The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Studio XPS 16 Owners: is your notebook really portable?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by exi, May 18, 2009.

  1. exi

    exi Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    46
    Messages:
    657
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    I currently have a Sony Vaio Z540 -- 13.3" non-glossy display at 1366x768 and a weight of around 3.4 lbs.

    Easily carried, that thing.

    I, however, wouldn't mind a 15.4" / 16" notebook. For those of you with XPS 16 machines: is your laptop really that portable? The thing weighs 6.4 lbs with the standard battery, from what I understand. Think universities and the usual study places as well as at home.

    My only other concern is that the Vaio Z has ~5 hours of battery life, while the XPS 16 is apparently below 3.
     
    exi, May 18, 2009
    #1
  2. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

    Reputations:
    6,668
    Messages:
    8,224
    Likes Received:
    231
    Trophy Points:
    231
    Your Z would be a much better university-student notebook. My T500, which is slightly above 6 pounds with a 9-cell battery, is on the upper limits of my portability tolerance. It's kind of heavy in my backpack (which isn't very comfortable) but it's fine in my nicely padded laptop bag. If I carry it around all the time though, it gets a bit annoying.

    3 hours of battery is rather low. My T500's 7-8 hours of battery are perfect for my needs, although I could do with a bit less.
     
    MidnightSun, May 18, 2009
    #2
  3. Rebellion

    Rebellion Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    10
    Messages:
    77
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    On my last deployment to iraq I carried a NC8430 laptop in a pelican hard case all over the place. It was just above 6lbs itself and the rest of the case added another few pounds. So about 10 lbs, added to my 50 pounds of Armor and a few more for my weapons and throw in my backpack weight and I would say the laptop was pretty portiable. :D

    The 1640 is just a bit heavier than the NC8430 and it fits in the same pelican case. And I leave for iraq again in a few days. I am thinking that its going to be just as portable.

    I would say weight is relative. I think for the speed and size of the 1640 its pretty darn portable. But for university work, well I usually prefered a smaller footprint on my laptops. I can't stand how the larger laptops hang off the sides of some of the smaller desks.

    If netbooks would have been out back then I would have used one of those and just transfered my notes to something more visible later.
     
    Rebellion, May 18, 2009
    #3
  4. Staticbursts

    Staticbursts Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    5
    Messages:
    38
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Good luck Rebellion, your country is proud of you :) hopefully your Studio XPS 16 doesn't encounter any problems in Iraq!
     
    Staticbursts, May 18, 2009
    #4