Is a dell XPS gonna be good enough for what I want to do?

Hey,

I'm sure this question has been asked 10000x times, but I thought I would ask it again.

I'm going to be using my new laptop for college crap and gaming.

I'm not a hardcore gamer but I want it to be able to play newer games with no problem.

I'm going to be able to get the employee discount program price and I will be spending between $1500 and $2500 including at least a 3 year warranty.

Is it worth the extra for the the 15" alienware vs. the dell studio xps? All of the stats would basically be the same. 6-8gb of 1333hz ram. i7-720Qm, 500gb 7200, etc...

The only difference would be that the alienware as the potential for a GTX260M instead of a ATI 5730.

Is the video card worth the extra $5-600? Is there more of a difference than that between the two systems (XPS vs alienware, doesn't look like anything else beside video card on the stat sheet)?

Thanks ahead of time


**** I realize I kind of chose an awkward title, so just answer the question(s) in the thread I guess. ****

 

It also depends on portability, as the Alienware is huge!

 

The alienware is not huge as it is a 15" laptop compared to the Studio XPS 16 which as the name implies is a 16" laptop. I am a full time student myself and have had the SXPS 1640 for a year now and it does everything I want. I also do a lot of design and drafting work, the SXPS handles it very well. As far as the games go, I have the 4670 ATI GPU that Dell offered a year ago and it plays most new games on pretty high settings after I overclocked the GPU. I have no experience with the Alienware 15 but this is my view on the SXPS 16. Hope it helps

 

exactly, if you're going to college, Alienware is going to heavy as hell..

I am in the exact same situation as you (going to college, not a hardcore gamer etc..) So I went with the XPS 16 w/ ATI 5730. Not only it will handle most of my gaming needs (Splinter Cell: Conviction, Dragon Age, Battlefield 2, GTA: Episodes from Liberty City), but it will also provide me with enough portability to move in around the classes.

 

ok. sounds cool. Thanks for the input so far. I definitley don't want anything that is HUGE.

Are the problems with the XPS' that people have been reporting something to worry about? Or is it just because dell has so many systems out there that there seems to be more problems?

 

As far as I know the dell sxps is not good for gaming due to the bad position of the vent. The performance will strongly decrease when your temperatures will reach a certain level, at which the gpu will slow itself to make the temperatures lower. (though I read that the i5 cpu is cooler than the i7 cpu, and that the new ati hd5 series also might run cooler than the hd 4 series, but I have no certain information about this. A combination of an i5 cpu and ati hd5 series gpu might therefore solve the heat issue, but as I said, I do not know this for sure so its best to wait for a review).

I would defnitly go for the m15x, since its gpu is way stronger, and the cooling is superb. Basicly the m15x gives more power, and less heat, which is worth the price imo.

 

This doesnt happen on my 1645 with a quad core CPU and ati 5730. I can multitask and game at the same time and still see no heart problems or GPU\CPU slow downs or stuttering. This is coming from an m17x. Either will work perfect for what you need them for.

 

I say get the XPS. The Alienware's GPU is way better, but I'd rather have the more professional (or scholastic) look of the XPS. If you're not a hardcore gamer, the XPS's GPU should be just fine for you. Besides, it's not like it's a low end graphics card. It's pretty decent.

 

I want to say that with the new ATI 5730, you will be able to play modern games like Splinter Cell: Conviction, Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield 2, Just Cause 2, Dragon Age, just fine...

 

even on the 4670 i can play most new games on the highest settings...

 

The SXPS series was kind of a love/hate relationship with me. I used to have the 1640 which I loved the style of the laptop and the RGBLED. The issues where so tremendous that it outweighed the love I had for the laptop. Now, the Alienware M15x weighs I believe about 9 lbs and the SXPS is about 6.5 lbs. So the weight to me isn't that drastic. Now the 15 is not as thin as the SXPS, but that is to accomodate the superior cooling, and the build quality on the Alienware line is far superior to the SXPS line. Also, the ability to upgrade is no where as limited as the SXPS 16. You can upgrade the video card(as alienware uses the MXM 3.0b standard video cards) along with all the other common upgrades, which is impossible on the SXPS 16(the video card not the others). The M15x is a better machine and if I was going to be spending 1500-2500 on a laptop I would definitely put my money into a more solid product having previously owned the SXPS and now owning the M17x and my best friend purchased the M15x. I have had experience with all three systems and the Alienware line is far, far superior