Studio XPS 16, Studio 14 or Inspiron 14R ?

Hi, I posted in the "What laptop should I buy" forum, but I decided to buy Dell since I can obtain a global warranty by purchasing a 3-years basic plan which is pretty cheap (139 $, almost the same price for the 1 extra year of global warranty for Asus from XoticPc).

I was wondering, which of these 3 series have the best build/less overheating issues, and would be relatively light and easy to bring around (maximum 3 kg of weight, the less the better). I would have gone originally with the Studio XPS 16 but I read they have heat and throttling problems (don't know the new versions, they might have solved these).

The specs would approximately be:
Studio XPS 16: core i5 + ATI 5730 + HDD 500 GB 7200rpm = 1099 $ CAD
Studio 14: core i3 350M + ATI 5450 + 6GB RAM + HDD 500 GB 7200rpm = 899 $ CAD
Studio 14: core i5 450 + ATI 5450 + 6 GB RAM + HDD 500 GB 7200rpm = 999 $ CAD
Inspiron 14R: core i5 450M + ATI 5470 + HDD 500 GB 5400rpm = 899 $ CAD

 

This is the original post:

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Max 1000$ (1100 CAD)

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

c. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
d. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Where will you buying this notebook? You can select the flag of your country as an indicator.

Canada

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

a. Like: Asus for the global warranty
b. Dislike: Everex/Gateway/other cheap and poorly built

5) Would you consider laptops that are refurbished/redistributed?

no because of the shorter warranty

6) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?

Office (word and excel), statistical programs, ArcView/other GIS, web browsing, movies, music, light/medium gaming

7) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places, leaving it on your desk or both?

Both

8) Will you be playing games on your notebook? If so, please state which games or types of games?

Historical strategy (Paradox, Ageod)

9) How many hours of battery life do you need?

min 2

10) Would you prefer to see the notebooks you're considering before purchasing it or buying a notebook on-line without seeing it is OK?

online is ok, but of course would prefer seeing them

11) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista or Windows 7), Mac OS, Linux, etc.

Windows 7

Screen Specifics

12) From the choices below, what screen resolution(s) would you prefer? Keep in mind screen size in conjunction with resolution will play a large role in overall viewing comfort level. Everyone is different. Some like really small text, while others like their text big and easy to read. If you are unsure of what to purchase, we would highly recommend you check some notebook screens before you buy to see what you like. You may also wish to take a look at the notebook screen guide for more information.


* Standard Resolutions: WXGA, HD, 720p
* Actual resolutions: 1280x800 and 1366x768

* Midrange Resolutions: WXGA+, HD+, 900p
* Actual resolutions: 1440x900 and 1600x900


13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

doesn't matter

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
no

15) When are you buying this laptop?
soon, this month or next

16) How long do you want this laptop to last?
4 years minimum

Notebook Components

17) How much hard drive space do you need; 80GB to 640GB? Do you want a SSD drive?

500 GB or more

18) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a CDRW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner or Blu-Ray drive?

yes, DVD Burner

The most important things for me are heat management (my previous laptop stopped working because of overheating...) and a global warranty, the longer the better. I noticed Asus resellers like XoticPc offer a 3 year global warranty, so i would prefer Asus for this reason. If HP, Dell, Acer, Toshiba or anyone else would offer a longer than 1 year global warranty I would consider them.

So far I have been looking to: Asus N82JV (not available in Canada), Asus N53JN (same), HP Pavillion dv6-3000 series.
I like switchable graphics, Core i3/i5 + Nvidia 330/335/425M or AMD triple/quad-core + ATI 5470/5680. I don't want Intel quad-cores because of the heat.

But anyways my bigger concern are the durability and the warranty, i had horrible experiences in the past with Acer and Everex so I want this laptop to last and be repaired if needed (but I'm not attacking Acer, I have a Acer Netbook and had a great experience so far with it and customer service so I think they improved a lot, but Everex was awful). I'd especially like to know more information about the warranties, I looked a lot but they are so unclear...

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

I would go with Inspiron 14R: core i5 450M + ATI 5470 = 899 $ CAD

I think 16" will be too big especially if you want the longer battery life. I have the Studio XPS 16 720QM, 4GB. I find it a little big to go places.

Also from my understanding 4GB>6GB since then 4GB will run in Dual channel. Unless you realllly need the extra ram. Someone PM me if I am wrong.

 

The whole studio xps line was a mess IMO. There were 2 or 3 refreshes of the sxps 16 and the sxps 13 was discontinued.

I suggest you go for the studio 14/r

 

Whats R mean? This is a Dell, not a Honda.

 

I lol'd.

I wouldn't recommend the 1647, as it has more throttling issues than the 1645 does at the moment. 1645, shouldn't throttle out of the box at this point, and if by some act of god or negligence it does it only takes all of nine minutes to remove the dust cover and render it throttleless.

To be honest though, I can't recommend the laptop unless you're prepared to return it as many times as it takes for it to come back in perfect shape.

Don't get me wrong, I love it to death. But I'm a realist. I acknowledge that there is A LOT that could go wrong with the assembly. Aside from the throttling, all three of my 1645s came with slight defects that ranged from minor to distracting to unacceptable.

I'm talking things like, loose molding. Or things like the battery not locking in place. Or things like transparency on keys where there shouldn't be (allowing the backlighting to shine through in small spots). Or even the Energy Star, Intel, and Windows sticker being misaligned... While I have no doubt Dell will keep replacing and will fix the issues that the computer ships with (except maybe my stupid stickers), it's still very irritating.

When it's all perfect, though, this laptop is just amazing... the best in its class really. There's nothing like it. But I can't recommend it for it's mobility.

Don't get the Inspiron. It's a budget laptop, and is built like a budget laptop. Keyboard flexes, build quality is average at best, and isn't "fun" to use-- it's just something you get when you have no other choice, really.

 

If you're only doing low-medium gaming then you won't throttle on a 1647. The throttling isn't that big a deal at all. Heat also isn't a problem with i5 or i7 620. Quad core 1645's are a different story though! But for your tasks a 1645 would be unnecessary!

For build quality you're not going to beat the 1647, it's really sturdy but it is 3.2kg with the 9 cell, but hey what does 0.2kg matter?

I'll agree that the Inspiron's are for budget buyers, not much point in kitting one out to an i5 processor if it has things like keyboard flex. It won't last you 4 years.

If you have the money then go for the 1647, you won't look back!

 

Of the choices, I would go with the studio 15. The quality is pretty decent and quite a bit above the inspiron in external quality. I also feel like this line will have a bit more longevity. You also get pretty much the same internals as you can with the 16 aside from video options.

The XPS on the other hand has it's issues. You can see the lot by viewing that forum. Don't get me wrong though in terms of build quality, it's solid. Has some weird design points IMO but strong. You mentioned heat management...if that is important then the 16 may not be the best choice. If weight is a concern, also steer clear, it's not the most travel friendly. The studio is nearly 1 lb lighter.

I have a feeling they may axe the XPS line of notebooks. That's all it is though, a feeling based on the way things have been going and with one laptop holding the line, this may be the case. First they 13 dropped, XPS adamo gone and what next, maybe the 16. Refreshes have been minimal unless they are going to just revise the entire line completely.

The inspirons...well nothing terribly wrong with 'em. The weak spot with the inspiron is plastics. if you're like some people who buy a new lappy every 2 to 3 years then it's a great bargain 'cause chances are good that your won't have it by the time it starts falling apart.

 

The Inspiron 14 (1440) uses Pentium DC, and C2D processors.
The Inspiron 14R uses Core i CPU's.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Despite the problems, Dell has probably the best customer service support so I would be willing to gamble... the problem is that their 3-years warranty plans are more expensive for Studio and especially Studio XPS laptops... an XPS 3 years warranty (necessary to obtain international support) is 400$... the final price before taxes comes at 1,500$...
The Studio 15 has a cheaper warranty but for its price or just a little more I could get an Asus with a better GPU from an Asus reseller who also sells a 3-years asus warranty... The Studio 17 again has a better GPU but higher warranty price...

Overall I would trust Dell customer service more than Asus, but i trust Asus quality more than Dell's...
I also checked the Vostro line, where the warranty is much cheaper, however good specs are found only in the 17" models... I wouldn't mind a Studio 17 or Vostro 17", but it's such an hassle to walk these huge laptops around... they are so heavy and make walking unpleasant...

 

I have purchased Dell's outrageously high extended warranties in the past. However, I just ordered a little travel laptop and rather than use dell, I am going to give squaretrade.com a try. I have heard decent things about their reliability etc, so I am going to throw my business their way and test it myself. I can get a 3 yr with accidental damage for nearly half the price of Dell's.

Just an idea if you want extra coverage but find it hard giving Dell the extra money and you're okay giving a 3rd party the go.

 

The only reasons why I say XPS 16 are: Its the last XPS IMHO, 1080p screen, and 5730 GPU.

 

Personally, I think Inspiron 14R is the choice (I prefer the 15R). 14R comes with 14-inch screen, and it is equipped with Core i5 450M processor and Intel HD graphics. Dell Inspiron 14R N4010 also comes with SRS speakers and Windows 7 operating system. Good.
You can see the performance and inner structure:
Dell Inspiron 14R N4010 Review

Dell Inspiron 14R N4010 Disassembly