Little advice on what to pick, and is the XPS 17 super bulky?

I'm trying to choose between a HP dv6t quad and a XPS 17. I'm a casual gamer (Starcraft 2, Bioshock 2, Skyrim when it comes, MMO's) and will be going to college in the fall. The laptop will probably stay in my dorm 70-80% of the time, so portability doesn't really matter much, but I don't want it to be too ridiculously large. Can it fit in a normal sized backpack?

Specs of dv6tqe:
dark umber
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 2nd generation Intel(R) Quad Core(TM) i7-2630QM (2.0 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache) w/Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
• 1GB GDDR5 Radeon(TM) HD 6770M Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 6-Cell Lithium-Ion Battery (standard) - Up to 5.5 hours of battery life +++
• 15.6" diagonal High Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366x768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision HD Webcam with Integrated Digital Microphone and HP SimplePass Fingerprint Reader
• Intel 802.11b/g/n WLAN with Wireless Display Support
• Standard Keyboard with numeric keypad



Specs of XPS 17:
~Processor: Intel Core i7-2630QM processor (2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz)
~Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
~500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
~6 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
~Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM)
~NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB graphics
~17.3 inch FHD WLED TL (1920x1080) 3D
~9 Cell Primary Battery
~Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
~Internal Backlit Keyboard - English

Basically same price. The XPS 17 allows me to get a great screen with the quad processor and blue ray, but I sacrifice some graphics card power and portability.

And what's the difference between the screen on the 17 here and the RGB screen I hear people talking about?

 

I found same specs but 555m for the XPS 17 if that makes a difference.

 

Just go to a store like Bestbuy, Frys, Radioshack? etc., that sells the Inspiron 17r and check out the bulkiness of that model because they are almost the exact same size.

There are more places that sell Inspiron models in the store and very few that actually sell XPS that I know of. I live in Hawaii so I had to check out the size of the Inspiron 17r at my Naval Exchange to know what size I was dealing with. Hope that helps.

 

It's thinner and lighter than you might think. My old Dell Studio 17 had considerably more bulk. It should fit into pretty much any bag for 17" notebooks.

The RGB screen varies the color of the backlight in specific areas to give you a massive color gamut. Only available on the XPS 15 though...

Definately consider the 555M version, it goes pretty good. And the extra gpu memory comes in handy more than I thought (I've seen Crysis 2 eat nearly 2 gigs). Be wary that the 555M version (when I last checked) includes the 9-cell, which you'll have to remove to get the laptop into most bags. I picked up the 6-cell as well for an extra $150 for that reason (and for some extra work time away from a plug)

 

Anyone know how high it can run on starcraft 2? I know the 6770 can do ultra, but not sure about the 555m.

And which of the two laptops do you guys suggest?

 

I've tried Starcraft II on it, depends on what you call "playable" I guess. Think I dropped the settings to high so it would run nice and smooth.

I went with the L702X over an HP Envy 17, no regrets. Depends on your priorities, but for me it ended up a no-brainer.

 

What resolution were you playing on?

 

If you care about what your games look like then the 555 would be your optimum performance.
If games are not a priority then you should look at the XPS 15.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, cause if you get the XPS 15 youll probably regret not getting the stronger gpu but if you get the XPS 17 youll probably regret not getting the smaller size.
I just got the more powerful XPS 17 besides with the $500 coupon it was way cheaper than the XPS 15 (See sig).

If you need games and small package then you should look at the 14" Alienware with the 555 GPU.

 

What's your price range? When I was researching the XPS 17 thru the other threads, it seems like the XPS 17 is better than the HP laptop because of the 555M 3gb vid card ($150 upgrade). If you're gonna be gaming, it's a definate MUST. Also, try and get the N 6230+Bluetooth instead of just the regular N 1000 ($35 upgrade). There's a variety of coupons out there. I played around w/ a few of the codes and found that this coupon: 7WR1C2?HTTQQ11 with with this Dell Link (via Fatwallet) saves you $429 instantly + the $150 coupon.

 

My budget is only 850 before taxes (NY taxes are an atrocious 9%), I was thinking of picking up a XPS 17 from the outlet. Seems like a really good deal for just swallowing a small scratch or the fact a consumer has touched your laptop before.

 

1080 of course. Actually since it's really important to your decision making I'll fire it up and check the framerates. BRB

:edit: must have uninstalled it by accident, give me about an hour to get it installed/updated

 

I appreciate it.

 

Note Ta10n is running the 3D system. If he is on 120Hz refresh, his frame rates will be 1/2 of what a non-3D system can pull at the same 1080p resolution. SC2 runs great on mine, but I haven't played it many times or checked frames.

 

Uh, that isn't quite how it works. 120hz refresh gives a maximum of 120 fps (visible), only if I turn 3DVision on does it halve the FPS.

Without 3DVision on (representative of the non-3d system performance) I'm pulling between 45-65 fps on Ultra at 1080p (playing squadron defense). I'll keep playing and see if the performance drops as the game gets busier.

 

That's pretty impressive. You didn't OC or anything?

 

No, although I suspect squadron defense isn't particularly demanding graphics wise. It might drop to 30 or so in the campaign or skirmish games

 

I don't find my L702X "bulky"...but it's also not something I would lugg around. I used Skype over the weekend and was showing a family member a renovated room with the webcam... I can't say doing that with a 17" is fun.
If you're going to leave it in one place, or make short trips between locations then I'd say 17" is the way to go.
I personally would have prefered the 15" with the B+RG FHD screen, however I needed something that could handle Battlefield 3 when it comes out, and the 525M/540M just wouldn't cut it, so GPU beatout LCD/size.

So if you are going to leave it in one place 90% of the time, get the 17". If you will be taking it with you all over, get the 15", although as mentioned with the 15" it lacks the "punch" for gaming.

 

Will probably send back my dv6t quad for an XPS 17. Even in worst case scenarios, my campus is pretty small...

Is there a difference between the FHD 3d and non 3d screen? And I know it's not RGB quality, but is it good? Only reason I'm returning my dv6t is because I want a higher resolution and can't afford it...(and HP outlet fails)

 

I have the FHD non-3D screen and IMO it's really good. I find the viewing angles really good, colors, and quality. I'm mostly using the laptop for gaming, movie watching, and light surfing, everything looks sharp.

If you do plan on playing any "serious" games, current or future titles, get the 555M, it has a faster memory bus; 192bit on 555M vs 128bit on the 550M. Makes a big difference when gaming at FHD.

 

The non-3D is fine. It's not the best screen ever, but it is perfectly fine for all but the most picky of screen users (basically those that have had IPS screens...)

Agreed that if you want to game at all, get the 555m, it is a fair bit stronger than the 550m despite some claims to the contrary. It also OC's very well, up to roughly a 460m performance level. And since the GPU is the one thing it is impossible to upgrade later (you can do the CPU if you are a bit ambitious, though finding a good price on a new replacement CPU is a bit tough), get the best available if you game.