Spill the Beans Dell Spill the Beans! Manufacturers Piling Up to Expose the World to Montevina.

well they better get a move on then, as others have started to sell new laptops and dell will fall behind, I am considering dell as well as a couple of others and since I will be going on holiday on the 11th of August I can get some laptops ( Sony, Apple,HP) taxfree.. but I want to config mine all the way and Dell would more or less be my only option in the UK then, expect for Sager.

 

I think they're trying to sell off their previous stock first - hence the 20 and 25% off XPS and 25 and 30% off Inspiron coupons. It took them about a month to roll out Santa Rosa last year - May 20 to June 26 IIRC (July 6 for Vostro) - so I wouldn't count on it coming all that soon. One thing you can look for is options disappearing on the Santa Rosa notebooks - I was about to buy a Napa notebook about a week before Dell's Santa Rosa debut when the graphics card I wanted disappeared all of a sudden. Too bad - the end-of-Napa deal was better than the beginning-of-Santa Rosa deal. AKA: If you're considering buying and see a really good deal now, you might be better off buying the older platform .

 

youd be by far better of with a sager.

 

Did dell do the same thing last year with the xps1330? like have the coupons to sell off the items then suddenly release their new lappy without prior notice?
i seem to forget how it worked last year...

 

I would buy one couponed XPS if they doesn't use the 8600M GT. Acer has released the 5930G (P8400, 4GB, 9600M GT DDR3) for just 899€ in Spain. And we USUALLY have to pay a lot more for the same product in the rest of the world...

 

The prices fell quite a bit on the 1505/1705 (or 6400/9400 depending on where you live) shortly before they were discountinued, producing an effect similar to these coupons.

That sounds like a pretty good deal. The 9600M GT is more or less the same performance-wise as the 8700M GT, so it's a nice bump up from the 8600M GT.

 

Why? I enjoy the cheap prices of dell coupled with excellent warrantys and tech support.

 

I really want Dell to make an announcement soon. I think(wishing) that they might make an announcement at the end of the month or within the first week of August for two reasons:
1. All the coupons on current dell laptops expire July 31st
2. They will lose a lot of business if they don't announce anything by the second week of August because other companies will be offering their new laptops by then.

I've benn holding off all summer and I need a new laptop for school. Pretty soon I'm going to get a Sony Z or a Lenovo U330 (Aug 5th). I am currently using the 2003 hp pavilion in my sig...with the original battery. lol

 

i love how sager people just pop up in random threads in all the different brands and simply say... " sager is better"

 

I second that!

 

I third it haha

 

I'm sure they'll roll the new ones out a few weeks before the 'back to school' sales. I'm thinking of getting a new laptop and I can't decide if I should get a new Asus now or wait for the Montevina XPS's when they go on sale this fall.

 

I am waiting patiently. I hope they put the 128 GB SSDs in the next batch because that is enough space for the OS and apps/games. The rest goes on my server anyhow.

 

If you're going to use a dedicated card, the improvements brought from montevina will be minimal. However, if you'll use the integrated graphics, then yes, there will be more improvement to that.

 

^ Yeah, I hear ya. The T9300 I'm on currently is actually better than a few of the Montevina's, so you are certainly correct. I am interested in the lower power usage, however. If I'm going to shell out money on a new laptop (mainly b/c I want HDMI and Blue ray), I may as well go for the new platform if it is available.

 

The biggest factor is cost of early adopting. Its already a gimme that in the not too distant future Dell will be making More LED LCDs as a norm. It will be just like when the M1530 came out. When all the early adopters bought them, they had no options for WSXGA+, WUXGA, or LED and the drive was louder than the current ones, not to mention storage space is not as high. Its the cost for early adoption and not only do people who buy the M1530 when the 25% off coupon is out not only get all the options that the early adopters didn't have, but also get the advantage of cost, which I am sure costs much less than all those early adopters paid for their M1530s.

If you take a look at current tech and Montevina, the M1530 has the 8600GT, and the new successor more than likely has the 9600GT. There is a performance increase, but really not by much. Though if you take the previous graphics card that Dell offered before the M1530 on their 15.4'' models, you had the ATI Radeon X1400. There is a HUGE gap between the X1400 and the 8600GT. Whereas the 8600GT and the next 9xxx series card will not have as big of a performance gap. So really, I'd say wait for the next iteration of the 15.4'' XPS or at least near the end of the new refreshes' lifecycle before purchasing to make it a much more worthwhile purchase.

Sure theres HDMI and Blu Ray, but the fact is there already is HDMI and there already is Blu Ray offered. Though it is $500 then $400 with the Studio. Sure theres a drop in price, but there is no doubt prices will only go down from here. In probably a years time, we may see LED backlit WUXGA and much cheaper Blu Ray drives which would be more worth it.

Buying the M1530 now with Blu Ray with WUXGA will be cheaper than buying a refresh with Blu Ray with WUXGA once it comes out, so really, theres little to be gained. Sure theres that marginal performance in battery life, but it will only get higher.

Until there is a more significant performance increase, I'd recommend just sticking to the M1530.

 

any idea if dell will change the look of the m1530? That is what I am most concerned about.

 

I doubt this will happen anytime soon, the m1530 came out in december so this design is only ~8 months old not to mention its very popular. I'm guessing they won't change the design for another year at least. I mean HP kept the design of their 6xxx series laptops for over 2 years because it was still popular.

 

i agree the design is very nice and I love it. I hope your right!

 

I don't think the design will change, just put the new stuff it in already and show us Dell!

 

The design will change no doubt. Dell is not stupid to allow a Studio to look as classy as an XPS line. The new XPS no doubt will have a black illuminated backlit keyboard and most definitely a unique design that the studio can't compare to.

Whats worse than Centrino 2 laptops coming out? Fujitsu recently refreshed their Amilo laptops with Centrino 2. Great, so they are at the stage of refreshing existing laptops.

 

What IS taking Dell so freaking long?!!!!

I bet as soon as the coupons expire (7/23) we'll see some announcement "New era of XPS" etc

 

I have a theory about the Studio/XPS laptops. I think the only reason that you can't configure a Studio laptop with an Intel wireless card right now is because the Mother Board was designed to accomadate the new Intel Wireless card that goes with the Centrino 2 chipset. Because of this I think that a Centrino 2 chipset configuration will be available on the Studio's very soon. If that is what Dell does then they will really have no choice to release a completely new XPS. Can you imagine anyone buying an XPS if you could get Centrino 2 and the nice new look of the Studio with a Studio line laptop.

 

I hope you're right! A Thursday announcement would be nice.

 

Whats the attraction of the solid state drives? Are they just a lot quicker and can't be damaged by a fall etc?

I don't see how the current 64GB SSD drives can be worth having at all? 128GB would definitely be more worth it but will have a high premium to pay.

 

But the current XPS looks a lot nicer than the current Studios...imo anyway. So cosmetically i'd say the Studio isn't more appealing to most people. XPS looks like a higher quality machine.

Also how could the Studio have started having the Centrino 2 motherboards when they came out before Centrino 2 was released? Surely manfacturers can't get access to the boards etc early?

When Centrino 2 is out the new tech isn't going to come at the same cost as the current Centrino 1 cpus etc. I think you will need to upgrade to them and pay quite a hefty premium too.

 

Dell has had access to the Centrino 2 specs, chips, etc. for some time now. So they are certainly capable of designing a motherboard to accomadate a centrino 2 chip. How ealse would all these other manufactures allready be releasing laptops with centrino 2 chip sets? They get access to the chips before they are actually released to the public.

 

Most people who need mobility do not need that much space (32GB is more than enough for Vista and work files and you can always get an external HD if you want movies or music, etc.). SSDs are like LEDs. They are all around better than their counterparts (though you need to know how to choose as all SSDs are not created equal, but that is true for any part, even between the same sized and speed hard drives). Almost all SLC SSDs have been proven to be faster, more reliable, rugged, cooler, and give more battery life.

 

maybe I am wrong but Studio series, like most Core2Duo laptops, comes with an Intel 965 chipset. I don't think that is a Centrino2 chipset...

 

Why can't you get an Intel wireless card on the Studio's?

 

I just ordered a Studio 15 for my Nephew and while I had the Rep on the phone I asked him when would we see the new Centrino 2 line and he said not until the middle of next month around the 15th or so. I hope that helps if anyone is trying to hold out for a the new models but is in need of a machine now for school purposes.

 

Interesting to know. It would be nice if they just laid out a date instead of us trying to speculate.

 

Probably to keep costs down. Although has it been stated that the new Wi-Fi cards can't be used on older Santa Rosa systems? Isn't it all mini-PCI?

 

I agree and I'm sure their losing a lot of customers because of that.

 

I doubt they are losing many customers because of it, most people don't keep track of things like this like we do.

 

what is the 'NBR DELL TEAM' ?

 

note book review DELL team? like rnt they the ppl that know dell really well or works with them or something? Hmmm do u think they will change the design of the new xps? also is centrino 2 even thats strong?

 

Team Dell are made up of the Dell users on the boards who wish to show their support for their brand.

 

Like me!!!! haha

 

I don't get why they can't just announce it. Doesn't matter if it's not possible to order one until a month from now..

Lenovo did that.. They were redoing their line and they announced all specs and whatnot of the new computers like 2 months before release date. At least that way those that need a laptop asap can decide whether or not to wait.

Worst part is that they are most likely doing a redesign (partial) and coming out with m1340, m1540 etc, otherwise they would've added centrino 2 long ago like most others. The only big laptop producers without monteniva at this point are Dell, lenovo and apple. Lenovo and apple have already announced that major redesigns are on the way. Dell? Not a word.

 

Maybe they accidentally messed up on the design specifications so they have to redesign parts of it to make it work. Its amazing after this long we havn't heard a peep.

I mean I understand if they want to wait till the end of August just so that the integrated graphics come out and all the other features Montevina is supposed to have, but... they typically like to leak something out to the public to at least cause awareness.

 

even if they are planning redesigns for the XPS, what's the deal with the Studio line? They're brand new so no redesign is needed. Why isn't Centrino 2 available for the Studios?

 

Redesign doesn't necessarily mean changing the appearance of those laptops; in this case it simply means adding a different motherboard, perhaps a different cooling system etc. so they will have to redesign every laptop to a certain degree.

 

New XPS models and Centrino 2 equipped Studio's will be available on Aug 15, give or take a few days. I don't have any evidence, just a prediction.

 

Dell will lose me as a client as soon as one competitor releases something with 9600GT DDR3, the 5300 card, P8600 and 4GB.

 

Do you think Dell will make any adjustments to the GPU for the Studios?? It'd be nice to see some nVidia GPUs.

 

At this point, I'd rather have one of the higher end ATI cards given nVidia's slew of problems recently.

 

I agree, nvidia seriously has to get their act together.

 

true...ATI is probably better off at this point.

But the current 3650 in the Studio 17 isn't exactly the newest and greatest.
A slight improvement would be nice to see. After all, the Studio is meant to be a multimedia style laptop.

 

? its about the sasme as and 8700gt in a fairly slim laptop. Also, its npot meant for gaming its a mainstream comp.