Dell Precision 5680 review: Ada Lovelace dominates on workstations

The Precision 5680 is the first 16-inch model in the Precision 5000 series to complement the existing 14-inch Precision 5470 , 15-inch Precision 5560 , and 17-inch Precision 5750 . It’s a high-end mobile workstation that’s thinner and lighter than a Precision 7000 model albeit with fewer integrated auxiliary features. Our test unit is a higher-end configuration with the 13th gen Raptor Lake-H Core i9-13900H CPU, 75 W Nvidia RTX 5000 GPU, and 2400p OLED touchscreen for approximately $6500 USD.

Lesser SKUs are available with the Core i5-13600H, no discrete GPU, and 1200p IPS display for a lower starting price of about $2490. This also happens to be one of the first workstations to ship with the RTX 5000 Ada Lovelace mobile GPU which shouldn’t be confused with the Turing-based Quadro RTX 5000 or Ampere-based RTX A5000 . Competitors in this space include other 16-inch workstations like the HP ZBook Fury 16 G9 , Lenovo ThinkPad P16 G1 , MSI CreatorPro Z16P , or the Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 series .

More Dell reviews: The inspiration for the Precision 5680 design is obvious as it is essentially the 16-inch version of the 15-inch XPS 15 and 17-inch XPS 17 . If you’ve had experience with an XPS model before, then the Precision 5680 should feel instantly familiar. It seemingly precedes a hypothetical “XPS 16” and we wouldn’t be surprised to see such a model in the near future with a chassis based on the Precision 5680.

Build quality compares favorably against alternatives like the ZBook Fury 16 G9 or CreatorPro Z16P which also consist mostly of metal alloys for strong first impressions. At just 2. 3 kg, the Precision 5680 is one of the lightest 16-inch workstations available by decent margins.

The CreatorPro Z16P and HP ZBook Fury 16 G9 , for example, are about 100 g and 300 g heavier, respectively, while also being larger in footprint than our Dell as well. The Precision 5680 is surprisingly portable considering its performance. Port options are forward-thinking for better or worse.

It’s better in the sense that each port is highly versatile when it comes to adapters and peripherals, but it’s also worse in the sense that there are no staple ports such as full-size USB or RJ-45. Alternatives like the ThinkPad P1 G4 or ExpertBook B6 Flip each offer a wider variety of ports than our Dell. Be prepared to rely on adapters or docking stations when using the Precision 5680 as a result.

XPS and Precision models have some of the fastest integrated SD card readers and this continues to hold true for our Precision 5680. Read rates are over 2x faster than on the ZBook Fury 16 G9 or ThinkPad P16 G1 and so it would take just 5 to 6 seconds to transfer 1 GB of data from our UHS-II test card to desktop. An Intel AX211 comes standard for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.

3 connectivity. Transfer rates would be steady when paired to our Asus AXE11000 6GHz network. WAN options are unfortunately not supported unlike on the competing ZBook Fury 16 G9.

Dell has upped the webcam from 1 MP on the Precision 5550 to 2 MP on our Precision 5680. Even so, there is annoyingly still no integrated privacy shutter. The bottom panel is slightly more difficult to remove than expected since the edges of the metal plate are both sharp and tightly latched much like on the XPS 15 or XPS 17.

A Torx screw and flat edge are recommended when servicing the system. Both the WLAN and RAM modules are soldered unlike on most other workstations of this screen size. Both the highly integrated modules and limited port options are likely drawbacks to the otherwise sleek design and relatively low weight.

The retail box includes a small USB-C to USB-A adapter to make up for the fact that there are no full-size USB ports on the system. A base three-year limited manufacturer warranty with on-site repair applies if purchased in the US. The keyboard may appear identical to the keyboards on the XPS 15 or Precision 5550 at first glance, but there are a couple of important changes.

Firstly, the top row of function keys are now larger as some XPS 15 owners have been complaining about them being too narrow. And secondly, a few of the keys along the edges are now slightly shorter including the Backspace, Enter, Shift, Tab, Ctrl, and Shift keys. The typing experience otherwise remains the same for a familiar XPS feel.

The clickpad is actually smaller than the clickpad on the 15-inch Precision 5550 (13. 7 x 8. 5 cm vs.

15. 1 x 9 cm) despite our larger screen size. Even so, it still feels spacious with smooth and reliable gliding properties much like on an XPS 15.

Unfortunately, feedback when clicking on the haptic clickpad is almost nonexistent. In fact, there is almost no travel or audible feedback at all. A mouse is highly recommend for more accurate drag-and-drop actions.

Dell employs the same Samsung 160YV03 OLED panel for both its 16-inch Precision 5680 and 16-inch Precision 7670 . Thus, both models offer the same visual experience down to their similar response times, full DCI-P3 colors, and even brightness levels as shown by the comparison table below. Hopefully we can see some higher refresh rate options in the near future.

The display is decently calibrated out of the box with average deltaE values between 3 and 4. Our calibrated ICM profile is available to download above for free. Flickering is present on all brightness levels similar to smartphones and other laptops equipped with OLED panels.

The frequency would be stable at 239 Hz from 0 to 54 percent brightness and 60 Hz from 55 to 100 percent brightness. Outdoor visibility is average at best as the 350-nit glossy OLED touchscreen isn’t nearly as bright as the IPS displays on the ZBook Fury 16 G9 or ThinkPad P16 G1 which can approach 500 to 600 nits. We set our unit to Ultra Performance mode via the Dell Optimizer software prior to running the benchmarks below.

The Optimizer power profiles can conveniently sync with the Windows power profiles unlike the specialized power profiles on most other makers. Advanced Optimus or Optimus 2. 0 is not supported.

However, new to Ada Lovelace workstation GPUs is ECC VRAM mode which can be toggled on or off via the Nvidia Control Panel. A reboot is required when toggling this feature. The 13th gen Core i9-13900H is disappointing in the sense that it isn’t a noticeable leap forward over last year’s 12th gen Core i9-12900H .

Performance, for example, would be essentially identical to the Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 running on the older Core i9-12900H save for just a minor 5 to 10 percent boost in single-threaded operations. It’s too bad that the Precision 5680 doesn’t offer a Core i9-13900HX option which would have provided a much more significant boost in performance over any Alder Lake-H mobile processor. Note that there are also no Xeon or W-class processor options meaning no support for ECC RAM on the Precision 5680 series.

Downgrading to the Core i7-13700H from our i9-13900H is expected to reduce multi-thread performance by about 20 percent based on our time with the Schenker Vision 16 Pro . PCMark scores are higher than on most other workstations by relatively wide margins including even some powerhouses like the HP ZBook Fury 16 G9 or Precision 7670 Performance . This can be attributed to our RAID 0 SSD configuration and RTX 5000 GPU whereas most other workstations are running on single SSDs and older generation GPUs.

LatencyMon reveals slight DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs of our homepage similar to what we observed on the Precision 7670. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise perfect with no dropped frames recorded. Our test unit ships with the same SK hynix PC801 PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSDs in RAID 0 configuration as found on the Precision 7670 series.

While PCIe5 support like in certain gaming laptops would have been nice to see, it’s not an important feature at the moment given how rare PCIe5 SSDs still are. Dell offers self-encrypting SSD options for additional security. Each M.

2 SSD slot comes with a copper heat spreader as shown below to aid in cooling. Each drive in our unit would have no issues maintaining high transfer rates of ~5400 MB/s over long periods to show no major throttling issues. The new RTX 5000 offers notable performance advantages over last year’s RTX A5000 and A5500 especially in DX12 applications and Blender CUDA acceleration.

Time Spy, for example, would score 30 to 40 percent higher on our Precision than on the MSI WE76 or Lenovo ThinkPad P16 G1 each running on older Ampere GPUs. The advantages extend into most Specviewperf subtests as well. Enabling ECC VRAM mode does not appear to impact memory clock rates, but the maximum available VRAM would decrease from 16384 MB to 15360 MB according to GPU-Z.

Note that there is no major impact to GPU performance when moving from Performance mode to Balanced mode as shown by the Fire Strike results below. Instead, CPU performance would take a noticeable hit. While not a gaming laptop, the Precision 5680 is still wholly capable of playing the latest demanding titles with no compatibility issues during testing.

Overall gaming performance lies in between the mobile GeForce RTX 4060 and mobile RTX 4070 as found on dedicated gaming laptops like the HP Omen Transcend 16 . Noise levels are most similar to the Precision 5550 even though our Precision 5680 carries a significantly faster GPU. The fans tend to hover in the mid-to-high 20 dB(A) range when running undemanding loads like web browsers while more demanding loads would induce a steady noise of 51 dB(A).

Interestingly, the maximum fan noise level on Balanced mode is the same as on Performance mode. Surface temperatures when idling are warmer than expected since the fans tend to idle until needed. Hot spots can be as warm as 37 C and 32 C on the top and bottom sides, respectively, compared to under 30 C on the ExpertBook B6 Flip .

When running more demanding loads, the keyboard center can reach over 50 C while the bottom surface would barely warm up at all due in part to the Gore insulators. Fingers and palms only touch the keyboard center infrequently and so the warm hot spots generally do not impact comfort. When running Prime95 stress, the CPU would boost to 3.

9 GHz, 117 W, and 100 C lasting for only about 15 seconds. Thereafter, Turbo Boost potential would drop and then stabilize at around 2. 8 GHz and 56 W for a more reasonable core temperature of 75 C.

Maximum Turbo Boost is therefore not sustainable on the Precision 5680 even when set to Performance mode. Running on Balanced mode instead of Performance mode does not negatively impact GPU performance as mentioned above. GPU clock, temperature, and power draw when running Witcher 3 on Performance mode would stabilize at 1560 MHz, 72 C, and 63 W, respectively, compared to 1665 MHz, 65 C, and 69 W when on Balanced mode.

The biggest difference between Balanced and Performance modes appears to be CPU temperature which can be as warm as 100+ C on Performance mode for higher Turbo Boost potential compared to just ~80 C on Balanced mode. Note that we’re only able to reach a maximum GPU board power draw of 75 W even though the target TGP is 95 W according to Nvidia Control Panel. Performance-per-watt is significantly ahead of most other workstations since our Precision is using a newer generation Ada Lovelace GPU.

Running Witcher 3 , for example, would consume just 134 W on our system compared to 159 W and 189 W on the Precision 7670 Performance and HP ZBook Fury 16 G9, respectively, even though our RTX 5000 GPU would outperform their RTX A5500 GPUs as noted above. The relatively small (~13. 5 x 6.

5 x 2. 2 cm) 165 W USB-C AC adapter deserves a mention as well for its high power output. Most existing USB-C adapters are limited to just 100 W to 140 W at most which makes our 165 W adapter one of the most versatile.

This new adapter directly solves the battery charging issues we experienced on the older Precision 7000 model which shipped with a less capable 130 W USB-C adapter. Battery life is excellent considering the high performance and demanding 4K OLED panel. We’re able to record almost 10 hours of real-world WLAN browsing when on the Balanced profile with the iGPU active compared to almost half that on alternatives like the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 G1 or MSI CreatorPro Z16P .

Charging from empty to full capacity takes about 2 hours with the included 165 W AC adapter. Our third-party 65 W USB-C adapter can also recharge the system albeit at a slower rate. The Precision 5680 is lowkey one of the leanest and fastest mobile workstations in Dell’s entire lineup.

The portable design, 165 W USB-C adapter, excellent 4K OLED display, and powerful RTX 5000 GPU all stand out as the strongest features of the model. The latter in particular is responsible for much of the performance boosts and battery life advantages over most other workstations due to its Ada Lovelace architecture and very high performance-per-watt. The Precision 5680 offers some of the highest performance-per-watt in the growing thin-and-light workstation category.

Hardcore workstation users may still prefer larger and thicker models like the HP ZBook Fury 16 or Precision 7670 as the slim Precision 5680 design foregoes some key features like expandable RAM, WAN, ECC RAM, and wider port options. Its terrible clickpad isn’t nearly as accurate as the touchpads on the HP or Lenovo ThinkPad P16 which have actual mouse buttons for better control. Dell is now shipping the Precision 5680 starting at $2490 USD up to over $6500 as reviewed.

.