DELL XPS 15 E-value code: U540205IN8

Hello Everyone,

This is my very first post in this forum as well as this will be my very first laptop. Please help me in making the decision.

From Thursday(17-02-2011) onwards I'm able to find a new XPS 15 system on Dell ? The Official Site | Dell India site (dell's india site). I switched my decision to go with this system instead of XPS 14 although it is costly.

Following are its config:

E-value code: U540205IN8

Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-740QM Processor (1.73GHz, 4Core/8Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93Ghz, 6M cache)

Chipset(Motherboard) : Intel® HM57

OS: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit (English)

RAM: 6GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 2GB + 1 x 4GB)

Hard Drive: 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive

Display: 15.6 FHD (1920x1080) B+RGLED display with TrueLife™

Video Card: 2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M graphics with Bluetooth

CD ROM/DVD ROM: Tray Load 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability Wireless Network Card: Intel WiFi Link 6200 (802.11a/g/n) Half Mini-card

It costs around Rs.61000.

1. The very first thing that I wish to know about this system from some one who has already owned it is about its battery and heating. Does the 6-cell battery for this config can hold upto 3-Hrs? I know the heat will be produced due to the i7 quad processor (which consumes 45w) and its graphics card but I want to know whether we would be able to withstand the heat it produce for more than 2 hours or the system it self will freeze or hang so that the heat comes down (I ask this because there are no enough feedbacks for this config in the dell site)?

2. I have some temporary plans of upgrading its processor in the future to either i7-840 or i7-940. When I browsed in the intel's site I got the info that i7-740 processor is supported by the chipset HM55 and this chip set does not support i7-840 or i7-940. In Dell's website they have provided that the chipset as HM57 for I7-740. I wanted to know whether the system comes with the chipset HM55 or HM57 (if it does comes with HM57 I know for sure that I can upgrade the processor in the future) ?

3. If anyone who owns this system and have installed linux in it a secondary OS, could you please share your experience in Linus in this config as well?

4. I know for sure the graphics card provided does comes with nvidia optimus technology. I also know that optimus technology works only if you have an integrated graphics card as well as an external graphics card. When I checked the Intel's website I found that this processor I7-740 does not have an integrated graphics support, whereas the chipset HM57 does support integrated graphics. I want to know whether there is any way to use the optimus technology for better battery life.

5. Also let me know whether I can use Intel's WIDI technology with this config as it is provided in the dell's website

A fast reply would be deeply appreciated as I can make my decision quickly whether to go for it or not.

Please apologize for such a long post and questions

Regards,
K.Ramesh Karthik.

 

1. It depends on how much power you are using obviously. I have one with B+RG LED Screen + core i5 and it gives me nearly 3 hours of juice on "light" use so I highly doubt it'll give you 3 hours on i7. However, the system handles the heating issue very nicely, but I highly recommend the 9cell because it gives the system better cooling solutions.
2. No comment
3. Linux runs pretty nicely on this thing...(I used backtrack and red hat)
4. You are right, your i7 system does not support optimus because there isn't any integrated graphic built into the processor...unlike intel's i5 line.
5. No you won't be able to utilize WIDI due to the fact that your system has core i7 and no optimus. In order to do WIDI, a system needs to have an integrated graphic card built-in and your i7 system won't.

 

I have ordered this same laptop 4 days ago. I can no longer find it in the website. But, if you have a quote from a Dell rep already, you can probably still get the laptop.

It was a very, very good deal, but I just talked with a dell rep and he confirmed that Sandy bridge laptops will be available within a month in India. So, it would be better if you can wait.