The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Dell Deals & ATI 5000 series...

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by codester, Mar 20, 2010.

  1. codester

    codester Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    63
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I am able to get the Studio XPS 1647 for $1634 ($1552 after Bing Cashback) that has the following:
    - Intel Core i5 540M
    - 4GB RAM
    - 500 GB HDD
    - RGBLED LCD display
    - Blu-ray
    - Bluetooth
    - 6-cell battery

    Would this be considered a good deal, or does anyone know of any other deals (e-value codes, coupon codes, etc.) for the Studio XPS 1647?

    Also, I noticed some people are wanting the ATI 5000 series for the SXPS 16. What are the benefits of the 5000 series over the 4670 and what is the holdup? Does it require a new MB layout or something? I will mainly be using my computer for Internet/email, photo editing, and occasional HD video and DVD editing...I am not a PC gamer. So, would it worth waiting for the 5000 series? I'm sure the 4670 will suit me just fine, but I've read that it is 'last year's technology' and I generally like to try to get the latest available technology at the time of purchase...
     
    codester, Mar 20, 2010
    #1
  2. straden

    straden Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    64
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    5000 series has more dx 11 features to show more eye candies
    4000 can play dx 11 games too but not "pretty" as 5000 ones
     
    straden, Mar 21, 2010
    #2
  3. jrm1013

    jrm1013 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    The 5000 series would be better for gaming. Since you are not a gamer, it will not affect you. The 4670 is more than enough.
     
    jrm1013, Mar 21, 2010
    #3
  4. gaah

    gaah Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    180
    Messages:
    793
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well the 5000 series are really powerful cards. Personally I'd wait for the 5000 series, especially the 5770 because it has GDDR5 and significantly alleviates the memory bandwidth bottleneck of the 4670.
     
    gaah, Mar 21, 2010
    #4
  5. Featherbeard

    Featherbeard Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    71
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    As seen on Notebookcheck:
    [​IMG]

    I would honestly be shocked to see a new graphics card put into this chassis. The way the Studio 16 is designed currently, it has a difficult time handling the components it has. If they do manage to get a 5XXX card in there, I'd expect some sort of redesign if not a new machine!
     
    Featherbeard, Mar 21, 2010
    #5
  6. gaah

    gaah Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    180
    Messages:
    793
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    5730 is a significant drop from 5770 - particularly the 5730 only uses GDDR3 with half the memory bandwidth and lower clocks.. 5770 having twice the memory bandwidth of the 4670 and 5730 has got to come in handy especially for higher resolutions. The 1645 at least is scheduled to have the 5770 (Madison-XT) according to BIOS modifications made by Dell.
     
    gaah, Mar 21, 2010
    #6
  7. jrm1013

    jrm1013 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I am standing by my recommendation of just buying it now with the 4670. Yes the 5770 has GDDR5, yes it can do more eye candy in games, but he is using the laptop for internet, email and photo editing. The 3DMark scores in that chart, and the memory bandwidth bottleneck mentioned earlier will all be non-issues. He isn't playing games or doing anything 3D on it. The processor would have a higher influence on his performance than the graphics card. For what you are doing, there is no advantage at all in waiting.
     
    jrm1013, Mar 21, 2010
    #7
  8. Featherbeard

    Featherbeard Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    71
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Well, according to Notebookcheck's chart (they haven't gotten benchmarks of the 5770 yet), it's only 2 spots higher than the 5730, so I can't imagine it's that much more powerful. The 58XX series however, is much faster. I honestly don't think we'll see an extremely powerful GPU put into this system, as it will eat into sales of Dell's Alienware line. :\
     
    Featherbeard, Mar 21, 2010
    #8
  9. gaah

    gaah Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    180
    Messages:
    793
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Well I bet that the 5770 configuration could handle all the newer games at 1920x1080 native resolution whereas the 4670 cannot very well do that with most games (and maxed out settings/edge-detect AA/etc).

    The main improvement besides DX11 support is the fact that it has 50GB/sec memory bandwidth and higher fillrate, and 4670 has only about 25GB/sec.
     
    gaah, Mar 21, 2010
    #9
  10. tigereat

    tigereat Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    6
    Messages:
    252
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    So, any news on the new SXPS 16 model?
     
    tigereat, Mar 21, 2010
    #10