i Core at BestBuy

Was perusing the BestBuy site and the iCores are out! Yay

 

you mean Core i7, i5, and i3

 

I'm looking at the same BB ad in my local newspaper. What do you think of the Dell i5 laptop? It has 4 GB, a 500GB HD, ATI 4670, and a 720i hidef screen. Is this a good buy for $999?

The BB is $150 less than a Studio 1555 with i5 and the BB has a larger HD (320 v. 500) and a better video card (512 4570 v. 1GB 4670).

At the BB website, the laptop is labeled a Studio 1647 but in the ad it's an S15Z. The Studio 1647 is odd because there's no Studio 16, only a Studio 1555, but there is a Studio XPS 16. Is the BB laptop an intermediate step between Studio and Studio XPS?

 

I took a pic of one of the boxes yesterday. Seems like a fairly good deal for $999, although I really wanted the WLED 1080p screen instead of the 900p one.

 

I took another look at the Best Buy website. What I missed this morning is that BB has two similar Core i5 laptops: the Blue Label Studio S15Z (the one in the print ad that I saw earlier today) and a Studio XPS 1647. The XPS box photo posted by amheck is of the XPS model. The two models are priced the same at $999. The hard drives and RAM are the same, but the XPS has a 1GB ATI 4670 video card and no anti-virus (?) while the S15Z looks like it has integrated graphics. The S15Z comes with a bundle that includes Kaspersky anti-virus and a Netgear Push2TV adaptor. Dell is selling on it's own website a Core i5 XPS 16 with 4GB/500GB/ATI 4670 for $1349. The Dell site XPS has a better display and 36 months anti-virus. All in all, it looks like the BB XPS is a decent buy, although my local BBs don't have any in stock.

 

I personally wouldn't factor AV into any purchase decision. With the MS, AVG, Avast products, there are tons of good AV products out there for free.

 

Ya, I don't even have VP/AV, other than MS security essentials(free).

 

Yep, MS here too. All of the Norton and McAfee crap is removed (as bloatware) as soon as a get a new PC.

 

I didn't know Intel's Core ix products were actually made by Apple .

 

$999? Tempting.

 

Apple will be using these new CPU/vid chips... Apple iCore? iCore Apple? LOL.

 

lol Apple core

 

So I can't get a firm answer on the Studio XPS 1647's screen resolution. I went to 2 Best Buys and neither had the machine on display yet. The website doesn't list the screen resolution. One guy told me 1366x768 (horrible on a 15.6" panel!!) and another told me "probably 1600x900" ... so does anyone know which it is?

 

The 1647 at my local BB had the 900 rez. They also didn't have a tag for the PC. They had a hand written tag with a few key specs, but nothing much.

 

Nice. I wondered when the xps 16 would get the i5 update. I wish it had a faster processor though. 520 or 540 would have been nice, but for $999 I might have to stop oggling the envy 15.

 

It has a 1600x900 resolution



The big question is, does the 1647 have the throttling problem?

 

what's BB's return policy? They charge a restocking fee on laptops, don't they?

 

Yes, I believe its 15%

 

The Best Buys here in Kansas City do not charge a restocking fee at all, ever since some point last year. That was the case a few months ago, anyway. It's possible they've reinstated it.

I am really torn right now between the Vaio F with the i7 and the 330M and the XPS 16 with the i5 and the 4670. If only Sony had put the 4670 in the F with that sweet i7 ...

What do you guys think?

 

Maybe its worth checking into then. I'm torn between the XPS 16 and the Lenovo u450p. Would love to bring each of them home and make a decision.

 

is the 4670 a GDDR2 or GDDR3?

 

It's includes GDDR3.

 

I wish the i5 had hyperthreading

 

the i5 has hyperthreading

 

Our BB doesn't charge for restocking. The return policy is now 14 days instead of 30 days. Just ask the salesperson if they have a restocking fee.

 

Newbie to the forums here...

I've had this in my cart at BB all day while I have scoured the net looking for anything comparable... I didn't really want to spend much more than $750.00 but this deal looks pretty good, almost too good to pass up...

http://tinyurl.com/bestbuylaptopcorei7

Specs:

core i7 720QM - 1.6Ghz
4GB DDR3
Blu-Ray Combo
500GB 7200RPM
17 in bright LED High-Def screen
ATI Radeon 4650
9 cell battery

I'm not a big gamer, but I want to make sure I can at least run most of the games out there, boot quickly, and maybe do some picture / minor video editing. Don't want to run into that throttling problem or anything...

 

Best Buy seems to be making some great deals with manufacturers to get well spec'ed equipment and sell it at a great price. First it was the Sony CW and now this Studio I7. This looks like a great deal.

Bronsky

 

The XPS 16 is not a bad deal either, at the stores. Not a super, duper build, but for $999, the price is right.

 

I chose the long route and ordered from their site. I opted for xps 1645 WLED. Good things come to those who wait!