Dell SPX 1645 Purchase Help Fast

I have been wanting to purchase a Dell XPS 1647 for a while now (specifically the i7-620M) but have been waiting for it to be offered with an Intel Wifi card. Recently Dell dropped the i7-620M from their XPS line-up so I configured a 1645 with the following specs.

i7-740QM
500GB 7200 RPM HDD
1080p
Windows 7 Pro
ATI Radeon 5730
Blu-ray with DVD-RW Single Layer (free upgrade)
8GB RAM
Intel Wifi 5300
3 yrs premium warranty
9 cell battery

I could get this configuration for AU$2000.

But circumstances changed yesterday where Dell was no longer offering this 'special'. Now the system can only be configured with a blu-ray player with DVD-R Double Layer and the price came too $2700 (why the single layer was dropped? I have no idea)

After having a big whinge, Dell are now offering me this $2,700 configuration for AU$1,799.11

Should I take it, or should I wait for the i7-620 to come back? I am well aware of all the issues facing the quad cores but I am beginning to think Dell will never offer the i7-620M (or 640M) with the same configuration options.

I need help. I can't decide. I dont think I will ever push the system such that it will overheat but I need battery life. Perhaps I should up to the i7-840QM to get the clock speed? I just don't know. Need people's thoughts.

 

You know, it really just depends what you will be using the system for. Honestly, all of these CPU's are pretty crazy powerful. I have the 720QM and have been loving it! I play games mostly, so the CPU is hardly an issue at all since it mostly relies on the video card anyways.

 

What will I use it for ... A reasonable question

I have a number of gaming platforms so doubt I will use if for gaming (but it is possible).

I use it for work; so your typical Microsoft Office products. And I think the most CPU intensive application I may use will be Matlab (with Simulink). For this purpose, it needs to be mobile and last a while.

At home, I will use it as a multimedia laptop. Music, Photo's (including Adobe CS3 but I am no professional) and internet browsing, streaming and the like. I also have a network set up at home where all my multimedia content can be streamed to a myriad of devices.

30% of the time it will be plugged in, the remaining 70%, it shall be on my lap so to speak.

That about sums it up. I can't think of anything more I would use it for.

My apologies for the spelling error in title. Was in a panic.

 

you dont need more than 4 gb of ram unless ur planning on doing HD video editing

 

With the quad core configurations, I do not have the option to lower. I would have configured the lower RAM if I could have and if needed more, bought elsewhere.

 

I'd take it in a heartbeat for that price.

 

Photoshop CS3 is a 32 bit application and can only make use of a maximum of 3 GB of RAM. CS4 and CS5, however, are 64 bit applications and can make use of all available RAM. If you ever might upgrade to CS4 or CS5, you will be happy that you got all the RAM you can get. The number one factor likely to slow down working with photos is that, when available RAM is used, you have to go to the scratch disk, and that makes the application run like a freeway during a traffic jam. And with newer cameras having bigger files with every release, 3 or 4 GB of RAM goes very quickly, which is a good reason for upgrading to CS4 or CS5 and getting 8 GB of RAM. You will also find that the threading for CS4 or CS5 is more advanced and can really take advantage of the quad core processor and perform much better with the quad core than with a dual core.

Using CS4 or CS5 with 8 GB of RAM will make you feel like you are using a completely different (and better) computer than using CS3 and 4GB of RAM. On the other hand, if you are likely to stick with CS3, getting 8 GB of RAM is probably overkill.

 

I will update to CS4 when getting this laptop but admittedly, Adobe Photoshop is not a major application. Seriously I would only go into it perhaps once every 3 months (after a holiday) to tweak photo's and play around with them a bit.

My main problem at the moment is I want your typical applications to run fast. I am concerned that in buying the quad core, I am going backwards in terms of pure clock speed. If a put a dual core laptop next to a quad core, pushed the power on button at the same time. Which would load faster. If I opened up a large excel file, which would load faster. If opening a large excel file, and running Matlab and/or Mozilla at the same time. Which will run faster. Is the speed negligable? Will I even notice? Am I worrying about nothing.

But if the dual core is faster in all of these things. If it gives me an extra hour in terms of battery life. I think I would prefer to wait and see. I would even be willing to pay $500 more.

At the moment however, Dell are dangling a pretty attractive carrot and I am worried about leaping. Someone needs to give me a push ...

 

The quad core will be faster in multi-threaded applications like CS4/5, better for multi-tasking, and loading. In gaming the 620M is faster by little not by much.


the Quad core is worth it and a better investment you must also remember that it is not just about clock speed or amount of cores it's the entire package.

I.e.

i7 620m 2C/4T- better for gaming
i7 720/740QM 4C/8T -better for just about everything else(still games well enough).

the i7 is very well worth it and the difference for what you mentioned is worth it. If you where gaming I would recommend the 620M, even though my 720qm is still fantastic. The higher clocks of the 620M make it edge out just a little.

 

Also, as quad cores become more and more commonly used, we are going to be seeing more and more programs developed to take better advantage of the quad cores. Just like the more recent releases of PS were redesigned to better take advantage of quad core technology, the same will be true with other applications. So, whatever advantages the quad core gives now, they are likely to be greater a year from now.

 

Very true indeed. I second what he wrote as truth. We are entering the era of quad and higher(hex and Octa) so while in its toddler stage now, but soon it will mature even more. An FYI sandy bridge from what i understand is going to be all quads and up no dual cores. (Im not 100% on that, so if it is otherwise someone please correct)

 

Would love to wait until Sandy bridge as these will be on the 32nm die and will no doubt have a similar power consumption to that of the i5 and i7 dual cores but that could be 12 months away ... and then something new will also be on the horizon.

I am going to see if they can throw in an extra battery for the same price ... And maybe a 90W adapter ... We'll see if my charm has any effect.

 

For that price, you'd better hop on it now, lol. You'll never see that again. Besides, the quad-cores really aren't as bad as some of the 1647 owners would like you to believe, lol

 

The desktop Sandybridge's will be almost all quads, but for the laptop, they'll be a similar mix of dual/quad i5/7 as we have now. No (laptop) i3 sandy's at least.

Sandy Bridge (microarchitecture) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Ah, Thank you for the clarification

 

yuley, the extra 133MHz bump that the 840qm has over the 740qm really is not worth the upgrade. sure, at all 4 cores + HT running you get a worthwhile boost (133MHz * 8) but really unless you are into video editing and require lots of raw CPU power, the 740qm should be just fine.

coming from a software developemnt environment, I have yet to push my processor to use all 8 threads/cores to their fullest extent. thus far, i've only pushed it to 4 cores ( all physical no logical) running at approx 33% each. hell i've barely had my memory go past 5GB on a really massive project compile.

with my cooling pad at home, i never suffer from the problems that people used to have with the i7 + 4670 ATI card. then again, i haven't even had my 1645 for a month yet.

i think the system you listed is perfect for most anything you'll throw at it, except maybe trying to calculate Pi to the googleth power (although a BD-RW would be nice )

 

My charm had no effect ... For a moment I think she was going to bump the price up.

But based on all of your comments, I have taken the leap and bought the i7-740QM configuration ... And no buyer's remorse in the slightest.

 

Congrats Yuley, and welcome to the 1645 club!

 

The 8xx CPUs also have a larger cache, which is more important than the small boost in clock speed, but your point is still valid.

 

Glad to be a member.

I can't wait to test this thing out.

Can anyone offer some advice on how I get Dell to send out the OS CD's plus the other CD's which may come with the laptop. They keep telling me I can burn the OS CD; that I can use Dell Datasafe to restore the system. I just like doing clean installs every 6 months. And its something I paid for, why can't they supply? Do I need to say something special?

 

congrats yuley! i just got my 1645 just a week ago and so far i'm really loving it! i'm sure you'll really like your XPS too!

agreed, but i think that the extra 2MB in cache is not really noticeable through normal day-to-day usage.

as for this, check out the page from this thread. it quickly goes over downloading a Windows 7 Home Premium ISO file and using a serial number to register it. i do not know if the serial on the bottom of our XPS units will work with the ISO, but perhaps you can give it a read

 

My last email to dell was kind of worded as follows:

I think burning the Windows 7 Professional Operating System to a blank disk is considered illegal if I don't have the original. Are Dell seriously advising me to do this.

And guess what ... she said yes.

I might try tech support upon laptop arrival, if that doesn't work, I will try the recommendation above.

 

It's not illegal. You have a legal product key, and want to install a fresh copy, which is within your rights. Microsoft makes the .iso publicly available for this reason. I did a fresh install using the above method when I got mine.

Yes, the OEM key on the bottom of the laptop will work to activate Windows 7. The online activation will fail, but it will then give you a number to call, and after talking to the computer for a few minutes it will give you a authorization number, and your Windows will activate like normal.

 

Sounds like you got one hell of a deal for like $1650 USD that includes a whooping 3 yr warranty. Nice.

As for W7. No, it's not illegal if you have the license key. I mean, MS is offering free official dl for all W7.

 

I know. That was exactly the problem. It was just a little too good to pass up. Being the idiot I am however, I am now looking for 'the catch'. So I am nervously awaiting this laptop hoping its not a refurb or something.

Thanks for all the advice on the software front. It's appreciated.

 

I just configured a similar system on Dell US website and it turns out $2100 before adding +2 yr warranty. How unbelievable!

 

Crazy isn't it ... Maybe I should have bought a few.

I have re-read the order description and quote like 10 times since purchasing to ensure I am not missing something but it seems to be all there.

 

It's to arrive on the 22nd of September ... I can't wait.

I think there was a thread going around as to what I should install; and the tweaks I should make to Windows 7. Anyone remember that thread? I tried searching for it but am not having much luck.

 

22nd? Wonder if they ran out of parts in Aus. I ordered similar spec'd laptops as yours and got all of them delivered in 4 days. May be they will ship yours sooner as EDD is just an estimated guess.

 

Lucky. Mine came 1 day AFTER the EDD. Took 2 weeks in total.

 

Geez. I hope it comes prior to the EDD seeker_moc. I am practically watching my mobile phone waiting for it to ring and for it to tell me my laptop is to be arriving the next day.

To do this for 3 weeks ... people may send me to the loony bin. Let's hope I get mobile reception there ...

 

Guess what? I felt strength running out(?) when my packages showed up. I think I enjoyed waiting more(love the feeling!) than the laptops if that makes any sense at all.
Now waiting patiently for my m17x.