I'm close to ordering an l702x but am uncertain - Please help me decide

Hi folks

In August I got an Acer 8951g but am disappointed with it due to CPU throttling and other issues. I will now sell it and am considering to get the XPS17, especially for the new gf116 GPU core.

Before I do another buy that I will regret I decided to inform myself better this time, so I hoped you guys can answer me a few questions. I have been googling most of it but only found divergent information.

1. Is the xps17 known to have throttling problems? I read it gets very hot - I'm fine with that as long as it doesn't result in lower performance when I need it most, i.e. gaming.

2. How is the fan noise under low system load? I found very different statements about this. Again, I'm fine with the fan running on max when I stress the cpu, but I expect it to be quiet when I'm only doing a bit of surfing or writing a word document. Some people report it's noisy even when surfing with only one tab?

3. Are there any other issues/nuisances I should be aware of?
It seems 8gb Ram is max for this system but that's enough for me. Other than that, I couldn't find any significant problems with this unit....

Thank you for your valuable input!

 

1. To me, it gets pretty warm, but it doesnt affect performance. These laptops are big and powerful, so heat is going to be produced.

2. My fan kicks on every once in a while, but every person's opinion is going to be different. I don't mind it much.

3. Some are reporting issues with the power jack, and a few sporadic reports on the USB 3.0 ports either not working at all, or dropping out under usage. My laptop has the first issue, which I corrected by following a thread by 80sGuy. The 8GB limit is a hit/miss thing. To get around it, you MUST order a 3GB GPU and a 3D display. If you don't, you will only get 2 DIMM Slots for RAM, and 8GB is your definite limit, but there are reports that 8GB DIMMS DO work, allowing 16GB of RAM.

Overall, I love mine. I can't deal with smaller laptops, and the battery life on mine is just phenomenal. Don't have one major complaint.

 

1. Completely agree with VPR

2. Again, agree, it does come on, but it's not so loud that it annoys me.

3. Again VPR is dead on. The plug you can be almost guaranteed will be an issue for you. But it's not the worst thing in the world to have to deal with.

 

Bear in mind that if you configure the L702x with the 3D screen, you can up the RAM to 16GB (not that you will ever use it all!).

 

There are some who would! A few rnadom reports on this forum and the Dell Community Forum hint at 2x8GB DIMMS working on those of us who didn't get the 3GB/3D Model as well, though.

 

Thanks for sharing the wisdom!

Yeah the option to add 16GB of Ram is nice but like mentioned here, I personally am not going to need it since all I do is gaming, office stuff and browsing. The 3D version costs significantly more, but since the 3D stuff gives me eye cancer and adds no value whatsoever, I guess I'm gonna be quite happy with the 8gb non-3D version.

What exactly is the issue with the power jack? I reckon it's something that is covered by warranty, so in the end it's gonna be DELL's problem, nay?

I can get the L702x for 1,259$ here which I deem a fairly reasonable price. My Aspire cost way more while having worse CPU, GPU, Screen and miserable touchpad.
Guess I'm convinced then! It now all depends on what I'll get for the Acer. It still sells for far more than the xps17 so my hope is I can sell it for roughly that price or slightly below it since it's only 4 months old.

 

Power port is loose. The issue is a warranty thing, but so far no fix has been issued by Dell. The plug can fall out VERY easily. You can get the port and the adapter replaced, but there is no point as it will be the same.

 

That's not so tragic, after all it has a battery that kicks in if the power is interrupted, so no data loss there. Also, where I live you have the option for a refund if the unit is repaired 3 times and the problem remains. Which means if Dell can't sort it out, I can have my money back by the time the Ivy Bridge CPUs come out and get a new notebook for free.

just need to sell that damn acer.
Btw how is dell support? Never had one of these... is it a big fuzz to return it for warranty? Also, how is it with drivers? Acer didn't even bother with providing native drivers for the detachable touchpad, which means you're stuck with windows legacy driver. Pretty much makes the touchpad unusable. Not to mention that the initial drivers never got updated after release

 

I've had my audip board replaced once on my Laptop, they (Dell) sent me the system board, audio board, and USB Board to replace mine. I like their support.

As far as Drivers go, Dell provides any driver you need for the laptop. Some updated, some aren't. All depends. You can use the manufacturer's drivers, but sometimes there are issues. Ex - The Intel Integrated Video (HD 3000) needs Dell's drivers, otherwise your screen blinks if you are on battery. Not a major issue for me, but it was annoying.

 

^^Yup, seems like the screen blinking is an incurable issue. As far as heat, mine is running mighty cool after re-pasting the cpu and gpu with arctic silver 5. It idles at 39-41c and runs 46-49c during normal loads (having FF browser and TB e-mail opened, etc...). The fan kicks in at about 55c if needed but seldom.

 

Ya know, it doesn't seem all that long ago that I was telling customers that I was building a tower for that they'll never need all of that (1GB) of RAM for WIN 98. Then it was 2GB for XP and now it seems like 4 to 8GB is closer to the norm. Who knows what Windows 8 will bring us in October.

Now I just tell people to get all you can afford or can configure.

Also, I ordered an XPS 17 3D the week before Christmas. It was due to be delivered on January 6th. Got pushed back to January 20th. Got another call yesterday and its delayed again to February 6th.

 

I have my L702x since September. I did have a faulty hinge which it made a cracking sound when opening and closing. Started three weeks. I had one service guy come but all he did was loosen a couple of screws but it still did it. I then had another service guy come and he replaced the entire cover. It is working great otherwise.

 

Get it...or the little dog dies!!

 

Thanks for the valuable input, especially the thing with the blinking screen on Intel graphics! This would have been something I would have been googling for hours before finding out it's a general problem
Finally, I managed to sell my dreaded Acer (must be the worst notebook manufacturer on the planet, no wonder their sales are plummeting).

I just ordered my l702x yesterday with i7 2670, 8GB of Ram and a 750GB HDD and FULL HD Panel (non 3D). On paper this machine is better than my more expensive Acer in every single aspect.

I'm expecting it to have the new GF116 GPU and plan to overclock it to around 720mhz, I know people go well up to over 750mhz but I don't want to push the limits. I was wondering whether I can run games on it just like that or if a cooling pad is required at that overcklocking rate. It don't mind it getting hot since I hook it up to my 46" Bravia while gaming , I just want to avoid throttling and/or emergency shutdowns.
Also, can anyone recommend a cooling Pad for this notebook? Apparently, not every cooling pad model suits every notebook model equally well (Fan position and so on)

@80sGuy: Does your machine run a lot cooler compared to stock? Did you repaste on a fairly new unit or was it in use for a longer time?
I remember the temps on my old desktop dropped around 25°C after putting on new thermal paste, put the machine was almost 4 years old and heavily overclocked

 

Vipeout,
My L702X did ran cooler after the re-paste. It wasn't drastic but more of consistency. When I saw the original compound that was used I knew I had to get rid of it before it does any potential damage. The oem pastes were oozing out to the sides and looked like dried cake icing with virtually nothing left on the surface. I cleaned and re-done both the GPU and CPU. At least my applications were well covered throughout in a single thin layer which dissipates heat quicker in accordance to Arctic Silver specs..