Dell 17r N7720 SE - user review

i have one 128GB in my other laptop. the benefits are still poor..........my 7720 with msata3 + 7200rpm HD reboots about 1.5 sec slower then a SSD..........wow.

 

When it comes to Photoshop and having your scratch disk located on the SSD, it's well worth it. Besides, I only buy laptops that can hold two hard drives; one slot for the SSD (OS and apps), and the other for a high capacity HDD (storage).

 

we did a test here on NBR............one 7720 with SSD (windows partition) and one 7720 msata3 + 7200RPM HD.............the SSD PC rebooted 1.5sec faster....WOW !

by the way..its not completely true you say about Photo shop............Photo shop main advantage comes from 2 things. CPU & Ram...........im not buying that at all.

 

Meh I dont mind spending 200 on an SSD and if it ever failed I would just make the hdd be the main drive again and use the msata cache

 

Maybe you should do your research before speaking such nonsense...

Optimize performance | Photoshop CS4, CS5, CS6

 

Is that what people do on regular basis? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought computers were mainly designed for other tasks than restarting them constantly and measuring boot times. I don't even remember the last time I rebooted my laptop.

 

stevedensmore, in my post I gave a link ->

KSMB, IDT driver is installed from dell.com/support/drivers...
Audio_IDT_W7_A00_Setup-DXV4T_ZPE.exe

MCafee antivirus never installed
MSE is installed

 

Hello, i made a test.Because i have a bit high temperatures when playing GTA IV, i tried measuring fps when reducing the max cpu to 75% and when to 100%.The results:

Cpu frequency in 100%
2012-08-25 17:22:46 - GTAIV
Frames: 1650 - Time: 49359ms - Avg: 33.429 - Min: 27 - Max: 45

Cpu frequency in 75%
2012-08-25 17:25:50 - GTAIV
Frames: 1490 - Time: 49687ms - Avg: 29.988 - Min: 23 - Max: 38

In the first situation, cpu temperature is about 85-90 degrees.
In second, 67-71.
Room temperature:34

 

Well emailed them and said it should fit, so bought one.
The UK ones on ebay are selling for 50.00 so bought from this company. will feedback once fit.
After owning a macbook, I cannot type on a non backlit keyboard.
How do you adjust the brightness? and do I need any drivers ?

Thanks

 

The Dell Quickset software should be all you need to make it work.

I called to cancel, and they offered an additional $100 off. So I decided to at least give the system a try, considering after all is said and done, I'll only be paying $870 for the 3D-enabled system. There's still a good chance this will end up on the Outlet site if the Alps touchpad is as terrible as those I've used in the past.

 

The touchpad is quite good, no complaints here. But yes I generally prefer synaptics too, as long as it's not the new "clickpad" version which is horrible.

 

How would you rate its multitouch gestures function in comparison to Synaptics? I'm hoping for the best, considering how good of a deal I got on this system.

 

well its no Macbook Pro feeling on the touchpad............i rate it 7/10..........(if we say macbook pro have 10/10)

the good side it is BIG........and have on/off button (which i love)

 

I've never used an mac (price/performance ratio too low for my taste), so I don't know how it compares to that.
But for me the multi gestures works fine, but I'm not an heavy "gesture user", I prefer external mouse for longer periods of use.

 

If you don't want to spend the money, fine. Let others make that judgement for themselves.

SSD's affect a LOT more than you realize and have a vast amount of benefits over standard drives.

No you shouldn't hamper your storage by dropping in JUST an SSD, but having an SSD + a large storage drive is a fantastic system and the benefits far out-weigh any negatives.

They DO help in some games, they help immensely with photoshop and movie editing work, not to mention standard day to day tasks are lightning fast(booting up programs, web browsers, etc...).

If you are unfamiliar with the technology and consider it cost prohibitive(it's not anymore), then don't comment based on emotion. If there wasn't a real world benefit to such items then they would have killed production a long time ago.

 

Well said.
I was against SSD's too till about 2 years ago because i considered the tech immature. It still is to a certain degree, but the benefits highly overcome the potential risks

Now I'm no longer willing to use a system that doesn't have a ssd plus a hdd. My old G53jw was setup like that, my current 7720 is setup like that

 

SSD is pure CRAP vice versa you get for the money.

why put more money (and get way less space) for a thing you just have information on.

OK if i got better gaming performance...OK if i got faster web browsing.......and so on........(but i dont get any important "upgrade-benefits")

A MUCH BIGGER, cheaper 7200RPM HD + Msata3 (for faster cache) is WAY better, (it also just slightly slower in ex, reboot...ive tested it myself)

 

I am using cpu 99% and with GTA4.

-Max Cpu temp. 65

-Max Gpu temp. 75

though my room temp is around 25-30 degrees.

 

Hi Andrei

I have recently got the N7720 R17 SE. The keyboard work well for me. Except the space sometimes does not register. But definitively money well spent. I was just wondering. I see your configuration is 16GB. I was under the impression that the MAX for these laptops are 8GB. Could you please give me the info of the memory you upgraded with? For gaming I feel this laptop is performing nicely but for my work I feel the 6GB is not enough.

Kind Regards
Rouan van der Walt

 

Playing guild wars 2 my CPU temp reaches and stabilize at 91C, GPU temp reach 85C and stabilize.

So your temps seems quite normal for gaming.

 

Why 7200 rpm for storage drive? 5400 is substantially cheaper and probably quieter/less power hungry as well.

 

got my 7720 last friday, but guess it was just that one that doesn't work they send me.. It took me 2 hours to get it startder for the first time, then i saw the battery-indicator light also didn't work when charged. and the morgning after the laptop just didn't do anything anymore, black screen, not even lightend-black.. hope to get a quick answer tomorrow. I will ask for a totally new one, the trust in this one is totally gone...

 

Ok. For YOUR usage, then what you are speaking of is just fine. For some of us we know the difference in real world usage. 128/256/512 SSD's are not small by any means. Cost wise, they are not that bad right now for a healthy sized SSD.

If ALL you're using your laptop for is browsing/mild gaming, then no you won't see a benefit.

For me, league of legends loads in the blink of an eye, SC2 never experiences "pop-in" and never lags in massive game play(always the first to load as well), BF3 the same thing, no pop-in, super quick load times, WoW/GW2/SWTOR, no level load times, no pop-in, nothing.

Using an SSD as your main drive for the most used programs and games means that you have rid yourself of the biggest bottle neck that users these days face, and that is the hard drive. Using an SSD gets rid of that bottleneck entirely and allows the rest of your system to work quickly and more efficiently.

Again, if YOU don't want to use one and cannot see the benefits beyond boot times, then don't do so. It's not for you.

 

Guys, if you want to argue about SSD's, then go to the respective thread. This one is still about the specific Dell N7720.

I saw this backlit version has a light at the upper side is lit when the touchpad is disabled.. is this the same when you have a non-backlit version?

 

The touchpad light is separate from the keyboard assembly; so I'm certain it'll remain on non-backlit models. It also looks as though the non-backlit keyboards don't suffer from the non-responsive space bar issue either (tested in a store: their backlit model had the spacebar issue like mine...)

 

1. the windows version decide how much RAM you can have installed. 32 bit = max 4GB

64 bit =
7 Ultimate....... 192GB
7 Enterprise....... 192GB
7 Professional....... 192GB
XP.......................128GB
7 Home Premium...... 16GB
7 Home Basic.......... 8GB

2. then its depending which CHIP(bridge) your PC has..........your 7720 handle 16GB...........no problema !

 

Hey, guys. I know you've seen this question a million times and that there are many videos on youtube, but still: how does BF3 perfom on this laptop? Is it able to give constant 50+ FPS in 1080p with medium settings? Many people say they play with 60+ fps in singleplayer, but I need to know about the multiplayer (maps like Caspian, Karkand, Firestorm, etc., with 64 players).

 

i play about 2-3 hours online BF3 every single day (nickname: plankgatan if you want to die faaaast )

anyway............here is my settings.....fps.......etc.

screen always in 1920 x 1080, 120Hz

~40 FPS:
-------------
overall medium settings
SSAO enabled
4XAF
0XMSAA

~35 FPS:
-------------------
overall medium settings....texture high
SSAO enabled
4XAF
0XMSAA
----------------------------------------
pss......to play BF3 online in 50+ FPS in medium settings in 1080p...dream on...only way is 720p or overclock your GPU.....thats it !

 

Hi!! Guys... Can U temme what the best graphics driver for this laptop is??? Max Payne does not seem to support DX11 with the default Dell driver...

 

KSMB, thanks! That's what I wanted to know. Did you try overclocking the GPU?

 

no need...........its working great around 35-40 fps in 1080p.

 

tomorrow will my 7720 be here!!

 

Just go to Nvidia website and download the latest beta driver for 650m. when you wanna play Max payne 3 right click on the short cut and choose Nvidia high performance processor under run with graphic processor tab.

 

I find most disturbing the lack of an official WHQL NVidia Driver for GT650m after more than 4 months after launch

 

I have a problem.From the 3 buttons on the top right on the laptop only the first works.Why is that?

 

eeehhh, latest beta is a awesome driver

@nikos.......erase quickset.reboot..reinstall:

link:
Drivrutiner och hämtningsbara filer | Dell [Sverige]

 

i installed the GT650 beta drivers a couple of weeks back but they had a negative impact on Skyrim (the only game I play), so I uninstalled them and went back to Dells drivers and all is good again.

 

i increased about 5-7 fps with BIOS A03 + beta driver, (DELL driver works fine to)

 

I had same issue.. reinstalling Quickset resolved it

 

Hey guys,

I finally got my 7720, 3D version + 8Go RAM + 2x750HDD 7200rpm + 32G mSATA.
The computer is great and lightening fast as I added a SAMSUNG 830 128G. Boot in 11~12 sec after clean install.

Thanks to KSMB for the tips to get the 3D version, the screen is really bright and the colors are really nice (and I can put a film to protect it against the sticky and greasy fingers of my 1Y old and 3Y old).

Just for information, I have done the following modifications from the stock specs:
- install a samsung 830 128G SSD in bay 1
- keep the original drive in bay 2 (750G 7200rpm)
- install the 2nd drive (750G 7200rpm) in the optical bay, switched the original face so you can't see the modification, see here "http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.10.264.a78584&id=16750684646" at 10USD)
- used the 32G mSATA for the pagefile

Maybe next step will be 16G of RAM, but I think this will wait few years before the change. 8G is enough nowadays.

Enjoy your 17 SE.

 

congrats to your brand new 3D 7720.

im glad you picked the sec5044 3D screen............because i know how awesome colours & crispness it has

 

I cant believe how fast this thing boots up. msata working a charm.

 

on bf3 what is the framerates on high and ultra settings on this computer?

 

I upload fps numbers just before. See page 84.

If you want play bf3 in ultra. Good luck ! Only way is in low res and low sett.

I play bf3 in 1080p in medium/high with fps around 35-40. SSAO ON. Amazing image quality

 

Ultra: Not playable (10-12fps)
High: Bit laggy (30ish fps, some dips)
Medium: Good, about 45-50fps.

 

My 17R SE 3D system showed up today, and I am less than impressed. The screen, speakers, and touchpad are no where near as good those on my Studio 1747. Looks like I'll either be sending this back to Dell, or putting it on eBay. Oh well, it was worth a try. I'm gonna get the Lenovo Y580 instead. It has better speakers, graphics card, and Synaptics touchpad. Not to mention, they offer a three year "Complete Care" equivalent warranty for only $148 My last four laptops were Dells, but it looks like this is the end of my 10+ year relationship with them.

 

Is this with GPU boost active? (I noticed the lack of GPU Turbo Boost after power disconnect - detailed here - makes a significant difference playing Arkham City in 3D, for instance. 100MHz is obviously not as little as it sounds - its over 10%! Wish they'd release a bios update to sort this out...)

With the turbo boost up to 835 MHz (and even without it, actually), this machine is actually quite a capable gamer.

 

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

New BIOS update on 9/10/2012 but as the same for A03 there is no details in what it does. I made a post on the Dell Laptop Hardware forums and haven't been given any info other then it "fixes" things.

 

Thanks for the update! Will test this now and revert!

 

Bios version A08 doesn't fix the GPU Boost issue

It does pretty up the Bios Setup screen slightly (it runs at higher res). And boot-to-desktop speed (on the 3D 7200RPM/MSATA-SSD configuration) is still a comfortable sub-30-seconds, though

Why can't Dell sort this out...