Dell XPS and Sandy Bridge

I'm trying to get an idea of when we can expect Dell to start shipping XPS laptops with SB. Does anybody think I will be able to get one before February?
I don't know if i should wait it out or not. Also, if I intend on getting a laptop with discrete graphics anyway, will I see much of a difference with SB?

Thanks.

 

A refreshed model should be out shortly after CES. Last year, the Arrandale came out in mid-January and I got mine in late February (would've been early February if it wasn't for the whole RGB mess back then).

 

The XPS just came out as a new model. I wouldn't expect any kind of refresh soon. I'm expecting summer of 2011, earliest.

 

I can't see how they won't offer it quickly on the XPS. As a high end mainstream notebook, it needs to compete with other vendors that will be selling it.

 

I think we'll see SB early Feb.

 

For a moment, I thought there were some news leak regarding the XPS and SB because of the 'misleading' title of this thread.

And I disagree with you, ra...

It's precisely because the XPS is a new model, that Dell needs to update it with the newest processors on the market.

It has been released barely half a year, and I don't think Dell would want to make the XPS series obselete so fast.

So yes, I believe that the notebooks will be available with the SB processors by late Jan, hopefully with chiclet style keyboard (That would make it perfect, IMO).

 

I think they would just update the MOBO and CPU the general design would be the same as it is now.

 

It has a high probability that the system has been designed with SB in mind...the L702 has already leaked a couple of weeks ago, and looks exactly like the L701 just with a new mainboard and new CPUs.
This however means that the L502/L702 will be available right after CES (1-2 weeks after it, max), as units are already being tested.

 

I'd put my money on June at the earliest.

Dell aren't really known for using cutting edge technology.

 

Sounds good to me.

This means that those who are waiting for SB can get their notebooks sooner than expected.

I am one of them...

 

I think I'm going to wait too. I just hope its worth it since i will end up getting a discrete graphics card and most of the hype around SB is about the integrated graphics.

 

Me too.....

 

Notebookcheck.net has done some cpu tests on new SB processors... improvement is looking like quite a lot.......

 

Hi,

Do you have any link to the leak of the L702?

I think you are being a bit over-presumptuous in saying that the L702 'will' be released 1-2 weeks max after CES. You cannot possibly know unless you work for Dell.

 

Here:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Updated-Dell-XPS-17-L702x-rumored-to-arrive-soon.42473.0.html
its also on a couple of other sites, all seem to coming from some Dell system engineer.

 

thanks. For some reason, the link won't load.

 

Notebookcheck seems to have some hiccup currently...but you can find the info with a google search.

 

Well it just says 'expect':

"We expect the updated model to come packed with Intel Core “Sandy Bridge” processors, as is the case with all other new Dell models that we are talking about which are replacing existing models."

"There’s no info on other features, avaialility date, and pricing."

How do you know they won't release the L702 before they start using Sandy Bridge, which could feasibly be the end of Jan or into Feb?

 

Check this link for an alienware running Sandy bridge from engadget.
Unreleased Alienware M17x spotted running next-gen Intel Sandy Bridge chip -- Engadget Since Dell and Alienware is the same company, it may be that they are already testing the XPS laptops with Sandy bridge.

 

If those rumors are to be believed, then Sandy Bridge isn't coming to the XPS with discrete graphics options, since discrete graphics will be obsolete unless you got 120+ watt GPUs. Seems doubtful.

 

improvement is alot in the only bench they have: 3dmark06 -.-

 

Rubbish. Where are you getting these numbers from ? Sandy Bridge's IGP is designed to replace low-end discrete GPUs but it doesn't even come close in performance even with mid-range mobile chips like Radeon 5650M which fit in rather standard notebooks and have a very modest consumption / heat output.

A few days ago I would have said SB is coming to XPS almost right after CES. Now since we heard intel has a crapload of Arrandales to dispose of and consequently they might hold on mobile Sandy Bridge I don't know, but june as some suggest seems exaggerated. Dell is usually quick to adopt new intel CPUs.

 

Did you read the engadget link?

"3DMark06 a 2GHz Core i7-2630QM machine running Intel's integrated graphics scored 15,940..., and a 2.3GHz i7-2820QM chip paired with a GeForce GTX 460M GPU did 16,957."

The 2GHz/integrated is just below the 2.3GHz/460m. If you take the CPU (0.3GHz difference) into consideration, the integrated probably got as many points as the 460m, and the CPU difference made up for it.

..And the 460m is approximately the 6th fastest individual discrete mobile graphics card of all time. Dell currently only offers up to the 435m (445m in 17 inch) which doesn't stand a chance to score 15,940. So, if those numbers are right (not saying they are)- what do you think the 435m will get, like 11,000?

 

I would prefer to see the numbers when 3D Mark 11 has been run, but that is still pretty pointless overall.

To think that Nvidia and ATI are going to hand over the discrete market to Intel is just insane. Comparing the current crop of Nvidia GPUs against a future release doesn't make much sense. We would need to see what Nvidia/ATI bring to the table around the release of the new CPUs.

Intel's latest offerings are going to bring better 3D support to lower end machines which is a bonus. Since Windows is making increasing use of 3D rendering for its UI this becomes important and is where this need is being driven.

Midrange and high end notebooks for the foreseeable future will be using dedicated graphics. Just like the same will be true for desktop computing. Integrated graphics has made huge strides, but it will NOT be replacing dedicated ANYTIME soon...

Otherwise we would see the shares of Nvidia tanking already and AMD announcing the closure of their dedicated graphics division (formerly ATI).

 

Since when?

 

Please tell me what game are you playing that a 15,000+ 3dmark06 level card cannot max out? Why bother comparing the intel IGP to discrete when it alone can play literally any game out maxed? Who is going to buy discrete unless they have some insane setup with several monitors? Even then the IGP will support it decently.

 

Actually I was going to start a new thread to ask everyone what they thought about the posibility of Sandy Bridge on the XPS 15 but will post here instead.

1)What does everyone think the improvements to the XPS system performance will be like, or will it be very similar apart from an iGPU upgrade? (those Alienware leak benchmarks look off to me)
2)How much more does everyone think will we expect to have to pay over the current lineup for the new processors?
3)Also i know some of you have already been debating this but when do you think they will be introduced to the XPS 15 in a refresh?
4)Finally do you think it is worth holding out for?

Personally I think that the improvements wont be too great apart from the iGPU and i expect maybe an extra 100 pounds/dollars on the current prices. Oh and maybe a couple of months after the release at CES. A dell chat rep told me it wont be for a while as the notebooks are new. But who knows, the reliability of dell chat reps isn't great after all! Im debating whether to hold out or bite the bullet now as the UK site just got the FullHD screens back.

Cheers!

 

I'm kinda skeptical about those insane SB numbers in 3DMark06. The architecture could cater to the 3DMark06 tests ran.
I would be more interested in seeing '11 test results, and more importantly, real world application results.

Or, this could be a huge shift as some have alluded to, Intel taking a huge portion of the laptop gaming GPU market. Could be huge for consumers.

 

You wont see '11 results as that is a DX11 test. Intel SB graphics only run DX10.
Will have to wait for ivy bridge for integrated DX11 support from intel

 

There's something wrong with those numbers. I haven't read anything stating SB integrated graphics are supposed to come close to high end discrete GPU's. My best guess would be something a little lower in performance than the 420M, but not too far away.

 

Anyone know if SB will be available in the 14" model?

And what is "CES"?

 

no one knows if its gonna be available in any xps model.
CES is the consumer electronics show

 

If this is the case then surely it would negate the need for discrete graphics in the XPS 15. Do you think Dell will introduce the new processors and scrap the dicrete option?
The numbers do look wrong IMO too, I dont see how the first iGPU on intel Sandy Bridge could get scores like in that engadget post.
If so it's pretty groundbreaking, a new age of laptop computer.

 

Large manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, etc, get new processors and processor specifications long before they are released to consumers. I wouldn't be surprised if Dell is already cranking out SB motherboards for the XPS 14/15/17 "refresh" in early 2011. There's no way Dell spent the money developing these new XPS laptops without any plans to support Sandy Bridge.

 

I don't know much about SB but it seems logical that most manufacturers will be waiting to see what each other plan to do in relation to utilizing SB.

With regards to Dell... I suppose it depends largely on what is their track record is like on refreshing relatively new lines with new tech...!
Are they renowned for doing this?
Or do they tend to be a bit more cautious - preferring to see how the market reacts before jumping in?

Another thing to consider is how Dell themselves view the success of their new XPS line! If they think it's being well received then they are unlikely to introduce SB straight away (wasting money on altering production) if the current setup is working well for them! However, if the XPS hasn't met their expectations - then I am sure they will revamp it with SB pretty soon to try and boost sales!

 

The integrated gpu performs slightly better then a radeon 5450 (desktop version 5450 they were comparing it to) so yea its only going to replace the low low end discrete graphics which is still an amazing achievement and nothing to sneeze at. You wont have to use a discrete card unless you are playing an advanced 3d game. Every single other thing will run on iGPU flawlessly


I am pulling hard for the xps series to step it up and do well. Increase their pathetic battery life, stop running out of high quality screen, put high quality screens on all thier models. I am liking sandy bridge but my envy 14 is really running perfect and it does everything i need it to do, Only way I'm gonna trade up fo SB is if something unexpected happens and some really nice features appear.

 

That's certainly amusing how a lot of people actually believe that the new intel HD will perform like a GTX 460M - a 75W discrete GPU - based on some crazy 3dmark06 numbers. And if the sheer absurdness of this statement doesn't suffice, please consider the early review of dekstop sandy bridge by anand or some other tech site. It's more or less equal to a DDR3 5450, possibly a little better if the drivers can keep up considering it lacks turbo boost in the review. Yup, sorry to demolish your expectations.

 

^ yup, don't believe synthetic benchmarks. Like I said earlier, some hardware can cater to whatever processes the benchmark runs.
Wait for some real world applications to see where it will fall.

 

Now with CES 2 days away, anyone have any news on the new XPS revisions?

 

Nothing leaked on Engadget yet. I'm sure it'll be on the homepage as soon as the info gets leaked/announced.

 

Google search L702x, L502X, L402x

 

LOL I found your post searching L402x after seeings this article http://dell-lab.posterous.com/details-of-upcoming-dell-xps-l502x

 

lol ok well at least seraching L502x and L702x works
L402x brings up chinese taps lol

 

The RAM options seem bit weird for the l502x.
1GB, 2GB, 4GB?
Unless these are the sticks being offered for configuration, I doubt a top-of-the-line model will have such a low number.
Everything else looks great.

 

Do you think they will so a slight aesthetic redesign for the L502X?

EDIT I just realized they used the old adamo as influence for the L501x's design. They should use the new adamo as reference!

 

Go read Anandtech's great article on Sandy Bridge.

The relative performance of SandyB's IGP to the discrete cards was shown in graphs and numbers but he made it quite clearer and obvious with a very simple sentence.. With Sandy Bridge, he said, discrete cards in the $40-50 range will become redundant. Meaning that the IGP in Sandy Bridge is better than those cards in that range and can compete with the $75-$100 segment.

Low to mid range at best, but still a good leap for them. Right now all the mobile chips have the full '2gpu' (12eu) setup while only the 'K' series parts, 2600k and 2500k, have it on the desktop. The rest of the desktop chips have 6eus, or '1gpu'.

Also keep in mind when you are seeing benches with Sandy's IGP. It has turbo and can overclock very high...So it depends if that was enable or not etc.

P.S. Also as Jkleiss state it's a dx10.1 chip and it also doesnt support a lot of the fancier AA/AF modes that nvidia and ATI can do.

P.S.S. Did a little more digging. Gpig, about those numbers you posted, well one of those CPUS, the 2630, is an OEM only CPU and its GFX turbo is limited and tops out at 1100mhz instead of 1300. So I'm sure the numbers will be in even better for the retail/higher end chips. I wouldn't say a 460M is a fast chip tho. Keep this in mind, as I said it earlier. All the mobile chips have the full 12EUs. They're not cut down or castrated versions of their desktop parts like Nvidia and ATI do with their mobile.

 

Just knowing how Dell operates and has announced things in the past here is what I would expect....

Announcement of upgraded XPS 14, 15 & 17 at CES with the systems being available for purchase immediately with about a 4 week lead/delivery time. The systems will look identical and use the same chassis, but the mobo etc... will be upgraded to SB.

The new upgraded models will not have all of the features available right away and it may take a week or two for Dell to start offering some more SSD options, 1080 screen options, Blu Ray and different chips etc...

The new specs will slip out sometime later this afternoon or tomorrow, so keep refreshing engadget.

 

I'm probably going to wait until April/May to get a laptop. Hopefully, the prices will drop and we'll see how the new chips are working.

MSI announced their new lineup of laptops. It's nice companies are focusing on better sound.

MSI Among First to Show Sandy Bridge Laptops, Mobos - PCWorld Business Center

 

Dell will make their announcement tomorrow on their new offerings at CES.

CES: Dell event Thursday at CES 2011 (live blog) - CES 2011 CNET Blogs

 

Dell Sandy bridge business Laptops out by 11th Jan.
On XPS though by the end of month.


Time Details
01/06/2011 04:46:34PM Session Started with Agent (Swati_Sinha)
01/06/2011 04:46:34PM parth: "sandy bridge launch date in india"
01/06/2011 04:47:00PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "Welcome to Dell "India" Chat! My name is "Swati Sinha" and I will be your Dell.com Chat Expert. I can be reached at [email protected] or via phone at 080-25107204. How can I help you today?"
01/06/2011 04:47:14PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "Sandy Bridge is getting launched on 11th of this month"
01/06/2011 04:49:05PM parth: "on xps 15??"
01/06/2011 04:49:17PM parth: "sorry for replying late"
01/06/2011 04:49:27PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "No problem Sir"
01/06/2011 04:49:44PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "We are launching this in Business models first"
01/06/2011 04:49:54PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "In XPS may be month end"
01/06/2011 04:50:02PM parth: "okok"
01/06/2011 04:50:31PM parth: "and what would be the price diff from the current models"
01/06/2011 04:50:47PM parth: "asin 720QM vs 2720QM"
01/06/2011 04:50:47PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "till now no updates on price"
01/06/2011 04:50:59PM parth: "okok"
01/06/2011 04:51:20PM parth: "just a rough range would do"
01/06/2011 04:51:34PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "1500-2000"
01/06/2011 04:51:38PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "not sure"
01/06/2011 04:51:45PM parth: "okok"
01/06/2011 04:53:19PM parth: "so i should expect that the booking of the L502x to start by 25-30 jan"
01/06/2011 04:53:57PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "SURE"
01/06/2011 04:54:08PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "once it will be launched you can start booking it"
01/06/2011 04:54:24PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "everything will be updated on our website too"
01/06/2011 04:54:33PM parth: "rest of the spec would remain similar"
01/06/2011 04:54:35PM parth: "??"
01/06/2011 04:54:45PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "yes"
01/06/2011 04:54:52PM parth: "asin would i get RGBLED screen??"
01/06/2011 04:55:31PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "yes"
01/06/2011 04:55:51PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "you will have the similar option which you have now"
01/06/2011 04:56:04PM parth: "ohh great"
01/06/2011 04:56:13PM Agent (Swati_Sinha): "just the processor will be updated"