Any idea on when Dell will release the next gen 14 / 15 notebooks with better GPUs ?

I am a student (limited budget ) wanting to buy a new 14" or 15" notebook with a better graphics card than an X1400 offered with Inspiron 6400 (E1505) series. Right now I have a M140 with a PM 1.7GHz (and GMA900 which sucks big time ! Even no Aero support for Vista). I'm looking for a Core 2 Duo with a decent GPU at least a GF7600 or an X1600. I prefer a 14" but 15" is also okey, but NO 17, cos I want portability. I live in Japan and only DELL offers decent online deals (Retail shop prices are ridicules around here). So unfortunately I am kind of limited to DELL. So, any idea on when DELL will come up with their next Inspiron series ?

 

no idea -.-|||

 

considering that fact that news travels instantaneously over the internet's various tech news sites; you'll hear about a new lineup the same time everybody else does.

 

OK, I was actually wondering if there a special time of the year normally Dell choose to update their product lines, like the year end holiday season etc..

And how frequently do they come up with new models? like once/ twice a year or only when there is a big breakthrough in technology, like Pentium M to Dual core etc..
I’m asking this cos I haven’t been following Dell notebook series updates closely.
Thanks.

 

I would guess that Dell would be launching their next new line, or a refresh, of their notebooks when Intel launches the next mobile platform, which is known as "Santa Rosa" or being called "Centrino Pro".

Best bet will be that Intel should be launching that by Spring IDF '07 (Intel Developers Forum) around March/April, and actual shipping systems from the various companies (Dell, HP/Compaq and the like) by May.

Dell usually come up with new refresh/model at least once each year, but they also tend to reuse the same line/chassis for a while too. The business Latitude series lasts rather long too as most company/businesses want their investments to last "as long as possible". They stuck with the same "C-Series" chassis design for a long time before moving onto the current "D-Series". The current Silver with White trim Inspirons (if my memory serves me correctly) have only been around since last year, so, chances are we would most likely only see an incremental update to what's avaliable currently (since the internal layout would have to be more or less the same to fit the same chassis design).

 

Thanks for your input. I will wait few months and see if they at least come up with an upgraded graphics solution…

 

I don't see it happening in upcoming months, because high-end DirectX-10 cards are coming out, but no mainstream. If they haven't put 7600 or 1600 yet, there are less and less chances for it in upcoming months.

My advice is get X1400 now if you need laptop, gaming on a laptop is a expensive venture, and your card gets obsoleted within a year no matter how fast it is.

 

there are plenty of 14-15" laptops with decent gpu's but i wouldn't hold my breath for dell..if however your budget is around or less than 1000 US..it may be a good idea to wait and pick up a used one in several months..otherwise you may just need to save and pony up the cash for a non-dell gaming laptop because they aren't cheap

 

Dell tends to stick with their notebook models for a long time... They sometimes change the name, to reflect some change, but usually it is minor. I bought an Inspiron 600m in 2003, and as far as I remember, they were still selling it at the beginning of last year (or end of 2005). A friend of mine bought an Inspiron 6000 in August 2005, and Dell still has the same white bumper design.

If you ask about Dell refreshing their internal components (say Core Duo to Core 2 Duo), they are usually really fast, sometimes among the first manufacturers to use the new architectures/components (certainly faster than Apple), so it is safe to assume they will use the Santa Rosa architecture soon after it comes out.

Edit: About the GPU, I think it is unknown at this point if they will offer anything better when they move to Santa Rosa.

 

I would say after Santa Rosa comes out late Q2 or Q3