New Dell XPS L521X (Ivy Bridge)

How long does it take anandtech or notebookcheck to review new releases like this? I want to see one before I buy this.

 

Am I the only one hooked up with new Envy? The biggest drawback in new XPS for me is the speakers. I've got my current L502x just because of stellar speakers. Envy seems to have great set of speakers all built in (like six of them) and great quality outlining as well.

What's the catch not buying an Envy but new XPS? It's also a lot cheaper with better GPU. Anyone any idea?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehUxlRB72EI

 

so why a July 5th estimated ship date for a machine u cannot customize???

 

You get HP, which has worse customer support, and I don't trust them. Plenty of people like HP though, and so their Envy series isn't actually that bad (maybe). But is the 7750M actually better than the 640M? (ddr5) just curious. The 7750M is ddr3 iirc but I could be wrong.

Also, AMD graphics switching is VASTLY inferior compared to Nvidia's optimus. That's a big deal for me at least. I think there have been cases where Enduro actually lowers performance of the dGPU when it is on.

 

can you link to it on the HP site i cant really seem to find it that site is a mess

 

I'm a little bummed about the pricing. I was following this thread excited to pull the trigger today when it was announced, but 1,699 for the base i7 is a big chunk of change. And its within $90 of student price a base i7 MBP non retina with the highres screen, which is what i would get if i changed to the fruit side. I've always argued that i would love to get a MBP but couldn't justify such a high price for one.

I guess I'll hang in there and hope for some discounts/coupons/outlet. Dont get me wrong, MBP's are neat and all, but this new xps 15 is really exactly what i want. It's just as much a powerhouse as my l502x, but in a slimmer/smaller/better looking package, and its still dell with its amazing warranty and I've grown pretty attached to dell over the years.

Hopefully some discounts/coupons/something pop up soon, or maybe playing with one in a retail place might push me over the edge.

 

Because the Envy15 is not available everywhere in the world and we don't all live in the US, because of the screen issues and because of HP's customer support.

 

I'm told "this week."

No idea. I know the US teams passed on SSD only configs. I think their reasoning was the performance for the extra money over a spinner+mSATA cache was not there.

My sentiments exactly. About to hit send on my list of questions, and the first one is about the cache drive.

I hope you're right, and CA usually lines up pretty closely to US.

Aha! Exactly. If you get the cellular equipped model, you get a super classy looking full leather insert on the LCD top cover. (Classiness is just my opinion, so take that with a grain of salt.)

OK. I'm out for the day, but I want to say one more time:

Join the hangout tomorrow afternoon. Donnie is the man, and he usually scoffs at my offer for a PR/legal pre-brief before the hangouts. "I don't need your rules. I'm tenured. I'll be fine," is a direct quote. Guarantee he will keep it real. He'll answer all your questions, and the ones he can't answer for business reasons, he'll say so. This guy did all the early planning work on XPS before he got promoted. Now the planner works for him.

 

This is the biggest mistake in my opinion. There is nothing out there like a good SSD, and the difference in price is not that large (well in the real world, not Dell's pricing structure).

Thanks for your help Bill

 

One more and I gotta go pick up the kids.

TBH, and this is not an official Dell reply but just me talking, I'd not worry about the HDD in the initial config and hit the aftermarket for a good SSD at a decent price. You can always keep the old drive for troubleshooting and as a spare in case the SSD ever dies on you.

 

Well if it's not like that right now then I'm sure it can be included with a simple BIOS update!?

 

the 7750m is in line with the 650m ddr5.

anywayyy what have i missed these past few days? has the xps been released yet?

@Bill, I think u might lose the bet I like my envy

 

Enough of that, thanks.

 

I can't talk about customer service, I really don't have any experience with them.

However 7750m is far superior to 630m (and 640m in this respect). With a similar pricing you even can't get a 640m at Dell.

According to NotebookCheck, it is written that it is very close to 650M GDDR5. So unless I'm missing out something very prominent, it's a no brainer.

AMD Radeon HD 7750M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

HP ENVY 15t-3200 Notebook PC | HP® Official Store

 

i think people here are annoyed of discussing the envy here go to the envy thread in the hp forum gogo. anyway i have it right now and it is close to the 650m

 

Sorry home with the family, but I do not have any options in the bios for the msata

 

It's pretty sure that mSATA SSD is not only for cache, because 512GB mSATA SSD is too much

 

I believe the Intel RST drivers control if its cache or storage.

 

Sorry for the folks outside US, but there is the HP Envy configuration I just built to compare the features for $1,304.99 with coupon NBNY3238.

HP ENVY 15t-3200 Notebook PC
A6U26AV

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3610QM Processor (2.3 GHz, 6MB L3 Cache)
1GB Radeon(TM) HD 7750M GDDR5 Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
8GB 1600DDR3MHz System Memory (2 Dimm)
750G 7200 rpm Hybrid Hard Drive
Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word/Excel(R) only, No PowerPoint(R)/Outlook(R)
FREE 2-year Norton Internet Security subscription (a $99 value). Pre-installed.
8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery - Up to 10.25 hours of battery life +++
15.6-inch diagonal Radiance Full HD Infinity LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
720p HD video streaming webcam supports Skype
Intel 2x2 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN + Bluetooth(R)
Full-size Radiance backlit keyboard
Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 10 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 10
2 year limited warranty included
HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

 

how difficult is the install for someone to do themselves who has never done it before?

I'd just rather have the option of you guys having it already done in the more than $1000 machine I'm paying for.

 

okay just saw the prices for the xps and i must say i was dissapointed. 1.7k starting price? that is really steep... unless there are some incentives going around.

anyway guys ill check back but its been fun.

@bill: maybe the next revision ill go with dell, who knows the products are nice

 

I don't think this a Dell XPS "fan club". Here we are discussing the laptop and compare it to other alternatives to see if it justifies its price tag. There could be nothing wrong to share your findings and get some thoughts about the comparison.

Myself is a Dell XPS 15 owner but my money is hard earned, like everyone else. So if I'm going to get better deals for my bucks, why would I refrain myself sharing this information with other fellows? This is not a Dell advertisement board. Although they are manufactured high quality, Dell should accept their pricing is out of proportion.

 

What?!? Is this the notorious "very hard to find" premium display? Dell, are you kidding us? 60% Color gamut and 1+ cd/sq.m black level? That's light gray, not black for god's sake!! It's the third downgrade of screen quality in 3 XPS model... Started from a 95% RGBLED on the Studio XPS, to the 92% B+RGLED on the L501x to arrive to a mere 60% gamut & 230:1 contrast ratio?
But the price level is going to continuously ramp up...

Sorry man, I'm really really disappointed... You're repeating Sammy Galaxy S3 errors... you've created a HUGE hype, with a mystery aura, reiterated until half a day to the launch, for really nothing special... Ok, good design, I'd have to admit, but at those prices on the market there's MUCH better value... What a fool I've been to waste a month hoping for a miracle...

Ah, a last note, maybe my last in this thread, in Italy, a i7-6310QM, 8GB cache, 1TB hard drive, fullhd screen is 899€ in the inspiron SE lineup, and a HUGE 1500€ on the XPS (which has a 750GB 7k2+32 msata)... damn, is a bit of aluminium and a Gorilla glass worth 600€, or if you prefer, 66% more in comparison with an Inspiron? You guys have to answer those questions, I'm out, at least until a 300€ price lowering...

 

OK. That's a fair response. I will wait for other reviews. Noise is a big issue for me. I find a high-pitched whine distracting at times, but more importantly it can be distracting for other people working near me, and I don't have a lot of control over my work environment many times (i.e. I can't just move out of range). Since this will be first and foremost a work machine, excessive noise pretty much has to be a dealbreaker for me as a practical matter.

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Bill. You are a great asset to the forums, and to Dell

I thought downlinx reviewed the XPS 15 (and one w/ i5 and 630M at that, rather than i7 and 640M). Did downlinx review a 14 as well?

 

Just to let you know the mSATA port is not for cache only. You can use it as a normal drive.

Drives supported:

- one SATA hard drive
- one solid state drive
- one mSATA drive

Storage configurations:

- one SATA hard drive
- one solid state drive
- one SATA + one mSATA
- one solid state + one mSATA

 

Ah, I bought up some Dell Gift cards, so I got two free 75 dollar cards, plus they matched amazon's 1600. After 80 dollars back through dell advantage I got the 1700 dollar model for 1369.99 plus tax. I'd rather spend 70 dollars more on the XPS.

 

im not sure shadow used the $450 off coupon right now. if he hasnt, i believe u would be spending $270 more not 70

and to put it into prespective the envy in my sig was 1.35k

 

Fair enough. I dont' want to talk bad about your purchase, but I've had horrid experiences with HP anything (including the touchpad... well using the touchpad was fine, but ordering, receiving etc, terrible, horrid customer service). I'd honestly never consider them.

 

It's a great deal you got! But to me, as long as it's not changing what I pay out of pocket, gift cards do not really matter. After all, I don't have anything else to buy except just to buy. Similarly, there's 200$ gift card for students, but because it doesn't affect what I pay out of pocket, it really doesn't feel like I got 200$ off.

 

I missed the link for those coupons can they still be bought or am I too late?

 

Ahh yea, I have another laptop to purchase soon, so the 80 dollars back dell advantage is useful for me.

Dell had two specials recently. 1. buy 300 in gift cards get 50 dollar bonus, then 2 buy 400 in gift cards get a 75 dollar bonus. Unfortunately both specials are over.

 

the touchpad is good i would say, ordering wasnt much of a hassle nor was recieving it. however the CS for sales is bad. I will give u that. Since i ordereed when the site wasnt fully refreshed, my order was delayed and the sales rep sucked. the tech support so far i have found is pretty good.

but for the savings and specs/ quality of machine... i think i will put up with it. I find that with these pricing, dell is coming closeer to apple in which they got stylish products with pretty good specs but nothing special. with good cs at a premum. is taht premium worth it? its up to the people to decide

 

Regarding the AUO screen, I know people seem to be flipping out expecting the new xps 15 screen to be as bad as the MSI one, but read this from the full review:

AnandTech - CyberPower's X6-9300 and MSI's GT680R: Fighting for Your Mobile Gaming Dollar

They are both AUO screens, same model, different revisions. It certainly seems reasonable to expect that Dell has gotten their own revision to offer the specs mentioned by Bill and the dell.com site. Why assume its the lousy MSI one and not the fantastic revision used by Clevo?

N

 

It makes sense. I remember in the thread about swapping low res l502x's to the 1080 wonderful ones, there's a lot of weird confusion in screen naming. The same part number screen as the 1080 l502x screen, just a slightly different v number, and it was nowhere near as good.
The difference between a v1 and a v2 can be night and day.

 

Oh I won't deny the price for the machine is amazing. I have had to warranty a few computers in my life. Dell is literally always next business day (I've had two monitors have very minor issues, replaced next business day / a vostro with a bad fingerprint reader. Dell didn't take any chances, they sent a tech with entirely new guts for the machine, just in case). Asus is just about useless for warranty, HP customer service stinks as you mentioned, so I'll take my chances with a year ADW/NBD on site through dell

 

haha yeah i didnt wanna take my chances so i also got 3 year accidental with in home repair package to add up to 1.5k my budget . I think ill be fine cause there is a service center near my university i believe. along with dell and apple

 

Totally agree.

 

which kind of ethernet XPS 14 and XPS 15 uses, 10/100 or 10/100/1000?

BTW - up to 2199€ in Germany + no coupon codes working = very hard.
I can not imagine that this will find too many buyers...

 

Well I did a quick check on what HP Envy really was. But I felt like it had so many problems with customer service and out of box ones. So my only option is wait at least 3-4 months until Dell drops prices and so I can get a deal.

 

Been following this thread OCD for the last few weeks, posted once God knows how many pages ago. Was looking forward to the XPS, but just pulled the trigger on the Envy refresh to replace my aging Dell 1640 given that Envy orange-gate seems to have been solved, and it is $400 cheaper, which would pay for a 512MB Crucial M4 SSD.

No doubt the XPS looks beautiful, and perhaps by the time my Envy arrives and the 21 days exchange is up there will be some deals out there on the XPS that will make it more tempting. If I could have done it for the $70 more like ejl1980, it would have made the decision much harder.

Look forward to seeing some reviews when you all get your machines in hand.

 

Why is this system so impossible to work on when the Sony Vaio S has one easy-open panel that gives access to all user-replaceable hardware (RAM, ODD, Hard disk) and is equally thin?

 

Why is everyone saying it's hard to work on? Look at downlinx's review, he removed 10 or so screws and the entire bottom panel came off giving access to the ODD, HDD, Battery, CPU/CPU fans and heatsinks and one of the 2 RAM slots.

 

lol cause u gotta remove 10+ screws . most of the competition have easy access which means few (2-3 screws) or non. so its not "hard" but harder than the competition.

 

Or Latitudes with one screw

Also, the ram doesn't just hide behind the keyboard or something simple like that, you have to take off the heatsink, which will deter the average person. Not people who frequent this site.

I don't know why sites are saying the battery is not user serviceable. It looks easier to change than one of the ram sticks.

 

When you say online sentiment for Gorilla Glass is positive, do you mean in general, or on the XPS 15? Because yes, people love Gorilla Glass--for phones. Because you touch them constantly and are bound to drop them. For laptops, I can't imagine anyone carying how strong the glass on their screen is. I certainly don't, and would prefer a screen with accurate colors and deep blacks over one with Gorilla Glass any day. I expect most people feel the same way. The only thing people care about as far as glass goes is if it's got an anti-glare coating. (Frankly, I wish Nokia would license their ClearBlack coating to laptop manufacturers. ClearBlack displays have the lowest reflectivity out of any glass screen on any device.)

 

I just realized what a weak CPU they put, even in the highest configuration. To put it into perspective, the highest XPS has a slower CPU than the lowest spec non retina MBP...wow

I was thinking about going with the $1699 config (later on I'd replace RAM and SSD) but to match the $1300 Envy specs, it would cost $1899 (taking into account the added 1 year of warranty on XPS). Any way I try to convince myself, this notebook is just a ripoff.

 

This overprice finds strange alternative:

I'm interested on XPS15 version that costs 1500€
I7(3612QM)+8GB(1600)+750GB+32GBmSATA+GT640m+1080p
for same price i can buy Alienware M17x:
I7(3610QM)+6GB(1600)+500GB+GTX660m+900p

The only way I can buy XPS15 if I find discount of 10% and maybe get out 32GB mSATA so 1500€-10%=1350€ and others 50€ less for 32GB mSATA.

 

...to access the other RAM slot you have to almost completely disassemble the laptop. How is that NOT hard to work on?

 

Wait, is this really true?

 

Last time I checked, the 3612 is more expensive than the 45W ivy's.