Dell XPS 15

Scythian

Scythian

Scythian

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Hello :)

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience with the Dell XPS 15's? I'm about to order one over the next week after seeing a few reviews and such. Has anyone had any experiences with these? (In particular the new ones). Seems to come with a choice of either a Nvida GeForce GT 525 or an Nvidia GeForce GT 540m. Are these graphics cards capable of playing games very well?

I heard on a review awhile ago (It was from April earlier this year) that the Dell XPS had some compatability issues when using "Graphical Applications" could some please clear this up about how severe this problem is?

Also, at some point I would be considering using the laptops HDMI to connect to a spare TV (22" Lg 22LS4D). Would this have any significant effect on the capability of the card?

I'll be using the laptop for Gaming and College work, (Using Visual Studio :( ). Would there be any way to improve the gaming capabilities? (I've heard the most I would need is an i5 with 4gb of ram) Would more ram be more useful? Need to try and keep costs low as Dell RAM seems significantly overpriced. Would there be a way to change it yourself without voiding the warranty?

Thanks in advance!
 
Changing ram is easy on the xps range the 17inch has one screw to undo to get to the ram and it looks as though the xps15 has three screws to undo. Dells rules are you can change it and if it works it dosent void warrenty but if you damage it in the process then it voids warrenty i think, dont take my word for that.

here is the link to the pictures i used to refrence.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/pics/boden1_e13407_02.jpg
http://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/pics/boden2_98.jpg

IF your gaming deffo get the 540m its performance is between 30% to 45% in bechmarks compared to the 525m this depends on games though.

coneecting the through to the tv as a 2nd screen or as making the 22inch tv the only screen? if your using two screens then you will take a hit even if its a slight one as the gpu its still rendering for the 2nd screen and you are playing games on the laptop screen, wont be any hit if you turn the hdmi off in the control panal.

If your using it as the only screen then it depends on res for the tv, if its a higher res then it will take a performance hit.

iwth the xps range the GPU is soldered in so there is no way to upgrade the GPU in the future. 4gigs is enough for gaming.

try finding one on the outlet if cost is to much, i got my dell xps 702x for £660 with shipping if i brough it new it would have cost over 1500.
 
DotA said:
Changing ram is easy on the xps range the 17inch has one screw to undo to get to the ram and it looks as though the xps15 has three screws to undo. Dells rules are you can change it and if it works it dosent void warrenty but if you damage it in the process then it voids warrenty i think, dont take my word for that.

here is the link to the pictures i used to refrence.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/pics/boden1_e13407_02.jpg
http://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/pics/boden2_98.jpg

IF your gaming deffo get the 540m its performance is between 30% to 45% in bechmarks compared to the 525m this depends on games though.

coneecting the through to the tv as a 2nd screen or as making the 22inch tv the only screen? if your using two screens then you will take a hit even if its a slight one as the gpu its still rendering for the 2nd screen and you are playing games on the laptop screen, wont be any hit if you turn the hdmi off in the control panal.

If your using it as the only screen then it depends on res for the tv, if its a higher res then it will take a performance hit.

iwth the xps range the GPU is soldered in so there is no way to upgrade the GPU in the future. 4gigs is enough for gaming.

try finding one on the outlet if cost is to much, i got my dell xps 702x for £660 with shipping if i brough it new it would have cost over 1500.
Click to expand...

Go for Dell XPS 17 depends what your budget is :D
 
I would only be using the Dell XPS through the TV instead of the laptop screen and not both at the same time,
Budget is around £700, maybe a bit higher but im hoping to find a discount or offer maybe. I dont like the sound of buying from the outlet as I heard the graphics card could be random? Or the laptop itself may have scratches etc. On it

Guess it's decided I'll get the. Nvidia GeForce GTGFMm. It comes with 2Gb, I take it thats plenty?
 
Ive just bought an XPS 15 off the dell website for £680 brand new. Core i7 2.2ghz, 6gb ram, 2gb 540m graphics, 750gb harddrive. They offered 17% off through my work scheme and some Dell deals going on at the moment like extra ram and harddrive space free. You may well be able to find discount vouchers online.
 
Yeah, I have seen a few of the upgrade deals going on but they end soon :( will new ones start immediately after?
Seems like I am doing something wrong when my laptop costs so much and others cost significantly less.

@Dandle, Nice! :) What resolution was the screen on it?
 
A good place to start for Dell offers is here:-

http://www.dmxdimension.com/

15% discount is availble if you spend over £579 on XPS systems. This in theory expires this week but Dell have been extending this offer every week for at least four weeks (although the minimum spend has increased over time). If you use quidco you can get another 8% cashback on XPS systems, although this can take a long time to come through.

The one issue I see with the XPS15 spec is the poor default resolution, and the upgrade to 1920x1080 is expensive. If portability is not a concern then as mentioned earlier an XPS17 may be a better option as these are 1600*900 default and have 2 harddisk slots and more memory slots and so are more upgradeable. With the 15% discount £620 will buy an XPS17 with i5-2430M, GT550M graphics 4GB RAM, 750GB harddisk.
 
Thanks for that site! :)
Is it likely that there will be another Dell XPS coupon following the expiration of the previous one?
I'm abit unsure about how big I would like it, it will be used as a desktop replacement but Im not much of a fan of huge laptops (although I guess it would be better to go for the extra size as it's only a few more quid (after I've added the 9-cell battery and backlit keyboard)

How good is the Nvidia GeForce GT 540m? Wouldn't it be at a disadvantage as it would only have 1Gb of memory instead of the 2Gb of memory you would get with the XPS15?
 
I see :) Does overclockers stock the same RAM used in the laptop? I'm going to see if I can get the ram from somewhere else for cheaper.

@mgreaves, how much does the amount needed for the discount increase by each time the offer is extended?
 
The min spend for the disount has gone up from £499 to the present £599. It has not increased every time, so if the offer is extended it is quite possible the it won't change.
 
mgreaves said:
The min spend for the disount has gone up from £499 to the present £599. It has not increased every time, so if the offer is extended it is quite possible the it won't change.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

Has anyone had any experience changing Dell XPS RAM?
I read that only certain RAM can be used. Does this mean only RAM purchased from Dell will work? or will aftermarket RAM work in the laptop? Are there any limitations as such?
 
Bump,

Decided to go for the Dell XPS 17 instead (thanks to your input!)
At the moment Dell are offering deals on there website for upgrading their hard drive to 1tb and RAM to 6Gb as well as saving a fixed amount. Are these deals likely to be renewed? or continued? or possibly a way to reserve it? Offers seem to expire on tuesday and I may have a bit of trouble getting the funds on 'short notice' :(
 
Received the one I ordered yesterday. Its seems really nice although if i was buying for myself after seeing the screen I would like a slightly higher resolution, it wont matter for my parents though. The other thing that I'm not 100% on is the feel of it. It feels quite cheap compared to my XPS M1530, they definately seem to have been cost cutting which is a shame.
 
Ah, that's a shame to hear. :(
I'm hoping that the Dell XPS 17 build is better as I've managed to find a really good spec (1080p screen, 6Gb Ram, i7 Cpu, 1Tb HDD, 3Gb Nvidia GeForce GT 555m, backlit keyboard and a 9 cell battery) for around £755 (Which would have cost me the same for an upgraded XPS 15 of a lower spec!). Would be a shame to miss out on that!

I take it there is a noticeable difference then running at a 720p and 1080p on the 15" screen then?

Any idea if the current XPS 17 offers will get extended? (Namely the free upgrades to 6Gb RAM, 1Tb HDD and around £620 off (cant remember exact figure)
 
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