Dell XPS15 R2 (L502) Thread

Its official the L502 is available from today in the US. According to official Dell sources it will be available the next week in the EU.

Specs:
Essentially the same as the L501, with the following differences:
- New Mainboard with HM67 Chipset
- Sandy Bridge CPU upto Core i7 -2820QM
- Nvidia Geforce 525M with 1Gb or 540M with 2Gb
- Bluray seems to be standard!!

 

Also an island keyboard!

 

Yeah looked at the tech specs...only option is Blu-Ray.

Keyboard looks like the new Latitude styled.

The LCD option only lists the FHD one...and the other option has no information.

 

Blu-Ray is not standard; the BD combo is a $100 upgrade. There's a Blu-Ray RW upgrade option though.
The keyboard doesn't look different from that of the L501x (and a Backlit KB costs an extra $40 vs $20 for the L501x).

 

Hmm on the Canadian site it says the old xps 15 has a starting weight of 6.5lbs whereas the new L502x has a starting weight of 5.9lbs. Where did they shave ~.5lb off?

 

I've heard these still support Nvidia Optimus with the i7 chips but can't find it mentioned on the overview/tech specs. I'd like to order this with the i7 2720 and gt 540 but want to confirm itll definitely have Optimus if I do.

 

I already ordered that combo this morning and it does support optimus.

 

Great, how can I return the XPS 15 I just got 2 days ago?

 

Nice processor. According to Notebookcheck however, the 540m is based on the 435m with just increased clocks and won't come with GDDR5.
Kind of a bummer, they should go back to the higher end notebook Radeons like they used in the SXPS16.

 

Here's I think the big question: Dual-core or Quad-core?

Apparently the ThinkPad T420 which uses i3 all the way up to i7 dual-core processors is rated for 15 hours of battery life with a 9-cell battery, while the initial tests with the quad-core i7s were 'only' 6 hours.

Any of these would be a big jump from my m1530's 1-2 hours at best. Has anyone else seen battery life comparisons of the two options?

 

Depends, what do you do?
I chose my quad core because I like to play in Photoshop and Lightroom and they are designed to take advantage of as many cores as you have available.
Only a handful of current games utilize all 4-cores, BF:BC2 (uses all 8 threads on mine at 90-100%) and Black Ops come to mind. However, in the future as more games come out that will use all 4 cores (or 8 threads for HT), your video card will still be the bottle neck so it may not be as big of an issue.
The new dual cores are quite capable chips.
So to sum it up, lots of Adobe apps love quad core, lots of virtual machines if you do that, big time multitasking, and the latest games all love quad core. Otherwise, you'd be just as well saving some cash on the dual core.

 

What you have to do to avoid a restocking fee, is to order the new xps 15 first. Call up dell support, tell them you want to return the one you have but will order a new one if they waive the restocking fee. They will give you a Reference # for that waiver. Go ahead and call up dell and place your new order. Then, after you have the new order number, call 1-800-624-9897 for the returns department. Tell them you want to return the one you have and give them the Reference # and/or new order # if they ask for it. (The guy I talked to could already see where I had spoken with someone earlier and got the waiver.) They will then send you a printable ups label to send your xps back to them. Wait for your new xps. Enjoy!

 

Preliminary ship date of march 15... need to find a 250 off coupon to make it viable for me with 9 cell and the good screen.

They also desperately needs more (lower) options for cpu. If SB is so much better, I def don't need anything greater than 2.5 ghz

I especially don't like the 2620 since its the highest level duo core which means it sucks 35W compared to 25 and 17W of the lower end i7s

 

Let me know if you find one. The xps 15 I have now (just got it) was easy to bring the salesmen down on the price. The new xps 15 I ordered today, not only would they not budge on the price, but I couldn't even get free next day shipping. Had to pay $19 for next day. You would think it would be the other way around considering I'm paying 1800 for the new one when the old one cost 1100 (plus upgrades I bought myself).

 

The L502 is also available on the AAFES website, for about 25% off. My config is in my sig.

 

where can u see the pic?

 

Congrats! In all honestly I envy you atm, those are the same specs im gonna be getting when i do in maybe a months time (most probably two). Only difference is that im thinking about adding an SSD.

 

ans04, I left the HD as stock, waiting for the next-gen SSDs to start showing up. I'm concerned about performance hits over time with the current-gen SSDs. When the new ones start coming down in price, then I'll upgrade to an SSD.
Does anybody know the brand of SSD Dell is offering with the L502?

 

I am beginning to think the L502x may not be worth upgrading to, if you already have a loaded L501x.

Am I right in believing.....
1. The SB processor is a big plus, but the NV540 is a big disappointment for gamers (if its only a higher clocked NV435 w/o GDDR5).
2. The inclusion of DRM will prevent copying digital content. (see link below)

Two specific questions regarding DRM restrictions.....
2a. Does DRM prevent copying several of your Blu-ray DVDs to your large ext HDD, for streaming digital content to your HDTVs?
2b. Does DRM make AnyDVDHD useless?

 

You forgot the biggest plus:

Upgraded graphics options w/ dual-core + Optimus.

No longer stuck with the base graphics if you opt for the dual-core.

Plus they FINALLY offer the top end dual-core chip, rather than maxing out at i5 chips.

 

Yep, not worth it at all.
The only big performance advantage will be some boosts from the 2nd gen i7, but the first gen's were no slouch, so unless your job requires high CPU usage, no real point in upgrading.

Even the guys with SXPS 16 with i7 QM's and Radeon 5730 have no point in upgrading, the specs are just barely below this new one.

 

The DRM, as far as I understand, is ONLY for Intel-specific streaming (or perhaps downloaded) content.

As far as the dual core vs. quad core discussion goes, I guess dual-core would be better for me right now, but I like to buy my computers to last as long as possible, which means that I'll buy near-top-of-the-line or with an eye toward upgrading the components in a few years. (I'm hoping Ivy Bridge will be compatible?)

When will that be happening?

 

Thanks for the heads up on AAFES. I might pull the trigger on this if the Macbook Pro update on Thursday disappoints (which I expect it to).

 

Meh, I think I am just going to wait for the 22m Ivy Bridge as the bottleneck seems to stem from the not-so-significant-upgrade of the 540m. And since I did manage to score with my current system w/ B+RG screen and BL keyboard for less than $800, it doesn't make much sense for me to ditch my L501x.

 

Does anyone know how many ram slots there are and what size sticks their using? I would like to upgrade the ram myself but if they have 4 sticks of 1gb each I'm going to need to buy more.

 

I plan on ordering the New L502X this week, here are the Specs I choose.
Processor-2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2620M processor 2.70 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.40 GHz I72620M [317-6407]
Memory-6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory 6G2D133 [317-6414]
Keyboard-Backlit Keyboard - English BCKLITE [331-1668]
LCD-15.6 FHD B+RGLED TL (1920x1080) and Skype-Certified 2.0MP HD Webcam FHDLED [320-1673][421-3642][421-3874]
Video Card-NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M 2GB graphics with Optimus 540MUS [320-2120]
Hard Drive-640GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 640GB72[342-2372]
Color Elemental Silver AluminumLUMLAN[318-0490]
Integrated Network Adapter-Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card INTNIC [430-4038]
Adobe Reader-Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 ADOBER [410-1883]
CD ROM/DVD ROM-Tray Load Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD) BDCMB [318-0151][318-0237][318-0434]
Sound-BL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3JBLSND[318-0138]
Wireless-Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 IN1000W [421-4736][430-4046]
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed)Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook ISTART [410-0487]
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 30-Day Trial MCPT30D [410-9452]
Battery- 92 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery 9BAT [312-1186]
Service1 Year Basic Service Plan-T1O[420-8878][933-0410][939-4860][939-4870][950-3337][950-9797]
Datasafe Online -DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year DSO2G[421-4356][927-2357][988-0099]
Mobile Broadband-No Mobile Broad Band Selected

 

The quote below seems to support your statement that this new form of DRM is Intel-specific.

Do I understand the implications correctly?
Specifically....
1. Once Netflix, Amazon Prime and Redbox (when Redbox begins streaming) convert to “Intel Insiders” for streaming movies (assume it will happen, and soon), it seems the L502x with SB will automatically encrypt the movie... making it impossible to copy the movie to an ext HDD for later viewing on your HDTV.

2. But if I keep my L501x (its i7-740 CPU does not have this special version of DRM encryption that SB has built in), I can copy the movies streamed by Netflix, Amazon Prime and other streaming services... b/c my i7-740 CPU does not automatically encrypt “Intel Insider” streaming content.

 

Spend the extra dough and get the i7-2720QM quad core.

 

crystallakegary: That would be correct, assuming both forms of the service were offered by a given company. However, I think the "Intel Insider" proposal was its own service, but I suppose there's no overarching reason Intel couldn't license it to others.

 

i canceled my L501x order today and order the L502. Can you guys who ordered with the soundblaster x-fi do me a favor?? Look at your spec sheet you get to by clicking on the order number. You know where all the parts you ordered and software are listed. Check and see if it actually lists the JBL speakers up there or if it only lists the soundblaster x-fi thing. I know that all the xps15 laptops come with the jbl speakers but when I ordered my first 501 it actually had the JBL speakers listed up there and now i don't see them specifically listed. Only the soundblaster thing is listed up there. Thanks all.

 

Permit me to "crystal ball" the DRM restrictions of the SB architecture some more....

Do you believe most streaming services will convert exclusively to "Intel Insider" for streaming movies? And if so, soon?

Is "Intel Insider" the future of protecting digital content from copying it?
Only b/c it is "impossible" to break.

 

Not anytime soon. The mainstream sites wouldn't want to leave AMD people out, or people with older laptops.

 

I'm definitely going with the top end dual-core myself.

I'm so glad they're FINALLY not cheaping out and giving us the i7 dual-core. Unlike the 501 which maxed out with the i5 dual-cores...

 

FPetersonIII, mine says "318-0431 Creative SoundBlaster X-FI MB 1.2", with no listing of JBL. I assume the JBL is a given.

 

For people who have ordered it from the US site, do you guys happen to see the part number for the backlit keyboard?

 

The impression I get from searching around (though I can't tell for sure) is that the 1080p display on this machine is glossy?

If so, that is a shame. If it had a matte display option I would buy it instantly (don't care how much it costs) but glossy is a dealbreaker.

I'd appreciate it if anyone knows for sure...

 

331-1668 Backlit Internal Keyboard - English

 

Thanks for the fast reply!

 

Just so people know, for identical configurations, the more-expensive starting point gives you the best deal, and you can get more for the same price.

 

Thanks a bunch for the reply. I am assuming the same thing you are, that the JBLs are a given.

 

Are there going to be i5's available for the L502x?

 

whats the difference between the Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (1x2 bgn) and the Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6230 (besides the fact that the latter has bluetooth)?

 

Hmm, the old XPS 15 keyboard had white-text Functional keys with icons (where F1, F2 etc are) with no F1, F2 etc but the new XPS 15 has small white-text F1, F2 etc with orange coloured Functional icons, according to photos.

Apart from that I cannot discern that the new one is an "island" keyboard while the old one isn't, it just looks like slightly wider gaps between keys. Anyone has any links to pics to illustrate the new keyboard?

 

The latter essentially has more bandwidth available to take full advantage of an N network. What I don't quite understand is why we have to choose between Bluetooth and WiMAX.

On a different topic, I didn't realize that Dell stopped putting in fingerprint readers. What gives? I always found mine to be very useful.

 

I called them and they said it is a space issue. They cant fit all 3 radios and antennas in one system

 

The keyboard you are talking about (pictured near "Mind-Blowing Audio") is the 17" (L702x) keyboard. The XPS 15 (L502x) keyboard looks exactly like the L501x's.

 

If you start to customize the L502x, you can see pictures of the new keyboard. It is NOT the same as the L501x. It appears darker because there is black space in between the keys unlike the L501x. The rest of the images on their site have not been updated yet and are still images of the L501x (notice the lack of the orange text on the keys).

http://i52.tinypic.com/zu2ys4.png

 

I didnt see an option for the "island" style keyboard, just the backlit option. Does that mean that its the normal chicklet keyboard?

 

If you mean the image below, it's the XPS 17 (which is an island KB). As for the rest of the images you alluded (and linked) to, the whole notebook looks darker (including the aluminium cover); the notebook is NOT that dark.

 

I was referring to the pictures in this image: http://i52.tinypic.com/zu2ys4.png

Maybe I'm only imagining the difference, but it looks different to me. Either way, I wouldn't care. The L501x's keyboard was fine.