$1200 Credit limit, Best bang for my buck? XPS

Wanted an Alienware 17 inch, but only got a $1200 credit limit. So, going with an XPS 17 inch. With the current deals, what is my best choice? I do allot of digital art, photography and occasional gaming.

Just looking to get the most bang for my buck. I have seen some deals for $949, but like I said just want to get the best I can.

 

Is 17" an absolute for you? You can arrange the 15" XPS for a bit cheaper, but not by much though. Which is why I'm asking if having a 17" is absolutely necessary because you can get the same resolution on either model. I'm sure someone here could give you a coupon or if you haven't checked, you can check the Dell Coupons up above.

As for the specs, the GPU difference between the 555M and 550M is all about 10%. However, programs that are used in digital art are usually multi-threaded and respond better on a quad-core model as opposed to a dual-core model. I would say that a quad-core processor is more essential to your laptop's longevity than a 10% performance increase in the GPU. As you said, it's going to be occasional gaming, so it's best just to leave that at the door and get something that will help in other ways.

Do NOT add more RAM or fall for their larger-sized/dual hard drive gimmicks. The RAM you can find in larger quantities and replace it by yourself for much cheaper, especially when using eBay. In some cases you can have it shipped to you for a fraction of what notebook sellers are charging. As for the HDD, I would recommend keeping the stock hard-drive, 500GB @ 7200RPM and buying a SSD later on to convert to your primary drive in the future (that way, you'll have speed, to go along with the space).

Also, for either laptop (15/17), I would recommend getting a full-high definition screen (1080p w/o Facial Recognition) and the backlit keyboard option isn't a must, but a nice add-on. I would also say that getting a blu-ray drive alongside your 1080p screen would be a fitting thing but it would end up exceeding your budget. All of the other adjustments you can make on your own, depending on your budget and what you really want or don't want.

It all comes down to how much you end up wanting to put in yourself in addition to your credit. When I bought my laptop from Dell, I had about $250-$300, I added of my own money in addition to the credit they gave me at the time ($1100). I think it was well worth it but that's a decision you'll have to make for yourself.

 

Thanks for the advice. I didn't know I could achieve the same resolution on both. The reason for the 17inch version was more for the num pad, which I use allot but can live without it. I mean come on, it's 2", not that of a big of a deal.

My main concern is that I want a quad core CPU. If I can get that in a 15" I think I would go for that.

I often forget about the RAM being cheaper elsewhere.

Another reason for the 17" was that the GPU (555m) I hear is very over clockable, so I figured even down the road if I wanted to play some higher end games I could still do so. Suppose the 550 can also be over clocked, or just stick with my 360.

I keep thinking I should wait for black friday deals to come about and go for that alienware, but there have been some nice deals as of late so the temptation is there.

 

You can get a quad-core CPU on the 15" but just know that with the 15" I think you would be in a bit of a setback with the 540M, it's not only slower but it's buggier than the rest, at least it was. The latest driver updates probably ironed those wrinkles out but you can never be sure if it was the firmware or actually something wrong with the hardware.

I don't know if the 540M can be replaced by the 550M/555M, I want to say that they are interchangeable but I don't own either cards but I do remember them being offered on the 15" but I think I might be mistaken. You may want look into that and see what turns up.

Aside from that, I think the 17" is a good choice, you can have a dual-hard drive set up and work on getting a solid state drive in there. It's always best to keep temptation at the door and just be 100% sure of what you want in there. Sometimes deals tend to be trickier and might make you sacrifice something that you really want.

 

Just make that when you do get your laptop get a deal with no interest and pay it off in that time frame to save your self some money as Dell accounts usually come with very high rates.
I purchased a XPS 15 in June for $1199 and had a $1500 limit, after a few months of paying my bill on time they raised my limit to $3000. You could always get a cheaper laptop to get you by and when you get your limit raised purchase a system that you want without having to compromise on specs, and by then the new ivy bridge laptops could be hitting the market.

 

Do you need to game on the go, or will it be mostly at home at the desk?

I have an e6520, which is a surprisingly robust gamer (Deus Ex in 1080p, for example) and I am planning to add an eGPU for desktop gaming.

It's not as convenient as a gaming laptop, but can be had for much, much less.

 

If you buy the XPS 15, make sure you get the 1920x1080 display regardless of what your other specs are. Do not take a quad-core instead of the 1080p screen.

The 1366x768 display is a terrible quality display (low contrast, image griddiness), and the low resolution puts a bigger limiting factor on your computer than not having an i7 would, because it makes it so you can't fit very many windows onscreen at a time.

For Photography, you NEED a good screen, and the 1366x768 will not cut it. However, and i5 probably will be just fine. Setting good priorities are important, and having an i7-quad should not be the top priority, the screen should.

 

Actually, for the XPS 15", I think he can get both (as long as he sticks with the i7-2670QM and the FHD screen, he could get both within his budget.