XPS 16 in production but i720 out. help me with adwice

Guys I will be short:
my XPS 16 in production (10 Oct est delivery) the cost is close to $1500. with Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8600

new system I've configured is $1700 with i720 + blue ray. and a bigger battery.

Is it really worth going through all the pain of return for it?
I will be using lapotop for at least 2-3 years and I will be using it for work and playing Age of Conan for fun.



Thanks,
Asgaroth

 

I also want to know the performance of i7 compare to T9600 or T9900
would it better?

 

yes, i7 is fastest thing on earth right now. It eats the battery though so beware

 

Yes, returning it is worth it because it's really not a PITA like I thought it would be (as long as your within your trial period still). Once they received my return, my card was credited within a few days after that.

 

The mobile i7 series has a TDP of 45W, including the on-chip memory controller (unlike the Core 2 series). Most Core 2 Duos draw 35W (T-series), the P-series draws 25W, and the Core 2 Extreme X-series draws 45W, plusthe memory controller.

So, I would hardly say the mobile i7 eats battery, considering it's more efficient than some of the high end Core 2 series, despite having double the cores.

 

what a tough call, Im within the 21 days as well, I just got mine 3 days ago. . .

 

i7s are honestly overkill for most users. At the price point, I suppose you might as well get it if it's only going to cost you 100$, but you should analyze whether it's really needed for you.

 

The power draw of the i7 is 45 TDP, but keep in mind it uses speedstep technology, which automatically idles unused cores (which will be the case for the average user since they don't actually need quad cores). So, in fact, it will probably be a little more efficient than Core 2 Duos that can't idle those unused cores.

As to whether you can change it out, if they aren't charging you a restocking fee for returning your old one and you don't mind waiting, I would probably do it. Sure, it might be overkill, but if the price is only $100 more and you are getting a better system, wouldn't be anything wrong with doing that.

 

OP: Cancel your order and get the i7 version. You will have a better laptop and retain a higher resale value.

 

You can probably get around the restock fee if you call cs and ask for the returns specialist team and explain to them you are wanting to upgrade from the originial.

 

I may be wrong, but surprise how the i7 processor is more powerful than a core 2 duo say p8600 as i'm seeing at the GHz only. May be its due to the no. of (4) cores and 6MB L3 cache?

 

It's a no brainer if you can get the great RGBLED screen and it's only $100.00 more, what's not to like?

 

LOL three years from now?

It will be a laughable dinosaur.

 

i7 is pretty power friendly when idle, or doing less intensive tasks; it doesn't mean i7 lacks power - it could be a performance champ when it needs to be. Turbo mode is pretty nice too.

 

Again, the GHz is a RANGE, not a set amount.

The BASE clock speed of the i7 720QM is 1.6 GHz, but that is only when all four cores are stressed to 100%, which is very very rare. Over 90% of the time, the i7 will not be using all four cores at 100%, and the speedstep technology they are built with will automatically turbo boost them to 2.8 GHz when that is happening (the 920XM can boost up to 3.2 GHz).
Just go here for the image, its too large to insert.

Keep in mind, the i7 is more powerful than a Core 2 Duo when the multi-threading is being utilized. When multi-threading isn't supported, then you won't see alot of difference (for a P8600, most multitasking shouldnt cause any lag anyways, so its hard to make it go "faster"). Most applications don't support multi-threading at this point, so most of the time there isn't much benefit to the quad cores. High definition video encoding (like editing HD videos or capturing them, or reformatting them) will see the best improvements. Average users wont... at least not for a couple of years when programs have caught up (and by then, better CPU's will be available of course).

 

Could you make that illustration bigger?

 

For notebooks and specifically the SXPS the i7 cpu should be much better with battery life on low intensive tasks. How much extra time this will reflect in the real world we will have to wait for someone's actual results but any improvement will be beneficiery to this machine.

In terms of power I agree with TexasEx7 and Anandtech. By the time we start seeing real improvements in applications we will be buying new laptops anyway.

I have ordered and still waiting on my SXPS 16 with the t9600 2.8GHz and will not be returning it (as long as there are no problems) as Dell have already delayed my laptop to 5 weeks and if I cancel and re-order with the i7 I wouldn't be suprised if it arrived by Christmas.

 

haha, it took me 2 months and 1 day to get my laptop, glad I wasn't the only one

 

I hear you guys. Projected receive date for me October 9th (5 weeks from order date) and then they go and include the i7). I don't think the specs listed here for 1700 include the RGBLED - pricing that one had it over 1800-1900$ especially with the bluray player.

Oh the dilemma....cancel the order (no charge to do this) and reorder?

I had ordered a 9 cell battery (which I received already) but now the i7 comes with a 9 cell standard. What jerks....why didn't they ever offer the core 2 duo with the 9 cell standard!

Anyways - hopefully some benchmarks will come out soon - showing whether or not there is a *huge* difference between the T9600 and the i720QM...

 

Is the i7 really useful for gaming...cause i am not doing encoding or video editing so i dont know if the price difference will be worth it. Anwyay, here in canada its not available yet (on dell's website)

Edit: Seems they just changed it and its now available. I am tempted with the 128 GB ssd drive but it seems a bit small tough.

 

Just configured the system with the i7 720 and it costs $1,474 (no taxes and shipping included). This includes Blu Ray, 9 cell battery, RGBLED screen and 2 year warranty (plus 4gb RAM, 500gb HDD, 1GB 4670). Dell has been changing prices and configurations a lot these past few days

Martin

 

From what I've read, yes. It can cause very notable improvements (even when alongside a worse GPU) over Core 2 Duos.

I'm curious as to how long the battery life would last on the 9 cell it comes with. A Dell representative I spoke to stated 2.5 to 3 hours on a six cell with a Core i7 and a Radeon 4670 but as the Core 2 Duo with the Radeon 3670 lasts around the same, I'd assume she was wrong . I also wonder how much heat output will be effected by this....

Now the question is to get this or wait for Arrandale.....

 

I tried to have everything the same as my current specs, it turns out to be paying at least $300 or more for an i7 core.

 

Really, chewey?

For $39 more (total after everything):

DDR3-1333MHz over DDR3-1066MHz
9-cell over 6-cell battery
i7-720QM over T9600
Blu-ray burner over reader (main reason I wanted the new one)
McAfee 15-month (will be uninstalling)

The only thing I "lost" was MyWifi with the 5300, but I don't think I would have ever used that, lol! EDIT: Just looked again. I also lost 3GB of Dell Datasafe Online: went from 5GB to 2GB. If I wanted 5GB now, I'd have to pay 25% of higher upgrade cost ($49 vs $39) and that was too much, lol.

~Ibrahim~

Repost from XPS 1640 + 4670 thread....

 

Yup, I got my SXPS with 25% sale, and additional 7% student discount. But it seems they have taken off the offer from the i7 laptops (definitely). I got mine (P8600, Bluetooth, others on default) at $1170. The i7 definitely costs more than that =)

 

Huh.....I got mine with the 25% sale, too.

Weird, they told me that they either take the 7% discount or the instant savings, whichever is greater.

~Ibrahim~

 

this sucks. I just got my XPS 1640. Not sure what to do. Here would be the differences (left side old, right new)

P8600 vs i7 720QM
256GB SSD vs 320GB 7200rpm
6 cell battery vs 9 cell
1066MHZ vs 1333MHZ FSB
DVD/CD vs Blu-ray (read only) with DVD/CD

pay $75.25 more (including shipping and taxes)

Big advantage that I see is that I'd have blu-ray and I can always upgrade to SSD in a year or so. I don't think I'd need it now.
I don't think I can just return it...they'd probably charge me a restocking fee.

They said they can deliver in 10-13 business days...I can wait to be honest.

 

I wouldn't give up that 256 SSD for the 320GB just to get the i7 which will NOT have any noticable speed difference in day to day computing. The SSD has a real, noticable effect.

 

that's true, but a HD is easily upgradeble.
I could also pay $100+tax more to get an 128GB SSD.

 

Hmm....that's a tough call, especially with that SSD.

I mean, what do you care more about? Long-term performance or short-term performance? Does it need to be "zippy" now or can it be "zippy" later?

I would go for the i7-720QM for that fact alone: you can upgrade an SSD any time. And, in reality, SSDs are only going to get faster and cheaper in a short amount of time. That i7-720QM should hold you down very nicely for a good time.

~Ibrahim~

P.S. I'd pass on Dell's SSD: I don't know which company they use and whether it'll support TRIM on Windows 7.

 

It's the PM800 from Samsung. Like you said, the i7 system would be good long term. I don't really care about the SSD. It was a good price, so I took it.

 

LOL....You don't think the i7-720QM is going to be considered zippy a year from now do you? It doesn't matter what you buy or when, it's outdated six months from now. (Or less). The next one is already being designed.

 

A faster chip will be available for the price, obviously, but the different socket gives the notebook higher resale value, as the chip will be upgradeable to the newest one. If he goes the c2d route his only real upgrade option is the ssd, which he can get any time.

 

edit:dp, refreshed page

 

......the perception "zippy" doesn't change with time: it's THAT misconception that make people upgrade incessantly. It's what you feel, not what some specification chart tells you to feel.

The i7 should handle his own developments for some time with a bit of extra oomph. The C2D, while by no means slow, might show a bit of its age with newer programs, but that's just a conjecture. I mean, Core 2 Duo stayed so long because it worked, especially in laptops: laptops aren't the driving force for innovation, that's why most key components are one cycle behind their desktop counterparts. A E6600 is still a very fast CPU for what most of us do.

Everything is outdated before you buy it if you go with that perception. Buy what fits your needs and leave a good upgrade path if your needs expand.

~Ibrahim~

 

I couldn't help myself, I went ahead and ordered an i7 720 SXPS 16. I was going to see what Sony would come out with when Windows 7 comes out but Dell already has the i7 now so I went with it. BTW, it didn't say when I ordered it but the Dell i7 has a backlit keyboard, right?

 

Yes, that's always the plan isn't it?
But inevitably the next new chip breakthrough always has a diffferent socket and yours won't be upgradable. Look at the history. I guarentee you a year from now a new design will be out, and it will have a new socket design. Get the best one you can afford at any given time. Resale value two yearss from now....laughable.

 

sure but the i7 would be better than the C2D in terms of upgradability and resale value

 

C2D is no slouch. I was in your shoes and just kept the one I had ordered on the 13th of Sept. It's here now and I love it. The Core 2 platform is very fare from dead. Intel is still shipping Core 2 for both desktops and laptops and will still do so for a long time.

My Q6600 in my desktop still takes everything you can throw at it and then some. There is NOTHING that has even started to slow it down. Even at stock its still blazing fast. At 3.6GHz it's insane.

In the end it is up to you. i7 is a very fast and new platform and you won't be disappointed with it. But you also wouldn't be disappointed with Core 2 either. I plan on keeping my Core 2 desktop within only 1 upgrade - a DX11 card until Q4 2010.

The only real reason to get i7 now is if your doing CAD work, transcoding, authoring music or movies. Gaming, mainstream usage, and even most hard core usage Core 2 is still more than great at. You will notice no difference with anything else but that right now.

And now with the evolution of GPGPU you will be using a lot less CPU for CAD, transcoding and video/music editing, etc. as GPU's will be doing most of that work. DX11 with Compute Shaders cross platform is going to change how the computer works with these tasks. Things like BlueRay already use the GPU instead of the CPU on most systems, and that's just the beginning. ATI's Stream and nVidia's CUDA can also be used to transcode.

Anyhow that went way way off topic...

 

Intel stuck with LGA775 for quite some time. But, that's besides the point.

I think it isn't too much to assume that a laptop with i7 will sell somewhat of a higher price than a laptop with a Core 2 Duo in a year. True, it won't be much, but I venture to say it'll be more than a C2D.

~Ibrahim~

 

cancelled my t9600 and reordered with i720....but there is no bluetooth and i had to get it in black (no leather) instead of white because it still isn't compatible in Canada.

Oh well - still think the i720 is way better.

 

The day I use the word 'slow' in the same sentence as my computer is the day I start looking at new options.

Until then, I have absolutely no complaints with my Core 2 Duo performance. I couldn't ask my machine to run faster 90% of the time (okay, so an instant boot up would be nice, but I'll take 25 seconds).