Worried about heat issue

Hi I'm new to the forum and I'm debating on buying a Dell Studio XPS 1645 for university (and some gaming - CS: Source and WoW). The only thing I'm worried about is the heat issue. I've read that the 130 W adapter and the HD 5730 have reduced the heat..but will the laptop still have problems in the long run? For instance, will the heat damage parts of the laptop? I've also been looking at the Alienware M15X but it is less portable and has a shorter battery life (two things I need for uni). Should I be worried about the heat issue? I'd be willing to buy the Alienware as I need a laptop that will last for 3-4 years.

 

Do you really need the quad core 1645? The 1647 i5/i7 sounds like it would be enough. Heat isn't as big an issue in a dual core like the 1647 and the battery life is better.
If you keep it cool by using it in a cool room or using a cooling pad then you'll be able to make it last 4 years if you take care of it!

 

I don't really need the quad core 1645 but Dell currently does not offer the 5730 with the 1647 config. One more question: I live in Canada but the Dell Outlet seems to have some great deals at the moment. Should I buy from the Dell Outlet or should I just buy from Dell Canada because of warranty

 

I have used the Dell warranty in Canada and it was a pain in the .

A little rubber piece fell off my palmrest so the screen would hit the palmrest when it was closed. Because I live on the west cost of Canada, I had to wait for a box to arrive which I had to put my laptop in to send to Ontario... and then wait for it to return. The process was long and painful with no real tracking numbers given from Dell When I got my laptop back, the palmrest was replaced but the startup time was something like 4 minutes (used to be almost instant) because they ran some diagnostic software for no reason. I ended up reformatting Windows 7 just because I wanted the computer to run perfectly. (I wasn't about to send it away again!)

These results might not be typical but I might be tempted to just save a bunch of money because the warranty service if you live in Canada isn't anything to be enticed by.

 

Get the 1645. It will get warm when you run it hard, but what laptop doesnt? I love mine and it works all day and night between the office and home and does it with great aplomb. I can get around 4 hours of battery life and to be honest with a discrete GPU and quad core thats pretty good.

 

Put it on power saver when not gaming or using it for hardcore computing and the temps will be cool. you can keep it on your lap without an issue. Put it on high performance and it will get hot when pushed, every laptop will. Just keep it on a flat surface where it can breathe and it will be fine.

 

If you want some serious gaming and have decided to keep the laptop for 3-4 years then you should always go for the ATI HD 5730 graphics card. The heat is not going to damage any part but to minimize it you can use the notebook coolers while at home or use the AS5 thermal paste.

 

On the contrary I've always had good experiences with warranty exchange. Mine just ended July 14, but in that 1 year's time I've had 2 system exchanges (brand new) and some replacement parts, all of which were in-home and literally next day. The brand new exchanges took longer though, a month maybe. And with these exchanges they've given me upgrades (Core 2 Duo T9800 -> Core i7-820QM, 4 GB -> 8 GB RAM, 500 GB HDD -> 256 GB SSD, ATI 4670 -> ATI 5730), so I am very happy with Dell's service. And I didn't pay extra for warranty.

 

that's one heck of a exchange. 500->256ssd!!!