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    XPS Gaming Question

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by rpgiles, Nov 23, 2010.

  1. rpgiles

    rpgiles Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am looking for some guidance based on those that have the XPS 15 with the 420 and the i5.

    I'll be commuting to NYC everyday, so I want a gaming notebook. However, the type of gaming I'll be doing on the commute will be slower games like Cities XL2011, Victoria 2, etc. Grand Strategy type games. I will likely only be playing starcraft 2 on my home computer, not the laptop.

    Am I fine with the 420 and the i5? Should I load up with 8 gb of RAM?

    Thanks for your input.
     
    rpgiles, Nov 23, 2010
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  2. JohnnyFJohnsson

    JohnnyFJohnsson Notebook Consultant

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    For your needs I think the i5 with the 420gt will do just fine... But save your money and don't buy the 8 GB memory upgrade from Dell. You can easily upgrade it yourself afterwards for less money.
     
    JohnnyFJohnsson, Nov 23, 2010
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  3. machiz7888

    machiz7888 Notebook Consultant

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    yeah, for the record ive been playing starcraft 2 at the max resolution, with "high" settings enabled and it plays beautifully.
     
    machiz7888, Nov 23, 2010
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  4. rpgiles

    rpgiles Notebook Enthusiast

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    Machiz, just out of curiosity and for clarity. You've been playing fine with the 420 and i5?
     
    rpgiles, Nov 23, 2010
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  5. rpgiles

    rpgiles Notebook Enthusiast

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    Also, how many open slots are there with the 6gb, if there are no open slots then don't i have to buy 2x 4gb stick which can be pricey.
     
    rpgiles, Nov 23, 2010
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  6. machiz7888

    machiz7888 Notebook Consultant

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    Yup Yup. I just checked and ive actually been playing st2 on medium and Command and Conquer 4 on high. but i started a quick match on st2 with it set to high and didn't see anything immediately
     
    machiz7888, Nov 23, 2010
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  7. rpgiles

    rpgiles Notebook Enthusiast

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    Also are you playing SC2 at 1080 or a reduced resolution?
     
    rpgiles, Nov 23, 2010
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  8. gpig

    gpig Notebook Deity

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    ctrl alt f shows framerate in SC2. It's probably going to be disappointing with shaders on high.

    To answer the OP ram question, I'm not familiar with those other games, but 4GB is more than enough ram for any game on the laptop.
     
    gpig, Nov 23, 2010
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  9. machiz7888

    machiz7888 Notebook Consultant

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    Im on a 14 inch with an unmodified screen so my max is 720
     
    machiz7888, Nov 23, 2010
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  10. compwiz0620

    compwiz0620 Notebook Evangelist

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    6gb will use all the slots with 2gb 2gb 1gb 1gb sticks
     
    compwiz0620, Nov 23, 2010
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  11. vovano

    vovano Notebook Geek

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    My 6GB are 4(Hyundai)+2(Samsung)
     
    vovano, Nov 23, 2010
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  12. machiz7888

    machiz7888 Notebook Consultant

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    I don't know what you would consider disappointing. i double checked that the shaders were actually set to high and played. got about five minutes in. didnt get to fight but had a full base built. the lowest i saw was 45 fps the highest was 65. the standard was 55. i consider that to be fairly good (outstanding in comparison to my m1330)
     
    machiz7888, Nov 23, 2010
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  13. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    The XPS 15 has only 2 slots (like the XPS16). You will have a 4GB and a 2GB stick if you get 6GB. It's not worth upgrading RAM with Dell. Buying 1x4GB stick on newegg will be cheaper than what Dell charges you to upgrade from 6 to 8, then just sell the 2GB stick on ebay.
     
    seeker_moc, Nov 23, 2010
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  14. gpig

    gpig Notebook Deity

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    My mistake, I forgot about the possibility of the 1280x720 resolution.
     
    gpig, Nov 23, 2010
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  15. compwiz0620

    compwiz0620 Notebook Evangelist

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    Ahh, I see. I didn't know the 15 only had two slots.
     
    compwiz0620, Nov 23, 2010
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  16. vovano

    vovano Notebook Geek

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    17" may have 4 slots
     
    vovano, Nov 23, 2010
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  17. compwiz0620

    compwiz0620 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes I definitely saw the 17 has four and can go up to 16GB total. I wonder if my 8GB will be 4GBx2 or 2GBx4.
     
    compwiz0620, Nov 23, 2010
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  18. vovano

    vovano Notebook Geek

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    I believe Dell will go for what is cheaper :-D
     
    vovano, Nov 23, 2010
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  19. rpgiles

    rpgiles Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok I settled on the i7 core 435 combo. I only need it to go 1-2 hours on battery for the commute, and I'd rather not be up against the ceiling of performance playing games at the native resolution.

    I threw in bluetooth, a BT mouse, the upgraded wireless card, 640 gb HD, 6gb of RAM, backlit keyboard, and 9 cell battery. Stacked my American Express membership rewards certificate for 350 dollars off and got the price down to $1100. Thank you for your help.
     
    rpgiles, Nov 24, 2010
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