Dell Precision 5760 review

Meet the workaholic’s dream. The Dell Precision 5760 is priced at $2,059 to start, with our review unit costing $3,941, is a sleek, sexy workstation that offers power and endurance in a thin, portable package. But the Precision’s just getting started. 

It has a massive 17-inch bright, colorful WLED 4K touch display that renders smooth eye-catching images and video. And you’ve got some solidly potent specs, including an11th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, an Nvidia RTX A3000 GPU, and a 2TB SSD. Plus, you get a heaping helping of security features. 

The Dell Precision 5760 is packed full of wins and earned its way onto our best 4K laptops and best workstations page. beneath its luxurious aluminum chassis that is flawless. Yet, there is so much more, so let’s take this powerful workstation on an adventure. 

Dell Precision 5760 pricing and configurations

The Dell Precision 5760 I reviewed costs $3,941 and comes with an 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11850H processor, an Nvidia Geforce RTX A3000 GPU with 6GB of VRAM, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a 17-inch WLED (3840 x 2400) 4K multi-touch display. 

Dell’s entry-level version of the Dell Precision 5760 costs $2,059 and arrives with an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11800H CPU, Intel UMA GFX GPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256B NVMe SSD, and a 17-inch WLED FHD (1920 x 1200) anti-glare display rated at 500 nits of brightness.

Dell Precision 5760 design

Dell’s all-aluminum powder coated silver chassis lends it elegant, subtle styling, with smooth lines that feel like they were chiseled out by ancient expert hands that cared about precision and detail. The lid is emblazoned with a chromed-out Dell logo and while it’s easy to classify it as a mere MacBook clone, it has its own unique presence.

Every aspect of the Precision 5760 has a tactility you have to experience personally. Opening the system reveals the luxuriously massive, textured black deck with speaker grilles located on the sides of the backlit keyboard. I swear when I brushed over them with my fingertips, I heard Barry White sing, “I’m never gonna give you up.” The desire to interact with it grew as my eye moved upward and was greeted by the voluminous 17-inch display that whispered promises of immersion as I gazed upon the expansive, bezel-less touch display.

Now let’s talk numbers; the Precision 5760 comes in at 14.7  x 9.7 x 0.4 inches and weighs 5.5 pounds.  The 5760’s weight twin is the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR (15.6 x 10.6 x 0.9 inches), followed by the MSI Creator Z16 (14.1 x 10.1 x 0.6 inches) which weighs 4.9 pounds. , with the smallest member of our comparison group being the HP ZBook Studio G8 (13.9 x 9.2 x 0.7 inches)  which comes in at 3.3 pounds. However, I will point out that while the Precision 5760 may be heavy; it was the thinnest workstation of the bunch. 

Dell Precision 5760 security

The Dell Precision 5760 is secured by the fingerprint reader embedded in the power button and Windows Hello-compatible webcam. Added levels of security are provided by the embedded TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) chip. Other security features include the chassis’ wedge-shaped security lock and Dell’s Client Command Suite features which can remotely automate and custom configure BIOS settings, like BIOS password and TPM settings.

Dell Precision 5760 ports

Dell made an interesting port decision by choosing to use four USB-Type C ports, eschewing a host of legacy ports including USB Type-A and HDMI.  

On the left, you’ll find 2 USB-Type C ports and the wedge lock.

On the right are an SD card reader, two USB-Type C ports, and the combo audio jack. Power delivery for charging is via one of the USB-Type C ports.

Dell Precision 5760 display

Absolutely stunning are the words that come to mind when gazing at the Precision 5760’s 17-inch, 3840 x 2400 display. Yes, it’s bright, sharp, and colorful. And thanks to its 16:10 aspect ratio and 94% display to body ratio, the experience is supremely immersive. These aren’t mere platitudes, I’m simply stating a fact, and whether I was playing Borderlands 2, editing video, or watching the live-action Cowboy Bebop on Netflix in all its colorful splendor, the 5760 rendered everything with crisp clarity and a rich tapestry of colors.

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During my Cowboy Bebop multiple-episode binge, the Precision accurately rendered the wide range of hair colors and hues of skin. Actor John Cho’s blue suit with its goldenrod-colored, button-down shirt popped as he donned the Spike Spiegel persona. In the episode “Sad Clown A-Go-Go,” Spike is set on fire during a fight with the Clown assassin and the orange-red flames consuming the arm of Spike’s suit it looks fantastic.

After losing myself in the adventures of our space cowboy bounty hunters, I was motivated to play some Borderlands 2, and once again, the Precision 5760’s display did not let me down. The 17-inch, 16:10 ratio display brightly rendered the animation-styled graphics of BL2, with its rich color palette as evidenced when I used my sniper rifle to eliminate my target, and the blood splatter rendered in a deep rich comic book red with black highlights.

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We measured the Precision 5760’s display with a colorimeter, and it covered an impressive 136.9% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which blew past the premium laptop average of 91.9%. It came in a solid second to the HP ZBook Studio G8, which scored a ludicrous 142.5%, followed by the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR 122.4% and the MSI Z16’s 114.1%.

The Dell scored an average brightness of 463 nits, which exceeds the workstation laptop average of 458 nits. The Gigabyte Aero was our shining star at 468 nits, with the ZBook tallying 464 nits. The  MSI Z16 registered a solid 401 nits.

Dell Precision 5760 keyboard and touchpad

The massive textured deck on the Precision 5760 is comfortable and inviting as you’re met with the large, backlit Chiclet-style keys that provide excellent travel. 

The Dell’s keyboard is great for a gentle giant like myself cursed with meaty monster Frakenhands scarred from a life of key pounding. During the 10FastFingers.com test, my walnut crushers tallied 95 words per minute with a satisfying 94% accuracy, which is above my normal 80-to-85 wpm with 90% accuracy. 

The 5760’s touchpad measures 3.5 x 5.9 inches and is large enough to land a Quinjet and is bouncy with ample clickiness. The black touchpad is highly responsive while using Windows 10 gestures, including two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom.

Dell Precision 5760 audio

The Dell Precision 5760’s audio performance is nicely balanced, so when I listened to DJ Shinski’s Hip-Hop and R&B Old School afternoon, it was delightful as he mixed parts of Dr. Dre’s “Dre Day” with Collio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise.” I could clearly hear the 5760’s speakers across my tiny studio and although it’s not a bass-thumping set of speakers, the lows of the bass were distinguishable between the mid and high-range tones, which is very important. I was feeling like some Beastie Boys so I threw on “So What’Cha Want” and again, the Precision didn’t disappoint and reproduced clear full-range audio that was highly enjoyable. 

As I mentioned above, I watched several episodes of Cowboy Bebop and the audio was reproduced with excellent depth and vocals were crystal clear. I heard the rumble of the Bebop’s thrusters as it flew by on the screen. Explosions and gunshots also had a nice discernable range of highs, mids, and low tones. 

Dell created an outstanding audio experience on the Precision 5760. Thanks to the Dell Optimizer software, the microphone array performed exceptionally well during video calls as you can adjust the mics sensitivity and noise-canceling via the app. However,  I suggest that all creators who take editing their audio seriously purchase a good USB mic, computer speakers, or a pair of wireless headphones for the best sound quality.

Dell Precision 5760 performance

With an Intel Core i7-11850H CPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD,  the Precision 5760 powered through its chores. I opened 50 Google Chrome tabs, five YouTube videos, and a Netflix animal documentary. I swear the 5760 snickered at my pathetic attempt to ruin its day. I even opened up Davinci Resolve to render a two-minute 4K video, and I either heard the fans blare for a second, or the Precision was sighing and rolling its webcam eye at me. 

During the Geekbench 5.4 overall performance test, the Precision 5760 scored 8,601, which blew away the 7,718 workstation laptop average. The Gigabyte Aero owned this category with a 9,484(Intel Core i9-11980HK CPU). The ZBook Studio G8 was next, hitting 9,035 (Intel Core i9-11950H CPU), while the Creator Z16 lagged behind the group with a 7,335 (Intel Core i9-11900H CPU). 

The Precision transcoded a 4K video to 1080p on our HandBrake test in just 6 minutes and 42 seconds. It easily surpassed the 9:26 average and wasn’t too far behind our leaders, the Gigabyte Aero 17 (5:59) and the HP ZBook Studio G8 (6:33). The MSI Creator Z16 also came in with a very respectable 7:42, but the Precision proved more than capable overall. 

The Precision 5760’s 2TB SSD performed well on our file-transfer test, duplicating a 25GB multimedia file in 22 seconds at a rate of 1,225 megabytes per second, which surpassed the 0:31 category average. The Gigabyte Aero’s 1TB SSD averaged 1,730 MBps, while the Creator Z16’s 2TB SSD managed 1,635 MBps, surpassing the Precision.  However, the Precision overtook the Zbook Studio G8’s 2TB SSD as it scored 1,176 MBps.

Dell Precision 5760 graphics

The Dell Precision 5760’s Nvidia RTX A3000 GPU with 6GB of VRAM is plenty powerful. It never stumbled or suffered any poor performance while editing videos with Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve. I shot photos tethered to it using Capture One, and the lag between shots was imperceptible, as images transferred quickly to the display. 

With an Nvidia RTX GPU and 32GB of RAM, I slaughtered enemies in Borderlands 2; everything ran smoothly as I sniped my enemies from a safe distance and watched the colorful reds go from bright little explosions to dark red blood splatters.

Using Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (1080p) benchmark, the 5760 scored 93 frames per second on  Medium, 1080p settings and 79 fps on Medium, 4K settings. The Precision easily surpassed the 73-fps, 1080p workstation average and the 66-fps, 4K workstation average.

The Precision toppled the HP ZBook’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, as it scored 79-fps at 1080p and 64 fps at 4K. However, the MSI Creator Z16’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU  95.5 fps at 1080p, sliding past the Precision. The Gigabyte Aero’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 was tested using Borderlands 3 and respectfully scored 77.3 fps in 1080p and 30.3 fps in 4K. 

During our synthetic 3DMark Fire Strike test, our Precision 5760 scored 15,521, which blazed past the 11,594 category average. The Aero owned this category, scoring 21,595, followed by the Studio G8’s 16,629. The MSI Z16 did well, with a score of 15,528, closing out this benchmark nicely.

Dell Precision 5760 battery life

Mobile workstations are power-hungry savages, and usually, you willingly sacrifice battery life for power, but not so with the Dell Precision 5760.

During the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Dell Precision 5760 lasted 8 hours and 10 minutes, just shy of the 8:28 workstation laptop average. You’re going to get a full 8-hour day out of the 5760, which makes it not only a powerhouse but a long-lasting powerhouse at that.

The MSI Creator Z16 placed second in our battery test, lasting 6:27, while the HP ZBook lasted 4:46 minutes, only leading the Gigabyte Aero’s 4:34 minutes by 12 minutes.

Dell Precision 5760 webcam

Dell’s 720p HD webcam is typical as far as laptops go. It’s not awful, but it’s not great, either. The 720p HD camera produced color-accurate images of me, with spot-on skin tones in good lighting. Like most 720p HD cams, there is some visual distortion and a lack of sharpness in low-light situations. If you need a better-performing shooter, you should check out our best webcams page.

Dell Precision 5760 heat

No matter what I put our test unit through, it rarely got warm, nor did the fans get loud. Dell’s thermals are way smarter than I will ever be, and I am happy about that. It uses dual output fans and a vapor chamber that leads to hidden exhaust venting through the hinge to help keep things icy.

During our heat test, which involves playing a 15-minute fullscreen, 1080p video, the underside measured 94.1 degrees Fahrenheit, below our 95-degree comfort threshold. The touchpad was a chilly 79.2 degrees, with the temperature between the G and H keys reaching 93 degrees during testing. Not even when I was rendering videos or playing a game did the Dell Precision 5760 get overly hot. Kudos to Dell on this cool customer.

Dell Precision 5760 software and warranty

What is this bloatware you speak of? Outside of some useful software to enhance your experience and protect your system, the Precision 5760 comes with the standard Windows 10 bloatware, including Netflix, Xbox Game Bar, and Skype. 

The Dell Optimizer software is really useful as it helps you fine-tune your user experience, adjust your audio, adjust your Express charging settings, and offer Express Response to launch your preferred applications faster. I recommend you explore the Optimizer app and tweak your system. 

The Dell Precision 5760 comes with a one-year limited warranty. See how Dell fared in our annual special reports, including Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands.

Bottom line

Do people still use the word “smitten” anymore? I have a huge crush on the Dell Precision 5760 workstation, and it grows the more I use it. Its 17-inch display is captivating, endlessly immersive, and just a joy to work on. The 5760 is sleek and doesn’t feel at all like it weighs 5.5 pounds. From its 0.34 inches thick, tactile deck to its massive clicky keyboard and touchpad and 8-plus hours of battery life, I could offer endless platitudes for the Precision, but I digress. 

I will add that within its test group it is the most affordable workstation, starting at just $2,059, and should you be in the market for a workstation, the Dell Precision 5760 is an excellent option.