Hey everyone. im new to the forums, and ive come with a purpose. I am planning to buy a new laptop, and after extensive reasearch i pin pointed at dell XPS, to be specific this one http://configure.ap.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=s541020in8&c=in&l=en&s=dhs&cs=indhs1 Incase the link doesnt open, this is the model number: Dell(TM) Studio XPS 16 Laptop (S541020IN8) I wanted approval and critique of the internet community so please comment Note: after repedetly asking the salesperson, they can not make the processor an i5 SPECIFICATIONS Processor Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz,4 Cores/8 Threads,turbo up to 2.8GHz, 6MB Cache) Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64bit (English) Memory 4GB (2GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM Hard Drive 500GB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive Display 15.6" Edge to Edge Full High Definition(1080p) Display with TrueLife™ Video Card ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 - 1GB Internal Optical Drive Slot Load 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability Wireless Network Card Dell 1520 Wireless-N card Warranty & Service 1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover (im planning to increase the warranty to total of 3 years) In dollars, this is costing me approximately 1,500$ the extended warranty is an additional 200$ Also whats the difference in a Dell 1520 Wireless-N card and Intel® WiFi Link 5300 (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card ? Thanks for your time
That GPU will struggle with gaming at the native res, but aside from that it's a good buy. I still have my M1710 XPS from 3.5yrs ago and it's a great bit of kit. Mine struggles with modern games, but it's still well specced and is very well built. The XPS warranty is pretty cool too, you get free phone support for a year, which I did use once and the guys were much more knowledgeable than I expected. Oh and welcome to the forum.
i'll vouch for DellXPS Support... top notch, failed hdd was replaced next day. They even ask if you want them to phone you back..
@okenobi: in the sense the graphics card aint enuf ? Yeah i wish i could get Nvidia on it :'( and how knowledgeable were they ? @WarrenJ: yeah my sister had a Dell Studio, her motherboard failed, the next day it was replaced. Still searching for someone to answer my question on the difference b/w the wireless cards please help
Another happy XPS customer, using a XPS M1330 which is a little over 2 yrs old now and as good as it ever was (post GPU change anyway!) As stated, GPU isn't awsome but it should be ok for most stuff - just don't expect games to be awsome.
I have an M1710 XPS but ran into the charging issues (dell didn't shield a chip/cable and it fried) this would be a motherboard change..... I have remedied with an external battery charger shipped from the states... however the feeling that dell shirked on a very expensive laptop still hurts... my recomendation is go with cheap laptop and stick more cash in a 'portable' desktop.
A 4670 at full HD will struggle. Just like my 512mb 7900GTX struggles with native 1920x1200. I currently use mine with a 20" Sammy @ 1680x1050 and get decent results on CoH, Far Cry and GRAW. They're the only vaguely recent games I play. I wouldn't have a hope of attempting Crysis or even anything half way demanding. Whilst the 4670 will be loads better than my card, it's a little underpowered for the chosen res, that's all. If you can get a lower res screen with it - do it. The support guys know their stuff. Don't doubt it. I've got the Intel wifi chip in mine and it works. I doubt the Dell one is any better. They're all much of a muchness.
Well makes sense I think that answers most of my questions, and @memeroot: sorry for hearing that but im under the impression that if your laptop was under warranty dell would have replaced your laptop in a matter of days. Well guys thanks alot any other comments are more than welcomed, since i won't buy the laptop for another week or so, I just don't have the time to get the buying and transferring done till my mid-term break. So that's that. Ill still be checking this helpful forum and thread its a nice forum ... maybe some day ill be configuring my own laptop like you guys and yeah the portability of the dell sucks. its not exactly a price i want to pay, but well. and if it was up to me i'd try try and get a better battery - they say its 4 hours and 11 mins but its probably just 3.5.
yes absolutely they would have replaced it, their customer care within the time period is excellent. I love the laptop still - and it's still running... as are however some acers (much older) I'm just pointing out that dell released some shoddy product some time ago (as did many other suppliers) and second (and separate) that its very hard to fix a laptop issue... for my dell I could and did which was nice. look up the issues on the internet as always and make the choice oh and one point - dont order over the internet - order by phone and if you um and ahh a bit and ask for free stuff.... then they give it to you! got to make the sale etc...
If you have the cash and gaming is a big part of it, then I'd say the gtx 260m equipped Alienware M15x would be a better choice.
I bought an XPS M1330 and it's awesome. I had trouble with the GPU overheating when I was in China and Dell even sent a tech round when I was out there and replaced the whole MoBo and GPU for free! And it was a couple of months out of warranty as well.
Nice. @ Shocker: I would have loved to buy the M15x, but its a bit too over budget - its like uhh lets see, 2200 $ here, approximately for the BASE model. which sucks. id rather take the XPS at like 1800$ with extended warranty, an amazing config (as mentioned previously) and I dont play that much high graphics demanding games anymore anyway, but the coolness factor of the alienware is just ... OMG! @memeroot: yeah, when I was talking to the salesperson on the phone where to buy it, after asking a million other questions, he was like once I was ready to purchase it I could buy it over the phone ... and he would see what he can throw in for free even the retail stores out here throw in free stuff. I think i'd ask for a laptop bag, i need one my sister had got a bluetooth mouse, which is pretty cool ... they're quite expensive here.
We have 3 Dell XPS laptops in work. All of them have had issues. The two M1330's have both needed replacement graphics cards (one has had two), one has needed a new screen too. The M1710 we have had charging issues and needed a new internal part. We normally use Dell Latitudes, which have their fair share of problems but Dell support is second to none.
