Where/When to purchase this XPS 16 Configuration?

Looking to buy a laptop in the near future (anywhere from today to the next 3 or 4 months), and the XPS seems to be exactly what I want in terms of aesthetics and overall processing power. I'm trying to configure the computer to my needs, but as a lot of people on here have noted it's fairly annoying how some of the options aren't available in various regions.

Essentially, I want:

1. The RGBLED screen. I've seen the screen, it's gorgeous and it's one of the main reasons I want the laptop.

Also, if possible I'd like:
2. The i7 620. Would prefer a dual core with the lower nm process (over the quad-core i7s), and the improved battery life that comes with it. Would settle for an i5 if that was all that was available. Worst case scenario, I can deal with a quad-core i7.
3. The ATI 5730. Also for the lower power draw and improved battery life, and the improvement in performance in comparison to the 4670.

The rest of the options (RAM, type of optical drive, hard drive, etc.) are of secondary concern to me.

I live in Canada (where Dell's prices are roughly equivalent to their US prices), and the above configuration isn't available (the RGBLED is not available, and they only allow you to get the 5730 in the 1645 systems with quad-core i7s).


However, I know that the above configuration exists, because I've been able to customize computers that fit the mold on various countries' dell websites. For instance, Dell Australia/Malaysia/India still have the RGBLED screens and enable me to combine the processors and video cards I want. Unfortunately, the total costs are far above (in some cases double) what the approximate costs would be in Canada, and it's somewhat impractical.

Anyone have any insight as to whether this will be possible in Canada or the US in the near future?

 

There is no prebuilt set up with the RGB LED screen and 5730 as one. Not in the US at least.
The guys who have the above mentioned set up swapped their old screen with a new machine.

 

Unfortunately even if you wanted to purchase from a foreign Dell site, you couldn't. Dell does not ship except to the country the site is intended for. In other words, I could not, for example, shop on Dell's US site and have it shipped to a Canadian address.

That being said, I've heard that the WLED screen on the machine, while not nearly as nice as the RGBLED, is still gorgeous. And you'll be saving some power there, which is always nice. You're right about the 5730 only being available on the quad-core configurations - I noticed that when I placed the order for my XPS 16 several days ago. Personally, I went for the configuration with the 5730, but really it's up to what you specifically need the laptop to do for you.

Feel free to ask if you've got any further questions!

 

If you think you will be ok with the 4670 card with WLED 1080p (non RBG LED) then this is the promo i just used for mine:

I used the 30% off Coupon Code on EValue Code: dydzfs1

J5ZPHJPS1LLQTN


I used the limited time offer $90 off Studio XPS 16 Coupon Code:

HKV$VFLSQZ$PLG

Free Shipping Coupon Code when spending over $599:

?8CN$RJ?W5TQ0C

 

Yeah, annoying with the regional differences. Dell offers the laptop I want, but not in the US/Canada. For instance, I can configure the following system for Dell Singapore:

Style
16.0"UltraSharp™ Full High Definition (1080p) RGBLED Display with TrueLife™-Obsidian Black
Build My Dell
Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64bit (English)
Intel® Core™ i5-540M Processor (2.53Ghz, 4 Thread, turbo boost up to 3.06 GHz, 3M cache)
McAfee® Security Center (Multi-Language) 15 Months Version
4GB (2GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB SATA 7200RPM Hard Drive
Slot Load 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability
1GB DDR3 ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730
9-cell (85WHr) Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Accessorise My Dell
Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 Version
Protect My Dell
1-year XPS Premier Service with 1-year CompleteCover
1 Year Dell Online Backup 2GB
Also Includes
Studio XPS 1647 Base systerm (Direct)
WinRE software
System Regulatory Label
Sensible Vision FastAccess Facial Recognition Software
Camera Software
System Drivers
Directship Info Mod
APCC Ship Mod
Mod Specs Info (Singapore)
Power Cord (UK)
Limited time offer valid until this Friday with payment. No further discounts
Discount is only valid if the corresponding upgraded item is selected above
Integrated Fast Ethernet 10/100/1000
ExpressCard Slot, (DOES NOT SUPPORT PC CARDS)
Integrated 2.0 mega pixel web cam
DataSafe Local Basic
NB-OS-CTO HandlingandInsurance charges(Singapore)
Windows® 7 Label
Intel® Core™ i5 Label
Inspiron™ Delivery Charges (Singapore)
Adobe Reader 9.0
T510107SG-Studio XPS 1647
Laptop Batteries Carry One Year Warranty Only From Invoice Date
Dell's Terms and Conditions apply
Great Technical Tips and Information available 24x7 at Dell Support
Future Technical Support
Integrated CREATIVE Sound Blaster® X-Fi MB Audio Software Solution
90W AC Adapter
Dell 1520 Wireless-N card
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth
Dell™ Backlit Keyboard with Touchpad (English)
Belkin 17" Messenger Pitch Black/ Soft Gray

I was in singapore last month and have someone whose address I could have used as the mailing address and then brought it home myself. Now if I were to ship it there from Dell Singapore and have them forward it here, I'd have to pay a few hundred extra in shipping. I can't decide whether I should just bite the bullet or wait to see if the option to use the RGBLED becomes available here again.

 

The RGB will not come back as it seems to be disposed in the US region. You can buy from Singapore, but that will void your warranty. I think you should look for a refurbished 1645 or something or buy used.

 

The WLED is just as good. I notcied ZERO difference coming from an RGBLED in an alienware to a WLED in my SXPS.

 

When you sit them down side by side you can see a huge difference. I HATED the wled. It does not belong in a xps. They need a higher quality display to fill the WLED screens spot.

 

The extra black space between the edge of the lcd and the border of the screen would bug me to no end every time I looked at the screen. Since the 15.6" WLED is .4" smaller on the diagonal than the 16" RGBLED, there's ~.174" extra border on both the right and left, and ~.1" extra on both the top and bottom. I think the bezel is already larger than it needs to be, so making it even larger would make me unhappy. Besides, I've sat beside my girlfriend on her non-RGBLED 1920x1200 m1530 screen, which is really nice, and the color difference is huge. Beside each other, hers looks washed out and drab.

 

The screens available for XPS are anything but neutral.
The RGB is way too oversaturated and the standard wled is undersaturated. I have to connect my laptop to my 30'' monitor with standard 72% color gamut if I need to work on photography. That being said, the RGB is still fun to have.

 

From a RGBLED m17x to this SXPS 16 WLED there was zero difference in quality for me. Did they look different? a little but not much. Which would I prefer? Dont really have a preference.

Not referring to size. The RGB units were actually 16in vs the now 15.6 screens.

 

As far as I know, the RGB isn't coming back to North America , at least not in it's current form. There were issues with the screen because it drew too much power. Oh well, it would have been nice. It's still available outside the US, but I'd expect to see them disappear as stock dries up. They are also still available on the Studio 17, the larger chassis makes them more viable. I'd like to think an improved version will come back to the XPS 16 eventually, but who knows how long that'll take.

As far as the dual core / 5730 combo goes, it's not available right now, but I'd expect it to come out in North America in the next few months. This is all conjecture of course.

 

The studio 17 does not have the rgb led option. The B+RG is just wled with 90% color gamut. Their previous generation 17.3'' was even better at 72% standard.

 

Really? Dell makes an effort on the config screen to differentiate the B+RG screen from the regular LED screen. Also, after some searching, most people seem to think that the B+RG and RGB are the same. Even so, if it really was just a WLED with 90% gamut, that would be even better than a real RGB screen anyway. The color gamut is almost as high, and it doesn't have the power and other issues of the RGB screen.

Do you have a source of info you can point me to regarding the B+RG screen?

 

There is no such thing as B+RG. It is all marketing hype by Dell. There are only 2 types of led screens available in today's laptop market, RGB or WLED. The common sense is that RGB is better than WLED. AMOLED -> RGB -> WLED -> CCFL in order, but that doesn't apply in this particular case.

I have the B+RG panel and it is made by AUO. Their first generation 17.3'' FHD /w 72% was way better IMO.
The B+RG is not better than the RGB from what I can see. I say they are very similar. They both present overly saturated colors.

 

That's the thing. The Throttling was really only prevalent (from my understanding) in configurations that had the "perfect storm" of power draw with the RGBLED, ATI 4670, and Quad Core i5's. As such, I haven't seen this configuration available anymore on ANY dell website for any country.

The dual cores i5 (or i7 620) draw less power than the quad core i7s though, and the ATI 5730 draws less power than the 4670. I guess that that configurations using these components (5730 or dual core i5/i7s) must not have the throttling problems due to the lower power draw and heat dissipation issues, because I can see it available on numerous international dell websites (unfortunately not in Canada or the US).

I might be traveling to one of those countries in September. I'm considering waiting in the meantime to see if there is any improvement in the configurations available locally, and if not might consider getting a mailing address in one of the countries when I visit and just picking the laptop up on the way (there would be no additional shipping costs, and only minimal tax consequences on my returning to the country as technology is duty free and you get a partial exemption on tax in Canada based on the duration of your travel out of the country).

 

My quad core 5730 SXPS does not throttle. In order for them to make an RGBLED 5730 quad core they would need a 150watt or higher ac adapter. I measured 100-115watts at max load on my rig (specs in sig) add in an RGBLED and your looking at well over 130watts. Then add in the 4670 with 9 more watts used and you can see why there was an issue with a 90 watt adapter. People were seeing wattage use in the 130-140s and while a 150watt ac adapter would allow me to use an RGBLED, it would still be too close to the max of the adapter for any level of comfort. Honestly the setup theysell now in the 1645 variation is spot on and besides the speaker grills not being a numpad they did pretty well for using an existing platform and making work very well after all the hiccups it has has in the past year or so.

 

it doesn't void the warranty. dell provides international warranty on all its products. you just have to fill the ownership transfer form and that its, so don't worry about the warranty.

 

But i have that exact setup and i experience no throttling. And my temps are amazing. Cpu never passes 77c and gpu 79c. I am amazed how well my 1645 is running compared to my old 1640.

 

You have the 5730. Most of the people with throttling have the RGBLED, i7, and the 4670. The 5730 draws about 9W less than the 4670 does.

 

But Liquid just said Quadcore + 5730 + Rgbled = 150w power adapter. That is not the case. I experience no throttling what so ever.

 

You essentially have the exact configuration I would want. Where (in what region) did you purchase it?

 

I got it as a replacement for my 1640 in Canada. I told them i was unhappy with the display and the next day they came and installed my RGBled screen for me

 

Clearly this cannot be done anymore, but for my curiosity is the following what happened?

1. You had a 1640 with a core 2 duo, 3670, etc... With a rgbled screen.
2. Something happened to it.
3. You got a replacement 1645 (i7, 5730) without a rgbled screen.
4. You complained to Dell that your screen was essentially a downgrade.
5. They installed an rgbled?

 

Yep essentially. My 1640 was a bucket of problems. They replaced it with the 1645. I HATED the screen and they sent me a 16 inch rgbled screen and installed it. No questions asked.

 

I measured the wattage of my setup and I hover around 100-115 at full tilt. Add in a RGBLED screen annd you are coming very close to or maxing the 130watt adapter. RGBLED screens use alot more pore then the WLED ones.

Yes it does, but the screen is the part that draws the most.

Im glad that you dont (and Im not doubting you at all), but I would love to see your power draw while running furmark, and prime 95 with everything running (including speakers, external mouse, keyboard lit etc). Users with the older SXPS setup were reporting 146watts of power draw and even with a 5730 that still puts them well above the max output of the AC adapter (137watts) ad that is not good. Here is a video of my WLED system:

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I could careless about furmark and prime95 tho. That does not represent real world usage. What are the chances the system is going to be running a full throttle at any time? Not very often. But yes i know the RGBled uses alot more juice. My battery life lost 1:15 minutes after changing from WLED > RGB. But quality comes at a price i guess

 

By the way, what exactly does "UltraSharp" feature mean?

 

It's just a marketing term. "UltraSharp" is what Dell names their top of the line displays. Usually it's used for $500+ desktop monitors, but they also us the term for the XPS16 RGB screen.