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    About to order XPS 15 - Advice

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by Callummc, Apr 4, 2011.

  1. Callummc

    Callummc Newbie

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    Hey, about to order an XPS 15. Not really a gamer, will mostly be using it for internet browsing, word documents and watching movies. Need it to be fairly future proof. These are the specs, is there anything I should be looking to upgrade?

    XPS Laptop L502x 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
    Metalloid Aluminum Cover 1
    2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz 1
    Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English 1
    OS Windows® Recovery Media Not included 1
    Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook 1
    1 year of coverage included with your PC 1
    No Accidental Damage Protection 1
    DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence 1
    McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription 1
    15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) 1080p with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera 1
    6144MB 1333MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [1x4096 + 1x2048] 1
    8x DVD+/-RW Optical Drive 1
    640GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive 1
    Mobile Broadband Module - no SIM card included 1
    9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery 1
    2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M Graphics Card 1
    Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 (1x2 b/g/n+ Bluetooth Combo Card) 1
    TvTuner Not Included 1
    XPS L502x Order - UK 1
    English Documentation 1
    Datasafe Local 2.3 Basic 1
    XPS L502x Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers) 1
    130W AC Adaptor 1
    1 year Collect & Return Hardware Support included with your PC 1
    No Carrying Case 1
    UK 250V Power Cord 1
    Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard 1
    N02X5M06 1
     
    Callummc, Apr 4, 2011
    #1
  2. xxbadboys93

    xxbadboys93 Notebook Deity

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    If your not looking to game on it than the 520m would suit your needs better for 100 dollars cheaper.
     
    xxbadboys93, Apr 4, 2011
    #2
  3. dromi

    dromi Newbie

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    in the uk you dont really have the option of downgrading the nvidia card.
     
    dromi, Apr 4, 2011
    #3
  4. fcw0

    fcw0 Notebook Geek

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    You could try starting with a less expensive base model and see if that saves you any money.
     
    fcw0, Apr 4, 2011
    #4
  5. edit1754

    edit1754 Notebook Prophet

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    Looks pretty good to me!
    You've got the 1080p screen, a decent sized hard drive, a quad-core SandyBridge processor, and plenty of RAM.

    Also it appears that on the UK website, the less expensive base models aren't SandyBridge for some reason.
     
    edit1754, Apr 4, 2011
    #5
  6. NoSlow5oh

    NoSlow5oh Notebook Evangelist

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    The higher base price you configure, the more money you save. I saved almost $300 by picking the top $1299 base and upgrading from there.
     
    NoSlow5oh, Apr 4, 2011
    #6
  7. Spaced.Invader

    Spaced.Invader Notebook Enthusiast

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    My generic XPS 15 buying advices:

    1. Never get ram from Dell. It's ridiculously overpriced. Go with the 4GB base config and (if necessary) upgrade manually to 8GB for less than €80. Ram is the only laptop component even a monkey could replace. It's about as easy as switching a battery and won't void your warranty.

    2. Get the 1080p screen. It's the most essential upgrade. (I see you got that one right.)

    3. If you don't *really* need the battery power, at least consider the 6-cell-battery which doesn't stick out to almost double the thickness of the laptop on one end.
     
    Spaced.Invader, Apr 5, 2011
    #7