Dell 17r N7720 SE - user review

Hey there guys. I want to buy this machine but for now my favourite option has gone till june in UK, so I'll try my luck and buy it from the dell outlet. However, for now there's only one 7720 without backlit keyboard sadly. Should I go for it or is it worth the wait and order one with backlit keyboard later when it shows up? The dell sales assistant told me that if I change keyboard I loose warranty. So now I got the dillema. Anyway, isn't it strange how 3D screen option and SSD drives dissappeared from configurations? At least in UK the selection is rather poor, based only on i5 vs i7 and HDD space.

 

What do you guys expect from the new bios? I don't know about the bug, but it definitely fixed my problem.

I had no turbo boost with a13, but I have it now with a14.

Unfortunately I can't make a comparison with a03 cuz I can't remember the time with it and it wouldn't be fair anyways to compare a win7 vs. Win8.

 

i always have turbo boost in A03...................so if its just that we talking about................no deal !

jakub1302..................i bought my backlit keyboard separate...............(the vostro 3750.....VERY NICE BACKLIT KEYBOARD.............you find it on DELL or Ebay.

 

You can just buy a SSD and stick it into the second bay.

 

I agree, buy the SSD separate, and do a fresh windows install on it. You save money, and get rid of the bloatware, win-win...

 

Thank you very much guys, laptop ordered today for 562 pounds, hope it arrives soon. I'm certainly going to buy an ssd to it.
KSMB, thanx for your advice, I've seen the picture of your backlit keyboard, it's beautiful. However, I'm little worried, that they won't accapt warranty if I install my own. Do you think there's a way they would accept it even though I'd install my own? BTW, I've read all 220 pages of this thread, it's great, much useful info about our machine.

 

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Swapping the keyboard should not void the warranty tbh.
Just keep the old one and swap back in case you have issues with the laptop.



Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

I'm just testing out a 7720 that I ordered last week, but I was thinking of sending it back and paying the extra $125 for an i7 (instead of the i5 that mine came with).

Any guesses on how long until the 7720 is available with a GT 750m instead of the 650m? I'm in no hurry and would probably be willing to wait another month or so.


Thanks,
TrueG

 

There's some confusion on whether this laptop can successfully go up to 16 gb ram without problems (even though officially only 8 gb supported) and whether you can install Windows on a mSSD. Anyone had success?

 

Well, that didn't go so well. Dell took my money and cancelled the order. So I have no laptop, nor money. Anyone had a similar experience and would give me some advice on what to do now? I'm beginning the feel that choosing dell wasn't the best option. Do you know the way how they can be reached sooner than on Monday? Please

 

They will refund it back, Dell are a big reputable company.
Maybe someone snatched the laptop seconds before you and both orders have gone through.

 

you still have 100% warranty IF you replace your keyboard. (just save the old one if you must send the PC to repair or something)

i actually called DELL and asked them that question long time ago.

trueg............the 7720 will never come with the GT750M......if that card comes....its in a new model.

 

Hi guys

I'm looking for a bit of advice.

I'm looking to get a 17r se and was worried about the screen that seems to be on offer in the uk.

It's a 1080p anti glare screen and I was worried this might make the colours a bit dull compared to the 900p trulife screen.

What are your experiences guys. I'm looking to play games like bf3 so I probably won't be able to play at 1080p with decent frame rate so I'm wondering would it be better to get the 900p screen if the colours are brighter?

Any thoughts

Thanks alot

Ian

 

Think so? Hmm, well the 7720 was announced last June (5th). I wonder if we will have a new model come June. Of course it will cost a lot more than the current price of the 7720.

 

i would ditch the 900p screen.............mainly because you want 1080p in many things....games is one of them (movies, photograph & video editing....extremely important in my eyes)

this is what i should buy:
True life screen 1080p, 120Hz (sharper, better colours & double refresh rate)
130W adapter
i7 CPU
Backlit keyboard
high amount of RAM
Msata Intel Rapid function

spec from DELL OUTLET.......

 

Hi KSMB,

many thanks for the reply.. but the 3D 120hz screen is not available on the UK Dell site.

so perhaps if i could find a 1080p replacement GLOSSY screen may be better than the matte they seem to come with over here...

thanks alot

Ian

 

What is the part name of that 120Hz 1080p True Life screen? Refresh rate suggests it is a pleasure to view, but still not sure whether I'd like the glossiness... Always try to get matte screens on my laptops.

 

i would prefer a glossy screen as the colours / blacks they tend to look better, perhaps it depends on the supplier dell uses in your particular 17r se in the build process.

looks like i would have to buy a seperate screen from ebay etc if i was to buy one of these.

thanks alot for the replies...

Ian

 

the 120Hz screen (panel ID: SEC5044) is not high glossy...............i recorded some clips some time ago with a 60W spotlight pointed direct at the screen and it reflected not much at all................the coating is some half matte/half glossy which i never seen before.


@ IanC..........................email DELL outlet and ask them if they can ship a 7720 to you in UK ???
(then you get English backlit keyboard....True life 120Hz screen.....etc)

maybe they do it with a small extra post service price. (cant be that hard)

or

call DELL support.UK and ask them IF they can build a 7720 with a True life screen.......sometimes they are very understanding & giving....(often depends which guy who pick up the phone)


ps...i think the part number is: C30PY (BUT double check with your native DELL support....part numbers can be slightly different around the world)

 

Hi Guys .. :hi2:

I have the 17R S.E and an old XPSM1530. I have win 8 installed on both devices. I also have the S4 . Whenever I pair my Android via bluetooth with XPS , am able to stream audio over bluetooth from S4 to XPS.

But via the bluetooth of 17RS.E the maximum am able to do is send and receive files. Is there any special bluetooth driver that I can install which can help me resolve the issue. I already have the latest bluetooth driver installed from intel website.Any help is much appreciated.:thumbsup:

 

Try downloading latest drivers from intel. Bluetooth Intel ProSet software

 

Sorry to ask again, but I think my old message got overlooked

Could someone please tell me what their HDD temperatures reach after gaming (using a program like HWMonitor)? Mine can get up to 55C - or even a bit higher - after some lengthy gaming sessions.

It seemed a bit high to me, but I just thought comparing it to others' laptops could tell me whether my temperatures are 'normal'!

In fact, a screenshot of HWmonitor would be even better if anyone could. I'll post a screenshot of my own shortly!

edit: http://i.imgur.com/BKcmxrg.png here's mine after a lot of GTA IV (the 'max' temperatures), maybe someone could compare temps?

 

These are definitely quite high for this laptop with an i5. These are mine after a few hours of gaming:
http://i.imgur.com/K3grTh.png
You might try to move the HDD from the first (bottom) slot to the second (centre) one, but even the rest of the hardware is quite warm – I’d suggest calling the support and ask for a preventive cleaning and repasting due to high temperatures (the fancy term is prophylaxis).

As to the HDD temperatures in general, most recent low-end gaming laptops have those problems because they aren’t design well (with drive slots far away from the CPU and GPU), probably due to the 16:9 form. My old 16:10 and 15’’ laptop is deep as much as this 17’’ laptop but the DVD isn’t in the middle so there are 2 drive slots at the front while this dell doesn’t have enough space around the DVD and the second slot is in the middle (which isn’t that much better).

Over 50°C is definitely unsafe, the idle temperature (~42°C) is somewhat ok. I have a cheap Zalman cooling pad and it does the trick of keeping the HDD temperature close to 40°C while gaming. When buying one look at the fan size and RPM – the general rule is that bigger and slower is better than smaller and faster (fast produce high pitch noise) but my Zalman ZM-NC3 resonates a lot so you might want to invest into something with good reviews (I went with the 20USD price tag xD).

 

Thanks for the reply

Seems like my temperatures are indeed a little higher than yours generally, is that due to your cooling pad, or is my laptop just that much worse at keeping cool? I never thought much of my CPU/GPU temperatures though, as I know they're designed to get pretty hot (105C for the i5, and somewhere close to that for the 650m I think), I always thought I had a lot of lee-way there. I have a laptop from 2006 that's spent half it's life running at 100C on the CPU, and it's still going strong

Regarding the HDD, I checked the manufacturer's specifications, and apparently the drive is rated to run up to 55C. I'll go into a bit more details about the types of temperatures I see on the HDD though:

Idle temperature as I'm writing this now is 37C, the laptop's been used 'normally' (web browsing music etc.) for about an hour. Over time it might get a little bit hotter, but not by much. I recently tested how hot the drive gets when it runs at 100% transferring large files for a while, and the temps only raised a couple degrees.

When gaming, the temps will slowly climb to the 50's, and eventually get to 54C, or maybe a bit higher (highest I ever seen was 57). Is the heat from the CPU/GPU causing this? Seems like pretty bad design on Dell's part . I wanted to try moving the HDD to the middle-slot on the laptop, but there's a 'warranty void if removed' sticker on the HDD so I'm a bit wary of it.

Anyone else want to compare temperatures also?

 

guys....................55 C AROUND THE HARD DRIVES IS NOTHING !!!!

you will be fine

laptops now days (7720 for ex) have just one Fan (with dual heatpipes) which push out the air........therefore the temp around this areas can easily climb up the to 50-60 C without effect the performance.

sailo...........i paid $50 include shipping....................look on Ebay.UK instead.

 

Spoke to Dell UK parts department and they quoted me at £79.00 for the backlit keyboard including p&p.....
What a joke!

 

Hello guys!

I'll probably buy the version with 3D and TrueLife screen from Dell(Sweden) in a couple of days.
Link to it: Inspiron 17R Special Edition 3D 1080p Laptop | Dell

1. I've heard that some of you have put more ram in it, like 16 GB. Will this work? If so, what kind of ram memory should I have? Is it difficult?

2. I've also read about buying a new SSD and install windows on it. Could someone please give me more info on that? For example, why I should do it, what kind of SSD do I need? Is it worth it?

3. My last question is, should I keep Windows 8 or downgrade to Win 7? For those who wonder, I will mostly edit video/photos and do some light gaming.

Any answer is appreciated!

 

1. You can install 16GB of RAM and it will work but officially is unsupported.
2. SATA 3 SSD with speeds and capacity depending on your needs and budget. Samsung 840 Pro is a good bet
3. Personally I like Windows 8 and prefer it to Win7. It's up to you. Photo/video editing and gaming will work on both versions of windows.

 

Alright! Actually I have 15 % discount on DELL so will probably spend those extra money on a 256GB 2.5-inch SSD 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW| Samsung Memory & Storage. But should I just remove the 32 GB SSD which comes with the computer and then put the new one in there instead? I also have to install Windows on the new one? Or am I wrong?

Do you recommend any ram memory that would fit?

Thank you for the info!

 

No disrespect, but where did you pull that number from?

CPU and GPU chips are designed to run well past that temperature, usually around 80-90C STABLE. For a lot of systems running around 50C is pretty much the everyday idle. I've never seen any data to suggest that any recent (as in last 15 years) cpu or gpu had reliability problems when run at +50C.

As for mechanical drives, according to an exhaustive study by Google, there is no statistical difference in failure rate for temperatures between roughly 30-50C, and funnily enough, the failure rate actually goes up pretty quick BELOW 30C. That's right, it's healthier to run a mechanical drive at 45C than at 25C. This is actual data, not internet hearsay.

The only unknown is SSD drives, they just aren't on the market long enough to have reliable data. But a wild guess is, they will probably fare better than mechanical drives in the long run...hey, I'm an optimist.

 

8gb is PLENTY ENOUGH. You have no use for more. Trust me ( even with multitasking you never use more then 4-5 gb ram

Easy answer. IF YOU BUY A 7720 with MSata Intel rapid ( which you do in your case i guess)....... I would never replace that feature to a smaller SSD. The MSata works fast ENOUGH. To get way faster speed you need to buy a VERY expensive SSD.

Windows 8.......SUXS. Its one of the more crappy things Microsoft have put out ( YEAH nearly same as Vista)......windows 8 is build from a touch screen plattform (its for tablets & bigger touchscreens)
... Use windows 7 SP.1. Way better.

 

Thanks for the info man! I don't think you could buy it with Win 7... but if it isn't that difficult I will probably downgrade by myself!

 

Just make sure you try Windows 8 first... It is not a bad OS, people criticise it but if you actually get used to it it's good!

 

The temperatures I posted were with the cooling pad off, yet your temperatures are about 10°C higher than mine – that’s why I suggested calling support. The only relatively dangerous temperature is on the HDD, the rest is ok and the impact is something very difficult to gauge. Personally I want to keep them as low as possible and there is nothing wrong with keeping them lower just to be sure (especially because the fan is quite loud). Either way, if you want to lower the HDD temperature you need to use a cooling pad while gaming (one blowing air somewhere around the HDD – another reason why I put it in the middle) or have the laptop cleaned so that the CPU and GPU doesn’t heat up the HDD.

Regarding moving the HDD, I’ve had no such sticker and as far as I know it’s within the rights of the owner to change anything accessible via the maintenance hatch. Sometimes retailers use such stickers to scare the customers even though the customer has the right to customize the PC (for example a sealed case of a desktop PC) so you might want to find out if the law is the same where you live.

You can see the temperatures for the HDD in Dell Support Centre (of course I was talking only about the HDD when I said that over 50°C isn’t safe):
http://i.imgur.com/8V8TjFW.jpg

The green ones are healthy min. and max., the yellow ones are the advised min. and max. and the red ones are critical max. and min. (immediate damage, I presume). Safe temperatures don’t guarantee long life and vice versa, but if the safe temperatures are 22°C – 50°C then he’s right to get worried over temperature around 55°C during gaming. It might shorten the lifespan, it might not, I’m not a fortune teller. All I can say is that leaving it like that is less safe than doing something about it.

Dramatic VoiceTM: “The choice is yours…”

 

Will do! I've heard some people say that's it awesome and other say it sucks. So I will absolutely try it out before considering downgrading.

 

Well I appreciate all the HDD talk . Seeing that Dell specify the 'advised' temperature is up to 60C actually makes me feel a bit better about it. Would HDD failure be covered in the warranty? If so then I'll get at least a year out of the HDD, I suppose...

I wonder if my temperature readings are a bit inaccurate in general; sometimes all my temps will seem a bit higher, sometimes lower, all the while being well-ventilated, and doing the same amount of gaming. Weird.

I actually quite like Windows 8, and am not sure why there's so much hate for it. You can mostly ignore the metro UI if you don't like it, and the boot times are much quicker. There's lots of little improvements like the file-transfer windows and the task manager. The only downside I've found is that occasionally a program might have compatibility issues (some games might need a bit of fiddling to work properly), but it's not too bad.

It's good to keep an open mind towards it - some people will just hate on it because everyone else does

 

Hey guys, I have an update to my situation with dell outlet order being cancelled for no reason. After the weekend I tried to contact them, in the evening they said that it was a system failure and they will put together a new order (I lost 3 days already). Today, a confirmation email was received that a new order has been processed and after opening a link with order status.... whualla, order cancelled... again. I wrote an email to them that I want my money back rather than facing further dissapointment. But how can I obtain 7720 then? I don't know guys but saying to me that dell is a reputable compony doesn't help at all if I cannot purchase a laptop from them. They made the same mistake again. Or maybe I'm just wrong , foolish moron with pink glasses all over the face if I tought that there is such a think as a good costumer service. Can anyone explain it to me?

 

I would just get on the phone to them there must be an explanation.

I never purchased from Dell Outlet so cannot comment on my experience but two times I bought new laptops from them everything went smoothly.

Maybe you could express how disappointed you are and receive a discount?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 2

 

Hi, just upgraded my BIOS from A12 to A14, everything seems to be working fine under W8 Pro.

 

I recommended the laptop to a friend as I am very pleased with it's performance.

He bought a crucial mSATA SSD too and got the usb stick from Dell with the Windows 8. How can he start the installation from the usb?

He changed the boot option and has the USB first but nothing happens. Any suggestions?

 

Doing UEFI boot or BIOS?
You sure USB is working ok and formatted to be bootable?

 

Dell sent him the USB so i think it's bootable.

I think that he tried UEFI, but which one is recommended.

 

Use UEFI it's a newer standard with added security.

Go to UEFI/BIOS menu on startup by pressing F2, go to Boot and select 'Add Boot Option' (making sure secure boot is enabled).
Give the boot option a name (e.g. USB FROM DELL), choose USB device from 'File system list' and for the 'File name' navigate to 'EFI' folder on boot device and select the file.

Save and restart.

Once restarted the usb stick should be picked up at boot.

 

How can i navigate in the EFI folder?

 

Think you press enter or space. And tab should switch between options.

 

this whole turboboost dilemma is utter bulls..t.
sometimes it clocks to 135mhz and stays that low, even in games, other times it clocks to 745mhz and stagnates, no turbo boost, no adaptive clocking.
i dont know what caused this, dell desktop mode for a healthier battery or win8 updates. but i can´t get it right anymore -.-

how hard can it be to fix this s..t ?

 

about 7720 GT650M..............different company's set the parameters of the GPU different. (i know Apple have one of the hell powerful GT650M in their Macboook pro)

im not even sure there is some wrong with 7720 GT650M..............just because it clocks itself down during some times, doesn't mean its not working.

focus on this instead..................
do you have stable FPS in games ?
no momentary lag or drops ?
do you have normal temp ?

.....if this 3 questions are correct.........................you have a full working GPU....thats simple !

 

Sorry, but that's just not how it works. If my desktop 670 gtx would be running at half speed it would still be plenty fast for most games out there, thus fulfilling those three points you just made. That does not however mean it's a fully functional gpu.

The issue at hand is that the 650m gpu, as per specification from Nvidia, should be able to run at 745mhz + boost IF the temps, power requirement allow to do so. However with the dell it will not boost ever even if those terms are met. Well, not ever is not entirely correct, since by pulling out the battery it ''resets''? what ever is ''broken' on the boost, and thus will allow to do so once more. This is until the notebook is removed from the power socket once more. The thing that can be argued though is if the 650m has to be able to boost to be fully functional, since it is dell that sold the gpu obviously. Since i cant actually find a dell page where it says the 650m is able to boost.

 

hhmmmm...you dont get it.

it has nothing to do with Nvidia.........everything has to do with DELL...........they have "programmed" 7720 GT650M so the boost works like this.....do you really think this is the first time DELL have got this questions about the GT650M GPU boost (745 - 835Mhz) ?????

of course not..............i have spoke to DELL loooong time ago about this........they claim the card runs as they wish. (then if your gpu boost not running in full 835Mhz every single second of your gaming moment............it might why DELL have set it like this, just because 7720 cant handle pushing down the temps running in full boost... (one fan...no hardcore heatpipes or something)

i think this card works normal...............i do have the 120Hz/3D chip....maybe this card works better....i dont know.

 

Also it is worth to bear in mind that there are two versions of GT650M fitted to our inspiron laptops - 90W and 130W with the latter being a better performer.