Already at the first glance the M90 looks alike the Dell Inspiron 9400. It nearly seems to be the same case. However, this is only true regarding the forms, as the two notebook series fundamentally differ regarding materials used. 

Only absolutely high-quality materials are used for the M90's case.The base unit is out of aluminium and magnesium and the display was additionally stiffened by a big aluminium liner.

This all together led to an absolutely robust and flexural rigid case. In fact, it slight deformations are still possible by applying punctual pressure, however, in total, the case seems to be indestructible. Also, some quiet creaking noises could be observed from time to time. Especially, the part above the keyboard has a low pressure resistance, and its slight possible wobbling objectionably called our attention.

Despite the aluminium liner, the display is only moderately flexural rigid. The hinges are adequately big. However, they could not prevent a wobbling after adapting the display's position.

Likewise, the plastic cover of the hinges wobble and did not fit to the otherwise high-quality appearance. In exchange the ramshorn hook provides a good service and are able to keep the display closed nearly without any identifiable wobbling.

The interface of the Dell Precision M90 are mainly placed at its back side. Among others it offers a DVI port, and 4 USB 2.0 ports. Together with further 2  USB ports at the left side of its case, the M90 provides a total of 6 USB ports.

Because of the non-reflecting display with very good brightness it should be possible to operate the Dell Precision M90 even outdoors without big problems.

Loudness

The M90's fan ran steadily, even in idle mode, but the noise was very decent and did only slightly disturb. Depending on performance demands the vent can turn up and can be more clearly heard. The noise itself is light.

Additionally, it is noticeable that this notebook is equipped with 2 separated fans, likely, one for the waste heat of the CPU and the other one for the waste heat of the GPU. Unfortunately, we were unable to open the notebook in order to clarify this matter.

Temperature

The measured surface temperatures of the M90 were even under load alright. At the upper side the maximum was 35°C, at the bottom side we measured a maximum which was only slightly above 40°C.

The Dell Precision M90 comes with a 7200 mAh 9-Zellen battery which provided the reviewed notebook with a runtime between a minimum of slightly above 1 hour and a maximum of up to 3 hours. Furthermore, Dell offers a  second additional battery which can be placed in the drive slot, which is capable of prolonging the runtime accordingly.

The Dell Precision M90 is really a workstation. The possible choices in equipment nearly tempts us to compare it with a desktop. At least the performance should not cause any problems.

A special plus of the M90 is its robust and stable case, which convinces by the use of high-quality materials like aluminium, and magnesium. However, one has to live with some smaller, not so precise details, like the display hinges and a slightly wobbling part above the keyboard.

On the one hand the keyboard is good and comfortable in use, but, regrettably the M90 does not provide a separate number block. This would be especially useful for video and CAD applications. Of course, external solutions are available.

The performance of this notebook is noticeable and the equipment can be chosen depending on user demands.
The emissions of the M90 are alright, and should be decent enough, unless the notebook is under full load all the time.

The battery runtime is depending on the equipment between above one hour and a  maximum of three hours. By using additional batteries a mobile use is limited possible, however, the mobile use is also limited by the notebook's dimensions and weight.

Another important aspect is of course the available support. Dell provides 3 years business support for the M90.