DELL Precision 5690 Mobile Workstation (2024)

The DELL Precision 5690 Mobile Workstation (2024) is Dell's 16-inch mobile workstation, built for engineers, architects, developers and graphics professionals who need to run specialized software reliably, both at the office and out on job sites. It runs on Intel Core Ultra H-series processors with vPro, offers professional NVIDIA RTX Ada graphics depending on the configuration, and keeps the minimalist aluminum design of the Precision 5000 line. This article walks through the design, display, performance, connectivity, battery and the points you should weigh before you buy.

Dell Precision 5690 Design: Minimalist With a Sturdy Aluminum Chassis

The Dell Precision 5690 uses a gray aluminum alloy chassis with clean beveled edges and a smooth finish that fits right into a business environment. The frame is rigid, with little flex when you hold it in one hand or open the lid, giving it the feel of a workstation made for years of daily use.

It weighs 2.01kg and measures 22.17mm thick, 353.68mm wide and 240.33mm deep. For a 16-inch workstation with discrete graphics, that is still compact enough to slip into a 16-inch backpack, which suits people who move between the office, job sites and client meetings. If you are looking for a workstation-class Dell laptop for long-term technical work, the Precision 5690 is worth considering.

Dell Precision 16 5690 16-Inch Display With FHD+ or OLED UHD+ Options

The Dell Precision 16 5690 comes with a choice of two 16-inch, 16:10 displays, both covering 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and featuring Low Blue Light mode to reduce blue light. The IPS FHD+ (1920 x 1200) panel is non-touch with 500 nits of brightness, a good fit for office work and sitting near a window. The OLED UHD+ (3840 x 2400) panel is a touchscreen with 400 nits of brightness, delivering deep blacks and sharp detail for photo editing and video editing.

The 16:10 aspect ratio adds vertical space, so you can see more toolbars in AutoCAD or Revit, or more timeline tracks in Premiere Pro, than on a 16:9 screen. Both display panels have a 60Hz refresh rate, which is fine for work but not meant for fast-paced gaming. The unit currently on sale uses the bright, power-efficient FHD+ display; if you do color grading, photo editing or need fine detail for drawings, the OLED UHD+ version is the better investment.

Precision 5690 Performance With Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, RTX 2000 Ada Graphics and LPDDR5x RAM

The unit on sale at Hung Phat Laptop uses the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H vPro processor with 16 cores, 22 threads, 24MB of cache and a max clock of 5.1GHz. The Dell Precision 5690 line also offers the Core Ultra 5 135H with 14 cores and 18 threads, plus the Core Ultra 7 155H and Core Ultra 7 165H with 16 cores and 22 threads, all with vPro so IT departments can manage the machines across the business.

Source: average scores from Notebookcheck. Results on an actual unit may vary depending on the power mode and ambient temperature.

In real-world use, the Core Ultra 9 185H scores about 21% higher than the Core Ultra 7 155H and about 53% higher than the Core Ultra 5 135H in Cinebench R23 multi-core. That gap noticeably cuts the time needed to render, compile code or process large BIM models. The Core Ultra 7 versions are enough for programming, 2D CAD and Full HD video editing, while the Core Ultra 5 version suits people who mainly handle heavy office work and view drawings.
The unit on sale comes with the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada 8GB GDDR6 graphics card. The Precision 5690 line also offers the RTX 1000 Ada 6GB, RTX 3500 Ada 12GB, RTX 4000 Ada 12GB and RTX 5000 Ada 16GB, and some markets also get a GeForce RTX 4090 16GB version, along with the chip's integrated Intel Arc graphics for light tasks.

Source: average scores from Notebookcheck. RTX cards in slim workstations typically run at lower power levels than in gaming laptops, so actual scores may differ from the table. No data is available yet for the RTX 1000 Ada.

The RTX 2000 Ada scores about 2.5 times higher than the integrated Arc graphics in Time Spy, enough for SolidWorks, Revit, SketchUp, moderate Blender work and 4K video editing. The RTX 3500 Ada 12GB scores about 1.6 times higher than the RTX 2000 Ada in Time Spy, a sensible step up for people who do 3D work regularly. If you regularly work on large 3D scenes, simulations or AI models that need a lot of graphics memory, the RTX 5000 Ada 16GB version scores about 1.8 times higher than the RTX 2000 Ada in Time Spy.
The DELL Precision 5690 (2024) uses LPDDR5x 7467MHz RAM with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options, and the unit on sale has 64GB, enough to run several heavy applications and virtual machines side by side. The LPDDR5x RAM is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be upgraded later, so you should pick the right capacity from the start. SSD options are PCIe Gen4 M.2 drives in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB; the unit on sale has a 2TB SSD, and the M.2 drive can still be swapped for a larger one when needed.

Keyboard, Spacious Touchpad, 8W Speakers and FHD IR Webcam on the Dell Precision 5690

The keyboard on the Dell Precision 5690 has well-balanced key spacing and clear key travel, so long sessions of coding or writing documents do not tire your hands. The large touchpad sits in the middle of the palm rest and supports multi-touch for fast scrolling, zooming and window switching when you are not using an external mouse.

The stereo speaker system uses four 2W speakers for 8W in total, with Waves MaxxAudio 13, clear enough for online meetings and watching videos. The FHD webcam with IR and HDR supports Windows Hello facial sign-in, along with a Clover Falls+ presence detection sensor and an ambient light sensor. The presence sensor lets the laptop detect when you step away from your desk, which suits people working with project data that needs to stay confidential.

Dell Precision 5690 Ports and Battery: 2 Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, 100Wh Battery

The Dell Precision 5690 has 2 Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps) ports with Power Delivery charging, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with DisplayPort Alt Mode, 1 HDMI 2.1 port, an audio jack and an SD card slot (optional). HDMI 2.1 lets you plug straight into an external monitor or a meeting-room projector without an adapter.

There is no USB-A port, so you will need a USB-C adapter or a Thunderbolt dock to connect a mouse, older USB drives or USB software license dongles. Wireless connectivity comes from an Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 2x2 card and Bluetooth 5.4, stable when syncing large project files over the network.

The 100Wh Lithium-Ion battery is among the larger capacities found in laptops, helping the machine work longer on job sites or at meetings away from the office. Actual runtime depends heavily on whether the RTX card is active; when working away from an outlet, switching to a power-saving mode and lowering screen brightness will help the battery last longer.

DELL Precision 5690 Mobile Workstation (2024) Overview and Review

The DELL Precision 5690 Mobile Workstation (2024) is a 16-inch workstation that balances a compact body, a DCI-P3 color-accurate display, Core Ultra H-series processors and professional RTX Ada graphics. It suits engineers, architects, 3D artists, video editors and developers who need a dependable machine to work on all day.

The main thing to weigh is a price higher than mainstream laptops, but you can choose a CPU and GPU configuration that matches your work to keep costs in check. The laptop lacks a USB-A port, which a small USB-C adapter easily solves. The RAM is soldered, so choose 32GB or 64GB from the start if you do 3D work, and the 60Hz display is not meant for fast-paced gaming. You can also browse other models in the Dell Precision 16 category.

Where to Buy a Genuine DELL Precision 5690 (2024) at a Great Price?

Do you work in CAD, BIM, 3D or programming? The Hung Phat Laptop team will ask about the software you use. From there, we will advise whether to choose Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9, and RTX 2000 Ada or RTX 5000 Ada, for the Dell Precision 5690. The unit currently in stock has a Core Ultra 9 185H, 64GB RAM, a 2TB SSD and RTX 2000 Ada graphics, in Like New 99% condition. If you need a 16-inch graphics workstation for engineering work, we will gladly compare every configuration with you.

Every Precision at our store is a genuine product, sold with a full invoice. Warranty terms are stated clearly on the warranty card, and a unit with a manufacturer defect is exchanged within the first 30 days. When you need more storage, our technicians will upgrade the SSD for you. You also get long-term technical support and nationwide delivery. Order your Dell workstation laptop today at Hung Phat Laptop.