Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 - Coming Soon?

Can't Customize it.
Edit: The T400 from lenovo now has DDR3 ram. It said DDR2 but their website had a LOT of typos so I'm guessing that this laptop has everything I want. I just which it was 13 inches.

 

No prob's I hope that when it comes out..you get what you want in the specs/build, and a great price!


Cin

 

Dell, if you are reading this, get Montevina out NOW! You have made it hell to those who were about to pull the trigger on any one of your systems and then we were informed by an "insider" that it will be coming. Coming when?..... 1 year, 3 years, 10 years! You may have nice systems but there is no need to delay Montevina any further, mostly all of your competitors have beaten you to the punch, and you are only hurting yourself in sales.

GET...MONTEVINA...OUT...NOW...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Now that I think more about it, Dell is about as worse as Wal-Mart. They can't get thier crap together so customers go elsewhere.

 

Hello hyperbole!

I think you are forgetting Dell and Wal Mart are on top of their respective markets.

If you threw out the Montevina and Centrino 2 buzzwords to the large majority of consumers, they would have no idea what the hell are you talking about. It is not as if when a new technology comes out suddenly the old one doesn't work at all.

 

I worked for Wal-Mart for nearly 2 years and I just recently quit. They treat their associates like crap and they threaten you if you even dare say anything bad about the company. I think people would inquire about "Ohh, Centrino 2, must be better, what does it do the regular Centrino didn't have?". I would say that it is much more energy effiecent with better cooling on the inside of the laptop thus reducing any heating problems that may present itself in the near future. Plus the Centrino 2 is much faster, 1066MHz vs. 800 MHz, it does make a difference!

Dell is on its last straw. They haven't fixed the 8400 and 8600 series Nvidia graphics in the XPS 1330 and 1530, they haven't released Montevina, they put laptops out expecting people to pay top dollar for old tech (which technically the Core 2 Centrino platform is), they put out unfinished products (Studio 1535 with an e-sata/usb combo port that doesn't work, but the mythical Studio 1536 port does), Horrible delays in manufacturing, and last but not least, no coupons for the Studio line of laptops, only for Inspiron and XPS.

Wow, Dell is really awesome!!!!

 

I want a Sony Vaio but I'm stuck waiting for a dell(dad is afraid sony will get stolen). However Dell is the only company holding onto Santa Rosa. They are content on selling old hardware because they know the general consumer doesn't know.

 

Sorry, Centrino 2 is not much faster and the FSB doesn't make much difference. Neither is it much more energy efficient or cooler. The processors are still Penryns, with the same 45nm process, TDP might be lower but honestly that doesn't lead to much improvement in real life. The video cards are nVidia's fault, not Dell's. They already have extended warranty, they can't fix the GPU. Dell has very good customer service, especially the XPS line. I'm sure the Studios will have coupons shortly but they are still fairly new. As was pointed out before, Dell is still one of the top companies in its field and its not there to satisfy specific people.

 

Just a quick thought on whether or not the slides are legit. I work for a company that provides IT services to schools and it is common for student workers to put presentations together. I wouldn't be surprised if Dell would do the same thing, by handing off some sort of grunt work to an intern. Think of these slides as mockups or prototypes; ideas in progress. Maybe no one has decided on what terminology to use, and that's why we see inconsistencies. I'm not saying that these slides are legit, just that some of the problems can be explained...

... or maybe I just want to keep this thread going.

 

There are other things worth waiting for like the rumored SLI, maybe hybrid graphics like Sony Vaio Z and some Thinkpads, slimmer designs, Turbo Memory 2, new faster Draft N wireless cards, maybe cheaper blue-ray drives and maybe Bluetooth 2.1.

 

i didn't read the whole thread but am i the only one that notices the pictures' texts are all messed up and looks like a 10 year old did it

 

yea and i noticed they say inspiron 14 something

 

exactly its just to prove that these products are still far away.. when public releases come out there wont be errors.. all this thread is about is the inevitable release of new XPS's thats it guys... technical will come out later when it does ill post it.. so keep onto your horses.

 

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/29/dell-profit-falls-per-cent
"Dell profits fall 17 per cent"

I think not having new notebooks hurt them. At school I don't see ANYONE with a new dell.

Edit: Important for anyone buying a new notebook
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/28/nvidia-55nm-parts-bad
Scroll down it contains a table with bad parts including new 9 series parts. I'm officially done with nvidia.

 

The Montevina notebooks didn't show up until August, so that would not affect these numbers. Revenue was up, just their profit margin suffered.

 

Hmm that is true. The second part though is what worries me. Geforce 9 series being defective as well? Nvidia seems to have "fixed" it and released a new batch of the GPUs but how can you tell if you get the good or the bad? When your warranty is gone and then the GPU dies that would suck big time. Good thing I held off getting that Sony Z series.

 

well guarantees exist for a reason..

 

It seems as though the Studio XPS 16 will have a 16:9 ratio screen but not the 13 model? I'm hoping to see an alternative to the Vaio Z, with the same 16:9 ratio it shares however.

 

Not necessarily. Ok. I am going to get petrified or Rep Power down to hell for suggesting this. Get a Dell laptop from Costco - return it before the 90 days. It's only fitting because Dell is forcing you to wait. You'll have a laptop for one semester and a shinny new Studio XPS by Christmas time.

 

I like how you think...

 

Maybe a component shortage or something led to the delay of Studio XPS 13 model which I'm sure Dell would've liked to have available for the back-to-school crowd (like the M1330 last year). I may get myself a Sony Z in the next couple of weeks, then in November get a Studio XPS 16 as my new desktop replacement, using the Z for travel. I just wonder how many pages this thread will accumulate until November.

 

SLI isn't part of Centrino 2. Hybrid graphics was specially designed for Lenovo and Sony - though it would be nice if it were to be in Centrino 2, but so far it seems it won't be a standard feature. Turbo memory 2 and 1, are good in theory, but practical design hasn't worked out yet. BT 2.1 is already out and not part of Centrino 2, same w/ Blu-Ray. In fact, since HD DVD folded, Blu-Ray has less competition and thus prices are still very expensive. The only thing that is good will be WiMax, draft N isn't even finalized yet (not to do with Intel's Centrino 2 either). So yeah... technology in general is increasing, which can be worth waiting for but you can wait forever. This one chipset isn't going to make or break anything or anyone.

 

Just a question to the confusing slides I guess, if the current Dell Studio line is getting Montevina, when will it get it, August or October? Only 2 days left in August and Dell hasn't even peeped anything yet.

This is aggravating me, because I want to toss my HP DV9000 laptop. I really only want the Dell brand for several reasons and most of it relates to the LED Screen option, slot-load drive, and backlit keyboard, no one offers all 3 together in a laptop. I am really interested in the NEW HP DV7t laptop, because it is sleek and it already has Montevina on it.

Any info would help. Jayson, you seem to know too much, any word on current Dell Studio laptops getting the Montevina treatment???

I would like to pull the trigger and get it now if it wont get Montevina, someone help?

Other countries websites now list Mike Ming palm rests for the Studios, not America yet (if ever).

 

i likkkee.

is their return policy no questions asked or something

 

Hybrid SLi is new on nVidia's 9000 series GPUs and allows a laptop to set graphics to integrated, dedicated, or both for a graphics boost. Think of it like running a dual GPU set up but the cards dont have to match.

ATI's version is Hybrid Crossfire X.


Likely these things will have 9700m - 9800m GTS or GTX.


I don't believe this is fake since it's supported by the 16" XPS that was spotted at CES back in January: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4180


I also wouldn't be surprised if we saw an 18" version of the m1730 XPS next year.

 

Yupe. They stand by what they sell. Of course I don't recommend we all go out and pull that trick. That would be abusing the system and it will ruined it for people who are using it for a legit reason.

 

dell has a 15% off on desktops and laptops in the uk in, i getting bored waiting....
as dell has even confirmed

 

Well due to their not meeting their goals and the poor quarter they had before I'm guessing this affected the release of their montevina laptops. I don't think it's a coincidence that they didn't have as good as expected quarter and are late with montevina.

 

Their policy used to be 6 months and because it was so widely abused, they shortened it to 3 months, lets not abuse it anymore and not have it shortened anymore, its a very generous policy of them to have!

 

I was about to say, that's just not very mature to do. It just takes some low morals.

In a 13"?

 

The Studio XPS 13 lists Hybrid SLi so I would guess yes. Maybe a 9600m GT.

If they really want to cclose the deal with me they'll offer a 9800m gtx in the 16" and a second battery that loads in the "Slot-load optical drive" like the Alienware m15x.


It's really not too far fetched for Dell to be downgrading XPS to a sub-brand of the Studio line since the current XPS line is redundant with Alienware.

 

hey are there going to be montevina stuff on m1530 or m1330? Or is it only for the studio and studio xps.

 

Well if they are, then it'll probably be tomorrow, because the slides indicate August. However, that's unlikely first of all because it's Sunday, then it's also labor day weekend here in the US, and the M1530 is only supposed to be around until october, so they probably won't introduce it for just 2 months.

 

ohh that sucks. i was hoping for to get a 1530 with montevina since i dont really want to wait any longer and the design of the studio xps just doesnt interest me yett.

 

that is so fake, you can see the patching done around almost everything

 

lol, not in a million years.

the sager np8660 is a 15in that is 1.85 in thick, and sager only managed to put in a 9800GT. And now it has overheating problems.

The XPS 16 (if it exists) is very slim by the looks of it, and the 9800GTX consumes heaps and heaps of power, so it wouldnt be possible. And why would Dell have a 9800GTX in their consumer 16 incher, when they have a gaming brand, called Alienware?

oh, yeh and slot loading optical drives are fixed into the laptop, so no smartbay for you

 

I'm sorry, but no laptop manufacturer is going to put a 9700 (or even a 9600) in a 13" laptop. It's just not happening. Far too hot.

 

You gotta remember were talking about 16" here. 15.4" and 16" is a big difference. Maybe not the 9800GTX, but 9800GT or 9800GTS is a huge possibility.

 

Not if Dell wants to keep the Studio XPS at least as slim as the M1530. The Sony VAIO FW has a 16.4" screen and it's only wider by an inch. Heat and power requirements for the 9800 cards are pretty high. After the 8400/8600 fiasco, Dell would be stupid to stuff a 9800 card into the Studio XPS. 9600 or 9700 is a more likely choice.

 

The Studio XPS 16 sounds plausible as HP already have a 16inch laptop out, as do Sony. I can't say that I'm a fan of the size though as the laptops look too rectangular.

I ordered a nice studio 15 (tangarine orange) on 18th August with delivery set for 15 Sept! As there are delays with parts (I'm in the UK). I was about to cancel and order a studio 17 instead. I'm now wondering whether to wait for the new screens and hybrid SLI to appear on the studios.

As far as the flier is concerned. I have already (just in the last month) seen dell silently kill the inspiron 1720 line and remove the T5550 cpus as options once their existing stock sold through. So I can totally believe that they are waiting until November to introduce the new centrino 2 chipset. Seems to me that they have simply phased their new laptop lines to conincide with the sell-through of existing stocks of centrino 1 parts.

 

They already didn't have as good as expected quarter and now they wanna start coming late to the market?

 

16" isn't much of a difference, I'm using an Acer 16" and a Dell XPS m1530. You won't find more than a 9700M GT in a 16" since Dell wants to keep their XPS line thin.

9600M GT is doable max. There are some with the 8600M GS/GT in it but it will be pretty rare.

Dell isn't releasing late in their eyes, they are prepping for their end of the fiscal year.

 

If you scroll around the voluminous (>70 Pages) M860TU lounge you will notice that the heat problems come from the HDD and not from the GPU. GPU and CPU are reported as having "normal" temps.

Additionnaly the HDD problem is not a reccurent one. Some ppl are more affected than others. If I understood correctly there might be a correlation with the HDD's turn speed but I am not sure (I did not read the total of 70 pages!).

As it has been stated before (I do not remember by who) the only thing we DO know is that XPS will become a sub-brand. The rest are anything from wishfull thinking to "leaks" meaning we know nothing for sure, and that's it.

 

It's just annoying that dell's top of the line laptops are affected by them marketing to the general public. XPS should always have the latest hardware imo and not be held up by the other home brands. Besides Centrino 2 is in their business line so they have the tech I just don't want to be waiting until November.

 

You raise a valid point. If XPS has been diluted to be nothing more than a premium veneer... I certainly wouldn't wait until November for what you can already buy elsewhere right now.

 

I'm sure the bigwigs at Dell have their reasons to delay Montevina-based consumer laptops until November, but I'd really like to know what they are thinking.

 

They have their reason because they can sell cheaper products are higher prices at the moment but for informed people who know what they are buying it makes no sense for us to wait til November for the XPS rather than buy the same thing from lenovo, hp, sony and every other company. With the XPS brand they should at least try and keep it enthusiast based and keep with the new products that come out. Why try and trick people looking for enthusiast products? Ya you can still get a lot but better to get them all by actually keeping up with the latest hardware. I understand it in the Inspiron Line but not the XPS.

 

These data sheets look terrible. They must be fake. The only thing that gives this thread credit is the fact that two decent images are included, but that doesn't give you a lot of info.

Looks promising though.

 

I just want to know if I should wait for a montevina variant of the XPS or not. Is it so hard for dell to make an official statement? It's been like 2 months now.

 

Well, so far the second slide is wrong. We're a week into September and there is still no sign of Montevina on the existing XPS line.