The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    "upgrading" my XPS 1530 to a Studio 17?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by Steve325, Oct 13, 2008.

  1. Steve325

    Steve325 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    42
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I know it's not an upgrade so to speak, but I've been having my eye out on a 17" laptop. I have always liked the bigger screens and the option to possibly run a RAID setup which isn't doable on the 15"

    What would I be losing out of "upgrading" my XPS to a Studio? I was going to be getting one with similar specs, but the Studio 17 would have a better processor and a better? (the reviews I'm reading are mixed) video card with an ATI 3650

    what do you guys think, is it worth it? I will be making about $100 profit due to a 20% refurbished Studio/Inspiron coupon
     
    Steve325, Oct 13, 2008
    #1
  2. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

    Reputations:
    634
    Messages:
    3,637
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    ... I believe that th 3650 is infact a bit faster than the 8600GT, but not a lot (that is why the mixed reviews).

    if you want 17inch, I would say the studio 17 is a good bet.
     
    yuio, Oct 13, 2008
    #2
  3. basskiddanny

    basskiddanny Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    25
    Messages:
    538
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    3650 should perform the same as the 8600M GT. If you want the larger screen then go for it. But a 17" external monitor could be your other option. Really depends what you are after.

    Personally I need the portability of a 15", thats all you will lose out on performance wise, and then theres cosmetics but that is different for each person and depends what you like. But does it matter what it looks like if it's sat on your desk all day.

    Lately I found myself looking at the M1730 lol, but it wouldn't be worth me getting as I said I need portability :)

    If you want to spend more you could wait for the new 17" Alienware to come out. Seems unncessary though!
     
    basskiddanny, Oct 13, 2008
    #3
  4. Aditya

    Aditya Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    48
    Messages:
    110
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The 8600GT is more powerful and capable than the 3650. It's also much more overclock friendly :)
     
    Aditya, Oct 13, 2008
    #4
  5. basskiddanny

    basskiddanny Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    25
    Messages:
    538
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Steve if you only game casually then the 3650 should be okay. I'm talking for say Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Counterstrike etc all run high at 1440 x 900 on the Studio 17.

    I think the biggest factor here is how important portability is. For me a 15.4" is the largest laptop that I would consider truely portable, anything over that becomes luggable.
     
    basskiddanny, Oct 13, 2008
    #5
  6. atbnet

    atbnet Notebook Prophet

    Reputations:
    5,868
    Messages:
    5,889
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    206
    RAID is also not doable on the Studio 17 either. You can have two hard drives though.
     
    atbnet, Oct 13, 2008
    #6