L702x Questions

1) Is the L702x quiet?

2) What's the battery life for the 6 cell?

3) If I go for the 6 cell can I later purcahse a 9 cell? I've looked on Dells website and can't find any batteries for the L702x.

4) How many hard Drives can you install in the L702x?

5) Is the 555m worth the extra £80 and will it add to noise/power levels?

6) Can some explain how the TV Tuner works please?

Thanks.

 

1. Pretty quiet until you push it hard and the fans spin up good, but I've heard louder. If you are gaming, you don't notice the noise.

2. On Intel graphics and just web browsing/word processing at 40% brightness you are looking in the ~3 hour range, maybe a bit more. 9-cell is 6 hours.

3. You ought to be able to, look for batteries for the l701x, it's the same system, the l702x just has Sandy Bridge mobo and CPU inside.

4. 2, and easily accessed. One screw opens up a door that covers both bays and the RAM slots. The HDDs are held by caddies screwed to the mobo, Del includes both caddies even if you only get one HDD.

5. The 555m is one of the most overclockable mobile GPUs that exists. It is pretty strong at stock speeds for non-stereoscopic gaming (3D screen deal, there are only a few GPUs really capable of that, Dell doesn't have them for the XPS). If you overclock it up, it hits close to a GTX 460m while retaining Optimus and all that good stuff. I found it worth the upgrade.

6. Don't know enough to help you, but it's an add-on deal to enable you to tune into over-the-air broadcasts. I'm not positive, but you might be able to hook it up to a direct cable line coming out of the wall, but you might need a cable box to get much of anything, depends on your cable service.

 

thanks for the reply

 

I was playing with the TV Tuner last night. It is easy to set up...just follow the directions.

You go to the Windows Media Center, let it scan for signals in your area (supply an area code) and download a channel guide - again, just by following the prompts - which looks very much like the old TV Guide format. You connect a mini-antennae via a hole in the back on the unit, position it...then go to the channel guide, click on a show and it starts playing.

I can pick up several...but I am having problems with the local ABC, NBC and CBS stations. I am getting : No TV Signal - there is currently no TV signal detected for this channel. The channel may be temporarily off the air, or you may need to adjust or reconnect your TV antenna.

That is silly - the CBS transmitter tower is the closest of all! So, I am not sure what is going on with that. I'll have to check when I have more time.