New Dell XPS L521X (Ivy Bridge)

Yes, there are both versions, but only the BGA one supports VT-d, did I not make that part clear?

 

You realize both of those laptops have a 17" lcd, higher TDP CPU, and a higher TDP GPU?
If they pull ~93 watts, as you say, then why do you think a 15" LCD laptop with a lower TDP CPU and GPU will pull over 90 watts?

 

Something similar to this was posted before and i hope its not exactly the same thing. this is what i found hidden in dell's financial stuff below the main page.
12 MONTHS SPECIAL FINANCING ON SELECT ULTRABOOKS is a no interest if paid in full by August, 2013 financing promotion available on select Ultrabooks (XPS 13, Inspiron 14z) from 6/19/2012 thru 7/2/2012 and (XPS 14) from 6/26/2012 thru 7/2/2012. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the purchase balance is not paid in full by your payment due date in August, 2013, or if you make a late payment.

Currently there's no XPS 14, only the XPS 14z. And you see they state the Z versions of the laptops for insprions. So I think tuesday we get our XPS launch!!

EDIT: and they say select ultrabooks, so they're considering the new XPS 14 an ultrabook, cause currently the 14z isn't!
EDIT AGAIN: And it also says the financing on the inspiron 14z started on its release date, so once again i think this confirms an XPS launch on tuesday!

 

Those few days are really torturing........

 

I know D':

 

This is 'slightly' off topic but to just to 'while' away time, on dell malaysia's facebook page there seems to be some guy who's interested in getting the xps15 and some other guy who's trying all his possible best to dissuade the first guy from getting the xps15 lol, might get interesting.. https://www.facebook.com/DellMalaysia/posts/403768186327709

 

Indeed. Just give me a quad-core i7, great 1080P screen and a Nvidia 640M GDDR5 notebook and I'm your buyer .

 

Well yes I was refering to these reviews. But no it's not that bad, you don't see chronos 17" user complaining about throttling on the owner thread afaik. Unless you plan on using your notebook to run furmark 24/7 I don't think throttling will ever be an issue on it, they also say so in the notebookcheck review.

And like I said given the XPS 15 uses a CPU and a GPU that both have a lower TDP and has a smaller display it should have lower consumption and 90W should be fine. It's also pretty standard for 15".

Also the reason they went for a 90W instead of 120W stems rather from form factor / weight concerns than cutting corners to lower the costs. 120W = bigger and heavier power supply.

 

I remember that Bill himself wrote that if it would ever exist, the XPS 14 would be considered an ultrabook

 

And can you tell us where you will post your review? And btw, are you a journalist or writing it for a website/blog/magazine?

 

I am with you in all but the GPU. This should have been a gtx 660m. The XPS line is the premium line again. It needs higher end stuff then a 640m.

The i7 and 1080p screen I am with you, but also finger print scanner (not facial recognition that this will have), backlit keyboard, and multimedia soft touch keys. They should just copy the old m1530 and update it slightly. Their best XPS computer they ever made.

 

nope, not a journalist or writing it for any website. this is actually my first review for a laptop. I usually do them for myself. But this one is highly in the spot light that i dont think i can hold on to this one.
I am just a systems administrator for a company.
So do not expect a professional style review, i have always been informal.

 

I've said it before, but I'll say it again thank you in advance downlinx for your review It sounds like you are putting a lot of work into it.

 

Definately! I think we're all grateful for the input you've had for the purposes of speculation! You sometimes went over the limit as per what you were allowed to say and immediately redacted if Dell considered you shared too much which tends to prove that you're a guy just trying to help the community and not a leaker that can not be trusted!
I think we're all looking forward to read your review (at least I am!!) and don't worry, we'll have PLENTY more questions once it has been launched and before the laptop will hit stores/delivered! Hope you'll be as active then as you are now.

Speaking of which, do you have to return to laptop or do you get to keep it a while longer?

 

No it doesn't. Quad-core + GT 640/650M (GDDR5) can reach high temps in a multimedia notebook and the case tends to get pretty hot too. Because of the relatively small form factor they need to find the right balance between power & what the cooling system can realistically handle, and I think they made the right call.

I agree on the fact it should get an above average GPU (the GT 540M in the L502x was very disappointing), but it doesn't target gamers. Also XPS 1645/1647 were premium and they had the Radeon 4670/5730M which were "above average" mobile GPUs but not gamer grade by any means.

That guy on facebook being anal on the fact that the competition has GT 650M doesn't mention that :

- Many get the DDR3 version (hey Asus, I'm looking at you) which doesn't handle high-res textures and AA well because it's bandwidth starved. A no-go on a 1080p display.
- Some are considerably thicker &/or bigger (Asus N56, Samsung 17" chronos) than the XPS 15 and most tend to suffer from high internal & external temps (Samsung, MSI, Apple)
- It's blatant bs that the 650M (GDDR5) is so commonly featured and representative of the "average" discrete GPU in 2012 multimedia notebooks. Envy 15 got the 7750M (scores the same as GT 640M in 3dmark11 apparently), chronos 15" got the 640M GDDR5 (and again, temps are on the high side)

 

1- Retina MBP is already featuring 650 GDDR5, although it's significantly thinner .
2- AMD 7750M is slightly lower than 650M, and is definitely higher that 640M.

 

As mentioned earlier by Bill himself, it's not about thermals, it's all about Dell not wanting XPS to cannibalize Alienware's market share.

 

VT-d is used as an extension of VT-x technology to virtualize direct I/O hardware calls... nothing to be worried of in my opinion, just in some very particular situations these instructions are useful...
VT-x (not -d) is the ones used to run virtual machines natively instead of software-emulated.

That said, most PC I've heard of that used soldered CPU used the BGA package, it's more practical in PCB manufacturing industry, as 99% of the other chip is in BGA package, especially when talkin' about the GPU.

 

Right, but keep in mind that MBP, the Retina one in particular, will be damn hot!

An applause for Apple's designers to have made a giant heat sink placed under your hands! I'm the first one to say that the aluminium unibody shell is solid and beautiful, but ergonomically speaking it's a nonsense....

 

Nothing more and nothing less, want a game machine get a Alienware. I am fed up with reading pages and pages of whinging and whining about the GPU. The XPS is multimedia laptop, it does a bit of everything along with some style.

 

Sorry if these questions have been asked before (I couldn't bring myself to read all 328 pages of this thread), but how heavy is the new XPS laptop?

Also, is June 26th the launch date?

 

1- Yep, and it's not exactly an example regarding internal & external temps.

2- 3dmark11 GPU score is slightly above 1700 @envy 15 thread. The 640M scores about the same according to notebookcheck.

 

There are a few signs pointing towards a June 26 or 27th launch date. Financing options on the bottom of dell's website list the financing for the unreleased XPS 14 which will be an ultrabook and the financing starts on the 26th. If you look above about the inspirons, their financing started on their release date as well. So financing options state 26th. Dell is having a google+ hangout the 27th with the XPS product lead and he will be the guest of honor.

And as for the weight of the laptop it has been posted around 5.7lbs.

 

Sorry for the double post. Yeah now that you mention that I remember Bill saying that.

 

Are you so sure that 17" Samsung display 1600X900 with 220/250 nits has higher consumption than 15.6" XPS15 with 1920X1080 with 350 nits?

Review says:

So Samsung Chronos can easily cross 100W it's doesn't only because It throttling.
Is there someone that knows power consumption of GT640m or GT650m?
I have some doubt there is a substantial difference in the consumptions at the end there is a difference of only 110MHz between 640m and 650m.
For example Intel declare same max TDP for 3720QM, 3615QM, 3610QM but they are different max clock, so I would not be astonished if Nvidia declared same TDP for 640m and 650m.

In Conclusion: in power comparison between Samsung Chronos and XPS15 We are only sure of the 10W less thanks to the processor, but we know that Chronos easily cross 100W, therefore for the data that we have, we can say that maybe XPS 15 can exceed 90W.

 

The chronos 17" has a 1080p display not 900p display, however the 15" chronos has a 900p display with 1Gb DDR5 Ram.

 

I know for sure that the Apple Macbook with i7 quad-core and 650M uses at maximum 85W.

And for the guys worrying about the performance of the 640M with GDDR5, it easily outperforms the 650M GDDR3 that Asus, Acer and some other companies use. The XPS15 isn't for heavy gaming, but I'm very sure that you can play almost all early 2012 games on 1080P with medium to high settings (without AA, but that isn't really needed on 1080P anyways).

 

There are 2 different Samsung in linked reviews one have 1080p (series 7) and one with 900p (series 5) both are 17" and both use 650m (series 5 with DDR3).
Same problem for both.

 

I *use* VT-d, so it is something I worry about, all I wanted to know is if it was BGA.

 

That's a joke. Even the M14x isn't exactly a gaming powerhouse, if that's what they're aiming towards gamers. I mean c'mon, their most popular midsize notebook has the same GPU as a MacbookPro and is TWICE as thick at 1.49". That's pathetic.

 

....................................

 

I have to agree that XPS couldn't possibly cannibalize Alienware sales for most people, because I would never, ever think of buying an Alienware laptop. Not to mention that Alienware doesn't actually make a 15" laptop, and that's what most of us are looking for. Like many others have said, if the new XPS isn't appealing enough to me, I'll wait until the refresh or look at offerings from other manufacturers.

EDIT: If this is such a worry at Dell...why don't they make Alienware laptops thinner and less hideous?

 

the xps is very appealing for me. There new design looks great and gt 640m is the sweetspot with an i5 dual core to easily work iwth a 90w power adaptor. Even maybe with an i7 3612qm.

XPS is more a multimedia laptop.

 

For sure it's a great laptop, and I'm not super happy with my L502X (see previous post about stupid touchscreen), but there are a couple things that I don't love about the new XPS 15--non-removable battery, worse speakers than the previous generation, the keyboard doesn't look great, no buttons on the touchpad. I realize that's the way premium laptops are going these days, especially with respect to the battery, but I don't like it, and don't feel like products should ever take steps backwards in their product line.

 

Guys, Dell isn'tworried about XPS buyers switching to Alienware, they're worried about Alienware buyers switching to XPS. Which doesn't make any sense for them to want. Clearly they want to differentiate the products somehow.

And of course the Alienware is thicker than the MBP, it's an entirely different segment. Nobody complains about the thickness of an Asus G55/G75 or any gaming computer because they're designed to be thick. It makes it simpler to upgrade, and should make thermals better, which allows for higher boosts/turbos in the CPU/GPU.

@Dorekk, Alienware laptops don't need to be "thinner" because they shouldn't be. You don't make a gaming laptop thin. There would be nothing to distinguish it from the XPS, which is what dell wants to avoid (making them similar). As far as the less hideous goes, I can't really argue there. I do recognize that some people enjoy the designs, but I definitely wouldn't mind an option to have a more subtle chassis as far as pictures and LEDs go. I do like how the chassis is -made- honestly, but if I was ever in the market for a gaming laptop I would have gone to Sager/Asus immediately over Alienware.

 

No touchpad buttons at all? or is it clickable touchpad at the bottom. Keyboard seems more spongy version. It looks more stylish though.

My main worry though are the speakers worse then the jbl ones on the l502x.

 

Good point on the thermals, but you can have a thin laptop with good upgradeability. My friend just got one of those new Sony Vaio SE 15" laptops (I think it is the SE, anyway), which is only .95" thick, and has one panel, with only two screws, that gives you access to all the stuff people usually upgrade on laptops, and everything just slides out easily. No caddy on the hard drive or anything.

 

No separate buttons, it's a clickpad thing. You can tell from the pictures. I prefer separate buttons like on the L502X.

EDIT: My issue with the keyboard is not enough keys. They had room to add the same exact keyboard the L502X has, but they condensed it needlessly, with no dedicated home/end/pg up/pg dn keys. Smaller arrows, too, if I remember.

 

hmm, now thats put me off the l521x. Is it same for the l721x.

Main worry though is the speakers and keyboard.

edit: if that is the case about the keyboard I will wait to see about the l721x.

 

I think Alienware M14X isn't enough in several specs.
It's not so power to not consider Envy15 for example.
If Dell Thinks that Alienware buyers can consider XPS15 if it had 650m,
why Dell doesn't thinks that they can to consider Envy15?

It's not enough small to not consider a 15.6" laptop.
Therefore i think M14x could go to a 13" chassis or become more powerful than now.

 

I thought the same way until I remembered that W8 and the multi-touchpad indirect gesturing (as on a MBP) will allow for much better two-finger scrolling vertically and horizontally, etc. than ever before on Windows. For writing, dedicated PU, PD, H&E keys were awesome, but you only need combine the FN key and the arrows for the same functions.

There will not be an L721x. See the Inspiron series for a 17" Dell.

 

Totally agree that Alienware needs a refresh. It's out dated style wise and weights a ton, which is understandable for gaming laptops. The XPS should be on par with any other high end multimedia laptop out there, HP dvt6/7 or Envy, Samsung 7, Lenvo Y580, etc. I thinks it's crap they crippled it by not putting atleast a 660m in it to make it acceptable for entry level gaming. This would have put it above all the other high end multimedia laptop out there. And even if it cuts into the market share of the 14x who cares its the same company. Most people want a 15 with a high end screen, good GPU, and a professional design that allows you to play games!!!

 

There isn't any L721x.

 

Maybe dell is thinking in the future to upgrade the m14x to gtx 660m and the xps 15 to gt 650m, after all it's just a matter of clocking the cards a bit higher.
gt 650m is just some 15% better then gt 640m, it's not that much, people are getting out of their heads for something so small.

 

I never owned/used the l502x before but where has it been stated that the speakers in the l521x are worse than those in the l502x?

 

The AW line should start with the 670m or equal Kepler card in the 14x line.

 

i wouldn't say gtx 670m, but at least a gtx 660m
nvidia still hasn´t bring to the table other chip then gk107
where is gk106?
there isn't much to choose right now.

 

firstly a 670m would mean they would have to redesign the m14x as it would need to be more thicker and weigh 500g more and then include a 220w power adaptor for what 20% more performance over a 650m.

I find it actually embarrassing nvidia released junk cards like the 670m or 675m. Why not keep the same name as in 570m or 580m. Funnily enough a lot of people are going for computers that take 180w while gaming compared to the 650m or 660m which take around 90-100w while gaming just so they can get 10-20% increase in performance.

It makes me laugh its similar to getting a brand new car in 2012 but its the old shape version which came out in 2010 that has more fuel drinkling engine slightly faster but half the mpg and massive depriciation as it has been replaced by the new 2012 version with double the mpg slightly slower weighs far less etc and is more mobile.

 

The 640m is both underclocked and undervolted versus the 650m. Both of these contribute to lower power draw. Also note that TDP != power draw. All the 45w TDP class Intel CPUs do not all have the same power draw. TDP gives the ODM a metric to use for how much heat the part will generate. The power draw can vary wildly from this.

My guess is that the XPS 15 fully loaded and running something very intensive will near 90 watts. I do have my doubts that it will exceed 90 watts. If Furmark is your main purpose for buying a laptop then its probably not too much trouble to buy a 120 watt power adapter for that purpose. ;p Meanwhile I'll enjoy having the smaller, lighter weight power adapter.

 

I've used Windows 8, and the scrolling is fantastic, but I like the flexibility of having pg up/down keys too. If I'm lying on the couch at a certain angle (and I do this, because otherwise why buy a laptop?) it's awkward to use the touchpad.

Also, with the Synaptics pad the L502X has, scrolling is pretty great in Windows 7, too.