Studio 15 or Studio XPS 13?

Hi guys;

Looking for some help deciding between the Studio 15 and Studio XPS 13. With my school discount, they come within $20 of each other, spec'd the way I want, so price does not factor in.

The laptop will be used primarily for word processing, Internet, and old (non-3D) games so I would elect to take a 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo and the standard integrated graphics on each.

Reasons I am drawn to the XPS model is it is lighter and more portable, looks a lot nicer, has a better backlight (inlcuding trackpad buttons), and is supposed to be much sturdier.

I still like the 15 because it has much better audio and speakers (+sub), supposedly stays cooler than the 13 (which is important since I want to use it as a LAPtop), and offers a matte screen option which I would prefer over the glossy in the 13.

Specifically I am wondering...
-Is the heat on the 13 really that bad?
-How comfortable is the keyboard/trackpad on each?
-How bad is the sound on the 13? How good is it on the 15?
-How do the displays compare?

Any advice or opinions are appreciated. Thanks!

 

The Studio 15 does not offer a matte screen. Typically that option is reserved for their business line of notebooks, such as the Latitude & Precision.

I can't comment on the rest because I don't have and haven't really played with either properly (only played with a SXPS 13 to help a friend with something he couldn't figure out).

 

The backlit keyboard and Synaptics touchpad on the Studio 15 are phenomenal. I have the 720p display, which is supposedly the worst of the lot, but I think it's beautiful, especially coming from my previous laptop's CCFL WXGA display. There is no matte display option, though; not sure where you're getting that from.

 

Hey...
Since your looking at 2 completely different models, I would suggest you complete this form: What Should I Buy FORM

When complete, paste into a thread that you can create here:
What Notebook Should I Buy?

That way you are getting comments & suggestions from all awesome members of the forum, besides the 2 great ones directly above

Cin...

 

the heat on the sxps 13 isnt bad at all (i have 2 of them)

if equip with the 9500gs option, just make sure during regular use put the second gpu in power save mode, there will be nearly no heat and the fan will be silent. when gaming, simply turn the second gpu on. (it will be hotter and louder, but your gaming)

I love the trackpad/keyboard onm the sxps 13, best ever.. no flex, comfortable button loaction, great texture, and the backlight is just awesome.

i agree the sound is lacking on the sxps 13, my left speaker on both machines vibrates annoyingly if the sound is too loud.

The led lcd is nice, very bright, good color. no complaints

 

Is the T6500 really that bad?

 

I have the T6500 on my studio 1555 and i absolutely love it, its fast when you need it to be and doesnt take too much power, loads faster than my old 2.66ghz pentium 4 processor which it replaced, havnt had anything freeze yet

 

What prompted that?

The T6500 is perfectly fine for a large proportion of people. I only opted for faster because of the work I use my notebook for - there are quite literally several hours each day when it's running at full speed constantly.