The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
← Previous pageNext page →

    New Dell XPS L521X (Ivy Bridge)

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by htrex, Mar 10, 2012.

  1. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1301
  2. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Dell XPS 15 Dell XPS 15 new notebook comes equipped with new Intel Ivy Bridge and has 15.6 inch Gorilla Glass screen, scratch resistant with resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels. XPS 15 has a Nvidia GT GeFroce 630m 640m GT 1GB or 2GB, supports up to 16GB of RAM, has a maximum 1TB HDD or SSD up to 512GB and processors Ivy Bridge - i5-3210M 2.5-GHz or the quad core 2.10 GHz i7-3612QM. On the connectivity are available: a USB 3.0 port miniDisplay, HDMI, card reader, Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0.

    JBL Speakers are listed -- though specified only on the 14, not on the 15. Still not seeing any speaker grills on either. Anyone else?
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1302
  3. JohnBDL

    JohnBDL Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Not certain. Seems like a more awkward place to put it but it very well could be yes
     
    JohnBDL, Jun 10, 2012
    #1303
  4. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Also lists "3D" as a distinctly separate feature for the 14 between the speakers and the back-lit keyboard. Will the 14 have a 3D screen?
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1304
  5. nunomoreira10

    nunomoreira10 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    244
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    nunomoreira10, Jun 10, 2012
    #1305
  6. Elands

    Elands Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    119
    Messages:
    335
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    So for the 15:
    Left - Power, ethernet, HDMI, minidisplay port, (3) USB
    Right - ODD, sd slot?, kensington lock, headphone and mic jack

    Is that basically it? Those all seem good for my needs and it does look very slim from the picture of it closed.
     
    Elands, Jun 10, 2012
    #1306
  7. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Here are the others:

    http://www.b1.ro/pictures/2012/05/31/46447.JPG
    http://www.b1.ro/pictures/2012/05/31/46448.JPG

    So power, HDMI, Ethernet, mini-display and (3) USB 3.0 on the left, ODD, headphone, mike, lock and SD card reader on the left. Whew. Done and done.

    Notice the light on the front just below the trackpad? Not sure if the 13 has that same feature. Never noticed it before.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1307
  8. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    its prolly gonna be 3d sound lol or "surround sound"
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1308
  9. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I thought that too but it says: JBL speakers, 3D, backlit keyboard. It doesn't really group them together. I don't think it will have a 3D screen, but it's just worded strangely.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1309
  10. DauntlessDL

    DauntlessDL Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    There's an image with an XPS that has 2 USB slots and one with 3?
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I'm guessing the one with 3 USB's is the XPS15 and the other one is an XPS14?

    Is it actually possible to swap an internal ODD with an SDD?
     
    DauntlessDL, Jun 10, 2012
    #1310
  11. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    i wouldnt trust those specs, they are listing 425/540m for gpu and 1st gen i5/i7 cpu
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1311
  12. JohnBDL

    JohnBDL Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Bills gonna get some shock when he comes on here tomorrow :L
     
    JohnBDL, Jun 10, 2012
    #1312
  13. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Yes, the 3 is the 15 and the 2 is the 14. And yes, in the past you could do such a swap but this is a different, thinner chassis. We don't know yet.

    Yeah, it's all over the place. We can agree that's the new XPS 15 but the specs will vary from country to country. I'm not going to worry about that.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1313
  14. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    the bottom of the laptop is gonna say "smex" :confused: :confused: :confused:


    (pic 15/38 in the link above from muffin man
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1314
  15. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    the alienware look flashy, plasticy and childish next to the xps
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1315
  16. exwhiteshadowx

    exwhiteshadowx Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    So I finally decided to join this because I found a possible image of the L521x on a Bulgarian site. [​IMG]
     
    exwhiteshadowx, Jun 10, 2012
    #1316
  17. DauntlessDL

    DauntlessDL Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Doesn't that just say 'XPS' and the intel logo ?
     
    DauntlessDL, Jun 10, 2012
    #1317
  18. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    What's funny is that Bill still won't be able to officially acknowledge anything until he's given a green light by the suits. And yet we've pretty much jumped 40 pages in two days and uncovered everything but the XPS's DNA at this point.

    For the life of me I still cannot find the speaker grills. They are not on either side of the keyboard, below the screen, on either palm rest, not on the left or ride sides with the ports; I don't see anything in the front rim. Maybe they did like the Inspirons and mounted them slightly underneath the front, in which case the sound will suck as it will be muffled by a desk, a lap, anything the laptop sits upon.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1318
  19. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    oh i must be seeing things....LOL.....

    -----

    yea nvm it's just upside down :S


    isnt that the current one?
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1319
  20. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    yeah i want good audio thats what i was looking for also through the pics
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1320
  21. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Yeah, I don't ever want to see that thing again in my lifetime.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1321
  22. Elands

    Elands Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    119
    Messages:
    335
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    That's the 15z but i wouldn't trust this sites info a whole lot they put an M18x detail card in front of an M11x... :rolleyes:
     
    Elands, Jun 10, 2012
    #1322
  23. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56
    i never really liked the current one, just the audio and screen made it stand out
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1323
  24. kgh00007

    kgh00007 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    80
    Messages:
    464
    Likes Received:
    50
    Trophy Points:
    41
    I agree, I will not be paying money for a step back in screen quality from my L502x. The screen and the keyboard/trackpad are the most important parts of a laptop as you look at them/use them all day!

    I agree also, and that's what the reviewer says here about the Sony display, gamut is not perfect, but the IPS screen is better than TN in every other way:

    AnandTech - Sony VAIO SE: An IPS Laptop for Under a Grand

    You have obviously never held an Asus Zenbook in your hands, build quality is top end.

    For what it's worth, I'm gonna keep my L502x with it's B+RGLED screen and 2.1 speakers and I'm gonna buy the Asus UX31A 13.3" with 1080p IPS screen for portability and emailing on my lap and stuff.
    That way there is no compromise on screen quality, I have an AMOLED screen on my phone and a Super PLS screen on my tablet and I will never spend good money on a device with a poor screen again.
     
    kgh00007, Jun 10, 2012
    #1324
  25. ctwt

    ctwt Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    16
    So ports on the XPS 15 seem to be good and for a 14" the XPS 14 port options are good as well. If the XPS 14 would come with a 1080p screen option, I might consider getting it.

    Currently I am deciding between the UX31A and the Dell XPS 14 and 15. But IPS 1080p screens with small bezel are too much to hope for.
     
    ctwt, Jun 10, 2012
    #1325
  26. PaKii94

    PaKii94 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    211
    Messages:
    2,376
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    56

    thats what ive been saying :p even if the envy has bad color reproduction its still a superior screen to almost all out there for notebooks
     
    PaKii94, Jun 10, 2012
    #1326
  27. cokeboy

    cokeboy Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    wow, i didnt check the site for 6 hours and theres 6 pages of pictures to look through, bill is gonna be in shock tomorrow. gotta say the laptop being sold on the belgian site and the one one the romanian site look identical. when comparing the text of the romanian site to the photos they dont add up; pictures say first gen intel i5/i7 and text say third gen i5/i7. kinda makes the rest of it suspicious.

    and another thing i have as well is the whole "where on earth are the speakers" problem. they definitely had the room on either side of the keyboard to place them there. im also not a fan of the mini up/down arrow keys but that's just my two cents
     
    cokeboy, Jun 10, 2012
    #1327
  28. Karamazovmm

    Karamazovmm Overthinking? Always!

    Reputations:
    2,365
    Messages:
    9,422
    Likes Received:
    200
    Trophy Points:
    231
    guys the order of the ports on the left side are:

    power->ethernet->hdmi->mDP->USB

    if its thunderbolt or no, there is no indication, since the pic is of too low quality to discern the symbol on the right side of the port
     
    Karamazovmm, Jun 10, 2012
    #1328
  29. Risco

    Risco Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    118
    Messages:
    1,097
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Side power port, that is going to be annoying.
     
    Risco, Jun 10, 2012
    #1329
  30. Elands

    Elands Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    119
    Messages:
    335
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The one with 2 is the 14 and the one with 3 is the 15.
     
    Elands, Jun 10, 2012
    #1330
  31. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Can anyone confirm that the new function on the F7 button is the "eject" button for the ODD since it's a slot load? The current XPS 15 doesn't have anything on its F7. Actually, I take that back -- the photo is the 14 which doesn't have an ODD. So then what is that function?

    See link:

    http://www.b1.ro/pictures/2012/05/31/46419.JPG
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1331
  32. joshuajag

    joshuajag Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    13
    Messages:
    183
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Name any current laptop that doesn't have it on the side... most of them do and it's not that big of a deal. Where else would you like it do be? It can't be on the back because that's where everyone puts the hinges.

    F7 definitely looks like an eject button. You can also see it a bit in this pic: http://img.2ememain.be/f/normal/124190938_1-laptop-neuf-dell-xps-15-neuf.jpg
     
    joshuajag, Jun 10, 2012
    #1332
  33. Elands

    Elands Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    119
    Messages:
    335
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    That is most certainly the eject button.
     
    Elands, Jun 10, 2012
    #1333
  34. Jell0zz

    Jell0zz Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Someone mentioned it before but I'm eager to find out what Bill has to say about this :D

    Ignore 30 pages of info about the laptop and talk about the weather or something :D
     
    Jell0zz, Jun 10, 2012
    #1334
  35. JohnBDL

    JohnBDL Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    It really does look like an eject button but it is a 14?
     
    JohnBDL, Jun 10, 2012
    #1335
  36. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1336
  37. m4lmo

    m4lmo Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    and about specs? i7-740? Really?
     
    m4lmo, Jun 10, 2012
    #1337
  38. Elands

    Elands Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    119
    Messages:
    335
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    It's a Romanian website everything will be completely different spec wise over here.
     
    Elands, Jun 10, 2012
    #1338
  39. Botsu

    Botsu Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    105
    Messages:
    624
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Thx for the pics. Though I lol'd at the specs, they are completely off and absurd. Some dude responsible for this joke probably deserves a kick in the nads.
     
    Botsu, Jun 10, 2012
    #1339
  40. Greyout

    Greyout Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    53
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Why do the pictures say GT 425/540m? is this from a long time ago at a private show or something?
     
    Greyout, Jun 10, 2012
    #1340
  41. Jell0zz

    Jell0zz Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Exactly, romania isnt that much of a wealthy nation. To be able to sell the pc's its impossible to put the same hardware in it for a reasonable price for the customers.
     
    Jell0zz, Jun 10, 2012
    #1341
  42. Botsu

    Botsu Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    105
    Messages:
    624
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Is that so ? I didn't know that.

    Good luck with a i7-740qm though, those suckers ran really hot iirc...They were also quite power hungry. Better stick with a dual-core in that case.

    Still it sounds a bit weird. It means Dell would have to design a specific mobo / bios etc just for the sake of it ? Also I don't recall intel having a habit of discounting their older material... look at Nehalem/Penryn desktop CPUs, they're still pretty expensive if you buy them retail...
     
    Botsu, Jun 10, 2012
    #1342
  43. Jell0zz

    Jell0zz Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    32
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Jell0zz, Jun 10, 2012
    #1343
  44. DauntlessDL

    DauntlessDL Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    They also say that the XPS13 will be about 4000 Lei, which is 800€ / 1 120USD and that's a lot less then the price of an XPS13 in europe/USA.

    //edit
    At least, a lot less than the current european XPS13, which starts at 1150
     
    DauntlessDL, Jun 10, 2012
    #1344
  45. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Although the exclusivity contract between Intel and Apple on TB has run out, it's still not in demand for any OEMs to start including it except for Apple -- even though Intel has made the connection available on all new mobos.

    Translated from the Romanian page:

    Dell XPS 15 Dell XPS 15 new notebook comes equipped with new Intel Ivy Bridge and has 15.6 inch Gorilla Glass screen, scratch resistant with resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels. XPS 15 has a Nvidia GT GeFroce 630m 640m GT 1GB or 2GB, supports up to 16GB of RAM, has a maximum 1TB HDD or SSD up to 512GB and processors Ivy Bridge - i5-3210M 2.5-GHz or the quad core 2.10 GHz i7-3612QM. On the connectivity are available: a USB 3.0 port miniDisplay, HDMI, card reader, Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth 3.0. Dell XPS 15 can be bought at the end of the second quarter, and details about its price is not yet known.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1345
  46. nunomoreira10

    nunomoreira10 Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    244
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    lol, that's not gonna happen
    they probably research the old xps 14 specs and put it there by mistake
     
    nunomoreira10, Jun 10, 2012
    #1346
  47. The Muffin Man

    The Muffin Man Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    79
    Messages:
    271
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Also, the 15 has (2) headphone jacks, though one has the dual-purpose of mike connectivity. Also, the Ethernet jack has the pull-down flap to stay slim when not in use. This seems to be the new rage.
     
    The Muffin Man, Jun 10, 2012
    #1347
  48. king_solom0n

    king_solom0n Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    The 14 and 15 both look great but I'm not liking how the vent is. It looks like they are making it like the Macbook Pro. Hopefully this doesn't lead to extremely noisy fans while playing a game.
     
    king_solom0n, Jun 10, 2012
    #1348
  49. Botsu

    Botsu Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    105
    Messages:
    624
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The XPS 15 looks great. Has a high-end aura about it that the previous XPS designs miss.


    Now if only Dell could just
    [​IMG]
     
    Botsu, Jun 10, 2012
    #1349
  50. nicob

    nicob Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    153
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Wow, lots of info on the last few hours!

    Last things first: for the mDP/thunderbold port: if you look at the logo on the side of the port it is definately "big" and as such can only be the mDP port logo and not the "small" thunder logo ==> mDP and not TB

    Speakers: I think that they are positionned where the fans on the MBP is: on the hinge/back side of the laptop. If so it's actually not a bad idea because the sound would easily be amplified through the bezel so I think it's an interesting concept. If that is the case, then were the hell are the fans!!

    I would still like to see pics of the beast closed and in 360° view to have a good idea of how the system is cooled and where the speakers are.

    I still find the keyboard of the 15 very odd: it's small and lack A LOT of keys (I only counted 80) so it would have been nice to at least have the Home/End/Pg Up/Pg Down keys. Also, I don't like that the Function keys have to be used through the Fn key: as it if I want to refresh a page I have to press Fn + F5 and not directly F5 like on my XPS M1530. Then again I probably use them less often than the Play/pause/skip/Vol.UP/down etc. keys but still. I would have liked to have touch keys for those like on the M1530. As well I'm not sure I like the form factor of the keyboard, it looks "cheap" and "plasticky".

    Last comment for now: I'm a bit disappointed the new XPS15 doesn't have a fingerprint reader as that's a pretty cool feature and very appreciable to not have to remember 15k different passwords...
     
    nicob, Jun 10, 2012
    #1350
← Previous pageNext page →