Should I buy this one instead of Dell SXPS 1645

Do you think I should buy one of these laptops instead of Dell XPS 1645 and Which one is better in term of performance/money

SONY F11 $1999 - 7% discount for being a student = Total $1859. (without TAX)

Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
Intel® Core™ i7-820QM processor (1.73GHz)
16.4" VAIO Premium Display (1920x1080)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M GPU (1GB VRAM)
Fresh Start No additional Office Software
4GB (2GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1333, Upgradable to 8GB
500GB 7200rpm
Blu-ray Disc™ player
Keyboard Backlight
Large Capacity Battery
3 Years Warranty

My returned Dell SXPS 1645 costed me about 2,400 including discount already ????? Even if buy one now is cheaper when I bought mine, it's still more expensive. For example,

DELL 1645 $2663- discount $394 = Total $2269 (without Tax)

Intel® Core™ i7-820QM Quad Core Processor @ 1.73GHz
Genuine Windows® 7 Professional, 64bit, English edit
3 Year Basic Service Plan edit
Full HD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
6GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz , Upgradable to 8GB
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery


The diffenreces between them are Sony Has Bluray Dirve but use Nvidia GT330M (not sure if it is worse than ATI 4670)and not RGB Screen (but Sony premium display seem to be very good already and Sony got reputation about display quality) including 4GB of Ram

DELL doesn't have Bluray option but comed with 6GB of ram and cost more $400. About the material quality. I dont think Dell is better than Sony (IMO, SONY is better)

I always here people complaint that SONY is too pricey. But for this case, I don't think so at all.

Update*** I found another althernative for Dell XPS 1645, which is better IMO in term of performance. (Not its look)

Lenovo W510 $2060 with student discount (without Tax)

Intel Quad Core Processor i7 820QM (1.73GHz 1066MHz 8MBL3)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64
15.6-inch machine with option 1920x1080 RG-ph LED FHD (95% Gamut 270 NIT) and Multi Touch Screen
NVIDIA NVS 5100m Discrete Graphics 1GB DDR3 with Intel Advanced Management Technology
4 GB 1333MHz SODIMM Memory, upgradable to 16GB
500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm)
9 cell Li-Ion Battery
newest Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300
USB 3.0 support
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable


More importantly, It costs less than Dell XPS 1645. I dont care much on the look but performance. I'm a software engineer and my daily jobs depend on very powerful computer. So Lenovo's seems to be suitable for my needs


However, I haven't heard of NVIDIA NVS 5100m GPU, Any reccommend?

UPDATE** HP dropped the price of the ENVY serie but comes with the better GPU as shown in the following Specs. So, I think I should add it up to compare too

HP ENVY 15 Specifications $ 2,045 without Tax

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-820QM Processor (1.73GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)

Memory 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Hard drive 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection

Graphics card 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5830

Display 15.6" diagonal Full High Definition LED HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display (1920x1080)

Networking Intel Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth


Primary battery One 6 Cell Lithium Ion Polymer Battery

External optical drive External Slot SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer with 2 USB Ports

I feel sorry for those people who paid about $2300 for the HP Envy few months ago with the same specs above but lower GPU. Now with the better specs (Better GPU), it costs less than $300

I used to configure this HP on December 2009 to buy one with this same specs but lower GPU (ATI 4830), but it cost me about $2378.


With all options above, It's gettign harder for me to make a decision but I can easily eliminate Dell's if they dont fix the throttle issue and provide the appropiate AC (for free), including accepting the mistake (This one could be impossible)

 

the dell screen is NO joke.. i have one on my 1640 it is ridiculously great. actually looks better then my 32" samsung tv in the bedroom, granted thats not glossy display but still.

 

I'm looking at the same two laptops right now actually. I think I'm going with the Sony for the cheaper price and because I like the look and build of the F. While the 330M may be slightly less powerful than the 4670, I don't think the price difference is worth it.

Also thanks for reminding me about the student discount Sony gives, I almost forgot about that!

 

I would go with the Dell, not just because I have one. I'm a big believer in consumer reports, and Sony tech support is the second lowest in terms of tech support, second to HP. And in terms of reliability, it seems like all the notebook manufacturers are about the same. And I haven't heard good things about Sony speakers either, also the build quality seems pretty sub par (in terms of materials used).

EDIT: Dell is actually the number one rated PC manufacturer for tech support.

 

I'd wait a few days to see if Arrandale based version wil be released. Those both have the quad core Clarksfield 45W TDP in them. If you look on this board, there is an issue with power throttling using this CPU in virtually all 1645's and I wouldnt be surprised if you run into heat / battery issues with other vendors as well.

Arrandales have on chip graphics, 2 cores instead of 4, and 32nm manufacturing process instead of 45nm

In fact here's an Arrandale based Dell Studio 15. It comes in at $1100 base, you can configure it to match the XPS 16 for $1347. The only different component will be a slightly less powerful discrete graphics card (Radeon 45xx instead of 46xx)

 

That's the reason why I returned my Dell i7 laptop. I found a review of the new Sony laptop (already). Do you think it will have a heat issue? the author didn't say that at all. He even said it's better than Studio 15 with the same specs in term of performance

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-f-series.aspx

 

Even the Hp envy dropped their prices and now offers the the new i5 with switchable graphics HD Radeon 5800. The only thing that makes me come back to dell is their RGBLED screens. I cant find an similar option nowhere.

 

How RGBLED compare to lenovo's RG-ph LED?

 

The other problem that I have with the HP Envy is no on-board DVD/CD Drive? What were they thinking? The last thing that I want is an external drive.

 

I havent seen lenovo's screen so I cant comment. But the RGBLED is nothing short of stunning. Just my 2 cents.

 

Exactly. You said it.

 

If you care for the display screen, try to look at the lenovo's I think their screen, RG-ph LED is close (or maybe better. not sure. no information) and they come with the color calibration management, and Color Sensor, as shown in their site

"ThinkPad W510 mobile workstations offer X-Rite® PANTONE® color calibration for greater image accuracy, more precise color matching and a consistently true display."

 

Thanks for the tip. I will look at it.

 

I just found the info about this and it seems that Dell RGB screen is a little bit better (Still not sure)

Lenovo

15.6-inch machine with option 1920x1080 RG-ph LED FHD ( 95% Gamut 270 NIT) and Multi Touch Screen

Dell

16.0 Premium HD WLED Display RGBLED for 100% color gamut.

 

Run away from XPS 1645

 

Before I returned my 1645 with RGB i used to sit down and stare at the screen.

 

That's the point of this thread LOL

 

Hi daraj

I found this article saying that the new Sony F11's Premium screen will cover 100% RGB color space and it will be matte. Not sure if it means the same quality as Dell's

 

What article are you talking about?

Also, matte is not necessarily better than glossy. In fact, I prefer glossy. Colors are better, screen is brighter.

 

Sorry Here is it. And the Screen is glossy. I made a mistake

http://www.notebookjournal.de/news/ces--sony-spricht-vom-gaming-notebook-nkrt-1620

 

Where does it say that the screen is glossy? The screens on the FW490 and FW590 were matte. I asked the customer service rep at Sonystyle yesterday about the new F series and she said the screens were the exact same as the FW590s and specifically said they were matte.

 

I got it from this article, saying that

-----------
The viewing angles from the side were good despite the glossy finish, which means various people can sit around this big-screen laptop and watch a movie together
-----------

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-f-series.aspx?page=2

This article reviews the F11. check it out

Maybe, the rep doesn't know about this model yet.

Moreover, I think the screen is different from FW590, check this article

http://www.notebookjournal.de/news/ces--sony-spricht-vom-gaming-notebook-nkrt-1620

this article states that the new Sony F11's Premium screen will cover 100% RGB color space

I dont think the old FW model has this feature

 

Ya but this review (in English) states that the screen is anti-glare.

http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs...w-sony-f-series---huge-screen-nice-lappy.html

Anti-glare means matte.

 

The article you gave seems to be less reliable than mine since the author didn't review with the real laptop in front of him.


Mine uses the real one to review and test its performance benchmark.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/sony-vaio-f-series.aspx?page=2

Dont say yours is not reliable at all. But it could be he just got information about the F11' s spec from somewhere else.

 

Is the RGB LED screen on the SXPS 16 the best for any laptop right out now? Who manufactures the screen for them?

 

I believe its made my LG. Its very crisp bright and color rich. Best Ive seen so far.

 

Is it still a TN panel?

 

I haven't seen non-TN laptop panels.