Need some help deciding on specs for XPS 16 system

So the time has finally come for me to get a mobile machine as I'll be spending more late nights at school working in the lab. I am an industrial design student and will primarily be using Solidworks, a 3D CAD program that primarily uses a single core and the Adobe Creative Suite. I know a simpler Studio system will suffice but I cannot stop looking at the XPS line.

I plan to purchase a system through the Student deal site and I think I've found a good spec at a good price.
For about $1365 I can get the following:

i7 720
ATI 5730 1gig
6 gig ram
wLED screen 1080
500 gig HD

This spec seems pretty typical after reading several posts on how others have spec'd their machines.

Now, I really don't feel I need the i7 720 and wouldn't mind moving down to a 540, 520 or 450 chip but some of the systems I've spec'd out with these chips end up costing more than the i7 build! The RAM is what typically jacks the price up. I really don't know how they calculate the pricing because it seems to be different for every build.

Should I just go for the i7 chip or just pay about the same and get a i5 chip? I really don't want to bother with any heat issues.

Also, is there ANY way to get a 6 cell battery on any XPS 16 system? They all seem to be spec'd with the larger 9 cell battery which looks flat out ugly.

I realize looks aren't everything but the design and shape of things matter a bit to me.

Thanks in advance!

 

If you're going to be mostly using a program that only uses a single core then a dual core i5 should be good enough for you! I use AutoCAD on my dual core i7 and it's as smooth as you like!

If it's the RAM that moves the price over your limit then consider if you actually need 6GB's. 4GB is plenty for most users, and it's easily upgradeable when you're ready (not to mention cheaper).

I know how you feel about the 9 cell battery! I thought it looked terrible at first but I'm completely used to it now and it doesn't bother me. Dell were adamant that they wouldn't ship the system with the 6 cell, and the 6 cell has subsequently been withdrawn from the accessories site also! You could get one off ebay at a risk but you won't get much more than 2 hours with it, compared to 3-4 hours from an i5 and 9 cell.

Heating issues aren't a problem for me in the 1647, and I think most 1647 users feel the same way.

Hope this helps!

 

Listen to kezuk12. He has the laptop I want (barring the graphics card).

And if you can get the 4GB of DDR3 RAM (in one module), it is far cheaper buying the second 4GB module from somewhere else.

If you are willing to put up with the little extra hassle that is.

My perfect system would be as follows:
i7-620M (i7-640M if it ever comes out)
1080p WLED (to conserve battery power)
500GB 7200RPM HDD (as long as it is a Seagate Momentus)
Windows 7 Pro
6GB of DDR3 RAM (replacing 2GB stick with a 4GB stick)
Blu-ray player
Intel Wifi 5300 (6300 if it ever becomes an option)
ATI Radeon 5730

If I could get this for $2000 I would be happy.

 

Most people recommend what they have. Talk about favoritism contest

I'd recommend the i7 after looking at your needs. The 620m is a great processor too, but it also has ups and downs. In your case, you're better off with a quad.

 

Being a student working in the lab, I might tend to argue. I would hate carrying around the 130W brick that comes with the i7 quad core. I would even be a little embarrassed.

At least the dual core will last a bit longer and comes with a normal sized power adapter.

That said, your applications may run better with 4 cores (8 threads).

 

The adapter isn't really that big. If your backpack can fit the 90w than it would surely fit the 130w.

 

What annoys me is that I can get the i7 quad core for AU$300 less (and I get the Intel WiFi) than the i7-620M dual core as well.

What's that all about? I want the dual core option to be cheaper.

And I believe the 130W adapter quite a bit larger; there are some pics floating about. Though I have also heard there is a slim 130W adapter but who knows which one you get.

When do the new Dell deals come out? Is it in the first week of the month?

 

Dells marketing strategy to make you think that the i7 620M is better than the i7 720QM I guess!

New Dell deals come out every thursday morning.

 

The adapter size is a non-issue. My 130w adapter is small (slim adapter). I've also had the 90w adapter, which is proportionally smaller.

When the power problem was found and Dell decided to do something about it many months later, they were giving out the old 130w adapter (the "brick") to some users because that's what they had in stock. A new laptop should come with the slim adapter. They might not even make the brick adapter anymore (why would they?).

 

What slim adapter O_O can you post pics and model number? I have the freaking brick and its HUGE

 

It's approximately 2.5" wide, 5.5 long and 1 inch deep. It's pretty slim imo. Bulky never crossed my mind when I looked at it.

 

I don't get the whole 'bulky' argument either, the Dell 130W adapter is no bigger than the 90W ASUS adapter from my last laptop.

 

Weird. Anyone bought this one recently from Australia? I dont want to get the brick and I am pretty sure no one here can guarantee I will get the slim version.

Seekor_moc; hows your laptop going? Its the configuration I will be buying I think. I think I am leaning towards the 1080p screen and the 8GB of RAM however. I am just curious if you have experienced the throttling issues or whether you are a happy buyer.

 

They actually are, look around you might get the stats to support that.

620 is better as compared to 720 under single threaded or moderately multi-threaded load, Its just at high multi-threaded load that 720 wins.
Add to that better battery life, less heat and less/no heating problems

Selling i7 620M at higher price as compared to i7 720 is a general trend i guess and not limited to dell.

I guess thats because the options are limited with i7 620, as not many notebooks apart from business notebooks are powered by i7 620.

 

I know, I have one!

I just don't want somebody with an i7 720 shouting at me

 

The thing is that in 1 or 2 threads the 620 is a little faster than the 720, when using 4+ threads, the 720 is a LOT faster than the 620.

 

And how many applications do you use 4+ threads in?

 

I love it. I can run a whole load of programs at once. I game on it on a regular basis, and have never had it throttle. My idle temps are 48-53 CPU and about a degree lower on the GPU. Even when running Prime95 and FurMark, I can't get the GPU to top 80, and I've never had the GPU throttle. I can get the CPU to throttle, but only when running Prime95 on all 8 threads, and running FurMark on top of it. If I drop FurMark or 2 threads of Prime95, it won't throttle even if I try.

The 1080p screen is great, but I prefer the 900p myself. For a 15.6" screen, I think 1080 is a bit of overkill, you probably won't notice much difference unless you hold your face right up to the screen. Also, that's just more pixels for you GPU to have to drive. If you get the blu-ray player it might be worth it, but otherwise save yourself the cash. Just my opinion though.

8GB is a worthy upgrade. 6GB is kind of silly, as it's a 4GB and a 2GB chip, not 2x 3GB chips, meaning that only 4GB are running at full DDR, and the other 2GB are at single data rate. I only got the 6GB because it was the minimum for the EPP package. Note: Buying 8GB of RAM from newegg is much cheaper than upgrading 4 to 8 with Dell. Then you can sell your old 4GB and make back most of the cost of upgrading.

 

No single application, but when running several applications at once it makes a difference.

 

I have both adapters, 90w an 130w, and I can tell you the 130w isn't all that big. It's about 1cm thicker(estimated, probably less than 1cm) than the 90w.

 

Can't change the configuration of the RAM. It's 8GB or nothing I guess. If I could have freed up a slot I would have and I would have purchased from elsewhere.

i7-740, 1080p, 8GB RAM, 500GB 7200 HDD, ATI 5730, Blu-ray, Win 7 Pro, 3 yrs premium warranty, Intel Wifi 5300. For AU$1900 (standard config)

Or

i7-620M, 1080p, 8GB RAM, 500GB 7200HDD, ATI 5730, Blu-ray, Win 7 Pro, 3 yrs warranty, Dell Wifi. For AU$2200 (had to up'spec)

I want the latter as I want the dual core but its more expensive and I dont get the Intel 5300. Tis very frustrating.

If anyone has any influence at Dell, tell them what I am after.

 

You can always try calling them, the Dell sales reps have more config flexibility than the website offers.

 

I think all the sales staff know me by name. And I am starting to think they are jotting down my ip address when I go to the online chat.



They have had enough of me ... But you can't say I havent tried.

 

The 740 qm is the superior machine don't bother with the 620.

 

After reading many forums and looking at some specs, one may tend to argue. And my main concern is battery life. I want to stretch it as long as possible so would much prefer the 620M.

 

The 620 will get better battery life than the 720. However, if you're really concerned about battery life, maybe the XPS 16 isn't what you should be looking at.

 

Someone did recommend the Vostro but I want something as a bit of an all rounder.

If I can get an extra 30 minutes out of the 620 and push it to the 4 hour limit, I will be happy. Either that or a buy a second battery which could be annoying.

Which software packages make use of the 4 cores by the way? I believe Adobe Photoshop CS4 does and some games but is it rampant?

 

Wled + 720qm + 5730 + 9 cell I got 4:30 minutes. With the RGBled screen i get just over 3 hours. So the 740 should be very similar

 

I want to give it a week or two to see what September has to offer. Thanks for the information though Brendanmurphy. 4:30 minutes sounds really good. Puts my mind a little at ease should I buy the 1645.

 

EEK! Dell no longer offering i7-620M in any of the Dell XPS 16 configurations.

I think I actually cried.

 

@Yuley - you will get over 4 hours with WLED + i7 620 + 5730
I got 4 hours once upon a time with RGBLED + i7 620 + 4670. Now I just get 3:45ish.

Don't forget about the i5's for all round performance!

 

I haven't ... but the price difference is now ludicrous.

i7-740QM system AU$1900. i5-540 system is around AU$2400.

I want to yell at someone at the Dell Marketing team. I wish they knew what they were doing. They have no idea ...

 

Give it another few weeks, the packages will change again, lol. I really don't understand how Dell comes up with these packages anyway. You're supposed to be able to customize them, but they're always changing their offerings.

BTW, the theoretically cheaper 1647 is more expensive than the 1645 in the US too. The reason is the 1645 comes with a higher baseline configuration (more RAM, etc), where you have to pay the ridiculous Dell upgrade prices to get the same config (besides the CPU) on a 1647.

 

Your spot on. It was the blu-ray player plus the extra to get from 6GB of RAM to 8GB.

I could have stuck with the 6GB and bought the RAM elsewhere but I wanted a side by side comparison.

I will now have to wait ... I was getting very hopeful that this month would be it. It still may be I guess.