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    525M versus 520M

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by bendawg, Oct 4, 2011.

  1. bendawg

    bendawg Notebook Enthusiast

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    The XPS 15 comes with the 525M by default now, and it is a $100 upgrade to the 540M. Is it worth the cost?

    Sorry, title should be "versus the 540M".
     
    bendawg, Oct 4, 2011
    #1
  2. concat

    concat Notebook Consultant

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    Is 540m worth $100 more than the 525m? No. Not even close.

    Is the upgrade worth $100? That depends on how much you want to game. You can't swap out the GPU if you decide to upgrade. You'd have to replace the motherboard.
     
    concat, Oct 4, 2011
    #2
  3. hizzaah

    hizzaah Notebook Virtuoso

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    hizzaah, Oct 4, 2011
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  4. edit1754

    edit1754 Notebook Prophet

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    First, if you're getting the XPS 15, you have to make sure you get the 1920x1080 B+RGLED display upgrade. Don't buy the XPS 15 with the 1366x768 display, the 1366x768 display is awful and the display is the first thing you need to upgrade.

    1366x768 is a low resolution for a 15.6" screen because it makes things onscreen big and limits you to about one window onscreen at a time. The reason it makes things so large is because 1366x768 is the same resolution used in 12-inch laptops. Aside from the low resolution itself, 1366x768 screens generally have terrible image quality (low contrast), especially in the case of the Dell XPS 15. However, the 1920x1080 B+RGLED display in the XPS 15 is one of the best quality 15-inch displays currently available.

    The screen makes more of a difference than any other spec because it's the only upgrade you notice all the time. The processor never makes a difference for general tasks, the RAM never makes a difference for general tasks, and the 525M->540M GPU upgrade makes little difference at all since it's only a 12% boost in clock speed.

    The upgrade page looks like this:
    Make sure you get this upgrade. Don't buy the XPS 15 until you get this upgrade secured in your configuration, or you're wasting your money on the XPS. This is the most important upgrade, and needs to come before any other upgrades.
    [​IMG]
     
    edit1754, Oct 4, 2011
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  5. bendawg

    bendawg Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks, definitely going with the 1080p for sure.
     
    bendawg, Oct 5, 2011
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