Studio XPS 16: i5 540m for Canada

The US website lists i5 540m processor as default option for one of their Studio XPS 16, however the Canadian version has no option to select 540m. For i5, Dell Canada has only 450M as default, with option to upgrade to 520M.

Is there any way to get the 540m processor? Or are they going to add it to their catalog soon enough? There is some discount applicable right now, and I don't want to wait too long until they expire and it gets too expensive for my budget. But then again I also don't want to pay more for slower processor than the one available in the US. I don't have any previous experience with Dell.

PS: Also, I am selecting i5 520/540 over i7 720qm due to longer battery life, lower heat generation (due to XPS reputation of overheating), and faster speed (at least for day-to-day usage like Word, Firefox, etc) . Correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks

 

You have to make due with what is offered, as different options are available for different countries, and USA will usually always get the best deals, so you can't depend on that point. Take advantage of any great Dell coupons/sales while they last, but if time isn't an issue, then you can wait and see what happens and wait for another deal, but in the end there will always be some new component that you want and cant get -- never ending story. The 450M is a very good processor! I have used both and you will not notice ANY difference on most uses unless you are the type that stresses your system to the limits.

 

Theking1,

try giving Dell Canada's Sales department a call. you can sometimes get options that are not available in Canada this way. just make sure you are persistent about it.

the i5-540 used to be available in Canada, as was the i7-620, so i know for a fact that it is possible. why they are gone from the website, i do not know. but if you call in to the Sales department and haggle a bit with the sales agent, you might be able to get the 540m.

BUT, don't forget that this is an upgrade, so don't be surprised if they slap on the upgrade fee (something like $250 i think?)

the dual core processors are all great, so i don't see anything wrong with them. i only selected the quad core i7-720 as i needed the processing threads over general speed.

regardless of what notebook/processor you buy, i hope you're happy with it!

 

Thanks. I'd urge the sales rep to get 540m, however if the price is too high I'd just settle in for 520m upgrade ($75 extra) and save it to convince rep to see I can get any other discounts. Besides I just checked the speeds and there's just 133 mhz difference in two, so it shouldn't be a significant difference.

Also, since you recently got the XPS, what battery life do you get (on 6 or 9 cell)? I was thinking to get 9-cell, but if difference is insignificant, I can just get 6 cell instead.

And, what is the difference between the processing speed (frequency) and multi-threading ability (e.g. 4 vs 8 in i5 and i5, respectively)?

 

Agreed.
Dell used to do this a lot for the UK website. If you rang up to place your order you could get all the extra options like blu ray, better processors, and different warranty offers etc!

If you do decide to call then make sure you get them to send you an email of your requested specifications before you confirm you're going to buy. Just so you don't lose the reliability that online ordering should give.

Best of luck!

 

You will get 4hrs on power saver with an i5 processor. The 9 cell isn't such a big deal, and the 6 cell probably won't be offered for you. I know that they withdrew it because of power supply problems.

As for the hyper-threading, all mobile i5's (Arrandale) support hyper-threading and all are dual core with 4 threads. Same for the i7 620M which has the highest clock frequency (2.67-3.33GHz).
The i7QM's (Clarksfield) are quad core and have 8 threads.

Hope this helps!

 

hyperthreading is when your processor "doubles" the number of cores you have available. if you have 2 cores, your processor will be able to appear as though it has 4 logical cores: 2 hyperthreaded, 2 physical. in terms of crunching data, it really functions as though you had 4 cores.

as more cores are accessed on your processor, the overall processing speed decreases a little bit per core. that is, the number of cores is conversely proportional to the processing speed. less cores used = faster core speeds.

best if you read the "official" explanation here

 

does the 9 cell protrude from the SXPS?

 

Yes, it lifts the laptop up in the back.

 

Those "discounts" are always there. The total value of the discounts varies slightly from week to week, as does the total price of the packages. So, don't worry that the discounts will expire, because as soon as they "expire", there will be new similar discounts to replace them.

 

Thanks guys. All the information was pretty useful, especially for someone who isn't acquainted dealing with deal...appreciated.

So ~$200 discounts is regular thing for Dell and not a hot discount of the back-to-school sale? Also, do they budge on giving any free upgrades/discounts (cuz I was thinking to upgrade to Intel Centrino Advanced wifi card instead of the Dell one)

~4 hours with 6 or 9-cell? And they had power supply problems with 6-cell?

 

Yes, it's a regular thing. The current SXPS16 pricing on Dell Canada has been in place for months. They just adjust the "original" price and then apply whatever "discount" they need to reach their real intended selling price.

You can try. Some folks have posted here that they got free upgrades. In my experience with Dell Canada, they've only been willing to discount on upgrades of the warranties/service plans.

As for battery, the 6-cell is indeed available on Dell Canada, at least for i5 configs. It is still an available component, it has not been withdrawn. I plan to choose the 6-cell because of lower weight and bulk, and I rarely operate on battery power anyway.

 

i never got any good free upgrades, but i did get discounted upgrades when i told them i was getting hte 3-year advanced coverage warranty, and after they screwed up the components a couple times. keep in mind that i ordered the notebook through the Telus EPP program/account. my discounts may be part of a "business partnership" between Dell and their EPP program members - you know, butter them up now in hopes they'll buy from you again later.

my post can be found here

the bluetooth and wifi card were through me being a whiny little jerk at the sales agent and his manager. however, the memory upgrade was discounted for warranty purchase, and the discounted hard drive upgrade was through them being relatively incompetent on their end.

 

I tried to get them to budge the price down a little but I already had a 10% coupon so there was no way!

and 4 hours with 9-cell + i5 + WLED. I get 3:45 hours with 9 cell + i7 620 + RGBLED so it's pretty good! And they withdrew the 6 cell battery because of the whole throttlegate thing and said that it couldn't provide the power to support the i7.