Is the XPS16 for me?

Hey all

I am a pro photographer and I need something with lots of horsepower and a great screen. I also want something that is fairly lightweight when traveling.

I plan on doing critical photoshop work on my 26" monitor at home but,
still want something I could use in the field on a deadline.

I was thinking of a MacBook Pro 15" i7 ... but at close to $3K and with
the known heat issues.. I am reluctant to spend that kind of money.

The Dell XPS16 seems to be the right specs and price point.

Would you recommend it or something else for what I need it for?

 

well i dont have it but for the specs of the SXPS 16 I think it will work fine.

 

I know that it will work.

I just want to know if owners would actually recommend the machine to those who don't have one.

 

I'd give a qualified 'yes!'

Firstly, what would you mean by 'in the field'? Is it outdoors? This thing has a fantastic screen. It is also quite reflective. So I'm not sure if it's usable outdoors (this applies to all laptops actually.)

 

@ jeffyn
how are the temperatures when your running the newest games on your xps16? I read quite a few people saying that their sxps16 was overheating which is why I didn't buy it myself.

 

I would say go for it but it might be a bit bulky on the go but yes its a desktop replacement. I am using it since December09 and I am satisfied completely. No hardware issues. Be sure to get 130W Adapter. 90W adapter would help for on the go coz its very light and sleek.

 

Well, temperatures can be hot, I don't see that as a problem though. The GPU will throttle at 84 degrees C but of course we can't compare this with a desktop machine.

I play MS Flight Sim, Crysis and don't have much to complain.

 

Well mine keeps GPU throttling at that Dell-imposed, 84C limit on Bad Company 2, even after I've redone my thermal paste thrice, cleaned out the fan, propped up the back of the system, and used a USB fan. It's ridiculous that such a capable card (it's not the best, but definitely capable enough to game well) is being severely hampered by the dumb vent design and the limit. @OP, I would not recommend the system for the way it handles heat alone. How Dell could have dropped the ball even after the "m1530" (which I experienced), I shall never know. Since you don't seem to game, I'd love to recommend the system, but just this fact alone (the bad ventilation under load) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Granted you'll probably never stress it as much as a game does (which isn't even that much stress), it's the principle that counts. Frickin' Dell....

@OP, despite my reluctance to say this, for photography it will def. provide the horsepower, and the RGB is a fantastic screen. Though, let me put it this way, I wouldn't recommend the system to any of my family members or close friends (and not to brag or anything, but I do get asked for recommendations by them a lot as the "geeky" one ).

 

Actually from an engineering standpoint, it's really not easy to deal with the heat problem. This usually mean removing heat at a rate faster than the heat produced by the card. With such a small enclosure, a laptop from any manufacturer will be seeing such issues.

While the vent design is... well... surprising at first glance, I'm not sure if a redesign actually can help to remove the heat fast enough to make a real difference. Some high temperature will be reached regardless of the design.

Given the circumstances, it's probably prudent that a temperature limiter of some sort is in place to prevent injury. If left to itself, temperatures can go really high.

It's just basically a tough engineering problem that's not that easy to solve.

 

Several people have tested the difference in GPU temperatures when the screen was open (thus blocking the vent) and when the screen was closed (vent free) and the results were...well....surprising . There was about a 10-15C difference in most cases. Now I'm not expecting this to happen, but a vent on the left side would have handled heat a whole lot better than where they have it now. That would have meant ports would have had to have been placed elsewhere, but it would have at least shown that some serious thought and effort was put into making these systems cool optimally. The place they put it, simply hindered the systems ability to cool optimally, not to mention heat being directed at the screen (whether that causes a problem to the screen in the long run or not, I wouldn't know). Since laptops already attract a lot of heat, due to their size, why not make cooling them a big priority?

Currently, Dell is not even saying anything about this problem, so they might not even be bothered. A redesign at this point (even a replaceable cover with more slits) might be unlikely, but a thermal limit raise is possible, no? Raising it to like 90C, which these GPUs can handle, is a possible solution, that would at least show that Dell is trying to do something, and make the GPU throttling a little more bearable. Unless there is some reason why this can't be done? (which would go a long way in cementing customer loyalty if they told us) Mind you, the M1530 had a thermal limit of 95C (at least mine did) and as a casual gamer, that really wasn't that bad, granted that the 8600m gt was defective.

*All this was said in good spirit, and to help the OP understand fully the problems that plague some XPS 16 owners like my self. The OP needs to know if the XPS 16 is right for him, and this will hopefully help guide his decision (which is what I love about NBR) * These threads here and here can help enlighten the OP (or anyone) more on that issue if need be.

 

I can't remember where I read it, but there was a guy who had the sxps 13 which also has the blocked fan issue. His screen actually got other colours in the down left corner (more yellow/orangy) due to the hot air blowing against it. I think this is why they (dell engineers) put such a low temperature limit, not to save the gpu's (which can handle that heat), but to prevent the screen from decolourising.

 

Yeah i heard that as well. So it is something to consider especially as the OP is a graphic designer.

Perhaps one of the Business Dells would suit you better? The Latitude or Precision series. Those models have 'Professional' grafics suited to designers.