Studio XPS 1645 or Studio 1747 ???

Hi, I'm really tempted to buy Studio XPS 1645 for xmas in this config:

SYSTEM COLOR Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish with Leather
PROCESSOR Intel ® Core ™ i7 720QM 1.6GHz (2.8 GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
HD DISPLAY Full HD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner (Writes to DVD/CD/BD)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0 with SRS Premium Sound
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
VIDEO CARD ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

I'm university student and ntb is meant to be carried almost daily (16" is ok for me), it's mainly for multimedia oriented jobs, some programming in C and Mathematica, some photoshop or even premiere (occasionaly), A LOT of movie watching. I also want it to be futureproof and well-built.

Dell XPS 1645 meets most of my criteria, but there are few things I'm unsure about...

1) after reading a couple of reviews and many posts on this forum I'm really doubtful if RGB-LED is worth the extra money. I'm not doing colour sensitive job (however I do sometimes edit RAW images in PS), but i want things on the display to look natural, especially in FullHD movies... (and I'm occasional gamer too)

Those who had honor to work with RGB-LED: would you pay for it in my position???

And just to make sure I haven't overlooked something: biggest DISadvantages of RGB-LED are supposed to be: inaccurate colors, bigger power consumption and some heat produced;
while advantages should be: 0,4" gain in size, wider gamut and (maybe) better brightness...
Do you know any more to be added?

2) I'm also considering usual Studio 17 with Core i7 720QM (almost the same config), because it should be cooler, it has numpad and place for additional hdd (I'd buy 80GB intel ssd 34nm for system while keeping stock 500GB for data, I think it's beatiful idea), but what I DISlike about studio 17 is: dimensions, weight, speakers and design (and maybe a bit worse overal built quality).

So which one do you think is better for me?

3) how does combined e-sata/usb work? Since I have a external e-sata drive I have to plug 2 cables at the moment: USB for power and e-sata... With this 2-in-1 port do I need only 1 special cable? Or is it meant to be either/or thing??? From the placement of combined e-sata/usb on the opposite side of ntb than other USBs I'd say that 1 cable should be enough, right???

4) I'm from czech and I don't know how shopping in US works (especially with dell). I've found something about some coupons, some "Previously Ordered New" offers in dell outlet, I've understood that you can really save a lot of money if you know how so what I'm asking is: what can I do to save some more money?

Thx a lot for replies and excuse my english...

 

1: I think that the screen is definitely worth it. The way I look at it, the screen is probably the most used part of the computer. As a result, since it has the most effect on the experience, I think its definitely worth putting the extra money into it, rather than the processor, when you would only notice during really intensive tasks, you always notice the screen. I don't really think the colors are that off....if you are a "professional" maybe you'd see a difference...I think that mine looks fine though. I love it. The screen brightness is really really high its awesome. But I guess it is a drain on the power. I'd definitely go for it though, as I did.

2: Its really up to you, I don't have the 17 so I don't know, but I know that the build of the SXPS 16 is wonderful. But if you need the extras of the 17 inch, then perhaps that would be better suited for you. If you do need more HD space, you could always just get an external one though. Also, the SXPS 16 doesn't run that hot. It just feels hotter than most computers, the running temps aren't hotter though. It is warm around the touch pad without adequate ventilation or after extended use, but its not uncomfortable.

3: I don't know how it works, it works well as a USB, I haven't used it for eSata though.

4: A really good way to save money is indeed the outlet. If you want a new system, but want to save some money, if you can find a system that has what you want but is labeled "Previously Ordered New" then that should save you a few hundred off the price. But then it doesn't have a warranty, but I don't think you are looking for one anyways. If you don't mind if its been repaired and the case has perhaps seen a little use, (it could have a scratch or two) then you could save a bunch more money with a Refurbished system. The most important thing is just making sure it has the requirements such as the Processor Screen or Graphics Card that you are looking for, even if it means checking a few times a day, for weeks.

In any case, good luck in your search! I hope this helps!

 

Thx, I'll probably go into RGB-LED (watched some videos on youtube and everybody seemed very happy with it...)

ad. 2) I really don't need (or even want) 17", and I don't need more hdd space either, I just wanted numpad and place for fast ssd for system (64GB would be enough), but other then that XPS 16 completely meets my requirements... (I'm very sad that for example otherwise great Toshiba A505 has only stupid 1366x768 screen and some minor flaws, I would consider that instead, but the 16" screen with such resolution is useless)

ad. 3) hope someone has some experience with it, it's quite important since I'm considering getting ssd and 500gb external drive (which I already have with e-sata), which would be plugged in quite often so I really don't want any cable mess...

ad. 4) dell claims that "Previously Ordered New" has normal warranty, but I'm going to buy additional NBD warranty here in czech republic anyway...

 

Yeah, I think you actually need a special dock, too. Check NewModeUs.com for the dock for eSATA/USB.

RGBLED is definitely worth it.

 

SXPS 16 all the way.
It looks better, lighter, and sexier ....hehehe
Anyways, you are not going to find a deal with such configuration over at dell outlet now anyways, though it would be there in a couple of months. Also, I have RGB screen and it is....sexy, really worth the money.
I think you want to use 2 hdd simply because: SSD because of system performance and faster access time, and HDD for storage. 500GB is already enough for most people and if you need more, I recommend you buy an external hdd.
Trust me, you dont want to carry the big fat giant studio17 around, it is very inconvenient.

 

I LOVE and I mean LOVE my SXPS 16. And there's no better display for watchin on!!

 

Nice find... But actually there is "e-sata/usb combined" --> "sata (ordinary sata) + power connector". What I'd need is "e-sata/usb combined" --> "e-sata + USB" but at least I see that it's technically possible... Thx

So you've convinced me and I'm getting xps with RGB

One question: does typing of numbers using Fn key + say "K" for example to get "2" work??? I didn't see numbers on any picture of the keyboard so is it necessary to write numbers using upper ribbon? I'm asking mainly because on czech keyboard we have ěščřžýáíé instead of numbers on the upper ribbon...

Thx for replies!

ps: it's good thing to read some positive experiences, since many (most actually) people being happy with their laptop won't bother writing long essays on forum about it (unless they want to boast about ), while the unhappy ones usually will...so I almost got feeling that each xps 16 has some problems...

 

OK, the dock has a SINGLE cable coming out of it. Which is a eSATA+USB cable. Which goes into the special eSATA+USB connector on your XPS.

 

But I already have hdd in this: http://www.raidsonic.de/en/pages/products/external_cases.php?we_objectID=4811 so only thing I need is cable similar to this: http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=17&products_id=241 but with usb + e-sata on the other side...

 

Oh...something have a USB/eSATA end and then break off into two separate USB and eSATA cables?

I honestly don't know of one like that, but I'm sure there are some somewhere.

~Ibrahim~

 

no FN numbers on the SXPS 16 just the number bar at the top

 

F**k, why are they doing such stupid mistakes? I doubt that it would be more expensive or something like that...