[NEWS] Studio XPS 15 and XPS 17 !!

Random thought: I hate glossy screens. I wish Dell offered matte as an option.

 

Lol, had they been avaible here a bit earlier, i would have chosen a XPS 15 over the Acer 3820TG, but only if the manufacturing good.
Because the price is relatively low compared the usual prices by Dell.

But then again, you can't combine an i5 with the GT435M...

 

That's everywhere, not just the UK.

The 1600 x 900 "Radiance" screen was some kind of bait and switch for the reviews. Every reviewer promises that it's just a $100 option for the exquisite screen, which you then find out does not even exist.
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Hey all,

I just received shipment of a Sony Vaio EB 15.5" 1080p Display, i5-430M 2.53ghz, 4GB ram, HD Radeon 5650. Unfortunately, it looks like the E series Vaio's are plagued with a high pitched noise that emits anytime a USB device is plugged in. It sounds like a dog whistle going off 24/7. The only fix is to change the BIOS so the CPU runs at full speed all the time. Anyway, I'm not putting up with it and I'm RMAing the Vaio.

I'm looking for a replacement laptop and the XPS 15 looks to fit the bill. I really wish I could get it with a numerical 10key keyboard (for work) but oh well. I was planning on getting the XPS 15 with the 1080p screen, but I have a quick question about the 420M v. 1080p resolution.

The HD5650 in my Vaio was able to run World of Warcraft at 1080p with 'good' video settings. Even then, it was still a bit choppy and it seemed to really struggle with frames freezing and such. Can anyone comment on the Nvidia 420M's ability to produce decent image quality at 1080p?

I've heard all kinds of things go into consideration. For example, I know the HD5650 on the Vaio is underclocked so it may actually be LESS powerful than the 420M in the XPS 15. I'd really like to pull the trigger on the 1080p screen as I do a lot of work in Excel, but maybe I'm being too demanding wanting a 1080p screen for work and some gaming

Any input would be great! It doesn't have to be a desktop replacement as I have a beefy desktop, just need it to be able to run some games at medium-ish quality.

Thanks!

 

Neither of the GPUs are built or meant for 1080p gaming. Expect the same level of performance.

You could always lower the in-game resolution to something more appropriate.

 

I don't know about the whining on the XPS series...actually I guess no one does yet. But Sony is unfortunately a bad choice since they don't allow Nvidia or AMD to provide drivers updates-a shame since otherwise Sony's always one of the most reliable brands.

I'd say go with a GT 435, which if I'm remembering correctly should be more powerful-it should have no trouble with WoW at any rate. Has that game's requirements gotten steeper? Because back 2 years ago or so it ran maxed out at something like 1152xWhatever on a Geforce 4 from 2002! EVERYTHING to max except no anti-aliasing (which I never care about anyway.

But at any rate, baring it also having whining, it should fit the bill real nicely.

 

Thanks for the input. Ya its a real shame about the Vaio. Everything on the laptop is really great quality, especially the keyboard, but I just cannot deal with that high pitch whining noise

 

Err I thought the 900p Envy 14 screen was an option that was available before, not a gimmick?

Can anyone comment on the Aussie website's XPS 17 review about a touchscreen?

Oh also the Aussie said it was really warm and you needed an external keyboard to game - but then again that is Australia, summer time, plus it's GT 445M with 3GB VRAM, no surprise really.

 

From hothardware XPS 14 review: "We were slightly bummed at not being able to change the color of the backlight. "

Lmao aren't the only laptops with non white backlit keyboards Alienware / HP Envy Beats?

 

agreed. do some people actually LIKE glossy better?

the XPS 17" is a disaster when it comes to the screen options.

 

Oh hell yeah, after owning a few glossy screen lappy's now, I would go anti-glare all the way if I could. Sadly, I doubt dell will ever offer any of it's XPS range with anti-gloss as they want people to get the 'business' lappy's for that feature. On that note, I work on my laptop and spend 1-8 hrs a day in a sunny room or well lit room so this is my reasoning! I've even tried an anti-glare cover on my SXPS but it just looks too crap, maybe it would work beter directly on a screen like the new XPS range rather than on a plastic layer above the actual screen....

Gloss IMO is pretty much a pain in the butt for any 'lit' situation during daytime hours... I hope the glossy screen 'trend' will end and we will all eventually have a choice on every laptop!

 

Just been speaking to dell chat and they reckon the UK has the backlit keyboard as standard.
Can anyone confirm this?

 

Anyone in the Uk thinking about the xps 15, there is a pretty amazing 1 day deal apparently. i7 740, gt 435m, 4gb ram, 500gb hd, including mobile broadband card. Comes out at £497 delivered.

The e value code to bring it up is 303 N00XL515
This is the discount code to bring it down to £497: 0VHF?V6$M6M200

 

mate, you legend. I didnt want the i7 but at that price who cares!
+rep

ARRRHHH its gone, think it must have been a mistake

 

Seems to still be in use. I just applied it and it's 10% off just for today. not quite as good as £497 but still good!

 

Hi,
I actually kind of like the new look of the new XPS Notebooks. Especially when you look at the brushed aluminium chassis in the XPS 14 review. It looks really stunning.

I have ordere one just now. Hopefully it can live up to the promise
I 've ordered it with the following specs:

• Intel i7 840qm
• Windnows 7 HP 64bit
• 4 year warranty
• 15,6" full hd b+rg LED Display
• 4 GB ram
• Nvidia 435 gt
• 9 cell battery

What do you guys think of this configuration?

 

Never in my entire 4 years of using a laptop with glossy screen have I ever found the need for a matte screen... I'm perfectly happy with glossy screen, because for some reason I find it hard to get used to the 'dull' kinda feeling I get from matte displays... Or maybe I just haven't seen a decent matte screen I'm pretty sure I'll agree with you if I carry it around more though.

 

If that was meant in reply to the deal that I mentioned, then it is definitely available at £497.

This website isn't allowing me to put in the direct link. But basically go to the UK website and on the bottom left corner on most pages you should see the boxes for entering the dell e value code to bring up a particluar system. Put 303 in the first box and N00XL515 in the 2nd one.

Use the code 0VHF?V6$M6M200 to bring the price down from £549 to £497. You can also get another 6% cashback if you go via quidco.

 

Well when I asked the guy bluntly told me no, which would be a big disappointment, as I'm swapping for my SXPS 16. Can anyone verify?
Also in case there is no backlit, would it be hard to aquire one as a part when they become available and fit it myself, looked in the service manual and there is the section on how to remove the keyboard, including the backlight cable connector, so I would assume it would still have this connecter even if it hadnt been fitted.

 

Hi,
my dell sales contact told me that the backlit keyboard will never be available in Europe. Only in US. But when it becomes available eventually you cann upgrade it but in order not to loose the warranty you need to have dell to do it themselves.
I also think that it's a huge disappointment. But you can't help it and I have ordered one myself a few minutes ago.

 

The deal has gone now

But not before I ordered mine.

This is to replace my 2 year old M1530. Upped the screen to 1080p, upped the memory to 8gb. £901 inc vat - saving of over £580! Plus potentially 6% quidco.

I bought my 1530 (T9500) from dell outlet 2 years ago for a £775 (1800 configured new at the time). Hopefully I'll get £400 on ebay for this.

Amazing deal - Lets hope they honor it....

 

Well I made him double check. He even said if you look at the first page it tells you there is backlit button and media keys on keyboard. But as its a Dell rep I still dont 100% trust him.

The keyboard looks similar to a sxps16 keyboard so might see if that fits.

I managed to get an order through but the site kept hanging. Maybe its because there was a 1000 people ordering at that crazy price.

I really hope Dell honour it.

I also went for the 1080p screen and Dells 720p screens are normally nasty.

 

If they dont come with backlit keyboard, then just pick one up off ebay when available and fit it yourself. It is really easy. Then if you have warranty issues just swap your old keyboard back in before sending it back to dell.

 

That's what I plan on doing with my XPS 17.

 

Nice Tip I'm going to do that. Which keyboard type do I have to buy? Is it the Studio XPS 16's keyboard?

 

While we're at it, why the hell have they got rid of the media touch buttons and gone back to that god awefull Fn key approach. I like to have the F keys to do what they are supposed to do, ie F5 to refresh, and having to hold Fn and whatever to pause my music is a ball ache, especially coupled without a backlit keyboard, this is a big step backwards.

 

Yep, seems so. 303 code doesn't work anymore, but 0VHF?V6$M6M200 coupon does work for extra 10%. How does the extra 6% work from quidco? I am going via the quidco website but the 6% doesn't get applied.

 

They've switched it this time. The media keys are default. If you want to actually press the functions keys, ie F1 - F12, that's when you press the function key. It is configurable though.

Documentation

Page 38 of the setup guide.


D'oh, re-reading your post I misread it... you already knew that.

 

You will need to buy the xps 15 keyboard when its available. I checked the sxps16 and unfortunately its a slightly different shape plus the fn keys are in different positions

Studio 15's are different again so they are out.

 

also when mine arrives, I am going to try switching the i7 for my i5 540m to see if they are compatible

 

Quidco is cash back from quidco. If they track the order sucessfully they will send you an update stating that they have tracked it. It sometimes takes quite a long time to receive the cash back from them though.

 

Ahh OK, Thanks.

 

Ok, than wie have to wait just a little bit until the become available in the next few months

Fortunately they are not that expensive

 

No usually 20-30 quid. Looking through the service manual it seems really easy too.

What will be a PITA is changing the HDD, you have to remove the whole palmrest to get to it. Looks about as much fun as getting to the HDD in my Envy 15!!!

 

A few concerns:
The 9-cell usually means the laptop gets propped up abit by the battery, right?
Also does anyone know the differences between the wireless adapters?
And how hot should it get up to? My Asus M50-SV which I'm typing on right now, gets up to 92`C when I watch a 720p TV show or play a graphic intensive game... I'm just hoping the dell doesn't get that hot, cause I don't want my laptop to deteriorate as fast as this one did (2 years old, but I'm getting some visible problems now)

Thanks.

 

Nobody can answer your questions on the xps heat until it arrives. I expect the i7 will run hot (80-90c under load) and get hot to the touch around the vent, plus the keyboard and bottom will get hot. The i7's run notoriously hot and the dell vent and single fan is going to struggle. I only bought the i7 as it was on an amazing deal in the UK.

I am sure the i5 version will run at reasonable temps so if you are worried go with this one.

With regards to your asus, 92c is not too bad playing games but is bad if just watching video. Have you ever cleaned the vents out? After a year or two with no maintenance you can get a lot of dust clogged in the vents which can cause overheating.

 

Good idea . Do not forget to tell is compatible or not!

 

Can I just check my 'facts' (I am not that familiar with dell/xps range, looking to upgrade from an T61p)

1. XPS 17 with FHD 1080p display is not currently available. It is unknown whether this is normal or due to change soon? ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...xps-17-have-1080p-screen-resolution-soon.html)

2. Am I right in thinking optimus is only available with i5 processor as the i7 does not have an integrated gpu? ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...egarding-xps-15-battery-life-gt435-gpu-3.html )

3. Via Google I stumbed across this site from the dell uk website (although I cannot figure out how to get to this page by navigating the dell uk site) - this seems to be the new xps 15, and claims a 5hr battery life on a 6cell battery. Being a cynic I guess I'm interested in exactly how exagerated a lie this is

4. At the moment I am leaning towards an XPS 15 with 1080p + i5-560M + GT435M + Optimus. Any ballpark guesses regarding battery?

 

In answer to your questions:

1. There is no 1080p option for the 17 currently.. If you read the user guide it does state a 1080p option so my guess is there are current shortages.

2. Correct. Optimus is only available on i5. i7 has no integrated gfx.

3. These claims are always best case and rarely achievable. I expect in order to get 5hrs from the laptop it would need to be sat idle with no wifi/bluetooth, on mimium brightness and powersaver. I would expect you would get 3-4 hours of light web browsing.

4. As my answer above, I would expect 3-4hrs on the 6 cell with light web browsing and medium brightness

 

Yeah I was going for the 15" with an i5... budget issues, plus I still don't see the need for a quadcore when the i5 has multithreading.
I've cleaned the vents out once, but I need to find a can of compressed air to clean it out more effectively. I can't ever find the time to go and get one... student life.

 

I have just spoken to the Dell team in the UK.
After originally telling me there was no back-lit keyboard, I just got a call back saying he was mistaken. The XPS 15 is shipped with a backlit keyboard as default (Fn F6 to turn it on apparently). So if the guy knows which keys to press - I'm guessing he knows it's actually there.

Why is there only one review out so far...
Dell XPS 14 Notebook Review: Optimus Infused - HotHardware

and why was it released on the 23rd and then taken down...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/527742-review-dell-xps-14-a.html


My XPS 16 is due to be replaced, I am tempted to stretch out my collection date until the XPS 16 is discontinued as it has been in the US, then hopefully me replacement system will be the XPS 15... Any thoughs??
It’s not primarily for gaming, but the only reason I spent this much was to have the option of playing games. The Dell assistant assured me that this graphics card is better than the 1GB card in the XPS 16... Can I trust in that?
Really can't see any reason not to wait for the XPS 16 to be dicontiued except for the 'looks' and the annoying (admittedly rarely used) cd tray.

 

Also in the tech specs WiDi is mentioned..

Dell XPS 15 Laptop Details | Dell UK

"Bluetooth Options:
Bluetooth® 3.0

WiDi, GPS enabled"

Why isn't it advertised? Isn't it any good? Only heard about it yesterday, and really can't find much out about it!

 

What GPU do you have in your XPS 16? I think the last one it shipped with should be competitive with the XPS 15's choices, but the earlier ones aren't even close. (I'd still rather have a GT 420/435 though than what the Studio XPS 16 ended up with, for the better drivers.)

While obviously we don't know for sure yet, it SEEMS like the XPS line is better designed than the Studio XPS line was. The Studio XPS's cooling is astonishingly dumb...I mean I sent mine back after discovering the main vent is blocked by the screen! How they let that go through...

Also in the tech specs WiDi is mentioned..[/quote]

Weird...hopefully that's optional or not in the U.S. model, as I don't want it and would pay to take it off, let alone pay to put it on :lol:

 

Is WiDi bad then? Can't really find much information on it. Concept seems quite good though!

GPU - 1GB ATI® Radeon? HD 565v graphics

CPU - Intel® Core? i7 Processor 720QM (1.60Ghz, 6MB cache)

RAM - 4096MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048]

I think the equivalent XPS 15 would ship with a better CPU, possibly better GPU..? USB 3, Bluetooth 3. I'm thinking it's better to go futureproof than to stick to what I know...

 

ADANTE-i dont think you can get an i5 and gt435m combination with the XPS 15 currently. The i5 and gt435m combination is only possible with the XPS 17 which does not offer a 1080p screen currently. You can, of course, get the i5 with a gt420m on the Xps 15, though that is clearly a considerably weaker rig.

 

Okay, probably won't notice a real difference, but yeah, the quad would be 1.73GHz now I think, the GPU at worst is probably pretty comparable (the higher end ones SHOULD be better I think, definitely better on the 17" model). Plus hopefully it's got better designed cooling.

Of course for all we know so far it could be terrible or something, but...

Oh, I noticed that for the XPS models Dell's let you include a system disc again! Costs $15 or whatever, but that's cool. They don't have that option on the M15/17x.

 

Seems like I'm the only one disappointed with the keyboard. I'm actually surprised anyone is selling their premium brand notebooks without an island or chiclet keyboard these days. :/

 

I'm disappointed, but not enough to not get the computer. Dell has never used an island keyboard in any of their larger computers that I know of. I'm not sure why Dell has not been using it, but hopefully one day they'll adopt it.

 

Didn't know that...I've only owned normal keyboards so I...well, with a full keyboard a regular design is much better. For a notebook? I don't know...just depends on how close to a normal keyboard a given keyboard is.

 

It might be a matter of convenience. A traditional keyboard may be easier to manufacture and replace, and at the prices Dell pushes warranty, I'm willing to bet any corner cut will be greatly appreciated when the financial statements come around.

Personally I've never payed much attention to the keyboard. As long as it doesn't flex, squeak, or look at me funny anything is fine. Of course there's the comfort factor, but IMO if your notebook is 14 inches or bigger and your keyboard is uncomfortable you need to get out of the laptop business.