Latitude 15 3000 - Gaming system for $780? Too good to be true?

Thanks for this small review. I'm myself looking to purchase this laptop. However, I have a few concerns about the graphics card.
1) are you 100% sure that AMD Venus PRO is AMDrRadeon HD 8850m only?
2) can it handle games like NEED FOR SPEED RIVALS at 30 fps on medium settings?
3) does your laptop ever overheat?
4) did you buy your laptop with Windows or Ubuntu? Since Ubuntu is free.

 

If anyone is interested I have 10 of these for sale posted in the marketplace - $575 shipped with the following specs:

Processor: Intel Core 4th Generation i5-4200U (Dual Core, 1.60GHz, 3M cache, 15W)
Windows 8 Pro
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
4GB DDR3L at 1600MHz (2 slots - a single 4 GB stick is installed)
15.6 Inch FHD (1920x1080) Wide View Anti-Glare LED-backlit with Premium Panel Guarantee
8X DVD +/- RW Drive
AMD Video Card - HD8850M
Dell Wireless™ 1705 802.11n Single Band Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 4.0LE Half Mini Cardm and microphone

 

The 200 mghz difference might bring an FPS or 2 of an increase. For 180usd, I'm not sure if it's worth it. Maybe if it went from i5 4200u 1.6ghz to i5 4200m 2.5ghz, then I would find it worthwhile for that difference in price.

1) Yep. It has both the discrete AMD 8850m for graphics intensive programs, as well as the integrated Intel HD 4400 for low-power consumption. While it'll automatically switch between the 2, you can assign which programs use which GPU - all in the ATI Catalyst Control Center.
2) I don't know because I don't own that particular game. It plays most games at high to very high settings + AA at 1080p, though. Certain games like the Metro franchise as well as the new Tomb Raider will play at Medium to High.
3) No overheating at all. I bought mine in the Summer time when it was hot and humid, and it had no problem dealing with the heat. Keeping the power settings at Balanced or Extended Battery Life will the lappy cool and quiet at all times. At under no circumstances did I ever notice the fan spinning, unless I am gaming and using the High Performance power settings.
4) Windows 7 Pro. I think all US versions of this model come with Windows 7 Pro.

 

Hey Guys,

I wanted to see if any of you guys knew any of the following with this laptop? Keep in mind I am referring to the Dell Inspiron 3540.

1. is there a backlit keyboard option?
2. Has anyone had any luck with upgrading the CPU on this to the i7?
3. Is there an overclock utility or TDP utility for the CPU and GPU alike? Simliar to k10stat.
4. Is there an mSATA slot on the motherboard for these laptops?
5. Is there a 9 cell battery for this laptop?
6. Is it worth it to take th laptop apart and reapply the thermal paste?
7. How is the on site warranty that comes with the laptop?

Thanks in advance.

 

can anyone speak about the durability of this laptop, it seems to have really nice specs at a very tempting price, but i've never owned a dell let alone try one out, it pretty much has everything i want, fhd/video card/good battery life/numpad, just need something to last me for 3 years.

 

Yeah and make sure the power adapter slot and the hinge are decent. i am really tempted to buy one soon but it looks like there is not a whole lot of info on this laptop out there.

 

Joining the party here, i've just recently purchased a refurbished one off ebay. I haven't received it yet but i'll update with more info when I do. For any canadians out there i paid $615 after conversion, what surprised me is that for once the mandatory import/brokerage/custom/duties/tax fee that ebay collects is actually lower than what I would've paid if customs dings it with duties and taxes. It was 32.xx USD for the fee and 20.xx for shipping. According to ebay's description of the fee there won't be any charges upon delivery but I'm still cautiously optimistic about it.

 

Ordered 10 of these from the outlet when the Dell outlet was blowing them out prior to Xmas. Had to return 2 due to issues but kept one for myself and resold the other 7. These are nice little systems - especially since you can get them on ebay for about $500 delivered with 1 year onsite warranty, 1920x1080, windows 8 pro, 4 gb ram, 500gb hd, HD8850 graphics. I am not sure if you will see these configs for $500 again at the outlet but you might want to keep your eyes open..... Running ubuntu 13.10 alongside windows 8.1 pro.

 

Oh what kinda issues? Be nice to know what to look out for.

 

Hey Guys,

So I broke down and bought the laptop. It looks like I was able to answer some of my questions but not all of them. Quickly chatting with Dell support I am told that there is no mSATA slot on this laptop, I will have to confirm that later after I take it apart.I also made an unboxing video that I will upload here shortly and after a little while of using this computer I will post a video review of it as well.

Initial thoughts on the laptop's build quality, is pretty solid, I have used Lenovo Thinkpads for work and quality wise these are pretty close to those. The aluminum parts are nice but what really worries me about any laptop is the hinges and these seem to be pretty solid but you can only really tell their quality with time. Overall though there is no flex in the chassis that I can tell and the keyboard is decent for a laptop keyboard. The touch pad position is perfect for someone like me with big hands and I do not accidentally bump the touch pad when typing. When scrolling it has an excellent feel to it as well. One of the first things I noticed with this laptop is the weight of it, for something so thin it sure weighs a lot, I hope that is a good sign of its build quality.

Gaming, which is the main reason why I bought this laptop is great for what you pay for and for a little more than an AMD APU laptop you end up getting a lot more bang for your buck in the overall build quality and the performance you get. I was able to play DOTA 2 at very smooth frames in 1080p and near max details. One of the first things that I did was order another 4 GB module for this laptop so that it could run in dual channel and help out with the performance overall. The fact that this laptop still comes wiht a spinning hard drive sucks but is not a deal breaker, you do notice strange pauses every now and again with Windows 7 and Ubuntu but I have SSD's for all of my other machines.

I am hoping the following for this laptop will be as large as the Asus K53TA that I came from a few years ago.