The Dell XPS 17 3D with Sandy Bridge Has Arrived! Recommended Specs?

The explanation above from the NVidia indicated that it was a fundamental technology problem because with Optimus the internal graphics' frame buffer is used, while that isn't possible for the 120Hz of the 3D solution, so the monitor is directly tied to the discrete graphics at the hardware level. In other words, nothing Dell could do on the 3D system to enable the internal graphics, but they should have released a 2D solution with 4 SODIMM slots and a regular FHD monitor.

 

Man if they do that i will eat my self.Today just orderet my xps 17 with "only " 2 slots .But i think the chance for this is 1 to 0 %.
I still cant understand dell logic to cut the slots.But i guess 4 slot deserves only the best buyers.In the L701 was the quad core owners, here is 3d owners.Its like a bonus to the money

 

Finally XPS L702X has landed in china as well.....
Just ordered with following specifications...
i7-2630QM, 8GB DDR3, GT 555M , 640GB+640GB, Full HD 3D Screen (no 3D glasses , just wanted full HD), Bluray Combo, 9 Cell battery, Wifi, Bluetooth, Backlit Keyboard, 150W Adapter

 

With XPS backpack it all costed me about 2300 USD

 

This is the cheapest Sandy bridge Laptop I could find due to discounts, at £845 and a 3dMark06 score of over 10k nothing comes close in terms of value! Don't really care about a FHD screen as i'd be using it on a HD 87" projector most of the time. Kind sucks it doesn't have a D-sub tho....

 

is there a 6-cell battery i can order separately? i'd like a battery flush with the bottom since this laptop will be sitting on a cooler mat 95% of the time.

(for the record, i sold my macbook -- wasn't using it much since work got me one -- and ordered a 2.2 ghz core i7-2720QM, 8gb ddr3 l702x, 900p screen for some middleweight gaming). man, i hope i don't hafta do a repaste like i did with my l401x, but i am expecting the worst

DELL TELL YER FACTORY WAGESLAVES TO BE GRACEFUL AND GENEROUS WITH THE THERMAL PASTE, DAMN YE

 

More is less when it comes to thermal paste. Put it on thin and even - like sun tan lotion.

 

tru dat. wish my l401x had a LITTLE more on it than a misplaced daub, though!

 

Me too. I just want the 1080p screen option without the 3-D. If they don't have that option available by May, I'll probably get an ASUS laptop.

 

Hmmmm I've just been having a look at this thread in detail, mainly regarding the Optimus discussion. I ordered the 3D version of the L720X and it's due at the end of March. I'm now very interested in the switchable graphics option.

I just had a look at NVidia Optimus section in the L720X manual and this is what it says,

"NVIDIA Optimus Technology (Optional) Your XPS laptop is equipped with NVIDIA’s Optimus technology. The Optimus technology enhances the performance of your computer, while minimizing the impact on battery life. It enables you to combine the graphic processing capability of the integrated Intel graphic processing unit (GPU) with the discrete NVIDIA GPU while running graphic‑intensive applications such as 3D games."

this seems to claim the 3D version utilises Optimus, however after reading this thread, you guys have come up with some pretty convincing evidence that the 3D version will not utilise Optimus.

I was going to chat with a Dell rep but they don't seem to know much :-/

 

That quote referencing 3D is not talking about a 3D display, just 3D style game rendering. The fact that it says Optimus is "(Optional)" is yet another pointer to the fact that the 3D display capable L702x will not have Optimus.

 

any one have an "insider" update on the production of these units? my current delivery date says the 25th of this month.

 

This makes a lot of sense to me (re Optimus real savings, GPU/CPU cooling and performance; 4 RAM slots v. 2 in the 900p). I have followed the L701x thread and now this one. i plan to order one: timing and configuration are questions.

i will use the unit for work: document reading/drafting (lots of reading...), research (multiple simultaneous sites) MS Office stuff, maybe some graphic apps.

as importantly, will use it for play: photo and (mostly) digital editing, and music recording and editing/mixing (native/live recording, mix tracks, edit with effects, etc) none of it too sophisticated.

so, if i understand you, there are practical advantages to 3D that outweigh lack of Optimus/WiDi for my use, too. Correct?

contemplating i7 quad; HD: seems that two 500Gb @7200 units is the best deal. from what i read it will be easy to swap in SSDs when prices come down. someone also mentioned storing content on a removable SATA HD. looks like the place to economize is RAM- easy and cheap upgrade. 4Gb would be sufficient?

on the downside, one advantage of 900p screen (i think) is that the 900p offers better-quality NVIDIA graphics cards (555 and 455 available) and drivers: is this correct? and, in the end, for my uses, does it make a difference?

last is timing. there will always be something better 'soon'. is the consensus that, in light of my contemplated uses, no advantage to waiting for non-3D, Optimus-enabling? my current machine is hanging on....more or less....

Thanks for any remarks/guidance.

 

Hey guys, if im gonna order new XPS with backlit keyboard, can i then turn the keyboard light off? Like when watching a movie or something..

 

I believe you can.

 

It will go off after a minute unless you set it otherwise, or you can hit the backlit keyboard key until it goes off, then it will stay off.

 

There are 3 Backlit settings
Off/Low/High
which can be set by the backlit button, and as mentioned above, will go off after a min of no laptop usage (moving mouse/pressing a key).

 

Can you set it so that it will stay on?

 

Yes, through Windows Mobility Center.

 

I've read a lot about the the not working nvidia Optimus technology in combination with the 1080p 3D screen in this topic. I regret this decision of Dell, and would rather have a 1080p NON-3D screen with Optimus. However, this choice unfortunately is (still) unavailable.

The reason why Optimus is important for me is that I tend to irritate myself very quickly to whining fans in my laptop. Especially because there is little background noise in my house. I am afraid that with the Nvidia Geforce working all the time, the fan is always on even in office-use. (which would be a deal-breaker for me). Is there anyone who has this laptop already? If yes, how is the fan behavior? Is it spinning at an idle desktop? If not, I will definitely order the XPS 17 with 1080p screen, because the specs are really great!

 

Even if you are using a 900p screen, the fan will still be humming at the background but it will be at a slower speed than a 3D screen. Besides, the 3D 1080p without Optimus will definitely consume more power (3-4 hours on a single charge [9 cell battery] compared to 8 hours on a single charge [9 cell battery] with Optimus switched on).

Having said that, I do feel that it will be best to stick with the configuration which I am on as I have the option to have 16GB of memory! It is a shame as a similar configuration on the Alienware would have cost around £300 more and it does not have 3D screen or 3D gpu card but it comes with 4 memory slots.

 

passat123, I'm pretty sure the fan issue has come up a few times in the other XPS 17 (L702X) thread ( link) and there's also a dedicated thread on controlling fan speed on that machine ( link).

As for non-3D 1080p screen, they popped up in Australia and in the US about two weeks ago, but they're still not available in Europe. Not sure where you're from, though.

 

mkj, thanks for linking me to the other forums. Especially the forum regarding the fan speed is very interesting for me. (for some reason I didn't find it earlier) It seems that an optimus-machine definitely runs cooler & quieter that a non-optimus 3D-machine. The optimus-machine even seems to run very quiet when idling. So for me it will be the 900p screen or waiting for the non-3D 1080p screen. I guess I'll be doing the latter option . Hopefully this screen will arrive soon in the Netherlands (where I live), but I couldn't find any information regarding this. Maybe calling Dell will be clarifying for me.

mavericke, I did expect the difference in battery life was substantial, but I did not foresee that is was that substantial. For me another reason to choose a non 3D screen. Although four memory-slots are very nice too...

Anyway, thanks for helping me out, guys!

 

Don't count on Dell reps or at least don't worry, if they tell you something like: Nooo... We have no plans for a non-3D XPS with 1080p panel, the L702X has just come out... I believe that the same day, when new options (such as that panel available in the US) show up on the official website, they also show up in their sales system - and that's when they know, not any earlier