Studio XPS 16 alternatives

I'm looking for a new notebook and im starting to like the sxps 16 but before i buy i was wondering what else is out there along the same types of computer that includes about the same power with a good screen and style.

 

The XPS runs hot check out the review on this site.

 

I'm not really concerned about the heat as most said it dosent efect the computer and ill be using on a desk most of the time.

 

as far as by dell, I can't realy think of an alternative exceptaybe the lattitude line. The Sony viao is an alternative, though will cost you an extra couple hundred, but I hear they're really nice.

 

And what about the hundreds of posts here that say it doesn't?

 

The post that say it doesnt are simply wrong. I have had two SXPS 16's both with SSD's and its hotter than any computer I've ever owned including my MBP. The actual temperature might be in line with other computers but b/c it gets so hot underneath the computer and by the trackpad/palm rest, it seems much hotter than it actually is. I don't mind the heat or I would return it but anyone who says it doesn't run hot is fooling themselves into believing that.

 

The Vaio FW is quite a similar machine although it has older tech in it

 

The gateway MC78 series, they are cheaper and have similiar configurations.(Also cooler)

 

The XPS 16 does get hot, but it doesn't have overheating issues as some claim it does. It's not an "issue" unless actual performance is affected or something becomes problematic. With the XPS16, the only actual "problem" is that of the user's comfort. The bottom is made of metal, so yes, it conducts heat very well, so yes, you probably can't use the XPS 16 on your lap if you intend to do anything mildly intensive with it, but the notebook's heat is not considered problematic other than by a comfort standard.

As for alternatives...

The Sony Vaio FW is basically nearly the same thing: only differences are DDR2 RAM(which arguably has little to no impact on performance of the machine) and an HD3650 vs the HD3670 in the XPS16. The Vaio FW however is commented on being quite cool and quiet. It doesn't however have that nifty backlit keyboard and the FW's speakers are commented on being subpar.

Another 16" mainstream laptop is the HP dv6. It has a more powerful HD4650 in it and it comes with similar features as the XPS16.

 

Then, I don't get this complaint. My E6400 and all of the new Macs have metal chassis! I don't see the issue with overheating (or just getting hot) where when it's not limited to just this model.

 

The new MBP has a 9600GT also has a metal chasis, and it doesnt seem to be overheating (inside or outside)... Indeed the SXPS16 overheats! deal with it, its not because of the metallic chasis.

 

It's not overheating unless the laptop can't handle it >_>

My HP dv2000 overheated. It reached temperatures so high the laptop's fail safe activated and it;d shut down immediately. After that, I had to leave it on the desk for 30min or so before being able to even boot the thing without the fail safe closing it. THAT is a genuine overheating problem my friends.

The XPS 16 gets hot, that's all there is to it. Unless someone confirms that the XPS16 has actual issues concerning heat(i.e. other than comfort issues), then it's not a genuine overheating issue, but simply a "laptop getting hot". HP actually revamped the whole series of my laptop after I bought mine because it was a genuine issue. They had some of the parts changed and fixes in the hardware placement within the laptop itself(the wireless was placed right over the HDD which was a bad move).

Yes, other laptops with metal chassis's might be cooler than the XPS16, but that's also due to how Dell decided to make the layout of their hardware within the chassis. It's not as if you opened all those notebooks that they'd look alike under. Dell placed parts in different ways which could easily impact how heat is dissipated.

 

Oh man you can run in circles saying that this laptop doesnt overheat but you will end in the same place. I have a m1330 but Im not a XPS fanboy it OVERHEATS because DELL made bad cooling designs for this laptop and because "Dell placed parts in different ways wich could easilu impact how heat is dissipated".

Overheat means more than normal heat you couldnt say it better check those red words.
Overheat:
-get excessively and undesirably hot
-To heat excessively; To become excessively hot

Maybe not yesterday, maybe not today or soon but I bet that these "My laptop is getting hot" will happen more often until the heat damages other components of the laptop.

You dont need a BSOD or a system shutdown to discover that your laptop is overheating.

 

Ok we're just arguing words here >.>

Well fine, if we're going to argue semantics, then yes, the XPS 16 does "overheat". I agree that Dell made bad designs for the laptop(and in more ways than only cooling).

However, it's not as if the design is hugely problematic as people seem to make it. Yes, it gets hot. Is it uncomfortably hot? Yes, I believe I've said so in my first post addressing this. Is it a genuine "OMG the end of the world problem"? I personally don't think so(feel free to think so). Many users have the XPS 16 and report they can deal with the heat fine and some have taken measures to drastically reduce the heat to the point where it's barely noticeable.

And yes, continuous heat does damage other parts of a laptop, hence my superb fail safe story with my HP >.>

Most laptops get hot. You deal with it. You buy notebook coolers and you undervolt and so on and so forth. You're packing in lots of power into a tiny chassis(even more true in the XPS 16's case) so there's bound to be dissipation issues with the heat produced.

 

Overheated is used to discribe a situation where something breaks down.

For example "Oh man my car overheated" What does this mean to you? To me it means the car failed due to heat. You can't go anywhere until you fix the over heating issue.

The same means for laptops overheating. It shuts down, it BSODS, it doesn't work.... it breaks.

So with that I woud say the xps 1640 is no where even close to overheating.

What I have been reading is people are complaining about some heat build up under the track pad. Has it caused the track pad to fail? Nope

The bottom of the laptop gets hot. Wow imagine that, there is 90 Watts going into it, but it gets no hotter than the many other laptops I have to support at work.

Heat is very subjective, but overheating is not. Overheating means its failing and I have not heard of this model doing this.

 

There is a big difference in usage of the term though.

"To become excessively hot" for hardware, NOT the user. Once hardware incurs damage or functionality is lost then the computer has truly overheated. I wouldn't argue with statements indicating the SXPS series gets/runs hot or even has heat issues (as these can be taken into context with the end user), but the term "overheat" has a more specific definition.

 

If you have a problem with it being ho on the bottem then could Dell not just sell a plastic replacement on their website to stop the heat from being put into our legs?

 

macbooooooooooooooooooooooook pro

 

HP HDX16. HDX16 has better GPU, full number pad, lightscribe, which are all absent on the XPS16. And has everything the XPS has including backlit keyboard, TV tuner, webcam, 16" wide screen and blu-ray.

However, the XPS has "MAYBE" a better screen since its RGB LED but I've heard the red color sucks. It also has DDR3 while the HDX16 only has DDR2 but the difference is minimal at best. Also has Solid state drive which is faster but the storage space sucks and expensive.

All in all I was thinking about the XPS16 but didn't choose it due to heat issues which were discussed by almost everyone. Also you can get a max speced HDX16 for $1000 cheaper then a max speced XPS16 if you use the 30% off coupon which HP has once a month. Dell never has big coupons.

 

I been looking at the SXPS 16 and I really like it, for the screen(which I haven't seen in person, so can't be 100% about it) and the aesthetics, its a very nice looking machine. Honestly the biggest selling factor for me is the screen, I don't need a more powerful GPU, or SSD, just a nice screen which it seems that no one is putting new tech into them except this RGB screen.

 

The XPS16 doesn't overheat. Right now, and quite often, I am watching baseball and doing a bunch of other tasks with the laptop on my lap. It's NOT uncomfortably hot. No, I am not doing 3D gaming, but during fairly extensive use, it's just fine. Yes, it's warm, but once again, it's not uncomfortable. I can also turn down it to Power Saver at which point I can still do everything and the laptop isn't even warm.

By the way, I am using the laptop with an airconditioned room turned to 76 degrees.

But fine, don't get the laptop if you think it's overheating. Nobody really cares.

 

First, I just wanted to say I think its funny how many who have never "tried" an SXPS 16 can claim it "overheats". Yes, there have been threads about it being "hot", but whats hot to you is not necessarily hot for someone else (i.e. highly subjective).

Anyway, when I read the comment above.. I decided to look around for myself to see if, in fact, MacBook Pros run cool.. I found this person's observations on his MBP's temperatures:

http://forum.soft32.com/mac/MacBook-Pro-running-hot-ftopict110797.html

I will say that the core temps are not bad.. I have observed similar temps in my SXPS 16.. what I find "hot" is the GPU at 59C and even the hard drive at 43C

http://askville.amazon.com/Macbook-...s-idle-HELP/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=8281134

here's one guy who has a few browser windows open and his CPU was idling at 75C.. whats interesting is the first response, which is from an Apple Store employee..

Hmm.. sounds familiar doesnt it?

I'm not trying to fan the flames and start war or anything.. just saying.. heat is subjective.. and if you want to talk CPU/GPU temps, then I dont think a MBP is the solution to high temperatures.. granted, this may not be the case with all MBP owners.. but then again, heat is not necessarily a problem for all SXPS 16 owners either.. which is what most SXPS 16 owners in this thread have been saying

 

I was going to get in depth, but why, it's just a bunch of people that are reading one thread and forming an opinion.

Comparing my numbers right now to what's posted for the MacBook Pro above, here is what I have. Sure looks comparable to me. By the way, I love my SXPS, it's the best computer I've ever owned.

 

Yes I do not own a XPS16 but if you take a whole day to read thru the Dell XPS threads I like did when I was thinking about buying it, there is no mistake that people are complaining about heat. Yes one dudes heat is another dudes cool. True dat. But why are there millions of owners complaining about it then??? Not to mention millions of the BSODs upon windows update. What kind of new computer would blue screen on an update? Back to the heat issue.

Go to the HP thread. You will see maybe 1 or 3 posts about heat in the HDX16.

Go to the Sony FW thread you will seen none about heat.

Yes I do not own any of these laptops except the HDX16. However, thru my 2 months of research and reading numerous ppl complain of XPS16 heat, including one dude who said his xps16 burned his jeans, I have made an assumption that the XPS16 OVERALL has heat issues.

Sure granted there are some owners who say there is none, but the fact is the complaints outweigh the non complaints.

 

Perhaps for the same reason people do not complain about MBP heat issues when properly functioning units have approximately the same internal heat? You said it yourself, "heat" is relative to a users personal preference/expectation. That said, my guess is there are two more possibilities:
1. Many users seem to buy their systems from Dell Outlet. Chances are a refurbished system is more likely to ship out with a defective trait than a newly built system.
2. Earlier Dell units shipped out with poor software configurations be it the BIOS or the Vista set up.

For both of these possibilities, Dell is still at fault. However, the problems only apply to certain groups of people

 

I'm just curious: where did you get that "millions" number?

And by the way, the HDX16 is #32 on the list of most popular laptops. Maybe that's why you see fewer posts about its problems.

 

Its something called exaggeration. I don't even think Dell sold that many XPS16s. The real number is more like 30 people, which is still alot. I've followed the Dell thread for 2 months until finally settling on the HDX16.

Yes its #32 but so what? All I know is that it was $1000 cheaper with no heat issues and no BSODs. I could care less about DDR3 or SDD or RGB LED w/e. Those things are useless if you have a comp that runs so hot that you can heat your house with or BSOD while updating windows.

 

Wow.. getting defensive, are we?

I think dysonlu's point was, because it is possible, based on Notebookreview's rankings, that the HDX16 is not as popular as the SXPS 16, you would see a proportionate amount of complaints regarding a particular system.

The second part of your statement pretty much sums up your attitude and clarifies the whole reason you came to this thread. So I'll conclude my participation in this thread by summarizing what you've been trying to say all along:

It is Optimustarzan's opinion that if you do not care about DDR3 and are perfectly happy with the older DDR2 technology AND you do not value having the option of purchasing a Solid State Drive when you configure your new system AND you do not believe there are any benefits to RBGLED display technology, then you would definitely want to consider the Hewlett Packard HDX16 as an alternative to the Dell Studio XPS 16, even though the HDX16 is twice as thick as a Studio XPS 16.
(well, ok, that last bit was my own, but at least I'm not exaggerating)

 

I hate to argue with logic, but how often would you say that "non complaints" ever outweigh complaints..

If 1000 people go out and purchase a laptop, and 10 of those people go on a forum to complain about excessive heat, but 990 people do not... You are looking at a complaint ratio of only 1%. Do you really expect the other 99% of people to come and say that they had no problems?

Do you think "customer service" departments are regularly flooded with calls from people who are happy with their product?

I'm not saying that all of the other 990 people are happy, perhaps another 90 people noticed the heat but didn't go to the forum to complain and simply returned the product or ignored it instead. Maybe it was 900 people who returned the product or ignored it..

But in any case, the amount of people who complain will always greatly outnumber the people who "non-complain" or post positive feedback.

That being said, I'm sure by all of the testimony on this forum that there is some excessive heat in the Studio XPS 16.. Although that is still a step below "overheating".

My girlfriend is hot as hell, but it's not a big problem for me... get it?


To add flames to the other fire that I can see burning in here (yeah I see the pun).. My family and friends own several Imac's, Macbooks, and Macbook Pros, and woops, my friend's MBP has suffered from overheating problems before. He had to take it in for repair.

But whatever, keep tooting the Mac horn.. I'll never purchase one while there's a two fold price premium over similarly equipped competition.

 

My 1640's max temps:

CPU: 67C
GPU: 72C

I don't know about you guys, but those temps are pretty "cool" for me. My older XPS 1210's temps can go as high as 80C for the CPU and 87C for the 7400 Go GPU.

IMO, the 1640's internal temps are perfectly OK. But yes, it does feel hot to touch that many people could get uncomfortable with it on their laps.

 

there is no alternative to studio 16 atm,
studio 16 is the only laptop to have rgb led and a true subwoofer .
if you are looking for multimedia laptop to watch videos and listen to music, there is only one option, buy a studio 16 with rgb led.

 

My cousin has a SXPS16 It is funny to hear people saying that they know everything even that someone has never used something before...
For ME it overheats, I ran orthos to fully stress the machine and after 45 minutes the cpu ended at 85C and the GPU 93C. With those temps I guess it is matter of time until the machine develops issues in many componets. (Well if you game or stress the machine...)

Thats just my point, if you have one and dont want to feel bad about that then say that temps are ok and the whole world will not complaint, this is just childish. These are my last words for this.

 

Say what?

Here's the thing. Did the computer shutdown? If not, it didn't overheat. Did it get uncomfortable for You, apparently, but it didn't shut down which is what overheating would be. We can argue all day long about it, but bashing something because a few people perceive an issue is ridiculous, especially when you have only one experience with it and many of us use it everyday.

 

Dude calm down, how can people advice issues with their machines if you dont let them post the issues?


Guess what? The topic is called: "Studio XPS 16 alternatives" So people please back on topic.

Other alternative could be the HP DV5 or even the asus G5 wich for me is even better! 9800GS sounds sweet!.

What about SAGERS??

 

Not true, just because the GPU reaches 93C is not overheating. I have a Asus G1s that reaches 95C when gaming. That's normal for that model, and I've been gaming on it for a year and a half without any issues. That kind of heat is hot, but not bad for the laptop itself.

 

Heat is not subjective. It can be measured as with the reviews on this website. If you are going to compare it to a MacBook or Macbook Pro you need to say which one. My first MBP Penryn (last generation) got pretty darn hot. My MBP Unibody does not get very hot even after playing games that cause the fan to ramp up. If the heat does not cause issues such as instability then I would say go with it but keep in mind that heat is the enemy of electronics and a hot laptop is much more likely to have issues than one that runs cooler. Thats just a fact. So make sure you have a good warranty. Personally I would not consider the heat of the XPS 16 to be a showstopper. I do wish they had a happy medium between the two screen resolutions and I could really do without the leather strip silliness.

As to alternatives I cannot stand cheap plasticky feeling laptops which would lead me to a Thinkpad or HP Elitebook for Windows or a MacBook Pro which is what I much prefer. After using the very large multi-touch trackpad on the MBP I would be hard pressed to use one of those small not very responsive trackpads you find on most PC laptops. As an It Architect I have been issued lots of Dells which tend to croak pretty easily. i once went through 4 brand new Dells in a year. i found the Thinkpad and HP's to be quite solid. Not the HP consumer class btw which to me is a case of you get what you pay for. Lately a lot of companies are providing Mac laptops if requested and I see a lot of Architects jumping at the chance to use one for work. I triple boot mine with OS X, Windows, and Linux and couldn't be happier.

 

I 100% agree with you i hate cheap plastic laptops. Both or you windows sugestions are very helpful. Macbook Pro though is a little out of my price range. Thanks

 

What are you doing to the machine? I have never passed 67 on cpu and 69 on gpu while playing Left 4 dead or Empire : Total War. Your probaly covering a vent or something those temps are insane. I haven't seen that high since i had my m1330.

 

Mine does seem warm but after doing the stress test the temps weren't that bad. Granted they weren't fantastic but they were in the high 60's which is pretty close to what my older machine runs and it doesn't have half the power. I think the main difference is the metal bottom vs plastic. The internal temps are about the same but since one transmits heat much better you think it is running hotter.

 

I've seen 15 inch MBP for $1699 after $150 rebate online...still pricey for some though.

 

I own a Dell studio XPS 16, and I must say that I am well satisfied with its current performance. I got the 6MB cache processor, and no other upgrades. Everything is great, latest games like empire total war work on high details, the screen is beautiful...however:
The sound is sub-par. Even with that subwoofer, there is some general lacking in the speakers.

Also, the heat generated while gaming is HUGE. And i mean MASSIVE amounts of heat, enough to make your skin feel like its on fire. This happens on the area right below the touchpad. But, during regular use (internet, movies, music, etc), the heat is barely noticeable. If you plan on using this rig for gaming, then be prepared to find a cooling solution.

To the people who say heat is not an issue:
Heat is one of the leading causes of hardware problems and failures. In the short term, your pc will be fine, but over the course of time the heat will take its toll. Thats why i recommend getting the two year warranty at least.

 

I agree. I've only had my pc for 1 night.. but I started playing "The Last Remnant" and in a matter of about 30 minutes the touchpad area and the bottom of the laptop got so unbelievably hot, that at one point i rested my finger on the touchpad for a while and i literally felt it burning.

Im used to laptop heat and its never been a problem, hence i didnt pay any attention to the heat comments on the forum... i had a sony vaio FZ with a metalli chassis that got very very hot as well..could even make the temperature on the room feel very hot...however, the heat was concentrated on the rear left part..and it never felt hot on the touchpad.

Because of this however, i didnt see myself as someone that could actually be sensitive to laptop heat. It was pretty shocking to see sxps 16 heating up so quickly.

I have the T9800 2.93gz processor, so i dont know if that has something to do with it, but in all honesty, I do believe the notebook gets ridiculously hot while gaming. Once i stop gaming, the temperature goes down quite quickly and very comfortable.

If you are going to user the laptop for gaming a lot, like me, just know that definitely you are going to have to find a cooling solution. Even before buying the laptop I had already made up my mind to buy a cooler as my year and a half old vaio's nvidia chip got fried 3 times (yes. it was that hot). I dont know how sensitive ATI chip might be to temperatures, but I hope it's better.

In terms of hardware damage though im not very worried. Every time i get a dell i make sure to pay the 3 year warranty. They are, imho, the best company in terms of extended warranty and will just send someone over to you the next day usually with the replacement part you need. So I know i am covered if heat were to be an issue on the hardware. And I do think, as someone posted above, that yes, there is a lot of power in these laptops and probably its inevitable for them to heat up. It just comes with the territory.


Another option is to undervolt the laptop. I havent done it personally yet, but will have to do it. Im really the kind of person that likes to use the laptop on my lap while lounging on my futon, but it really hasn't been an option yet. Once i undervolt i'll post my impression here or on the official owner's forum.

 

well if u don't mind a larger laptop and if it's gaming u want u should invest in the asus w90pv it runs very cool and its sound system is amazing with quad processor and ATI® HD4870 x2 512M DDR3 VRAM (Cross Fire) it is top of the line but it has 18.4 inch full hd screen which makes it kind of heavy.

another one not really for gaming more for watching full HD movies is the
asus n90sv with a dual core 2.66 GHz processor and NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 130M, with 1GB VRAM also good sound system also 18.4 inch screen

hope that helps

 

There is no alternative to SXPS 16, trust me I've looked around. This is by far the best overall laptop on the market.

 

does the processor throttling and locking to 31% max frequency constitute overheating in my SXPS 16, does it warrant a customer support call?

 

Dude the think would melt if it was made out of plastic. And that my friend would be a serious issue.

But yes this laptop has serious problems. Heat-Wise

 

Old thread but it's only a problem if you personally need a cooler-running laptop or, as you said, somehow use a plastic chassis which would overheat internal components due to poor heat dissipation.

 

There are two different XPS16s now too.

The 1640 has some heat issues that are documented (issues being that it gets very toasty).

My 1645 even with Throttlestop locking the system to 100% performance I wouldn't say its "hot" but it does get very warm, however the trackpad and keyboard never get uncomfortable.

now lets let this thread sink back down again.

 

Wow, what do you guys do with your 1640s, I only opted for the P8700 processor, while it is true the bottom area of the touchpad gets hot (where the southbridge is), I have to say heat issues with the 1640s are exaggerated.

I've played marathon sessions of Fallout 3, Crysis Warhead and Mass Effect (just to name a few examples) with no problems, couple that with the fact I'm still in Australia (it's summer here). And yes, many of those marathon sessions were during the day with the air-con off. Sure, the fan gets loud and the laptop gets warm, but that's it. I rarely turn the laptop off, it's on even when I use my desktop.

 

How do I know whether I have a 1640 or a 1645?