Studio 17 vs Studio XPS 16

My main concern is the known heating issues in the XPS 16, does the studio 17 run much cooler?


I plan to incorporate in both

i7 820 (maybe 720 if it makes a heat difference?) processor
6 GB DDR3 1333 RAM

So obviously the XPS is packin' the better video card with the ATI 5730, does this card also produce less heat?

Just wanting the fastest, yet coolest laptop, I don't plan to game much on it, but want the beastly specs.

Or should I gun for Alienware, though the similar build is about $500 more.

 

the 5730 (in theory) should produce less heat than the 4670 that my machine has. mine does not get hot at all which surprised me to be honest

 

Really? So your XPS 16 runs decently in terms of temps? Like is there any noticeable heat on the surface where the keyboard and mousepad is? That's my main concern. Obviously I don't expect normal temps when high end gaming, just for everyday use, or moderately high multitasking.

 

i mean if you use your machine it is going to heat up to some extent but my 1645 is pretty darn good. wayyy better than my 1530. ppl have complained of heat though. i may just be lucky who knows

 

My i5 based XPS16 gets slightly warm around the palmrest and touchpad area in normal use. Not the kind of heat that's at all a problem, though, I'd say no more than 30 degree C. The surface gets slightly warm rather than hot.

I think the cooling issues are somewhat overreported, in my experience. My CPU idles at about 35-40 C, which is pretty decent for a mobile processor, has never gone above 70 C under heavy load, and will drop back down to near 40 C within seconds of the load being taken off. The cooling system seems to work well despite tales of the vent being blocked by the screen (it isn't). The bottom gets hot, and I think the warmth on the lower area is because by design, the southbridge sinks to the bottom of the chassis. But as I say, the top bit where the palmrest and touchpad are get what I can only really describe as slightly warm in normal use, to the point that's it's not really noticable unless you're purposely feeling for warmth.

 

As far as heat when just doing everyday computing, I would put the computer in powersaver mode. I have been able to keep the computer on my lap for hours without an issue. I have heard of people commenting on how hot this laptop can get. I would expect it to get hot if everything is set to high performance mode. The machine is plenty powerful in power saver for internet browsing and word processing. Just my two cents...