XPS...overrated?

Don't hate me for suggesting it. If you love your XPS, I'm more than happy with you.

But why is it I feel like buying an XPS versus buying an equivalent Vostro or Inspiron is just shelling out hundreds of extra dollars for a neato case and maybe a few more LEDs?

Am I missing something here?

 

Apparently another bonus to XPS is customer support comes from North America instead of overseas. I'm not 100% sure of that tho' since I've never needed to contact them. I read about that here.

 

hmm.... interesting thread actually... I guess you are right in some ways... it seems to me as well that the main change is the build/design... you can basically configure it exactly the same... but for the price you get on an inspiron with a coupon now, you get more than half a worse configuration on an XPS...

but i men you can't for example get an 13 inch screen on the inspiron, but you can't get an 14 inch on the XPS...

so it's hard to say...
not that customer support from north america would be something so important for me, as I am not using it every day

but I have to say that the designs of the XPS' line are simply great looking...

 

The XPS line features LED screen and DDR3 Graphics performance instead of DDR2 which is a 30% gain >.<

 

XPS computers usually have much better fit/finish as well as a few other upgrades. The 1530's video card is the ddr3 8600gt while the inspiron 1520 and 1720 only have the ddr2. The 1530 is also lighter than the 1520 and I believe has better screen options. The 1330 xps is far lighter and more mobile with the 9cell battery than any other dell offering. It is also a decent performer with an 8400m and a 9-series processor. The xps 1730 blows away two of anything else in the lineup no sweat. Dual 8800gtx is something not many manufactrers have.

For the average consumer, the xps line is actually a waste of money. But for those who want the next step up in computing performance the xps line does represent a decent/good value depending on what you are comparing.

 

I bought a Vostro first b/c of the value it offered, but am now waiting for my XPS that I got a good price on. I think it's overated if you overpay, but for about $500 more I got:

T7500---->T9300
1440x900---->LED
2GB ram----->3GB ram
2YR warranty---->4YR with complete care
8600GT DDR2--->8600GT GDDR3
Intel pro--->Intel-N

The only downside is I had to ditch the 9cell on the vostro b/c I'm not paying $170 for a battery

So the value is right there in the components, but on top of that I get a better looking laptop, better support, HDMI and various extras like a remote,nice CD case and other things I'm surely forgetting.

 

Yes, from what I've read around the forum, it seems that XPS does have customer support in North America, but it's in no way exclusive. You have to keep calling or something to get a proper English-speaking tech.

Also, people pay LOADS of money for looks. Look at the MacBook Pro...SERIOUSLY...It's all about the looks. Yes you can argue that OSX is better than vista/xp whatever but that's a personal choice, when it comes to objective comparisons (eg. hardware) Macs are overpriced like crazy. But yea, dun really want to start a mac vs pc argument lol.

If you are ok with the looks of a vostro or inspiron, then go for it, you'll love the low price, but I personally like to have something that looks a bit nicer.

 

I agree that the XPS line is beautiful. I especially likes the M1710 with the red LEDs looking at you. It screamed "I'M ANGRY AND POWERFUL" to me..I dug it!

But the price has never been realistic imo. I know that DDR3 will outperform DDR2 but unless you're a super hardcore gamer (which admittedly is what the XPS is aimed at) I just don't see that it's worth the 400 dollars more or whatever.

Also in response to those LED screens...I see a lonnnnnnnnnng thread in this same forum with a ton of people having to send theirs back.

 

No need to hate b/c you aren't getting an LED

 

LOL. WHOA there. Let's be nice now

 

Oh I'm not hating....after all, I spent less than half what you did on my laptop.

 

Read my post and what I got for the price I paid. If you paid half, you got half the specs.

 

I like my bells and whistles

 

I got a T5450, 2gb RAM, a 160gb 5400 SATA, and an 8600M GT for 600 bucks.

It's not like a gaming powerhouse but well worth the price.

 

I like them too!

I just can't see practically spending that much cash on them.


Don't get me wrong guys, I like the XPS!

I just don't think it's worth how much extra you pay....but that's just my personal opinion and if you disagree with it, I'll support you in that too.

 

I would go with an XPS over an Inspiron/Vostro simply because they're less bulky.

 

It's always going to work that way.

Those who paid for it clearly think it's worth it.

Those who didn't will always claim "it's not worth it to me"

Nothing to see here.

 

Yea, you may have a point. Some people want Dell XPS laptops only because the information on Dell's site says it's "first-class" (very convincing, lol) and, well, they're XPSs (if they are first class, I have to get one!) I admit that the XPS drives you into buying it because of the way it looks. While Dell XPS laptops are nice, people should never get driven into getting them because of their stylish looks, as they may pay a lot for what they are getting and have more performance than needed. I got driven into getting my Dell XPS, but it was just what i needed anyways-- for high performance tasks...

 

Wow.

Deep.

 

Is anything overrated? Off course it is, if you don't have money to spend on. Stop rationalizing the choice you made.

 

Yes the XPS are overrated for thier looks, but that does not mean they are built with bad quality material. The xps 1530 and 1730 are great for gaming because of DDR3 memory.

 

"Overrated" very subjective because it is highly dependent on how you rated it to begin with. I don't think you actually mean "overrated" because clearly, as was stated, if you wanted to buy it you probably rated it highly. You mean "is it over-priced?" But that brings up more questions, since "over-priced" also depends on how much you personally feel it is worth.

Let's get to the bare bones question: can you buy a comparable laptop for less that looks uglier? Sure. When I was looking at the M1730, I realized that you can configure a 17" Inspiron for a lot less with very similar specs. Of course, the Inspiron doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but so what?

Yes, you're partly buying the "name brand," just as you do to a far greater extent with Apple. And you are paying for the sleeker look. But more importantly, the parts are better. Are they THAT much better? Probably not, so in that regard you are "over-paying." There, are you happy?

 

The XPS m1530/m1330/m1730 has got to be one of the s3xiest line of laptops out there, sans m15x. You have to pay SOME price for style. Style is not only for clothing, it's not only for the fancy cars, it's now for the PC market!

It's like saying do you want to be out seen driving a Honda CR-V or a Pontiac Aztec? Both have "similar" specs, but one looks like a SUV that I would not mind driving while the other looks like a freak mutated Klingon explosion by accident. You wouldn't say one is over rated compared to the other... it's just the fact that one is not as fugly as the other! lol.

Dell is not actually the first company who decided to make their laptops stylish.... who's better than Dell at being "trendy"? Of course you know it's Apple. Their MacBook Pro is hot (unfortunately their MacBook Air is NOT), their iPOD Nano has always been a hit and now the iPhone is 2nd to none other phones out there.

The price for a XPS is not outrageous and out of reach compared to a m15x, yet it has style with acceptable performance that is geared to the general customers in the market. I'm not trying to be toooo vain here, but I think it is really cool each and every time I take out my m1530 laptop from my backpack where ever I go.

It is light weight and sleek looking. It FEELS good to place your palm on the aluminum finish and type away (like I am doing right now). To me it's a really a piece of art work that should last me several years without getting tired of looking at it.

XPS over rated? If you're looking for a cheap, no frills moveable box... then yeah, sure this laptop is probably not for you. If you have been wanting something that makes you smile everytime you look at it as it is drawn from the bag... Over rated? Nahhhh.... I think it should be considered HIGHLY RATED.

LOL, hey just my 2 cents!

 

On my PART TIME job alone I made over 10,000 USD in commissions this month, bud. I'm pretty sure I could afford an XPS, all bragging aside.

Don't get all fanboy snippy because I feel that something is overrated and/or overpriced.

I'm glad SOME of you have seen what I mean in this thread, thank you for keeping an open mind to what I'm trying to say!

 

Ahh don't get 13 here....

Who cares who bought what at what price. I am bumming a bit right now, because I just got a Refurb XPS M1530 last week with a c2d 2.0, 2GB, 1280x800 (got the LG tho , 8600GT, etc.... For $860.00 shipped (shipping is $70 to Alaska). And now seeing that crazy deal for a new one and just a bit more. But eh, you win some, you lose some. I am digging this. Not one problem with it. I already had 4GB of ram from my old laptop, and picked up a 320GB WD for $80.00 (Check your BestBuy's for the Simpletech 320 external), super easy to take apart, and pretty much all of them have WD's. And you get a free travel case lol.

Anyways, overrated on looks? Bleh, the only thing that looks better I would say would be the Air. Overpriced when there isn't much of a deal going on? Yeah I could go with that. I always thought there was not much profit on Laptops (after working @ CompUSA about 10 years ago for 2 years, my first real job), and see our cost, compared to what we sold them for. We would make MAYBE $200 on a laptop. But now seeing, the one that is listed in this thread for less then a grand. And you KNOW they are even coming close to losing money.

I think the worst thing Dell did with the XPS was/is the grainy screen issue. They should have never even shipped them out. Don't really understand why they didn't just return them to thier supplier.

 

You should check to see if you can return that refurb one and get a new one instead! Well worth it imo!

 

I just found today the XPS M1530 on a 3 day sale on Dell's sight for $1139 ! Almost $800 off. At that price I would not call it overrated at all. C2D T8300 / 4G / 160 HD


But what is wrong with this picture? Are the models on this sale some how not the same XPS M1530? (my "too good to be true" instinct is kicking in here).

Needless to say - I read plenty of reviews, I played with it some, Bumped up the HD to the 320 and took the plunge !! My end cost was $1219 and because I bought it on the busniess side got it with 3 year warrenty.

BUT .... then I started to take a long look at the bad reviews on dells site for the XPS M1530. Seems there was a developing pattern of people getting bummed out by the XPS for the same reasons.
- memory going out
- screen TOO glossy - I really dislike glossy screens, but I am probably in a minority (got my flame suit on).
- mouse pad acting up, glitching, skipping etc.
- HDs not working
- multiply lock ups/blue screens in first month of owner ship.

Is this really all that bad of a PC? Since it will not ship until May 13th (or before) due to some battery shortage (as dell put it), Should I cancel and look elsewere? The Lenovo IdeaPad Y710 had my eye for about $150 less from Newegg before I spotted the XPS today.

What do you think?

 

Exactly. Only the most quality-minded discriminating children are employed in China.

 

in my eyes XPS isn't overrated.. it's aimed at a completley different market of people.

XPS is essentially their "games and media" range, as opposed to the basic workhorse- type laptops that are their Inspirion range.

cheaper? undoubtedly, for £1,397.89 i can configure a laptop with the same specs as my XPS, seems good right?

the problem is, that configuration ( the best available) misses out on the following features;

the Support is the basic home Support, not the XPS style support
No Windows XP Professional (~£80, stuck with Vista otherwise)
Graphics cards are limited to a 8600 with 256mb memory (compared to Twin 8800GTX's in SLi, £~400 including the cable and setup)
Twin harddrives unavailable 7.2k RPMx2 harddrives in RAID (£~80)
The Design of the laptop isn't as ideal as the XPS's for gaming, for things such as placement of Ports and headphone sockets, sturdyness, backlighted keyboard etc.
(The X9000 Processor is unavailable in that model, which a fair amount of people seem to have opted for, looking in the 1730 owners lounge)
and of course, there's also all the bells and whistles, the lights on the back of the com and in the speakers, the speakers are a better quality, the machine overall looks alot nicer, 8 in 1 card reader and the Media remote..
so in fairness, the Laptop skimps on about £560 of components, if we rounded that down to £500 (covering the possible saving of not having the HD that comes with the Inspirion) take that off of the cost of my laptop, and my XPS cost me £1500.. so i've only paid £100 more for a more gaming oriented machine, with all the support, all the bells and whistles that come with it..

and of course, it's actually possible to get that config for a 1730, whereas it's impossible for a Inspirion..

not saying the Inspirion line is bad, but it's for a slightly different consumer group than the XPS is built for, there's no such thing as a "one size fits all laptop"

people that buy Macbook Air's could probably buy laptops with far better specs for half the cost.. but they are paying for the looks, the build and the brand, doesn't make the line worse value for money, just means that the value is found outside of technical specs.

*confused ramble over*

 

You know, your best bet is to shop around. I would recommend Dell to everyone in the market for a computer because I had an excellent experience with them, but this time around (I was looking at the XPS1530 and the Thinkpad T61) I went with the Thinkpad (because at the time, it was the way better deal with much better specs). Now they have that new deal, and things have changed, but there are many comparable (from a specs standpoint) out there. XPS is nice looking, but if you are looking for a good deal with great specs, research is never a bad thing and you might find something you like even better.

 

to bad the 1530 comes with the worst touchpad ever

 

I think you're forgetting that these laptops have a target market and just because the laptop might not seem like a good fit for you does not necessarily make it a bad or overpriced laptop. There are some companies out there still trying to sell napa based C2D laptops with semi-premium components and charge a ludicrous amount for them, THOSE are overpriced and not worth it *cough*m9750*cough*. But really for sub 1500 you can get a ddr3 8600gt, 4 gigs of ram, the latest penryn processors and a fast HD. Not bad.

If this is too much computer for you though then yes it is a bad deal. You are paying for features you'll never use. But don't start a thread about how you think your opinion is fact please. The XPS line is successful because there is a market for it and there are plenty of people who enjoy their XPS laptops to the full extent possible.

 

No, I don't think so. My 1530 is my first lappy ever.

Prior to purchasing, I was looking at the 1330, the 1420 and a 1520, also couple of other models (brands).

In the end, I chose the 1530 ~ as it suited my needs, and what I felt was a great purchase price for my lappy.

I am very happy with it, and the first time I had to call XPS Support ~ the service I had was great )

 

My thread says I think that they are overrated, then asks if I'm missing something.

Nowhere in it do I state "My opinion is fact."

I agree with the rest of your post here, however.

 

I guess I don't like the term "overrated" anyways, its meaning never made sense to me. Saying that you think something is "overrated" is really just a passive way of saying you don't like it even though other people do.

From Urban Dictionary:

 

I have to laugh that you'd even bring up the Urban Dictionary.

Try the regular Dictionary.

o·ver·rate /ˌoʊvərˈreɪt/ [oh-ver-reyt]

–verb (used with object), -rat·ed, -rat·ing. to rate or appraise too highly; overestimate


All I'm saying is that I feel like the Dell XPS is not worth what you pay for it. WTF does that have to do with anti-trendy and me hating XPS users? Because I don't. Don't quote some worthless internet drivel and use it against me, that's like taking a page from Wikipedia.

I've said it like ten times

I LIKE THE XPS
I LIKE THE XPS
I LIKE THE XPS

I still feel that it's overpriced.

If you're even going to respond, try to do it intelligently and dismiss all XPS obsessions you may or may not have.

 

I wouldn't say 'ever' but it's up there. At least it can be disabled.

 

Saving grace on quite a few laptops. I wish there were more solid touchpads.

 

*whoosh* my point went right over your head. I was implying that the dictionary definition of the word makes me wonder why the word even exists because it's pretty meaningless when you think about it.

Anyways, if your only concern is that they're overpriced, then you shouldn't be calling them overrated. Which brings us back full circle to why I said I don't understand why people use the word overrated. And then this discussion is rather pointless since value is relative.

 

The the use of the word "overrated" is very overrated.

 

Someone is clearly upset they didn't spring for the XPS

 

I'm not at all. I'm very happy that I got very close to XPS stats while spending an Inspiron budget.

If I wanna super hardcore omg game, I'll use my desktop.

 

No, you're not. If you're so happy, then why are you arguing with people? You're like "I'm happy! So there!" If you're so happy, go be happy with your Inspiron. We'll be happy with our XPS systems. You can live with the smug satisfaction that we paid more and we'll live with the contentment of knowing our systems look great and are built better. Oh, and then you can continue to pretend that Dell decided to build Inspirons that are exactly the same as XPS systems and you're the only one who was smart enough to figure it out. Welcome to Awesomeville, genius: population, you.

 

well said kamehame

if he was happy, he wouldn't be here posting and trying to justify the decision

 

How is it not worth it, Dell has a great deal on them every 2 weeks, the specs for it are worth what you pay for. If you want to look at an *overpriced* or *overrated* laptop...go look at the alienware 15x...now that thing..is what you would call omfg overrated....

Everyone in here is trying to tell you : Stop complaining about dell's prices on xps... you get what you pay for... =.=" sheeesshhh get over it

 

I've said this before.

Inspiron 1525 is ESSENTIALLY a M1530 - dedicated graphics.

 

I really don't think my M1730 is either overrated or overpriced, it is the best built and fastest laptop I have had to date. I spent the big bucks on it cause I can and wanted to cause I wanted the best and fastest laptop I could find and after looking at Alienware, Sager, and Clevo and all their problem plauged laptops the clear chioce was the XPS M1730 and I have no regrets at all about buying my beast!!!!!.

 

I configured many possible combinations of XPS 1530 and Inspiron1520, and found that as long as keeking them in the same spec range , they priced completely the same or identical. So I can't believe your saying 400US more for the XPS when they are configured similarly.

But I think the Inspiron has better build and XPS has the better look and finish (not for me but for most of people), I personally like the Inspiron better because I could choose XP pro and I like the Inspiron design(less flashy) better ,but some what Dell did not let me configure it with faster hard disc(200gb,7200rpm). So I ended up ordering the XPS.

In price comparison , there is no difference between them and the Vostro actually is more expensive if you choose Penryn or NV8600GT. But I am a big fan of the black box design so I like the Vostro a lot more than the XPS.

It is up to your choice of OS, LCD, GPU, CPU and HD , configure it identically , you are mostlikely ending up paying the same amount of money for each.

 

I have a Latitude for work, the XPS in my sig as my desktop replacement at home, and Im ordering another max spec XPS M1330 later this week

I love XPS's - they're stylish, and performance is awesome.

 

I spent 3 weeks looking over specs between inspiron and XPS. Witha $400 Inspiron Coupon code I got my system tax, title and transfer for $949. I clicked out the same specs for an XPS and it was ~1600. It wasnt worth $650 more for me for DDR3 graphics. For others it obviously is.

I don't spend a lot of time oohing and ahhhing over the case design or look. I see hundreds of computers at work. I used to own a sports car and after buying it I got asked... are you going to add XXX or YYY to make it have more HP??? My answer was always the same. "No, because no matter what I do somwhere out there someone will have a car that is faster than mine no matter what I do."

In the end these are box's with components that get us the desired results. Some have higher expectations than others. Like I said before, I couldnt justify spending $650 more for DDR3 ram on a vid card that I might be able to buy on ebay later on for $150.

I don't feel bad about not buying an XPS nor do I feel good about buying an Inspiron instead. I am happy with what I got and it works very well for my needs. I think a few others on here could benefit from that attitude here.

I say Live and let live