Is this a better than average deal? 1645

I figured this could be appropriate to post here instead of "what laptop should I get" since it's model specific...

Dell Studio XPS 16
Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish
Intel ® Core ™ i7 720QM 1.6GHz
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
No Microsoft Office
2 yr In-home Service after remote diagnosis + Complete Care
McAfee SecurityCenter , 24-Months
Full HD Widescreen 16 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi MB
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)

Price:$1669
otherwise $2072, but w/6GB DDR3
How does this sound? I am liking the price with that warranty. (2yr In-Home + Complete Care)

Any thoughts on this offer? It was a couple discounts I believe such as student.

Thanks alot everyone.
-Ryan

*
1.Does getting the leather lower portion affect heat, temperatures or airflow?

2.Does the 9-cell battery raise the back side and does it help breath/lower temperatures

3.Does Dell include/apply a thermal paste like Arctic 5?

 

Yeah it's roughly the same I paid, maybe a bit better. Just FYI, the Creative Soundblaster addon isn't actually a sound card upgrade, they just install some software that emulates some of the features of the real sound card. Personally I hate this option and think it's a scam.

Also the RGBLED backlight is way overpriced, I think it's like +$250, I'm sure its because of its current exclusivity and Dell has a huge profit margin on it. Remember the $250 is just buying you a bunch of extra LEDs behind the LCD panel, and they remove the color filter, you could get a whole monitor for that price. Laptops displays are always cheap TN LCD panels, which are crappy regardless of the backlight technology used. If you need the wide-gamut display for photography or something, its best to invest in an external monitor instead.

As for other questions:

1. I seriously doubt it.

2. Yes it does

3. I'm sure they use the cheapest thermal paste available to mankind.

 

Thanks for the response.

The RGBLED was a $175 uprgade

The #2 you answered. Is it yes it does raise the back and provide better breathing/lower temp, or yes it does raise the back, but not lower the temp?

3. I would think I could just apply Arctic 5 sometime down the road if I have any concerns about the heat.

I was thinking about the Sager NP8690, but it's around $400 more, yes it does have alot better graphics card, but pretty much everyone is trying to bring down the heat and trying different methods applying paste. I just want something that I can buy and not worry about at the current specs I'm looking at. Sager doesn't offer as good a warranty for the price.

I see it as this:

Dell XPS 1645: Better screen, Better warranty/coverage for the price, lower heat and $400 cheaper.

Sager NP8690: Better quality, quite a bit better graphics card.

 

2. Yes, it raises and hence lowers temps.

3. Yes, you can apply any thermal compound to the CPU/GPU but it will probably void warranty.

 

Not on a Dell. If you damage the system when doing it, not warrantied, but Dell considers all parts "user replaceable."

 

I paid under $1400 for the same build but that was before they jacked the prices up and stopped offering good deals.

 

Oh, that is excellent news!

 

I paid about that price (a bit more, closer to $1720ish) for the system in my sig. Same as that, but minus X-Fi and different warranty. But, again, this was when it was $534 off.

 

I don't really want to worry about adding things right away that are complex.

Is the heat and issue for the 1645?

 

It gets warm. It's not an issue.

I mean, it all depends on your tolerance. I'm fine with warmth. Some people have to have it at like room temperature. Some people are fine with it blazing hot. For myself, which I consider an average type of guy, it becomes warm at times.

~Ibrahim~

 

! There can not be smoke without fire !

Hence, Its for sure XPS models have serious heat issue. If the same heat continues for 2-3 years the laptop will start showing problem as the capacitors will swell. Also it will drag the life of the lcd screen as well.

 

I don't mind heat at all as long as it's "normal" and not damaging to any parts.

 

It may not damage on a single day. The effect will start showing after 2-3 yrs of use. If you do change ur laptop in every 2-3 yrs then its OK.

 

Please not that posts like this are speculation. While it's correct that in general, higher temperatures do equal lower life, the 2-3 years can be nothing more than an educated guess - these components haven't been out that long even, so it's not possible to make a claim with a definite amount of time.

 

Correct ... Its a guess with prior experiences other brand/models only as the SXPS line has not completed even 2 yrs, I guess.

 

Well...besides speculation are there any posts or screen shots of peoples internal heat temps?

 

Yes, there are. Have you seen the XPS 1645 Owner's Lounge?

The only time I've ever had it particularly warm was during a CPU test (stressing it to 100% on eight threads). I think the 3rd core hit 75C. I mean, it felt warm enough on my lap where it got uncomfortable after about a few minutes when running that test. Every other thing I've done (web browsing, Word documents, light video editing), it only gets warm after prolonged usage.

I idle around 48C on the CPU.

~Ibrahim~

 

Yes, I have now. Heat doesn't look to bad. Compared to the ASUS G51J and Sager's

What are the issues that these have? If I get enough answers, I may end up buying one tomorrow so I can get it around Christmas.

 

The G51/Sagers or the 1645?

 

The 1645, but both if ya know!

All I know
G51J-Lots of heat!
Sager-HDD heat.
1645-I heard heat, but doesn't seem to be a much of a deal with users?

Anything more please add.

 

1645 definitely has the weakest GPU of the bunch. I mean, relative to those two, I can't think of any other cons. I mean, it only has a single hard drive bay, but you can use the optical drive for another if you're feeling up to it.

I don't know what else....the 1645 is slimmer than both of those. Weight, I'm not sure.

~Ibrahim~

 

The SXPS doesn't get any warmer than my old Inspiron used to. I don't see what the fuss is about with the heat.

 

I have DELL xps 1645. It does get warm but not hot.