Dell Announces New XPS Laptops Discussion

uhhh okay Dell..

15" xps has a 435m and has an the option to have a 1080p screen

17" xps has a 445m, but the screen is limited to 900p

Why would they do this...?

 

two steps forward, 10 steps back. Theres a reason apple have the market, they do solid reliable minimalist laptops that work great, are solid and feel awesome.

Dell (and most other pc manufacturers) produce plastic mismatched cases (black and silver, blue and black etc etc), with too many buttons, dodgy touch pads and flimsy hinges for the screen.

the mentality seems to be "throw in a big screen and people wont care about the other crap we throw in".

The only laptop i found reliable by dell in the last 12 months, the 13z was actually discontinued. It didnt look awesome, but it was nice, solid keyboard, good touchpad, good battery and came with a dvd drive, direct competition to the macbook. I would have bought one over a macbook, but its gone now, so guess where my money will prob go.

Dell are nothing new, just head of the long line of pc companies who make aweful looking, awful feeling, plastic laptops.

Fail.

 

QFT. its almost designers are dead in the pc world or something.

 

Apple's designs are headed by 2 people: Jobs and Ive. It's not exactly the pandemonium of design in that sense... they just value aesthetics more and given their price range, I'd EXPECT that kind of build quality so that's no achievement on their part, mostly a shortcoming on everyone else's. Now if you wanna talk about a company with designs in its face, go see B&O.

 

You've obviously never been around a Latitude D620/30 or D820/30. Go ahead, examine one, study it's build quality, you'll be hard pressed to find flaws. Premium materials like magnesium alloy, mylar sealed keyboards, and metal hinges and latches come standard on these, as well as its E series successors. However, one has to pay a premium price for these features, at least when bought CTO.

PC makers have the ability to make stunningly crafted machines. Take a look at a orginal Dell Adamo, a HP Envy system, etc. However, when you look at the price points and slim margins the PC side of things plays in, its cutthroat so a lot of that design philosophy doesn't trickle down into mainstream consumer machines.

Dell's had some questionable designs (the current Inspiron 15-not the 15r, springs to mind) as well as some excellent ones (The 2007 Inspiron redesign that introduced colors, the XPS M15/1330) but I feel like if they paid just a bit more attention to the details on their newer designs, they could hit a home run design wise. They should have done the following to the new XPS line:

• Get rid of the glossy bezel. Anyone with half a brain can realize that it was lifted right from a R line Inspiron. Make it either matte black, a brushed metal similar to the palmrest/keyboard deck, or go all the way and do Edge to Edge glass. Preferably the latter.
• Where's the metal bottom. Ok so apparently it's well matched plastic, but come on Dell.....why not go all the way with this..it would make the machine feel more premium in people's hands.
• Stop being stingy and offer High-Rez across the board. Find someone to do it. If you build it.....people will come.

They got the basics of a premium notebook right, like having a mag alloy chassis, the mylar sealed keyboard that every Dell has had since the 2007 "Colors" Inspiron line, and having a premium appearance, but they dropped the ball a bit short on execution. The stuff listed above are seemingly easy fixes that I believe can make a big difference.

 

i 've had my share of Dell Latitudes and my current notebook is HP Elitebook at work. Personally i've used a Dell XPS. (previous version). With the exception of Adamo none of it holds a candle to Macbook Pro. The only other well designed laptops i've come across is Precision 6500 and Alienware not withstanding the M11x hinge issue. imo precision 6500 has the best design for a notebook and its not difficult to get that in 13,15 and 17 inches for mainstream consumer line for Laptops.

you have point with margins on the pc side and consumer machines but even with polycarbonate plastic there could be good designs.

honestly there are lots of people that can better design a laptop for both fronts - functional and aesthetics - in sketchup than pc makers Dell,HP,Acer...etal

The current Macbook pro design was introduced 3 years ago and there still isn't a mainstream consumer laptop that holds a candle to that design.

 

Couldn't agree more with the thoughts on the 6500. Such a gorgeous design. Clean, simple, yet sophisticated. Plus it can come in orange.

If Dell had made the Latitude's look like that, it would solidify my decision to get one when my D630 gives up the ghost.

 

Buy a similarly priced Dell or HP consumer notebook and you won't get build quality that even comes near the MacBooks. Especially the uMBP. I'd say that regarding the casing, it's actually a bargain on some MBP's. The ENVY is the closest thing to the Mac's as any OEM has gotten, and it's still sub-par comparatively. Internals wise, they may be very close, but I've never had another notebook touch Unibody Aluminum casing that Apple uses.

Compared to the auto market, Apple is the Lexus of computer companies. Dell is Ford circa 1996, and HP is Dodge circa 2004. Dell pays no attention details, and most of the time they're dirt cheap to fix while holding the worst residual value. Dell dabbled in design aesthetics with the Adamo series and it failed miserably. HP pays more attention to design than Dell, but they skimp on necessary things like cooling designs. All the while, Apple pays massive attention to the aesthetic details and while they may be expensive to repair, they hold their value very well and are for the most part far more reliable.

 

I have to agree with you for the aesthetic part, but I don't think the internal parts are really different from the other computer..

 

Oh no, they're not... I'm just saying Dell cares nothing about the outwardly appearance of their notebooks. Inside they're probably pretty similar, with the Dell having better graphics probably.

 

Dell Adamo looked good. Unfortunately, the battery life on it failed miserably. (apart from the fact that nothing was upgradable)

 

at that level of thinness, you simply cannot expect the same amount of upgradeability that you can with a standard thickness notebook...

 

Yes, but then the problem was if you wanted a better specs, they'd rip you off. I remember 2GB->4GB RAM upgrade alone was pretty pricey ($100 or so...?).

 

ya the new xps has nothing to do with the old school one which was a top line gaming computer.

 

unfortunate decisions made in this laptop.

 

Apple is not without their flaws too, for they are expensive and becoming increasingly outdated. They are still selling their MBP 13 for $1,200, and you get a core 2 duo that's over 2 years old now. In my opinion this is pathetic. The build quality is nice, and Macs are running Windows now more and more seamlessly, but I would not be caught dead spending $1200 on a core 2 duo, not in 2010.

It seems the closest laptop to perfection right now is the Envy 14. I've messed around with it a bit at the Microsoft store, it's a dream. It's not unibody aluminum, but it feels like a rock, completely solid. HP is still putting these touchpads that are nothing less than an embarrassment to the computing world on them though... idk what the deal is.

 

You are absolutely right about the touchpads. It's sad that you have to go through so much trouble, but if you download two user-generated programs, run them every time you start your computer, disable certain Synaptic functions and enable others, it becomes much more tolerable. Still not as accurate or trouble-free as the standard trackpads with the dedicated scroll bad on the right. The worst is when the pads cease to depress. Apple has a touchpad with gestures, and since the Envy is basically an advanced version of the Pro, I guess it refuses to back down on that. They have even put them on some non-premium models, too.

The Envy doesn't need to be unibody aluminum. It's aluminum and magnesium, plus it manages to give the unibody aesthetic anyway.

 

Actually, the Envy line tries very hard to simulate Apple's aluminum unibody, although the net result is disturbingly similar to HP's own DMx models with aluminum lids and palm rests.

Whoa, hold it right there.

The Envy 14 tries really hard to ape the aesthetics of the MacBook line. HP's even slapped an Apple sized price-tag on the Envy line, presumable in hopes of convincing consumers that an Apple priced PC can compete with Apple. Overall, the Envy brand isn't giving Steve Jobs sleepless night, but the more-money for similar hardware concept is no doubt very profitable for HP.

Of course, HP is still stuck in full bloatware mode and the Envy 14's biggest weakness is that it's so very similar to a DM4 at half the price. Oh, and HP's got some of the worst trackpads I've ever seen. Is it any wonder that people still buy the smaller MacBooks, despite the lousy, dated 2008 vintage hardware.

Envy, over and out.

Nothing that discounting won't solve. Knock $200 off the XPS 14 and it would look like a bargain.

 

I'm finding myself in a rare position: standing up for an unattractive notebook when there appear to be others at the same price point with equivalent features. But wait, are there really products in the market today that have the features of this computer at a comparable price? I mean, USB3 and eSATA ports, audio system quality sound, a 1080p B+RG screen (15" unit), a backlit keyboard, I'm sure I am missing some more.

I have been railing over the barkin-ugly apperance of the Thinkpad line since, well, since it came out in 1994 and hasn't changed yet! But they are machines with mediocre specs that get by on reputation and an allegedly "wonderful" keyboard, which I happen to think is noisy and not so wonderful compared to today's keyboards.

But this Dell line, at least the 15, leaves me thinking: everything I could possibly want in DTR, and lighter to boot, at a very competitive price. I don't think it is ugly, just plain. I wish they had done more with design, and I'm sure they will sell fewer units because of this. And as design conscious as I am, I just can't bring myself to sacrifice all of this goodness for something prettier. I mean, at least it's not a Thinkpad!

 

I do find it funny that I used to ridicule XPS owners for the gaudy lights and colors they paid hundreds of dollars in premiums for.

Yet now presented with this new design that is supposedly supposed to appeal to a more mature, yet serious gaming, consumer... I still find it unappealing (and the price tag is still there).

I think the Studio XPS line was a real winner in terms of looks combined with performance, while this one seems to miss on the former.

EDIT: Dell always earns a fist-bump from me by bringing RGB screens to the table on increasingly more mainstream consumer models. Its a shame other brands dont follow suit.

 

XPS is supposed to (according to Wikipedia) stand for Xtreme Performance System. Can someone tell me what exactly is so extreme about the performance of these things?

 

It used to be Dell series of gaming laptops, but unfortunately the only extreme thing about the laptop were insanely high temperatures with their amazing nVidia GPUs. (We're talking 60-70C on GPU when idling...) I owned the 13.3" version of it, and while the laptop worked, it worked fine.

Right now the Alienware series is their best performance laptop series. These XPS are supposed to be I don't know what... multimedia laptops....? with gaming graphic cards? On the other hand, if you don't plan to play 3D games, Intel GMA4500 HD integrated graphics can easily handle anything else, including 1080p movies. I heard they have amazing speakers, though.

 

Has anyone bought any models from the new XPS line? It looks promising but the XPS line has always been plagued with problems.

The M1330/M1530 wasn't a major failure, it was nVidia's fault using the faulty material.

 

m1330 was great while it worked. WHILE it worked. nVidia didn't force Dell to use their GPU. Let's not go there again.

I heard "JBL" speakers on new XPS series are superb, for what that detail is worth.

 

Intel Graphics

 

Keyword there is while it worked. Thank god I bought my Vostro 1500 cause I considered getting an M1330/M1530.

Yeah but I am worried more about long term reliability, nice speakers does you no good if your GPU is fried again.

 

Yeah, I got burned once on XPS (I also mean literally.... the touchpad, where the wifi was, was really hot when you'd put some load) and not planning to do it again. Especially when they also have the whole line of Alienware laptops.

 

I guess I'll put this post in this thread, as it seems the most fitting. Didn't want to throw it in the Dell subforum, as it's mostly Dell Owners in there.

I took the plunge on Cyber Monday for a new XPS15 L501X. It's pretty much the basic model, with the following specs:

Intel Core i5-460M 2.53GHz / up to SC 2.8GHz / 3M
4GB,DDR3,2 DIMM
NVIDIA GeForce GT 420M 1GB graphics with Optimus
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
15.6HDF TLF LCD L501X
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive

So it's not the FHD Display, nor did I opt for the backlit keyboard. However, I ended up with that system for $686 shipped. It should be here on Wednesday of this week. Granted, it looks like pretty decent specs for a sub-$700 laptop.

My thing is, like the vast majority of responses in this thread, I hate the design of it from pictures. I've never seen one in person, but from pictures, it's not too pleasing on the eyes.

Secondly, I'm not exactly what you'd call a Dell guy. I've owned a few i8200, Inspiron 6100, etc... but I just really dislike "Dell" for some reason. It just has a negative stigma with me.

Are the XPS15 worth what I paid? I'm really looking hard at the TimelineX 4280gt from Acer now. It's just so nice, and the specs are there as well.

I'm trying to get the wife to let me get another laptop, so I don't necessarily have to decide, and she can use the Dell... I just don't like Dell, haha.

 

The edges and finishes appear a downgrade from the previous studios xps, and with newer xps generation such as this they still do not include a full size keyboard with keypad.. It's simply a redesign of notebook frame to accomodate the new generation processor and heat dissipation design... nothing's worth exciting about in terms of usage. I am disappointed

 

Agreed. I don't get much point of Dell continuing the XPS line. They just look like a customized Inspirion. They should just allow you more options to upgrade on the Inspirions.

 

hey m abt to buy a laptop.... shud i prefer inspiron15R or XPS15 config being same of both... cz in india price diffrence is too much between the two...is it worth ti to invest more on XPS models