Studio 17(core i7-720QM with 1GB Radeon HD 4650(DDR2)) vs XPS 16 (Core i5-430M with 1GB Radeon(DDR3))

This is my first post! So please cope with my lengthy post.

Specs:

1.
Studio XPS 16 Studio XPS 16 Notebook
Operating System Genuine Windows 7® Home Premium Edition
Processor NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-430M (2.26GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost up to 2.53Ghz, 3M cache)
Memory 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3
LCD Panel Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
Video Card ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
Hard Drive 500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
System Color Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish
Network Card Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages
CD ROM/DVD ROM Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
Sound High Definition Audio 2.0 with SRS Premium Sound
Wireless Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card
Bundle Microsoft Works
Anti-Virus Software McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Battery 6-cell Battery
Service 1 Year Basic Service Plan
Support 1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection
Service 1 Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Price $999 Without shipping

2.
Base Studio 17 Laptop
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Processor Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
Built-in Keyboard Options Standard Keyboard
LCD Panel 17.3” HD+ (900p) Bright LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera
Video Card 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650
Hard Drive 500GB SATA HDD (7200rpm)
System Color Black Chainlink
Adobe Reader Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Combo or DVD+RW Drive 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Sound Card High Definition Audio 2.0
Wireless Networking Cards Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
Touch Software No Touch Software
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft® Works 9
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-Months
Battery Options 85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)
Service 1 Year Basic Mail-In Service Plan
Service 1 Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Mobile Broadband No Internal Mobile Broadband
DataSafe (Services Owned) Dell Remote Access, free basic service
Price $1099 without shipping

My Consideration in the differences(don't care others):

Laptop-----------------------Studio 17----------------XPS 16

Processor------------------Core i7 720 QM-----------Core i5 430 M
Cores----------------------Quad Core (4)-------------Dual Core (2)
L2 Cache-----------------------6MB---------------------3MB
Pass Mark CPU Mark------------3322--------------------2502
Rank(CPU Benchmarks.com)------81----------------------118
## I know rank sounds stupid

Graphics-------------Radeon Mobility HD-4650------Radeon Mobility HD-4670
GDDR--------------------------DDR2---------------------DDR3
G3D Rating----------------------522----------------------591
3DMark 6-----------------------6251---------------------6842

I am leaning towards Studio 17. Primary use is for Gaming and occasionally running some tools. Does DDR3/DDR2 difference matter while playing games. I guess the question boils down to this: Should i sacrifice quad core processor for DDR3. Please give your opinions, thoughts and insights.

Thanks,
Elliot

 

My choice would be the Studio 17 also.

 

They both throttle, I wouldn't choose either of them.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=452814

EDIT #2.... I reconstructed my whole post. Currently, all Studio-XPS and Studio Laptops with the Core i5/i7 laptops suffer from a known throttling issue that effectively reduces your system performance by up to 75%

They are terrible for gaming on. Many people, myself included, have sent their laptops back.

 

can you turn the throttling off?

 

Throttling is done automatically by the BIOS to keep power consumption under 90W. This is because the PSU that comes with the studio 17 (and XPS16 also) can only deliver 90W. When power consumption hits 90W, the bios will slow down the CPU in order to reserve power for the screen and GPU.
If your're using a 130W PSU you can use a program called ThrottleStop to stop the throttling.

I suggest you educate yourself a bit more on the issue if you have any plans to do this, or consider buying a XPS16 or a Studio 1747 by reading these and other forums.

 

As has already been said, if you throttlestop AND a power supply (Dell PA-13), you will have NO throttling issues.

As well, the Studio 17 has no throttling issues while running on batteries.

Dell has stated it is aware of the problem and is working on a BIOS.

My Studio 17 will arrive on Monday, I've already got an 130w PS, and will do a full series of tests both on and off AC.. will post the results.

If you are interested in Audio DAW work, or soft synths, ect, the Studio 17 does not suffer from the DPC latency issues that the earlier 1737 had. Dell has specificly stated they were aware of DPC latency issues while designing the 1747. I've seen a 1747 based DAW setup and it works great.

While many people and reviews have found gaming on the Studio 17 decent, the upcoming 1749 will have a newer, faster ATI card.

 

Buy a PA-15 150w adapter from eBay (They go for $25 SHIPPED), or the PA-4E or PA-13 130w (They are the slimmer adapter and go for $35-45), run throttlestop, and your problems are a thing of the past.

If you don't mine the extra ~.7lb of the PA-15, I'd go with the 150w and that really covers all bases.

The extra size of the Studio 17 also lets it run cooler overall as overheating hasn't been a major reported issue.

Dell should be ashamed of themselves for including a 90w adapter with the Studio 17, but luckily it is a really cheap fix ($25) to get a very cool running, beefy external adapter.

 

I might be buying a Studio 17 or an SXPS soon..where did you find the adapter for 25$? (I assume it's the same for 17/SXPS)

 

There's like a gazillion of them on ebay. $30.00 USD average
Look for PA-13, PA-15, PA4E

 

I just want to point out that PA-13 is in no way a "slim" adapter. For that you want PA-4E. I got PA-13 for $20 on ebay that I leave at the house and PA-4E for about $30 that I take with me.

Still, if I were thinking of gaming laptops right now, the first one that comes to mind would be Asus G73j. I have the Studio 17 (with upgraded proc and BG+R monitor) and I would have gone for the Asus if I was buying it right now. Asus or maybe the improved HP Envy 15 with i5 and ATI 5830, depending on how much mobility I'd want. That or wait for the new ATI card to be available. One downside on Studio 17 right now is lack of 1080p screen.

 

If high detail, modern gaming is a priority, the Studio 17 honestly should be very far down the list of viable laptops.

For the gaming enthusiast, I would pick the G73j, Alienware 17xm 15xm Sager 8690, Sager 8760 and plethora of other laptops. If I was a diehard, details high as possible gamer, I wouldn't settle for anything below an Xfire/SLI laptop (M98U, X8100, M17x, M17x-r2).

The Envy is nice too, but it isn't a hardcore gaming enthusiasts laptop on the scale of those packing GTX280's, 285's, 4870's and 5870's.

If gaming is a secondary priority and/or you have no problems dialing back details, your options can easily include the Studio and XPS line.

No matter which one you decide to get, make sure to:

#1. Download the newest drivers (newest defined as searching out newer versions from the OEM's versus using Dell's "newest" drivers)

#2. Do a clean install of Windows 7

#3. Procure a PA-13 if you want the best price, PA-4E if size matters, PA-15 if you want to 100% make sure you won't have any underpowered PSU issues and/or are a tinkerer and want to swap a 920xm in there.

#4. Get Throttlestop

#5. If you're really up for it, take apart the laptop, clean the GPU/CPU heatsinks and apply some MX or ICD compound. Then properly apply some copper heatsinks and fins on the Heatsinks themselves.

Should you have to go through so much to get a system running as efficiently and proper as possible? No, but it pays dividends in the end.

 

I have to second that.
Don't buy either if you want to play the latest games at the highest settings.

To keep a min 30fps on alot of newer games, you'll have to reduce AA and or resolution (ex: 1366x768 vs 1920x1080)

The Studio 17 is more a multimedia/general use LT that can play games reasonably well, but not at the hardcore level.

 

Studio 17 is great as dev and admin workstation with dual HD bays and i7 for nice VMware performance. Plus it has decent battery life and fair pricing. Problem with anything on the list there excepting Asus G73j is high price.

 

I'm mostly looking for a dev machine for school / maybe portable - at home I have a more than capable desktop for gaming. Originally I wanted my laptop to be able to game as well - but I don't need it to be super great at it so the xps or studio should suffice. One of the major problems I have with the 17 is that it has only a 720p screen (I like my resolution tyvm) and, of course, it's not as portable. Currently I use a Fujitsu T2020 which is really light, but only has a 12.1" screen and is not much of a powerhouse (it's a tablet). I would like more screen real estate but I do enjoy the battery life and portability of this machine.

I think realistically the XPS16 would be what I'm looking for - if the XPS13 ever came close to being updated to the same realm as the 16 I might choose it...but it doesn't seem to be getting i5/i7 anytime soon.

 

Thank you for your expert suggestions. I guess i will wait and buy a good one.