Why is XPS 15 more expensive than Studio 17?

Hi guys. I'm still looking for a good all-around desktop replacement laptop for everyday stuff, some intensive computing and occasional gaming.
It's now down to either XPS 15 or Studio 17. After upgrading both laptops to more or less the specs that I want at a minimum cost, the XPS is £109 more expensive than the Studio 17 (£977 vs £868, specs writing down here) and I was hoping that you could explain me why, or perhaps I misunderstood something.
For example - Studio has better CPU (1066 MHz FSB vs 800 MHz FSB), better memory (800 MHz vs 667 MHz), perhaps a better screen (same resolution, but I upgraded the Studio to LED while in the XPS it's not mentioned what's the kind), Studio has bigger hard drive (both 7200rpm), etc. etc.
Studio does seem to have a slightly inferior graphics card - Radeon 3650 vs GeForce 8600M.

It will be great to hear your thoughts about it, because I think the XPS looks great, but I'm not sure about value for performance.

And a small extra question - is it true that it's absolutely useless to have 4GB memory because Vista 32bit supports maximum 3GB? Will 4GB be effective in gaming?

Thanks!

Studio 17
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1 - English
Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word)
1 Year Limited Warranty - Collect & Return
Free Gift Promotion - Creative Zen Stone Plus 2GB MP3 Player
Jet Black Colour with Matte Finish
17.0" Widescreen WXGA+ WLED (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™
4096MB 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
2.0 Mega pixel Integrated Web Camera - LED
250GB (7200RPM) Serial ATA Hard Drive
256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3650
Fixed Internal DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive including Software
Primary 6-cell 56 WHr Lithium Ion battery
Internal UK English Qwerty Keyboard
No Biometric Fingerprint Reader

XPS 1530
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.50 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 6 MB L2 cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium SP1- English
1Yr XPS Premium Warranty Support - Priority Call In and Onsite Support
2.0 mega pixel Camera & Tuxedo Black for CCFL Display
15.4" Widescreen WXGA+ (1440x900) TFT Display with TrueLife™
Biometric Fingerprint Reader with BLACK accent
4096MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x2048]
200GB Free Fall Sensor (7200RPM) Hard Drive
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT with 256MB dedicated graphic memory
Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load drive, including SW
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)

 

I would say get the Studio!!
Also gpu is better than xps! (and NO defective)
Yes, your system under vista x86 will recognize between 3 and 3,5 gb of your 4. You need vista x64 to be able to use more than that!

 

In my M1530, I have the 4GB of RAM, and it shows up as 3.581GB, but I think it wouldn’t really make a difference to be honest whether you went with 64 or 32 bit.

It is my opinion that main difference in price is for the actual chassis of the laptop...

The XPS has quite a lot of metal in its casing and also it has been designed and marketed as a "high end" laptop, whereas the studio 17 is a kind of "mid-range" product.

The studio is quite a lot chunkier than the XPS in my opinion, but it would maybe be best to go and look at them in a shop to compare the aesthetics, then you can decide for yourself.

Basically, you will be getting pretty similar components but paying for the XPS brand. Whether it is worth it is up to you, some people are happy to pay more for a better looking (in my opinion) product but some will just want best bang for buck so its something you need to decide.

Another thing to consider is the warranty, with the studio, it is the basic collect and return, but with the XPS you have premium support where they will send someone out to fix your computer if it does break for whatever reason.

Also, there have been rumours flying round about a new XPS/Studio hybrid but no-one knows much about this. The point being if you fancy a wait (probably 2 months at least) then there could be a new contender for your cash...

Have you looked around for any discount coupons etc? You can often save a considerable amount of money with them.

Hope all this is useful for you

 

The price difference relates to the "branding" (the model name- XPS vs. Studio). The cost difference doesn't mean that the XPS M1530 is actually worth the same (or more) than a Studio 17.

As you mentioned, the Studio 17 utilizes newer technology. The XPS still uses the previous generation nVIDIA graphics cards (8400 and 8600). The 9000-series cards have been available for well over six months now! The XPS still looks great, but it's well past its prime in some respects.

 

With the studio you can buy a warranty where they come to your house to fix it. It doesn't really matter about the warranty.

 

True, but that was one of the differences between the OP's configurations

 

Thanks for all replies! I might consider waiting for the XPS-Studio 16 hybrid. Is it expected in 2 months from now? When googling I saw many rumors stating that it expected due November 2008...

 

I didn't get premium support with my XPS here in Canada.