Help buying the XPS 16

Hey guys,

I'm thinking of buying the SXPS 16 from Dell Hong Kong as my bro lives there and he should be able to bring it down within the next two months. Unfortunately the only screen available is:
16.0" Edge to Edge High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife(TM)
Does anyone know the exact resolution of this. I've heard amazing things about the screen but I think this is has less resolution and not RGB?
Is it still worth getting? Will be used primarily for graphics editing, light gaming and Word/Excel.
Thanks for any input.

 

The resolution is 1366x768. This resolution is okay, not the best, ideal for gaming as it doesn't stress the GPU on medium settings, but not good at all for graphics editing such as Photoshop. If Photoshop is your main use for this laptop, you should look elsewhere for the 1080p version (1900x1080).

 

Thanks for the info. Hmmmm, yeah it doesn't sound like a lot of screen real estate. What about the screen itself? Does it even hold a candle to the RGBLED? I wouldn't mind getting the smaller res for gaming and general word editing and working primarily on my desktop for Photoshop. I'm just worried that getting the 720p one means sacrificing a lot on image quality.

 

well, if you are going to play a lot STEAM games (HL2, Day of defeat, CSS) and DICE games (BF2, BF2142) then i absolutely should go for the 1080p screen.........
(myself play Day of defeat and CSS nearly every day, and the quality is mind blowing in 1920x1080) :wink:

also, dont forget movies. (absolutely amazing on the 1080p screen in Native)

i should easily go for the 1080p screen.

 

Never go for this SXPS 16 model. It has un-usual heat problem, wait for other models to come in a couple of months or go for HP HDX 16t.

 

im so God damn tired of this heat-issue-dreams.

i never have some heat issues on my SXPS. (its normal warm after 40min Native gaming, but how many thinner laptops isnt that ?? (90% i guess))
of all my 6 (high end) laptops its just one single model who not gets a bit warm during games. (and thats my Inspiron...see sign)

if you have a SXPS who gets VERY hot, just replace it, Period !


edit....who in hell want a HDX.16 if you have the opportunity to a SXPS ??? (not thanks very much)

 

Hey KSMB, thanks for your opinion. Yeah sounds like the 1080p monitor is miles better than 720p. Will probably have to start looking around.
Apparently the heat issue is quite common, found in most laptops around. However in the reviews they always state that it never gets too hot or ever overheats. Of course I don't have first hand experience to verify. Has there been any news about a new SXPS model being released soon?

 

Do a little search on this forum for this particular model, you will find tons of issues related ONLY to its un-usual heat. And its the biggest flaw in this model as per most of the owners. Its so hot that it can burn your fingers !!! There is an issue with it else why ppl are raising the issue with this particular model ? not with other models ?

See it ........ 100+ .. It will boil water !!!

 

Eh... don't want to say this. But, can you, at least, identify the diff between fahrenheit and celsius ... Or you're so HP fanboy that can say anything? my SXPS 16 has never even reached to 75 degrees at full load (the hottest part) without cooling pad or air conditioner, and I'm living in tropical country :-?

 

Several have complained about heat issue. But for me, it's no hotter than all other laptops I tried. I also don't use it on my lap (I keep it on a desk, on top of my Logitech N100 cooling pad), so it is always lukewarm to the touch, but never hot. For me, heat has not been an issue.

 

Sorry URPradhan, but those temps are in degrees Fahrenheit and no... you can not boil water at those temps.

All the high temp issues that I have read were all at FULL LOAD and yes they are high but it doesn't seem to warrant a reaction that some guys are giving it.

The full load temps of my Toshiba only run a couple degrees lower that that and I have no problem with it.. besides during the winter months it gives me something warm to cuddle...

 

and guys, seriously......how many people on this planet have a SXPS and not complaining of some unrealistic temp ???
(NBR is just some 0.001% of all Studio owners.....he he)

 

And other people are damn tired of this heat-issue-disclaiming. There is just no protocol for defining when a laptop may officially be declared as "(not) having a heat issue"

So because you have no heat issue, all other people in the world with an SXPS16 have per definition no heat issue?

How do you define "normal warm"? Well I will give it a try. It is that warm that it isn't possible put it on your lap. Putting a laptop on your lap, is what I define as normal. Throttling hardware isn't what I define as normal.
And ok, let's compare it to other laptops:

Here you have a temperature measurement of the SXPS 16 with 25W TDP CPU and 35W TDP GPU, so that's a powerbudget of 60W in a 16" laptop.



Here you have a temperature measurement of the N81Vp with 25W TDP CPU and 35W TDP GPU, so that's a powerbudget of 60W but this time in a significant smaller 14" laptop.

If you have a SXPS, good chance it gets very hot.

Power dissipation depends very much on how you stress your laptop. A significant part of the people who report not having heat issues, just don't stress their laptop in a way that results in near-max-power dissipation.
Temperature depends very much on the cooling (and power dissipation):
- die-heatpipe contact: the SXPS16 has far-from-ideal TIM applied
- heatsink-air surface: the SXPS16 has a rather small heatsink for it's powerbudget
- airflow: well, everybody knows that an opened display blocks the air-outtake



Further (for people who understand German):

unzumutbare Hitzeentwicklung = unreasonable heat

my sxps 16 reaches:
GPU: 86°C
CPU-cores: 85°C
Mainboard: 85°C

 

So, why do you open the lid at that angle? for better view? since it's the only way can block the fan.

You said your SXPS reached to 86 degrees? Now that's really weirld since even before undervolting, my XSPS only reached to max 78 degrees.

And in term of Laptop. If in your mind, a laptop (or we can call it notebook) must be placed on your lap. Then I have nothing so say. With me, my current SXPS's way more cooler than my 2 previous HPs. Yes, it's warm and not that "unreasonable hot" like you said. I can put it on my lap when surfing or doing office, some lightweight tasks. For gaming, have you ever thought about putting a laptop on your lap and play game (new game, I assume) with it?

 

owaah. i would throw my SXPS back to H(D)ell if i had 86 C on it all time.

replace it.............

and guys. are you really thinking DELL engineers would make a laptop with this temp. (i believe there is some SXPS with heat issues, but i also know there is cars who get issues (or cellphones, or bikes..

its quite basic stuff.....everyone dont suffers from strong heat on SXPS...if so, DELL would replace every single SXPS i guess)


for the record. (i read on DELL community) that someone got their heatsink and motherboard replaced (for heat) and it got better.............so if you have strong heat...call DELL !

 

I don't know if this was brought up or not... But has anyone replaced the thermal compound with Artic Silver and had any positive results?

 

you should ask ninja2000, seem like he did it and it help him 10 degrees.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=410470

 

Here's a thought.

DON"T BUY ONE THEN.

 

Thread starter double_entity had a question about differences in screens not about any heat related issues which he was already aware of.
I would go for the 1080p unless you rather do you graphics editing on your desktop while saving some money on the laptop. Perhaps your brother can call Dell and ask if it is possible to get that screen there?

 

Just my 2 cents here, the heat issues aren't major. I game a lot on this computer. I have a cheap $5 eBay cooler under it, but if you just prop the laptop on a textbook or something it dramatically cools it.

My laptop peaks at 60-70 degrees C internally (HW Monitor) when gaming. No joke. This is without the cooling pad. I play on the laptop keyboard and it's 100% touch-able, definitely doesn't "burn my fingers". Touchpad is slightly hot but WAYYY below "burning my fingers" temperatures.

The only hot parts of this laptop is the metal trim on the outside, which acts as a heat sink I guess since it's metal. I think the laptop is hotter than most because it's relatively thin and packs a lot of power (check my sig).

I did NOT undervolt or change any clock speeds. But I did put Arctic Silver 5 on my CPU, GPU, and northbridge.

 

Nivk...........just buy it you will not regret yourself.

+
----
¤ RGB 1080p screen, (best on market with decent calibrating)
¤ WLED 1080p screen, (also very good)
¤ Design, (what can i say. just Macbook Pro who is close, still think SXPS looks a bit more nicer)
¤ keyboard, (best on market, again just Macbook Pro who is near)
¤ build quality, (just Macbook Pro who maybe is slightly better )


if i not should buy a SXPS i should buy 15" Macbook Pro, (LED screen, 9600M gt GDDR3...) and boot camp with XP

 

I think his point is, that a point without any argumentation isn't a valid point.

Saying " buy it, you will not regret yourself" is a point without any argumentation.
Just as saying " buy at your own risk, you may regret yourself" is a point without any argumentation.

So all that is just not interesting. Being " pro a laptop" or being " contra a laptop" has nothing to do with it.

What might make this topic interesting is why buying it and why not buying it.

Ok so to add something concerning your question. What I've read (so far that is correct) is that the 720p display is not that fantastic. A higher resolution as the 1080p can be
+ more workspace
- smaller text to read because of much smaller dotpitch

 

This is my second laptop, and I highly recommend it. Very good screen, good build quality, great design -- I highly recommend it. Any problems and the XPS customer care is extremely helpful and always find a solution asap. I know 2 other friends who have it, and they all rave about it too. Of course there might be a few laptops here and there that might have problems, and Dell is certain to address those problems. But overall, I give this laptop 2 thumbs up no doubt, you won't regret it one bit. Also yes, go for the 1080 screen...one of the main reasons to get this laptop!

 

Oh yea, since you guys are discussing heat...I have to say this laptop is much cooler than my previous Toshiba! On regular use, my palm rest is barely luke-warm...and even on high load it doesn't really get hot at all - Trust me, if you want to know the real deal, go to Best Buy and check out the laptop for yourself. Also I have no cooler, etc...everything default.

 

Wow thats a good looking notebook might need to get one down the line after win7 is released.

 

Dude why are you trying to pimp the HDX 16? That thing isn't even in the same league as the SXPS 16. I had the dv7 which is very similar and the build quality wasn't as good as the Dell. The screen wasn't a contest at all, the HP sucked. Go take your HP pimping back to the HP forum lol.

 

Lol well said.

 

I saw ur video review. Really funny ...
1. Keeping the laptop on a table like desktop,
2. putting a coolingpad, and last and not the least
3. a fan to cool it.

I just wonder, how you are carrying all these essential stuff for this laptop on the go ?
Now everyone can guess what is wrong with this laptop, no need to say more. lol.

 

lol, yeah, no need to say more ). You said that this laptop (or notebook ) has problem, because you saw someone use coolingpad, and on desktop (I doubt that you can use coolingpad on your lap). so RIGHT!, since they're producing coolingpads for problem-laptops ONLY? well then, let's talk about your so-cool HP HDX 16T ; . BTW... have you realized diff between F and C yet

 

1) How do you expect me to hold a camera and focus it on a laptop on my lap? There's a minimal focal distance and my lap is too close.
2) Cooling pad because this laptop, like most, downclocks when it gets hot, and because I play games a lot, it would downclock a lot. Now because I want to be able to play games a lot without lag, I cool it.
3) See #2

Now on the go. 1) When on the go, I wouldn't want to game because battery life would be a bigger worry. 2) Ever heard of a front pouch of a laptop bag? It can fit more than just a power adapter.

I guess you finally realized how pointless your replies were and why the mods were deleting them, or you are just avoiding the fact that your contributions are better placed in the HP forum. If the OP asked for advice on this laptop in the DELL forum he obviously wanted it from DELL users, not HP users who favour a cheap alternative.

And as for your data, where do you get 105 degrees? You sure that's Celsius? I have HW Monitor running when I game and even without a cooler it's maxed at 60-70. AND my room has no AC. Also, how does the laptop "burn your hands"? If it did 1) Dell would be doing massive recalls and 2) people like myself wouldn't be able to game on it at all unless you got a separate keyboard.

 

Well.
Dear, If you can read my first reply to this thread, you can see I've said wait for other Dell models or go for the similar product like HP HDX 16t. And this is what I meant. I'm never a HP fan. Infact I was also a potential SXPS 16 buyer, but after seeing such replies/review here, I deferred my decision. There is no doubt SXPS has the latest h/w and best in its category.

Most of us buy Dell products online hence its very important to consider all aspects/reviews before putting the hard earning money in any product without seeing or touching it I wish if Dell ppl have received any such said problems, they will come-up with a better-revised model of SXPS16. Yes, I do know the difference between Celsius and fahrenheit. Do not brand me as a HP fan

 

well then don't talk about such over-heat that can burn your finger or boil water (since this's nonsense).

 

well, just to look at HDX.16 and SXPS 16 makes me decide to buy SXPS without a doubt. (dont mention the buildquality)

i have always prefer DELLs clean, straight design...very good work indeed

 

Wow looks like the thread kinda ran away along a different tangent.

The main reason I'm going for the Dell over the HP is that almost consistently I've found that HP laptops overheat or have some other harddrive or optical drive issues. To be fair I've never owned a HP laptop but three friends have and, almost with amazing consistency, they each have had issues. Of course their models were like a year behind the new HDX series so I assume that HP must have corrected this problem. I'm just trying to be more safe than sorry.

Thx Nivk and Loha for answering my questions. I've asked my bro to call and see if they can special order the screen. If not I'll probably look into buying it somewhere else and asking a friend to mail it down. The 1080p RGBLED screen looks too delicious to pass on.

 

I've deleted some off topic posts. Let's keep on the original topic without the bickering please.

 

I went through and returned two HP 18T systems before buying my present XPS 16. First one didn't come with the specs I ordered and the second one...well it looks like it was put together with a hammer and crowbar. See my post about the keyboard install....laughable.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300221&page=611

The keyboard looked like they shoe horned it in. Build quality not good. Dell build quality can be hit or miss on some series but these Studio XPS systems are very high quality, no creaky plastic. The HP are all plastic. I wanted an 18" desktop replacement but this 16" is workable. MUCH better screen and video card as well.

 

Just an FYI, internal parts failures can't really be attributed to the manufacturer of the laptop IMO. They are not made by HP or Dell, but by other companies like Intel, Hitachi, Seagate, Samsung, etc. So say my HDD failed. I should be looking more at Seagate than Dell because Dell just put the HDD there, they didn't really make it.

 

you can't go wrong getting the high performance machine, like I have. i do a lot of 3D design work but rarely any gaming, but I figured having the RGB LED screen fast processor and fast vid card, it could only help.

 

That's true, but that's why quality assurance was invented. If the department was doing there job they wouldn't source faulty items with a known failure rate. Of course there's always going to be a chance that faulty items slip through but judging from personal experience the last generation of HP's were not completely up to spec.

 

Trusay, never thought of it that way. I heard that QA isn't as in depth as it used to be, like now they connect it and if the circuit completes it's good?