Worth waiting for the SB refresh on the XPS 15?

Hey everyone! Just thought I would see what everyone thinks about whether the Sandy Bridge refresh would be worth waiting for now with the new delays due to the Intel recall of the new chips?

To the best of my knowledge there isn't much information as to when the Sandy Bridge refresh will be arriving on either the XPS 17 and XPS 15. Some speculation suggests not until mid March or early April. Either way don't seem to have a fixed timescale from Dell. If anyone has any info that would be great.

I was all set to wait for the SB refresh and get either the i5 or i7 (was waiting for pricing) but now am wondering if to go for the i5 480 as there is a particularly good deal at Dell uk now where you get the FHD screen, and blu-ray reader plus rest standard spec for about 720 all in. It's pretty tempting to be honest. Only prob is there is no backlit keyboard for the UK 501x.

As a side question. What is the difference between the i5 480 and the i5 560? They seem to have exactly the same spec from what i can see on the Dell UK site.

Just for further info I regularly work on adobe photoshop and illustrator, though hardly do any 3d work and never any video encoding etc. Is the i5 enough?

Cheers guys

 

The 480 is 2.66 GHZ with TurboBoost up to 2.93 GHZ
The 560 is 2.66 GHZ with TurboBoost up to 3.2 GHZ
Would you notice a difference? Most likely not...
And i5 is probably enough. Most people don't need more than that.

As for whether it's worth the wait, I don't know, dude. I've been waiting since October and I'm growing very impatient...

 

Cheers everyone. I'm terrible at making decisions. Are the dual core processors (the i5) going to have a significant increase in performance? Or is it more for the i7?

Does anyone know when they are expecting to be able to start shipping them? It's just I dont really want to have to wait for a few months not knowing when. Ivy Bridge wouldn't be far of if that were the case!

Thanks for the info!
I doubt it really makes a huge difference no.
I have been looking at this laptop for a very long time also and when heard about SB was ready for it so this setback is really frustrating.

 

One thing that has me thinking of waiting is that Sandy Bridge will have 1080p Wireless Display (WiDi) vs the current 720p version. Widi 2.0 will have less lag as well. Also, battery life will be better with SB. But I'm in the same boat and don't know if these are worth waiting for. I could wait a couple months if I had to, but I at least want to know what's coming. Since they already have Sandy Bridge products planed and are going to sit on them until Intel is ready, I wish Dell would just go ahead and put the SB products on their web pages and just put the delivery date out!

 

frankly speakin we dont require more processing power dan i5
our 99% of tasks can be accomplished wid these processors

but wid sandy bridge u will get 60% more processing power for same price
n also d new intel hd graphics 3000 n quick sync video n other features for almost d same price or lil higher
n if ur not going to buy a new lappie within 3 years or so
after u buy this one
den its worth waitin
n if ur going to use it for just 1 year or so
den go for present i5 series

im also waitin for it since october

n seee wat outburst i had on 1st feb
as my fb status says:-

"Why why n y?.
It happns wid me
i ws eagerly watin 4
1st feb release date 4 L702x
i.e xps 17 + sandy bridge + full HD 3D screen +nvidia gt 555..
n dat day only intel anouncd
a flaw in der chipsets

in shrt i'll hav to wait 4
1 more mnth 2 buy a lappie
till den i'll hav to hook up wid my sister's dell inspiron

oh god
sorry
ooohhh intel
why ru testin my patience"



hope so u got me
our story is same dude
im also going through it

n i will wait for it
or else
i will repent d months
i've been waitin for it

 

I agree, if you're gonna be keeping this laptop for a few years, then waiting will be well worth it. But for Photoshop and Illustrator, i think an i5 would be enough.

 

Pls provide your source for 60% boost with SB.

My source states.....
“...the new i7-2820QM checks in 43% faster than the i7-740QM...”
Intel?s Sandy Bridge i7-2820QM: Upheaval in the Mobile Landscape - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News


Also, where can I buy a i7-2820qm chip for the same price as the i7-740qm chip?

 

You are really taking seriously a post with that atrocious of grammar and spelling?

 

Please don't type like that.

 

On another note:
Even though they said Ivy Bridge would be out by Mid-2011,
I HIGHLY doubt it, I would say November December. Maybe even a year from now.

Then again, maybe im wrong

 

when did they say ivy bridge mid 2011?
I've only ever heard its due CES 2012

socket 2011 (replacing 1366) sandybridge is due mid 2011

 

"According to the keynote speech presented by Paul Otellini during the 2010 Intel Developer Forum (IDF), Ivy Bridge processors may be introduced as early as the second half of 2011.[43] However, it now seems more likely that Ivy Bridge will be launched a year after Sandy Bridge, probably during CES 2012."

Sandy Bridge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

My bad, i just heard about it vaguely, don't take my word it.
Good to hear though, CES 2012 Gives me some time to save up

 

I wouldn't wait for Sandy Bridge. There's going to be a marginal performance gain, and if you're a gamer the XPS is the wrong system to buy. You should look at products from Malibal, etc.

I'm running photoshop CS5 with lots of programs in the background, working on 140mb files, that would have bogged down my Mac Pro Desktop with several intel dual core chips, and my XPS with the first gen Intel I7 1.73ghz works through the file without breaking a sweat.

If you're going to be doing things like graphic rendering, heavy, heavy HD movie editing, or creating a game from scratch- sure wait for Sandy Bridge. Otherwise, don't bother.

You're simply not going to notice the extra milliseconds worth of difference it's going to make to 90% of users out there, even those who rely upon their notebooks for their job, such as me.

 

I agree, for photo editing and such, even huge files, have no problem running on the 1st Gen i7's.

But rendering is excruciatingly long for not too heavy effects and High Def Movie editing. Which is the main reason I'm switching over.

 

but the SB quads are a lot more efficient than the current quads, especially since they have support for switchable graphics.

As for not having the backlit keyboard, just upgrade it:
Documentation
(that is, assuming you can track down the part, and order one)

Edit: nvm there's a thread about it xD

 

Im sorry for being a little ambiguous in my post
as i was using my mobile for posting it so i preffered messaging language
i never meant exactly 60%
but somewhere near to it
it really depends on the processors you are comparring
but as per the source
there is 40 to 50 % performance gain :yes:
on an average
(coz it also depends in which terms im saying it)
@crystallakegary
the link i reffered to is
Review Intel Sandy Bridge Quad-Core processors


@amtbr
i used those spellings deliberately
i think its the message that is important
& i think everyone is familiar with the language i have used
because everyone uses it daily
i will be obliged if you point out my grammatical mistakes

@peterf
sorry dude for writing it that way
but i just wanted to convey what i went through after waiting for months
to get a sandy bridge processor i.e second generation of core processors
and suddenly coming across a news that shook all laptops
manufacturers and consumers
it was really disheartening for me
and i think i will have to wait for a month or so

and about ivy bridge i suppose intel were going to launch it in 2012 ces
but i see a delay here


hope so i was precise in this post

 

and also check out what this guy said
roughly 60 %
YouTube - Intel Sandy Bridge CES 2011 Interview

 

What GPU should we expect from the new XPS 15?

Will we be disappointed again?

 

Probably GT 555M, same as the XPS 17, which is one hell of a GPU in my opinion.

 

im sorry to say that but i have heard that it wont have GT 555M
but it will have any gpu from New GT 500 series
and most probably GT 540
cause i dont think so DELL will provide a faster and powerful GPU as GT 555
for an non 3D xps laptop
GT 555M was used because
to render that 3D effect on the screen you need a powerfull GPU

 

How does the GT 540 compare to the 4670 on the Studio XPS systems?

 

My problem with this "L502x" is that there's no concrete info on it. There's been previews of the upcoming SB HPs, Toshibas, and Sonys, but nothing about the new Dell. In fact, when I Google search about it, all that comes up is this site!

I'd love for a Dell update, but if Dell doesn't announce anything by the time the HP is available, I'll probably end up getting the HP instead.

Does anyone have any information about the Dell SB update besides that Dell Tips and Tricks link?