Dell Inspiron 15R Special edition (7520)

@Dell-Bill_B
Hey Bill, I intend to buy the 15 R SE top model at the end of July. Do you think this model will be there till then?
Is there any probability that Dell will take them off the market when they launch the new XPS model? Please do reply.

 

Why yes, it's common sense that you should discontinue the products you just launched a few weeks ago before you've had the chance to earn a return on the money spent on design, engineering and promoting. That's just basic good product management, sheesh.

 

Both articles are interesting to read, with the PCWorld article appealing to less tech savvy users and giving a brief background on SRT (using real world examples)... while the Dell Whitepaper appeals to the techs more and goes into great detail about the setup and function of SRT, including requirements etc. (especially on Dell systems!)

The whitepaper also discusses the two other Intel "responsiveness" technologies which are quite interesting.

Great to see Dell produce such information, appendix A and B will be helpful to many who might not understand how to setup such systems or hack windows to support RAID after its been installed! (will post the whitepaper link on the whirlpool forum as a user there is having a lot of issues installing Windows onto the default 1TB HDD.. its not being shown during install when the system is set to SRT in BIOS).

EDIT:
1 or 2 users on the Whirlpool forum have had success using the mSATA drive as an extra strage driver after they placed a SSD into the PC, so it appears to be possible!

 

That's not very polite you know! Just because something is obvious to you, doesn't mean it is to everybody.
Also please note that I asked the question to Bill, being an old member of a forum doesn't give you the right to flame the newbies.

 

raj, as far as I can judge, the Inspiron 15 SE holds the niche/category that is between the popular, cheaper Inspiron and the high end XPS. I suppose they are trying to offer a mid-upper media laptop category at a reasonable price, same as Asus N series.

 

Yea sorry I know it was wrong and I apologize. I was in a bad mood and I guess it was too tempting. Hope that solved your question though.

 

No issues!

@BiancaL
Thanks mate. That made me google "Asus N series"

 

Asus N56 review - multimedia Asus N6 laptop thoroughly tested - YouTube

 

Hmm!! Not bad. But I think I will stick to inspiron. Gonna order it this week only.

 

As i understand, the 230W is a typo (in some countries i've seen it listed as 130W) and it has more to do with the CPU than the GPU. With dedicated graphics, the 35W CPUs (i5's and i7-3612QM) can be powered by a 90W power supply, while the other 45W i7's are provided with a 130W unit.
In this case, only CPU type and load determine the difference in battery life.


It is surprisingly difficult to find a notebook i want. I've seen some very decent ones, but none of them are available in the Netherlands The irony is that we use US(-international) keyboard layout here and i want an English OS anyway, but buying it abroad isn't very easy and there's the issue of warranty. This, combined with good experience with my Studio 15, will probably make me stick with Dell.
While i would much prefer a 15", apart from the size, the specs of the 17R SE are pretty much spot on for what i want. I will hold out for the new XPS 15, but it doesn't have a 650M and i'm afraid it'll be rather expensive. (If only Alienwares weren't so very ugly..)

Either way, am i correct that the 15R SE's HD-7730M is using DDR3? With a full HD screen, i don't think it will meet my expectations.
And someone already asked this on page 15 but i couldn't find an answer, does the 17R SE's have GDDR5 (or does that vary per region)? The Dutch Dell site does not specify the memory type anywhere.

 

It is using DDR3.

Well, I don't know about the GT650, but I'm sure Dell already ships DDR5 with their alienware's, and it would be silly to have different kinds. They also ship DDR5 with their XPS 15 GT640's, so it seems like Dell is trending towards GDDR5. That's definitely only a guess though, you would want to verify with them.

That said, the GT640M is the exact same chip as the GT650M, just underclocked. You could theoretically overclock the 640M to 650M levels, but then you might see why dell didn't offer a 650M with the XPS (or you might not)

Does anybody have a link to a decent review of the Inspiron 15R SE? I am really curious as to how well AMD's Enduro is compared to Optimus.

 

Hey 14R &15R Special Edition are available!
Check official dell outlet(company outlet) in your city

 

Hello,
May I ask an owner of 17R SE to do Lagom LCD test?
I am interested in
contrast,
black level,
white saturation,
viewing angles.

Could anybody estimate the display quality (especially black level) relative to Dell XPS 17 (L702x)?

Thanks.

 

delete, wrong place

 

As I said in an earlier post:

230W is a website mistake. It should be 130W.
As for the difference beetween them:

90W - GDDR3
130W - GDDR5

 

After doing some more research, it seems to me all 17R SE versions come with GDDR5, though it would still be nice if anyone could confirm that.
The 90W/130W seems to have no relation to the memory used, provided the information on the various localised Dell sites is correct. For example, Dell Australia lists three different GT-650M variants, distinguishing between a "normal" (90W) and "for 45W CPU" (130W) version, but all three have GDDR5.

The difference makes some sense if you look at the CPU TDP, though listing it as a different GPU is terribly confusing.

 

Aside from the Dell 15R there is another laptop that recently caught my attention.

http://www.msimobile.com/level2_productlist.aspx?id=9

There appears to be a review for it on this website also.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/msi/661914-official-msi-ge60-ge70-owners-lounge.html

and at
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/gaming-entertainment-class-notebook-hub-293/%5Buser-review%5D-msi-ge60-3716544.html

Hmmm .....

Now I'm in a dilemma as to which one to get ....

 

I'd really like to know if it's locked in the BIOS to only support 8GB ram (the 17R SE). The sales person I talked to today said it could only support 8GB and suggested an Alienware laptop.

 

Have a look at the tech specs from Dell Italy or Germany, and you can clearly see different variants for GT650M: one is 90W (which may be GDDR3), and one 230W (GDDR5, but it's a typo for 130W).

http://www.dell.com/de/p/inspiron-17r-se-7720/pd
http://www.dell.com/it/p/inspiron-17r-se-7720/pd

 

From what I can see there are two MB:

- Motherboard Assy,Optimus(Discrete/UMA switchable),with PCH thermal pad,7720.
- Motherboard Assy,Discrete only, 3D,with PCH thermal pad,7720.

 

Do you really need more than 8 GB RAM? I mean honestly its plenty of RAM already. RAM limitations are based on the motherboard since it dictates what type of hardware you can install for the computer. You would need to somehow get the motherboard manufacturer and model information from Dell so that can research and see in the specifications whether it truly does support only 8 GB RAM.

I know for sure Windows 7 Home Premium has a 16 GB RAM software limitation that can't be worked around unless you upgrade and get Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate which has a 192 GB RAM software limitation.

 

Which parts of 17R SE (7720) are made of metal(aluminium)?
The display lid seems to be plastic (as there is not visible separation of antennas section).
What about the palm rest and the other parts?

 

hey guys...
the following link has some benchmarks for the hd 7730m in the 15r se..
The New! Inspiron 15R/14R Special Edition Laptop Thread - Page 9 - Digit Technology Discussion Forum

 

I routinely use more than 8GB on my desktop now... so yes. And it's been asked and is being looked into by the Dell person that replies on this thread. I do have an MSDN sub, so Win 7 Professional/Ultimate is no problem at all.

Also... this is 2012, I plan to keep this laptop for at least 4-5 years. We'll be looking at software using more RAM in 2016/2017.

 

Hi,

I'm interested in the standard new 17r not the Se version (5720 base).

Does this support 2x 2.5" disks like the 17R SE? The manual is unclear

Thanks

 

In addition if I go for the 17r Non SE how large can the msata card be?

Thanks

 

I'm looking for a 17" laptop with an HD screen (I like good picture quality, lots of ram and 2 disk slots. 1 hard drive for storage, 1 for a 128gb SSD OS drive. I don't play games and just need a quad core chip and 16gb for heavy virtualisation for a training system. Any ideas for a suitable laptop in the uk. I'm looking at a xps17 or 17r or 17rSE. Does anyone know of any alternatives?

Thanks

 

I get what you are saying and I am just like you in that I plan to keep my laptop for at least 4-5 years. I am still on my Inspiron E1505 from 5+ years ago but looking to buy the Inspiron 17R SE laptop in the near future. The thing that is really making my computer slow is not the amount of RAM which I currently have 2 GB which is still not enough but rather the processor (Intel Core 2 Duo (Merom) first generation) and my graphics card (ATI X1400 128 MB) that is the bottleneck. Even if you have 16 GB of RAM available right now the problem in the future will not be the amount of RAM but rather your processor and graphics card that will be the bottleneck. The days of having a computer be future proof enough for 5 years are out the window.

I am curious what applications are you using that you need more than 8 GB RAM consistently?

 

Multiple clients in the game I play. Editing video... running VMWare with multiple OS's... does it really matter? I'd like to have the option to upgrade to more than 8GB before I buy this laptop.

 

Oh, and I disagree with this rather strongly. It's more the other way around. 15 years ago we were upgrading our computers every 18 months because things were out of date, things were FAR faster. Now? Quad core processors, lots of RAM, etc... you can keep a computer for 4-5 years easily unless you're playing the latest and greatest games.

My current Studio 17 is actually fast enough to do the job MOST of the time, but it's just a dual core processor. As soon as I load up 3 clients, I'm taxing the processor.

It's the real reason computer sales have slowed down, far more than iPad's and Android tablets. People don't NEED a new computer anymore unless it's actually failed.

 

Yeah what you run is not a typical setup which is why I had to ask. I don't care at all what you run. Of course if you run like 40 programs at once like you are then you are going to need more RAM but my point is that for the typical user, 8 GB RAM is plenty. Anyways this topic has been beaten to death so I don't want to talk about it anymore.

Bottom line is that the amount of RAM you can put in a computer is based on the motherboard. If its only 8 GB then just get an Alienware laptop or get a desktop if you want 16 GB RAM.

 

LOL. Which is WHY I'M ASKING. And I'm not the only one wishing to know the answer... You're the one beating it to death.

 

This +1. The casual user can easily keep a laptop for 5+ years. My wife has a 7 year old inspiron 6000 that does everything she needs it to. Email, surfing, streaming videos, word, excel, etc. The perception that people upgrade their computers regularly is bogus imo... the only reason it appears so is because they are the vocal minority on the internet. It makes sense...the people who are posting on tech forums are obviously the ones who are heavy users.

The only reason I'm looking at replacing the inspiron 6000 with the inspiron 15 se is because I bought a HD video camera and I would like her to be able to watch the 1080p videos on her laptop. I tried it on the 6000 and it stuttered badly.

Anyone with an update on the msata situation? ie - Is it "stuck" as a caching only ssd? Can it at least be upgraded to a 64gb cache?

 

Your wife should raise her game and find a new husband. She must be bored with you.

 

just thought i would update on my goings on,

decided to install the samsung 256GB SSD, yesterday, and do a complete install from fresh, have to say dell dont make it easy, when it comes to software, i had to use the provided discs and and the drivers from there site to download all the essentials, then i had to find all the other software like power DVD and the stage suite that comes with it,

dont get me wrong im not really gripeing its there, i just dont understand why DELL dont just put it all on one disc or even the correct online location where you get 3 chances to download everything, but this is always been dell's way, not to worry,

anyway after getting it all sorted, everything is looking good, and boots in seconds, , then today decided to try and play a Blu ray disc, and it loads up power dvd then reboots, everytime i try, of course alsways airing on caution i still have the original HDD so put that back in and all seems fine works a charm

so thought i would check to see what i might have missed, only things i noted where there is 3! versions of power DVd you can download and i got the wrong one to the one factory installed but also there is a "intel R intel display audio driver" installed in the programs list in the control panel
and for the life of me i cannot find where to get this from??

sorry for drooning on but thought i would tell my experiences incase anyone else, went/goes thru the same thing,

all in all happy as larry with it, and backlit keyboard should be here anytime soon , think it def needs it, as the keyboard is quite dark in poor light ,

 

rofl..............

 

I suppose I should have worded it as "a laptop that does everything she needs her laptop to do." I figured it would be alright since this is a tech forum and not a WoW forum or something like that. Oh well, I'll blame it on English being my 3rd language.

I must be going crazy but I thought I remember my Dell Studio 1555 coming with a setup DVD with the drivers on it. If they don't, they really should. My HP came with a recovery DVD that gets it back to its out of box settings.

And yes, PowerDVD is the devil. I've had tons of problems with it. I ended up getting another program to play DVDs on my laptop.

 

ah man I wanna buy this but I stupidly bought a 13 in vaio and now my eyes are watering from the smaller screen size and just horrible viewing angles plus washed out colors. Good thing sony canada has a no return policy on custom or cto models even though I ordered it base with no upgrades. I guess Im gonna get the 15r se soon enough and Ill just have two laptops.

How are the screens viewing angles btw?

 

hmmmmmmm you get the windows o/s DVD and the dell drivers one, but that does not get you back to out the box! you have to go to the other software section on dell online to get the bells n jangles software,

with SSD's now crashing down in price and people fitting them aftermarket, they will most def want to fresh install as cloning/reinstall from an image/recovery partition etc is not recommended for SSD's

anyway the power dvd problem, it was along day yesterday but think i also loaded a 3rd party player and it did the same, rebooting, but having said that loading a possble duff (and not the beer kind) version of power dvd, may have set the reboots rolling, but im sorta concerned its because im missing something else thats installed on the orginal HDD, and as clonning it is not an option guess i will have to tipy toey a new install, and install power dvd again and cross fingers toes n ears

having spent a few hours work on it re loading stuff etc i didnt notice any problems with viewing angles, having said that, certainly with my self, i tend to want it right infront of me, so really dont pay much attention to it, but have more stuff to do today, so will test the angles out if i remember

p.s i almost bit the bullet myself on the XPS 13Z and not even the ivy bridge!! but really glad i didnt, for me 15inch is the minimum size when it comes to screens, these eyes are getting way to old lol, thank god for gestures, least i can zoom in when surfing

 

Thanks for sharing your experience Banana, I'll be going down the same path so hopefully you can find the cause.

Could it be the display drivers? Seems the HD7730M and drivers are a big issue causing BSOD's on this range of laptops.

When PowerDVD is playing bluray it will attempt to accelerate the rendering using the GPU, and this is where the problem could be if the drivers have issues.

Are you using the dell provided drivers which integrated Intel + AMD together, I read they are the only ones supported.

Also did you have any issues installing Windows 7 on your SSD?
A forum user on Whirlpool (here http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1911466&p=33#r652) is having major issues trying to install Windows 7 Ultimate on the original 1TB HDD.

I think it might have to do with the recover partitions on the HDD and he has not removed them, but he basically cant install windows at all. Dell support told him that Windows can only be installed from the Dell recover CD (what a joke!)

 

i think your right with the display drivers, and it might be that i have recreated how theres where installed, will go throught it again today,

i need to sort it, beucause even sticking with the 1Tb hdd im gonna no doubt have to reinstall at some point, and i was gonna attempt to clone the 1TB but certainly using norton ghost, the 1tb drive is not having any of it, just fails to copy,, (poss cause the recovery partion!!!!)

no windows installed like a breeze on my SSd, all the way no probls until i played a blu ray lol

 

Did Vmware ever get HyperV-like dynamic memory? If so, and 8GB is still tight, you must be running a lot of VMs!

Unrelated, but I thought I'd save a separate post. Dell has released something a little unusual, I think: firmware for the various HDs on this model, the 17RSE, and a lot of others:

ST9500423AS/ST9750420AS (Optimize the compatibility with PCDr, Improve the hard drive spin-up operation):
Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

ST320LT007-9ZV142/ST250LT007-9ZV14C/ST160LT007-9ZV14D (Optimize the read/write interaction, Improve the hard drive response after the system has been idle for long hours):
Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

 

I am confused how typical is the case when people demand that notebook should fit for serious gaming. Desktop computer can provide much more gaming performance for much less money.
So many people cannot live without their games when they are out of home?

 

Lots of us have a desktop in one room but also play games in another room with the rest of the family where having a desktop isn't feasible. If the demand wasn't there, you wouldn't see tons of laptops with high end GPUs

 

this time I re installed and made sure i had all the apps n drivers in folders and numbered in order of installation (which I always have done in the past, just proves fools rush in) and its all working great, blu rays play atreat now just need to install a game ?

pics added best i can do, took photos at left/right/infront and above hope that helps

 

Look like standard TN viewing angles. How does it feel in real life? IE do you notice it if you're sitting in front of it and just turn your head?

I'm much more interested in this model now that the XPS 15 pricing is out...

 

there no difference at all when you turn your head

 

Thanks - appreciate it - I've actually seen some screens that are so bad, that they changed with just looking left or right

 

Has someone tried 8Gb ram-modules on 15R or 17R?
I need not more than 6GB ram, but i´m interested if it will be possible....

 

Ever heard of a desktop replacement?