My decision 1747 vs 1749 vs XPS 16

Just ordered my Studio 17 i7-720QM with the misleading 560v (original name: 4650) and the full HD display.

My decision was based on 4 factors:
I needed a machine that can handle multiple processes at the same time, handle photo editing/manipulation video editing with CS5 and provide a big screen to be able to give me better visual help with CS5 at the same time giving me the possibility to play some games once in a while and allow me to view countless hours of media on a larger screen.

The option i had listed were;


The Studio XPS 16
The Studio 1749
The Studio 1747


Now for me the Studio XPS 16;
as much as i have enjoyed the XPS line, (im writing on my ancient 1710 XPS =P) it seems the xps line will be coming to an end in the near future.

For me that gives the laptop a negative point, because whenever i buy a dell, i don't buy it only for the specs and the somewhat better design, but for the service of replacements and fixing eventual hardware issues that arise out of nowhere later down the road.
I have been blessed with getting a brand new laptop, replace with better display, small bonuses etc etc on several occasions so when i read that dell might be losing the xps all together i was less interested in buying one,(only a little).

Another big factor with the XPS is the heating issue, although your bound to have heating issues with any dell, the XPS has severe heating issues. I have already gone through heating issues once before with my 1710 and it was not a pretty sight, i would rather get a laptop with a stable heating issue rather than one that is over the line.



Thus it came down to studio 1749 VS 1747. Now these two are fairly similar, as one would assume, but the difference lies within three factors that i had to consider. The CPU, the GPU and THE HEATING(da da daaaa).

*cough* sorry.

While the 1749 has reduced the heating issue far more than the 1747, and having a better GPU (HD 5650) than the 1747 (HD 4650), its lack of quad processor puts it in the losing box for me. Now this wasn't a easy decision i spent probably 2 days arguing with my alter self (i call him Alphonso) on which way to go.

One the one side we have this machine that will be great for day to day work, media viewing, reduced overheating and above good gaming, while being suitable for some hard work as well (photo/video editing). The 1749.

And in the other corner we have this machine that will be awesome for multiple processes, Adobe CS5, media viewing and good gaming, but more heating issue and a fan issue(that might have been fixed with the bios update) the 1747.

I had to choose either my work or my gaming.
With so many things going against the 1747 and some better things in the 1749 i had to make the responsible choice.

Eventually i decided on my work based on the simple fact, most gaming i will do will probably be SC2 or some older games, for hardcore games i will always have a PS3 lying around so laptop gaming wont be my priority for leisure.
I also need the laptop primarily for my work and business and secondarily for my leisure (even if Alphonso tries to lure me into temptation for leisure).

Although the 1749 has reduced the heating issue, i still opted to go with the 1747, if there would be any problem i feel secure that dell will provide the service needed to fix or replace the issue( 2 year next day premium warrenty). that and the fact that down the line they will be creating new studio laptops rather than XPS giving me more options to better upgrade the laptop if needed.


so here are the specs to my new bride, i will be raping her in little over two weeks or less =P;

Studio 1747 : Intel i7-720QM(1.6GHz) Mobile CPU
Display : 17.3in Full High Definition (1920X1080) LED with TrueLife
Palmrest : Silver Chainlink with Black Chainlink Cover only
Camera : Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Camera
LCD Back Cover : Black Chainlink
Resource DVD : Studio 1747 Diagnostics and Drivers
Memory : 4096MB (2x2048) 1067MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
Hard Drive : 500GB Serial ATA (7200RPM)
Optical Drive : 8X DVD+/-RW Drive including software (Win 7 Only)
Power Cord : European 1M
Power Supply : Inspiron 90W AC Adapter
Battery : Primary 9-cell 85W/HR LI-ION
Graphics : 1 GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 560v
Wireless : Dell Wireless 1520 (802.11n) Half Mini Card
Wireless : Wireless Label CI7
Keyboard : Internal Nordic Multi-Language Keyboard


I opted for the 4b memory as you can just buy a cheaper 8gb somewhere else rather than spending too much with dell.
500gb HDD - you can buy a separate 500gb or 1tb as i plan to and install it yourself than paying or over priced 2x 500gb.
Black Chainlink - hey normal black ain't bad, i was thinking about buying one of those custom displays but then i remembered i can design one myself and just get that made for it if really needed.
Optical drive - blue ray well , if i want to watch a blue ray movies il use the big screen at home, i just want to watch the daily shows like tru blood and blue mountain state(seriously check it out) breaking bad etc on it on a daily basis in-between work.
keyboard - unfortunately they didnt have backlit keyboards where i am, so i will be acquiring one myself later on.

 

Nice spec, but on wrong forum.
Btw, the ram speed is definitely not normal. Why don't you call and ask for 1333mhz mems instead of 1066mhz?

 

agreed on this. quad core will be better with 1333mhz ram since it can support this speed

 

hmm your right , i didn't notice that i thought it was 1333mhz already. Il see if i can twist their arms. thanks =)

oh and sorry i thought it said studio and xps forum didn't notice the studio xps and xps forum lol.

 

Enjoy your new system. I also have the same studio 17 and I'm loving mine.

 

wow, anodize, you have both SXPS and studio 17?

 

Yep. I have multiple units of each at work(I bought them).