years.  Ubuntu’s LTS releases are supported and receive updates for five years, versus nine months for the interim releases.  It is the LTS releases that Dell certifies and preloads on our Ubuntu-based systems.

That was then, this is now

Project Sputnik’s first system debuted at the end of November in 2012 and, as mentioned above, it came with Ubuntu 12.04 preloaded.

The HUD in 12.04 — image from webupd8.org

Back then there was only one configuration of the XPS 13 developer edition and it boasted: 8GB RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 1,280 x 720 display.

On the OS side, Ubuntu 12.04 introduced the HUD “a revolutionary new way of interacting with application menus on the desktop.” 12.04 was also the release when people started to see the value of Ubuntu’s default user interface, Unity.

Fast forward to today

The XPS 13 developer edition is now in its seventh generation with 13 configurations.  The top of the line developer edition comes with 16GB RAM, a 1TB SSD and a UHD (3,840 x 2,160) display.  The big news of Ubuntu’s 18.04 LTS is the removal of Unity and the return of the GNOME desktop.

There is also a new “Minimum Install” option which excludes extras such as music players, office suites etc.  In its place you get a slimmed down version comprised of GNOME, a web browser, a terminal and basic apps.

Looking forward

Speaking of systems, right around the corner is the new Precision 5530 mobile workstation, developer edition.  Stay tuned

And if we look further on the horizon you can just make out Sputnik’s LTS number five, 20.04 😊

Extra-credit reading

• Ditching Windows: 2 Weeks With Ubuntu Linux On The Dell XPS 13 – Forbes
• 5 Reasons You Should Switch From Windows To Linux Right Now – Forbes
• Dell XPS13 Developer Edition ships with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS pre-installed – Ubuntu blog
• Ubuntu 18.04 LTS: The Linux for AI, clouds, and containers – ZDnet
• Leave it to Beaver: Unity is long gone and you’re on your GNOME – The Register
• Dell Unveils New Ubuntu Laptops — OMG!UBUNTU!
• Dell refreshes Precision laptops with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed – ZDnet
• Dell stuffs Intel Coffee Lake CPUs and Ubuntu into latest Precision workstations – The Inquirer

Pau for now…

Update: Precision 7520 and 7720 available as of March 28;  Dell Precision 5720, a 27” All-in-One available as of April 18.

Today I am excited to announce the next generation of our Ubuntu-based Precision mobile workstation line.  Not only have we rev’d the current line-up but we have also added the Precision 5720 All-in-One.  This follows the introduction back in October of the 6th generation XPS 13 developer edition.

Dell Precision 5720 All-in-One

Available today

• Dell Precision 3520, mobile workstation
  
• Dell Precision 5520, mobile workstation
• Dell Precision 7520, mobile workstation — Available as of March 28
• Dell Precision 7720, mobile workstation — Available as of March 28
• Dell Precision 5720, all-in-one — Available as of April 18

All of the systems above, which will be available worldwide, come preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, feature 7th generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors and support Thunderbolt 3 (scroll down for more detailed specs).

How did we get here

Four and a half years ago a scrappy skunk works project by the name of “Project Sputnik” was kicked off at Dell to gauge interest in a developer-focused laptop.  The project received an amazing amount of interest and support from the community and as result, nine months later this project became an official product — the ultra-mobile XPS 13 developer edition.

Jared hacks in a hammock

While the XPS 13 was a big hit the team soon started getting a steady stream of requests to add a bigger, beefier system.  This caught the attention of team member Jared Dominguez (on twitter) who decided to work on his own time to get Ubuntu running on the Dell Precision M3800 mobile workstation.  Jared documented his work and then posted the instructions publicly.

Jared’s efforts got so much interest from the community that a little over a year later it debuted as an official product.   A little over a year after that, one Ubuntu-based Precision workstation became four and today we are announcing the next generation of this line-up along with the new Precision 5720 All-in-One.

A double-click on the specs

Dell Precision 3520, mobile workstation – Available now!

Affordable, fully customizable 15” mobile workstation

Key features

• Preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
• 7th generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors
• 15.6” HD (1366×768), FHD (1920×1080) and FHD touch
• Up to 32GB of memory and 2TB of storage
• ECC memory, Thunderbolt 3 and NVIDIA graphics
• Availability: worldwide

Dell Precision 5520, mobile workstation  – Available now!

World’s thinnest and lightest 15” mobile workstation

Dell Precision 5520

Key features

• Preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
• 7th generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors
• 15.6” UltraSharp FHD (1920×1080) or UltraSharp UHD (3840×2160)
• Up to 32GB of memory and 2TB of storage
• Thunderbolt 3
• NVIDIA Quadro graphics
• Availability: worldwide

Dell Precision 7520, mobile workstation – Available now!

World’s most powerful 15” mobile workstation

Key features

• Preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
• 7th generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors
• 15.6” FHD (1920×1080), UltraSharp FHD (1920×1080) both Touch and Non-Touch, UltraSharp UHD (3840×2160)
• Up to 64GB of memory and 3TB of storage
• Thunderbolt 3
• NVIDIA Quadro and Radeon Pro graphics options
• Availability: worldwide

Dell Precision 7720, mobile workstation – Available now!

World’s most powerful mobile workstation

Key features

• Preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
• 7th generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors
• 17.3” HD+ (1600×900), UltraSharp FHD (1920×1080) or UltraSharp UHD (3840×2160)
• Up to 64GB of memory and 4TB of storage
• Thunderbolt 3
• NVIDIA Quadro and Radeon Pro graphics options
• Availability: worldwide

Dell Precision 5720, All-in-One – Available now!

27” All-in-One workstation class machine

Key features

• Preloaded with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
• 7th generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors
• 27” UltraSharp UHD (3840×2160) both touch and non-touch
• Up to 64GB of memory and Up to (1) M.2 PCIe SSD and up to (2) 2.5” SATA
• Thunderbolt 3
• Radeon Pro graphics
• Availability: worldwide

How do I order a 5520, 7520, 7720 or 3520 today

In the case of the US, you can get to the Ubuntu-based version of  the Dell Precision 5520 Dell or Precision 3520, mobile workstation by going to their respective landing pages: Precision 5520, Precision 7520, Precision 7720, Precision 3520. Once there, click on the green “Customize & Buy” button on the right.  This will take you to the “Select Components” page where under “Operating System” you choose Ubuntu 16.04 and away you go!

With regards to availability for the rest of the line-up, watch this space!

Extra credit reading

• New Precision 5520 – Buy now
• New Precision 3520 – Buy now
• New Precision 7520 – Buy now
• New Precision 7720 – Buy now
• New Precision 5720 All-in-One – Buy now
• Ubuntu-based Developer and Engineering systems line-up – Dell.com

Project milestones

• The New XPS 13 Developer Edition Lands in Europe, United States and Canada — October 04, 2016
• Live in Europe: Next gen XPS 13 developer edition — March 31, 2016
• XPS 13 Developer Edition launches in US, Ubuntu-based Workstations available worldwide — March 3, 2016
• 4th gen Dell XPS 13 developer edition available! — April 9, 2015
• Welcome the Dell Precision M3800 mobile workstation, developer edition — January 27, 2015
• Sputnik 3 online in Europe just in time for Holidays — December 20, 2013 
• Introducing Sputnik 3 and its unofficial big brother — November 15, 2013
• Sputnik 2 is here: Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition goes 1080p and lands in Europe — February 18, 2013
• Sputnik has landed! Introducing the Dell XPS 13 Laptop, Developer Edition — November 29, 2012
• Project Sputnik to go from Pilot to Product — July 18, 2012
• Introducing Project Sputnik: Developer laptop — May 7, 2012

Pau for now…

Last week over 9,000 people attended the first Dell EMC world here in Austin.  As you would expect there were keynotes, breakout sessions and an expo floor.  On the floor itself, besides the various Dell EMC and partner booths, was an area set up for Dell EMC World Live.

Dell EMC World Live featured a full roster of  live interviews on a variety of topics with everyone from Michael Dell on down.  One of the two sessions I was fortunate enough to participate in was “Speeding Up Application Development for the Digital Enterprise.”  My co-conspirator was Trey Layton, CTO and SVP, Converged Platform and Solutions Division in Dell EMC.

Take a listen

Some of the ground Trey and I cover

• The challenges of moving to a cloud-native architecture and the need for software to become a core competency of today’s enterprises.
• The use of company names as verbs e.g. “don’t get Uber-ed”
• “Two pizza” teams vs. hundreds of developers
• The “Square of Despair” — Complexity, Procurement, Legacy and Security
• The need to abstract the complexity of the infrastructure away from developers so that they can focus on writing code
• Unleashing the power of the mind

Extra-credit reading

• Allianz Fireside Chat –  Dr. Andreas Nolte, CIO, Allianz – Cloud Foundry summit
• UK gov keynote – ‘Open’ as a Disruptor for Government – Liam Maxwell, UK National Technology Advisor – Cloud Foundry summit
• ComputerWorldUK – Allianz app deployment goes from ‘days to minutes’ with Pivotal Cloud Foundry PaaS and agile practices –

Pau for now…

Today, on the 59th anniversary of the launch of the Sputnik satellite, the 6th generation XPS 13 developer edition makes its debut in both the US, Canada and Europe.  This Kaby Lake-based system comes with Ubuntu 16.04LTS preloaded and features the InfinityEdge display.

A Quick Refresher

As you may remember, these systems began life four years ago as Project Sputnik, an open-ended exploratory project.  From the very begining, the effort was designed to solicit and incorporate input from the developer community as to what they wanted in a laptop.

Courtesy of nasaimages

With the community’s input, Project Sputnik became an official product and continues to evolve.  Recently, as the ultimate honor, Linus Torvalds selected the XPS 13 developer edition as his mobile laptop.

Additionally, as a happy by product of the program, an initial investment of $40,000 from an internal innovation fund has turned into in tens of millions of dollars in revenue, helping to keep the effort humming along 🙂

Thanks everyone for all your support!!

Specifications — Next gen XPS 13 developer edition

Here is what the 6th generation developer edition (9360) features:

• 7th generation Intel® Core™Processors
• Ubuntu 16.04 LTS preloaded.  Augmented with the necessary hardware drivers (drivers are upstreamed to allow a variety of distros to work)
• Killer Wireless cards*
• InfinityEdge™ display, FHD (1920×1080) and QHD+ (3200×1800) versions available

*Killer cards are a branding of Qualcomm Atheros.  Their Linux drivers are open source and the firmware is now upstream.

US Configurations

As was the case last time, the US is offering four configs.  This time around we are offering the following (including one in Rose Gold):

• i5/8GB/128GB, FHD – $949.99
• i5/8GB/256GB, FHD – $1,349.99
• i7/8GB/256GB, QHD+ (touch) – Rose Gold – $1,599.99
• i7/16GB/512GB, QHD+ (touch) – $1,799.99

You’ll find the XPS 13 developer edition collocated with Windows version on the following page.  The easiest way to see the Ubuntu line up is to select “Ubuntu” in the “Operating System” pull-down menu on the far left.

Canada

• French
• English

European Configurations

The following configurations are available both online and offline in Europe.  All of three of the XPS 13 developer edition configurations come with the Killer Wireless card and international keyboards can be selected.

• i5/8GB/256GB, FHD
• i7/8GB/256GB, QHD+ (touch)
• i7/16GB/512GB, QHD+ (touch)

Where to order your system

As is the case in the United States, both versions of the XPS 13, Ubuntu and Windows, are featured on the same product page. Click on the country name below and it will take you to the XPS 13 landing page.  Once on the page, you can get to the Ubuntu-based configs by scrolling right to the last three systems.

• United Kingdom
• Ireland 
• Germany
• Austria
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Switzerland (German)
• Switzerland (French)
• The Netherlands
• Belgium (Dutch)
• Belgium (French)
• Denmark
• Norway
• Sweden

There is a second group of nations where the developer edition is available by contacting your local Dell representative.

Extra credit reading

• Linus Torvalds picks Dell XPS 13 as his next laptop – CIO
• 2016/03/31 https://barton808.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/live-in-europe-next-gen-xps-13-developer-edition/
• 2016/03/10 http://bartongeorge.net/2016/03/10/xps-13-developer-edition-launches-in-us-ubuntu-based-workstations-available-worldwide/
• 2015/04/09 http://bartongeorge.net/2015/04/09/4th-gen-dell-xps-13-developer-edition-available/
• 2015/01/27 http://bartongeorge.net/2015/01/27/welcome-the-dell-precision-m3800-mobile-workstation-developer-edition/
• 2013/12/20 https://bartongeorge.io/2013/12/20/sputnik-3-online-in-europe-just-in-time-for-holidays/
• 2013/11/15 https://bartongeorge.io/2013/11/15/introducing-sputnik-3-and-its-unofficial-big-brother/
• 2013/02/18 http://bartongeorge.net/2013/02/18/spuntik-2-is-here-xps-13-developer-edition-goes-1080p-and-launches-in-emea/
• 2012/11/29 http://bartongeorge.net/2012/11/29/sputnik-has-landed-introducing-the-dell-xps-13-laptop-developer-edition/
• 2012/07/18 http://bartongeorge.net/2012/07/18/project-sputnik-to-go-from-pilot-to-product/
• 2012/05/07 http://bartongeorge.net/2012/05/07/introducing-project-sputnik-developer-laptop/