Dell Precision 7740 review

A heavy 17-inch workstation with real GPU power

The Dell Precision 7740 (2019) is a full-fat mobile workstation: Intel Xeon E-2276M, NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000, and 64 GB of RAM in a 17-inch chassis that weighs 3.1 kg. At about $398 it sits below the $471 median for workstation-class laptops, which makes it a serious value proposition — provided the buyer actually needs the ISV-certified GPU and accepts the weight. This is a desktop replacement, not a portable machine.

Where it shines: ISV-certified graphics

The Quadro RTX 3000 posts a graphics score well above the workstation category median — a high-tier result that confirms this is a real professional-grade GPU, not a repurposed consumer card. Combined with the Xeon E-2276M (a 6-core/12-thread part) and 64 GB of RAM, the Precision 7740 is built for CAD, 3D modeling, GPU compute and ISV-certified professional applications. The capability fit confirms the reach: recommended settings on Overwatch, Grand Theft Auto V and Rainbow Six Siege, plus comfortable Adobe Photoshop and Visual Studio Code.

The trade-off: weight and portability

The cost of the workstation hardware is weight. At 3.1 kg the Precision 7740 is firmly in desktop-replacement territory, and the mobility index sits well below the category median. This is a machine that lives on a desk — moving it between rooms is feasible, but commuting with it is not realistic. Buyers who need to carry their workstation should look at the Precision 3560 instead.

Price trajectory

From an original $2,200 MSRP, the Precision 7740 has depreciated to about $398 today — an annual rate near 11.3%, reflecting the premium-tier original price. Projected forward, another two years bring it to roughly $313, a 21.3% drop. The residual curve is steeper than consumer models but the absolute capability per dollar is excellent.

How it compares

The HP ZBook Power G7 ($371) is the direct competitor — similar workstation hardware for slightly less money, and worth a close look. The Dell Precision 3560 ($345) is the smaller, lighter alternative within Dell's own lineup: less GPU but much more portable. Buyers choosing the 7740 should be doing so specifically for the 17-inch workstation form factor.

Bottom line

The Precision 7740 is worth the asking price for buyers who need a serious ISV-certified workstation and don't care about portability. The Quadro RTX 3000, Xeon CPU and 64 GB of RAM are genuine professional-grade hardware at a budget-tier price. The 3.1 kg weight is the trade-off — this is a desk-bound machine, and anyone who needs to travel with their laptop should pick the Precision 3560 or the ZBook Power G7 instead.