Getting an XPS 15z as a system replacement for my 1645

So I've just about had it with all the problems on my 1645, to this day the overheating and throttling issue hasn't gone away. I've had 3 mobo replacements, 3 screen replacements and had the heatsink chcanged twice. So I've finally pushed Dell to the point where they're going to replace my system. The problem is all the new Dell laptops are ugly as sin. The Studio XPS is a headturner for all the right reasons. I'm so attached to the chassis design I'm almost willing to put up with all the headaches. However I did say if I can get a 15z I'd be open to having my system replaced. I went with that because of the reduction in weight, and out of the current line up of systems it as the most bearable design (In my opinion) also the silicon inside is a substantial bump to my aging clarksdale and Radeon. The purpose of this thread is to get some opinions on this swap, maybe from XPS 15z owners and anyone who is familar with the 164x line.

Also on a slightly related note my windows installation is totally trashed. It works but with many many many workarounds, and it cannot be repaired. It's gotten to the point where microsoft employees are baffled and unable to help me, but I digress. I was careless and failed to allocate space for system images and backups, and basically when I get the 15z I'd like to transfer my files and programs to the new system. I cannot create a system image and use that on the new system as I'd be transferring over the nerfed windows installation to a new computer. Basically I'm looking for a program or a working method of transferring program installations. I'd just reinstall what I need but I don't have all the installation media anymore.

Thanks.

 

You are going to have to reinstall the programs again, but the files you can get across. All you need to do is go to the user folder in the root of C drive and copy all the music, documents folders etc you need to and external hdd ( recommended )

Then when you get your new system, make a second partition. Keep the C partition at about 150Gb, the rest for everything else. After that go to your user folder and right click the following folders then while holding the right click drag them to the new partition and select MOVE :

My Music
My Videos
My Documents
My Pictures
My Downloads

Once this is done you can copy all your data back to the relevent folders. This enables you to reinstall at will without losing your important docs and also your data will always be saved to the second partition for the relevent folders. As to backing up in case of future problems, use the built in windows backup and restore and make sure it makes a system image. Get yourself and external USB 3.0 HDD ( I recommend a WD Elements SE 1tb, search my posts for a review ) and have it save it there.

Before you make an image, install everything you want. This will be all apps and customisations. This will allow you to reimage whenever you want back to a clean install without having to reinstall programs etc.

 

Yeah I've learned my lesson I'm keeping my windows partition separate from personal files. I know how to transfer my files across, but I'm hoping to encounter someone who knows something I don't and can help me get my programs across as well. Reinstalling them isn't really an option for about 1/2 of them. I know there are programs that did this like Cleansweep for example, but nothing recent or that is compatible with windows 7. At least as far as I know. Yeah I'm planning on making regular system images. I have a Seagate 250GB external, a 1TB Mybook, and I just got a USB 3.0 3TB WD external.

 

It is impossible to transfer your programs across unless you transfer the whole image. Short term pain for long term gain.

 

I'm trying to keep hope alive hear, and I'm savvy enough to know that doing that is bordering on delusional, but there's not really much harm in it. Like I said there used to be programs that could pull of backing up installations. So I don't think its entirely outside the realm of possibility. Also on the main point of the thread do you know much about the 1645 or 15z?

 

The XPS 15 is the natural successor. The 15z only supports dual core, and it is soldered in so not upgradeable. Battery wise, again it is not easy user replaceable, but can be done. Build quality is so so, and has issues with the plastic trim coming off. It runs pretty hot and does not have the cooling ability of the XPS 15.

Essentially it is a poor mans Apple Macbook Pro, but without the quality. It also has issues with wireless looking on the dell forums. It is light and looks nice, but has pretty crappy speakers and a much lower quality 1080P screen in comparison to the 1645.

I would push for an XPS 15 over the 15z. Oh and this is the program you are looking for http://www.laplink.com/pcmover/

 

The XPS 15 and 17 are really unappealing visually to me. Not to mention they are both thicker and heavier than my 1645. Dell has taken steps backwards with design, and now I'm actually really pissed because the rep I was/am talking to knows I have a quad core. So I'm annoyed with him and Intel for their stupid naming designatations because I just thought the i7 in the Z was a quad. I don't know why they didn't just keep it simple i3/i5=dual, i7=quad. So I'm going to cancel the 15z. As of right now Dell has no other laptops that interest me, and can match the performance I'm at right now. So I'm not quite sure what to do at this point, also thanks a lot for the program link I'm going to look into that.

 

Actually the studio xps 16 is heavier than the xps 15. 6.41lbs vs 6.33lbs
AnandTech - Dell Studio XPS 16: the Eyes Have It
AnandTech - Dell XPS 15 L502x: Now with Sandy Bridge

Oh, and the i7-2620M in the xps 15z is actually faster is every single use case than your i7-720QM.

 

Well the 15 is smaller (obviously) so it's a decrease in screensize for a negligible .12lbs difference. And I've thought about the i7-2620M I thought it might be superior in some uses but not all. A lot of the games I play are RTS (CPU heavy) and utilize all "8" of my i7s cores quite nicely. I'm wondering since you do seem to know what you're talking about if I'm going to take a performance hit in ANY applications. Such as video rendering, encoding, gaming, w/e. Is there any reason to push for a quad-core? As of right now this is the only thing stopping me from telling them to go ahead and ship it. The lack of BD-RE drive pissed me off too but they're going to give me an external one which isn't ideal but its ok.

Also does anyone know if there are any options in terms of battery size? I know the battery life is going to be superior to my 1645 no matter what, but I'm wondering if they offer a larger battery with the xps 15z?

 

And the xps 15 is only a negligible 0.4" smaller

Every single use case. Yes. Lets find a few:

Cinebench R10: Rendering Single 32Bit
i7-2620M: 4138 avg
i7-720QM: 3108 avg

Ok, we already knew that. On to the multithreaded test:
Cinebench R10: Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
i7-2620M: 9128 avg
i7-720QM: 8759 avg

oh..
In R10 64 bit, the dualcore is 11% faster on the singlethreaded test (11297 vs 10024). And about 30% faster on the single threaded test (5304 vs 3681).

sources
Intel Core i7 2620M Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech
Intel Core i7 720QM Notebook Processor - Notebookcheck.net Tech
I know notebookcheck isnt the best site, but i couldn't find any benchmarks on anantech & co.

There is simpely no reason to ever take the i7-720, or even the i7-840m, over a modern sandy bridge chip.

 

Thanks for that, but I was never so delusional to say I wanted a Clarksdale over a sandy bridge I was actually hoping initially that the i7 in the 15z was a sandy bridge. Thanks for clearing that up though. I went ahead with the system replacement, and they're going to ship me the external writer if I'm happy with the 15z and intend to keep it. One thing that worries me is the chrome trim. I thought the trim on the SXPS 16 was bad (it constantly peel in the same way) but its not that noticeable. I am hearing awful things about the trim on the z. When will Dell learn?

 

Hey Guys,

I've got the same thing where I just called dell for the 4th time with my 1645 and complained of throttling heating etc... he said he was sending someone "higher up" to come round and do "diagnostics" and if all was as I told, they would replace the system.

I'm sick of this laptop and I'm actually planning on either selling this one or the new one they give me so any advice on what to do? What if the dude comes around and says theres nothing wrong after just doing a startup check...?

 

I just returned my 15z. My cell phone had louder volume than the 15z. Plastic trim coming off (4 days). I did a clean install, took forever to boot from dvd. Keyboard was too cramped IMO. This was the best buy unit.

 

Well I had the accidental damage and in home service on my 1645 and I've been griping about heat and throttling since 2009. I've had two RGBLED replacements. 3 Motherboard replacements, and 2 heatsink replacements, as well as a palm rest replaced. I think Dell was just sick of seeing me in their system. You could just make the system throttle. To show them its still an issue for you, but the odds are they'll just try and replace some parts.

Most of the reviews I've read (and I've been reading a LOT on this laptop) say that the speakers are quite loud, if maybe a bit tinny at louder volumes. Maybe something was wrong with you unit? Mine is still in production so I'll see for myself soon enough. The chrome trim I am hearing nothing but bad news about.

 

So my 15z came and I've been using it and transferring files around for about 6 hours. I'm not sure if I'm planning on keeping it or shipping it right back.

Pros:
Much lighter
Much thinner
Aluminum!
More powerful than my 1645

Cons
God awful speakers and volume levels
Screen is noticeably worse than the RGBLED in the 1645
Keyboard could've been expanded to include more keys
Intel Wifi card seems to have a lot of trouble maintaining connection
Trackpad lacks features

I'm going to use it for a few more days see if it grows on me any more. Though all the issues I had with the appearance went away once I got my hands on it. The pictures don't quite do it justice and the keyboard which I LOATHED before getting the system I now find to be growing on me as well, as I mentioned above the keyboard is pretty narrow there's a lot of wasted space, so a lot of the keys are pulling double duty, which is kind of annoying.