The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Two questions about the Dell XPS 16 (Bluray and memory)...

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by Mista_Vanquish, Apr 10, 2010.

  1. Mista_Vanquish

    Mista_Vanquish Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    50
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I have been hearing that the read/playback performance of the bluray drive on this laptop is terrible. Some say that it stutters all the way through an entire movie and it is very loud. Is this true? My second question is about the $375 charge for upgrading from 4GB RAM to 8GB RAM. Is it overpriced? Also, how easy is it to upgrade the RAM on the XPS 16?

    Thanks!
     
    Mista_Vanquish, Apr 10, 2010
    #1
  2. funky monk

    funky monk Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    233
    Messages:
    1,485
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    55
    It's expenssive to upgrade to 6gb or 8gb of RAM because 4gig sticks of DDR3 are very expensive. There are only two RAM slots so go figure, there's no way you'll get around spending a lot of money if you want anything more than 4 gigabytes
     
    funky monk, Apr 10, 2010
    #2
  3. Mista_Vanquish

    Mista_Vanquish Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    50
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Oh, I forgot one more thing. Is it really worth it to get the 256GB SSD option priced at $445 or should I wait for the technology to mature a little more and prices to come down?

    Thanks
     
    Mista_Vanquish, Apr 10, 2010
    #3
  4. Salami

    Salami Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    65
    Messages:
    152
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I can't answer about the Blu-Ray playback but replacing RAM shouldn't be a problem. However, since Dell will most likely give you two 2GB sticks instead of one 4GB stick, you will need to purchase two 4GB sticks to get it up to 8. I can tell you that a set of 2 4GB memory sticks at the same specs Dell offers (DDR3 1066MHz) costs $330 at the least on Newegg. If you do it yourself, you can try selling the older sticks or use them elsewhere.
     
    Salami, Apr 10, 2010
    #4
  5. Salami

    Salami Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    65
    Messages:
    152
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Well it's up to you. Is your configuration maxed out in all other aspects? Maybe you can use that $445 to get an RGBLED screen if you weren't already. If you really want an SSD I'd recommend the 128GB which is almost $300 less. You can use the left over money and invest in some external storage and other stuff.
     
    Salami, Apr 10, 2010
    #5
  6. killaz05

    killaz05 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    12
    Messages:
    373
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I want a SSD myself but I need the space and they are too pricey in my opinion. I would wait on that if it were me. As far as the memory, I went for the 6GB option. Now I want to go to 8GB and I need to purchase a 4GB stick. So, it is really up to you. Blue-ray playback is fine on the SXPS 16, it is the program that can cause stuttering. I had stuttering after I upgraded to Windows 7, I had to re-download the program and now it works perfectly :)
     
    killaz05, Apr 10, 2010
    #6