Dell Inspiron 15R Special edition (7520)

That game is strange, I do not understand how it is possible. I'll try to find some other games for testing. Take it with caution. It is only a 650M after all.

Maybe Max Payne 3 since that one is also with high demands.

 

It could be something to do with the SSD? The CPU is easily good enough for the Witcher 2 its just the GPU requirements are higher.

Yes, please do Max Payne 3!

 

I did Max Payne 3. You can play it in HD with high settings at a decent fps.

 

Does anyone know if there are any reviews of the 15R SE anywhere on the internet? It doesn't seem to be available at Fry's, Micro Center, Best Buy, or even my local Dell Store. I'd really like to buy it, but I have no way of seeing it myself or reading any reviews other than personal ones on Dell's website (which is a bit of a biased source).

There seem to be a lot of 17R SE reviews on this thread, but I don't see any 15R SE reviews. For example, how does Dell hold up to their 5 hour and 25 minute battery life ( Dell Expands Inspiron Lineup | News & Opinion | PCMag.com)?

 

Here is a customer review of the new 15R SE: Inspiron 15R SE Review - Overclockers UK Forums

I would like to see some more professional and in depth reviews of the 15R SE though.

 

I read that. I think that person may not have been using the HD7730m, rather the HD4000 from intel, hence the not 'max' performance in Divinity and not quite full settings for LoL. Both games aren't that demanding at all.
As you might have read earlier in the forum, I think you have to manually choose which programs to use the AMD GPU on, otherwise its set to Intel's GPU.

 

+rep for politeness.

 

Thanks Bill, and a question for you:

The 7730M of 15R SE is like what of NVidia, 640M, 640M LE, 650M ?

I want to play some games in this one, and here in Brazil, Dell haven't the 17" to sell, only the 15" one, but no one can find benchmark tests on the HD 7730M, I want to know the FPS of the demanding games.

Thanks!

 

Thanks Cubic X, the review does seem to help a bit for me. I read the 17R SE review by c_man and there was mentioning of friction on the touchpad. I hope the 15R SE isn't that bad - or at least the friction isn't what I think it is.

I definitely prefer a smooth sliding similar to the Asus N56, and honestly I probably would've bought it if it weren't for the 3-4 hour battery life for college.

 

hey bill i have been following you on the xps 15 forum since a month & am extremely saddened to know that l521x isnt coming to india
so i have decided to go with either 15r or 15r se.
i dont understand what is the difference between the 2 apart from the Radeon graphic card.
can you please give a detailed difference between the 2?
thank you.

 

The 15R SE's HD7730m doesn't seem too shabby, even compared to the GT650m.

 

The HD7730M should be between the Nvidia 640M and 650M GDDR3, which is quite good for a notebook of this size. I think the 15R SE is the true successor of the XPS15, only the design and the quality of the screen are worse.

 

The feel of the pad may be a subjective thing. I like the smoothness of the XPS. My wife does not like that as much. So there are people and people.

If you tweak it a little, it might be OK. With all the tweaking, I still don't like it that much.

For the buttons there is little one can do. Maybe exclusive use of "tapping", something I don't like.

 

This my first post on here. Have read all 37 pages and really appreciate all the information that is being shared. Special thanks to Dell-Bill, nice to see a manufacturer's rep taking the time to share info and make things right. Really reinforces my decision to stay with Dell.

One question for Bill, is there or will there be a 9 cell battery available for the 17R se (7720)?

Thanks

 

Has anyone with the Insprion 17R SE tried to make a system recovery Windows 7 image DVD using the Dell Local Backup program preinstalled on the system.

Also have you purchased a separate SSD and were able to use the system recovery Windows 7 DVD to install Windows 7 successfully?

The reason I am asking is because I plan to buy the Inspiron 17R SE sometime in August and my hope is eventually I would like to buy a SSD and make that the primary hard drive with Windows and use the 1 TB drive as a secondary hard drive for storage. Any advice or experience would help.

 

Oke, I have met someone which has the new Dell Inspiron 15R SE. Unfortunately he only has the lame 1366x768 screen, but here are some benchmarks:
FarCry 2 benchmark maxed out (very high to ultra settings, 8 times AA, Vsync On):
min = 17 fps
max = 49 fps
avg: 30 fps (capped)

NFS: The Run all maxed out (note: this game is capped to 30fps!!)
Using Fraps :
Avg: 27.590
Min: 21
Max: 32

Based on those two simple benchmarks I think the 7730M scores a little below the Nvidia 640M (about -10% I think).

And the temperatures after playing NFS: The run for about one hour:


The CPU became 77 degrees which is quite high, after gaming the temperatures dropped quickly though. Strangely enough the HD7730M temperatures are unreadable? Not a single temp monitor could detect the temperatures of the GPU so I still don't know how hot that one got.

 

Have you actually chosen to select which programs that GPU runs with? Otherwise it'll just use HD4000.

 

Interesting. Try this. Open the game, start running with 7730, pause the game, Alt+Tab, open HWMonitor. It should work or at least this is how I got it working a few times. Then play the game and see what happens.

Ivy gets quite hot much faster.

 

Yes, he did that. I'm 100% sure the games were running on the 7730M. The HD4000 isn't capable to produce those frame rates at the mentioned settings .

Yeah I did just think of that, that is probably the reason the 7730M temperatures aren't visible...as soon as you leave the game the 7730M shuts down --> no readings available . I will ask the person with the 15r SE to try this .

He said to me the 15R SE feels good anyway, but I haven't used or seen it in person yet .

 

We have no plans for a 9 cell. I am guessing there will be some on the aftermarket from someone at some point. Just a guess, though.

We actually are shooting a how-to video on this right now this very minute. It will have to go through legal review, but since we don't put any claims in the video, it should exit pretty quick. We hope to have it up by mid-week, but somehow I doubt it will be out of legal that quick. I'm sure it'll be up by August, though. Remind me, and I'll link you to it.
Funny thing- we found a bug of sorts when testing the different scenarios a customer might have while restoring from the created image. If your restore partition on the HDD is corrupted, it won't restore from the USB key we were using. It instead will tell you to reboot and repair the corrupted image, which makes no sense. We had to delete the restore partition first, so it would not see it. After that, it whizzed right on through and worked quite nicely in fact. Our feedback was to have the routine stop and prompt the user to delete the corrupted partition, or to ignore the fact it's corrupt and just over-write it, since it doesn't contain any customer data anyway.

 

Bill, you're the man...thanks for getting back to me so quick. You must either love your job or get paid a lot of money, or maybe both .

Has anyone tried installing a dual boot system using Linux on the 17Rse?

 

Dell-Bill. Yes I will be very interested in seeing this how-to video when it gets released officially. As long as its possible to restore the factory Windows 7 image onto a brand new SSD, I will be a happy camper. I hope the observation that you witnessed with the corrupted image is integrated ASAP into new laptops so that new customers don't get confused and know what to do.

I guess a follow up question that I have regarding this issue is whether it would be wise or recommended to make a factory system recovery image disc the first time you boot up the laptop ever. That way you know that the image is fresh without corruption. I don't mind having to restore all my programs and such since I prefer clean installs anyways.

 

I am also interested in buying a separate SSD to use it as my primary drive. Isn't Windows 7 also on a CD, or do you only get it installed on the HDD?

All I want to know really if it is possible what I want; use my SSD as the primary drive (I don't care about restoring programs, I would rather make a clean install anyway), and I want to be sure my HDD is totally clean.

 

Just wanted to confirm I received my Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition today. Will get to know the system a little bit and let you know what I think after that. First impression is very good though.

 

Hey crazillo, I am planning on purchasing this laptop over the weekend, so I was hoping you could answer a few questions.

From first impressions, how is the honeycomb engraving? I heard dust might like to get in there over time. Luckily the lid is removable so it can be washed.

Also, do you think the touchpad has too much friction? That's something that may annoy me.

TO ALL: And finally, is there an update to the 7730M driver yet that fixes the crashing issues?

 

Just curious about anyone who has the 17R SE laptop, do the hard drive bays contain a SATA II or SATA III interface? I am hoping for a SATA III interface.

 

SATA 3.

Honeycomb cleans fine.

 

The honeycomb engraving is not something for everyone I would say. But that's a question of taste. I had no problems wiping it earlier. No need to worry about that.

I quite like the touchpad, but I had a Lenovo Y560 before and I might be a little bit biased cuz Lenovo's touchpad wasn't smooth AT ALL. Also I personally prefer to have lock buttons.

I think the biggest problem might be screen hinges. They seem somewhat too small and the screen shakes a little bit when you give it just a little tap. However, I don't think this should keep you from buying the laptop.

 

Thanks c_man and crazillo.

Yeah, I was going to get the Lenovo Y570 but I can't stand those textured touchpads, and the Y580 doesn't have a matte screen. I think I can get used to the 15R SE at least since it doesn't have those dimples. I would have preferred the smoothness of the Asus N56, but then again that's $200 extra dollars and about an hour less battery life.

Crazillo can you test if the lid opens with one hand? That's a feature I like on mac laptops. If the smaller hinges allow for that, then I'm fine if tapping it will cause some shaking. Either way, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Thanks for your help!

 

Anyone tried to install 16 GB RAM on their 15R or 17R SE laptop? Would like to know if this is possible.

 

Sorry to post again, but Bill (or someone knowledgeable) do you think you could answer this question?

Asus recommends that the N56 battery not be removed when 100% on AC due to a protection circuit:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Troubleshooting N56VZ

Is this true for the 15R SE? I'm not a guru on battery protection since I'm coming from a desktop, but this seems like something all modern laptops should have.

Edit: @ericdabbs - check here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-inspiron-dell-studio/675037-dell-17r-n7720-se-user-review.html. I think I read that the 3612QM supports 32 GB of DDR3 1333/1600 RAM.

 

You don't get a Windows 7 system CD anymore. Dell got rid of providing backup Windows CDs several years ago. What resources you have to restore the system in case of failure are 2 things:

1) Using the factory system recovery image in the hidden partition of your hard drive.

2) Via a system recovery backup CD that you will need to make using the Dell Local Backup tool to create it.

Dell-Bill said that Dell is in the process of making a How-to video on how to do these 2 thing especially number 2.

 

16GB RAM works fine in 17r 7720 SE.

Dell has a software to use for battery management. It's in Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options\Battery Meter\Desktop Mode. Provided you have installed it.

 

Why in Gods name use 16gb Ram??

The computer does not even use more then 4gb Ram even in hardcore 3d applications.

Just absoltly crazy

 

Because he can? Why use 4 layer toilet paper?

On topic : ordered mine yesterday, should arrive around 15th of june.

 

Thanks. Good info to know.

 

Wow you really something. Very clever

No offense by the way

 

Thanks!

I'm not going to restore in case of failure, but rather because I want to. So I should be able to "move" Windows 7 to an aftermarket SSD, and reformat the HDD?

I can understand 8GB RAM, but I think it is a waste of money to go over that. 6GB should do, and like you said, even 4GB is okay. 16GB is future-proofing to the max

 

1. No page file;
2. You give a few to VMs, so you'll have a little less then 16 in the end;
3. Video/photo editing;

PS. I have used 3GB RAM for years and it's OK for every day usage, but I've always hated those "out of memory" and heavy "page file".

No, for this kind of machine (for me it's part workstation/gaming/entertainment at a very decent price, very decent) 16GB of RAM is not that much.

 

3GB isn't a lot, but upgrading to 16GB is kind of... radical .

 

First I've did the 16GB for you. A lot of people wanted to know. Now they do.

But after some consideration, I have decided to keep them. It's not really that much.

 

hi everyone,

I'm almost set on this computer, the hardware to price ratio seems excellent. I only have a few questions left:
How good are the screen viewing angles? I know that color gamut is not top notch, but I don't really care as long as I can watch the screen off-center without bleeding my eyes out.
Does anyone knows if the ODD is easily repleaceble? On the 15r it's just a matter of removing a screw under the bottom panel, so it's pretty easy. My intention is replacing the ODD (wich I almost never use on the move) with an ssd in a caddy. Do you know whether the ODD interface is SATA II or III?

Thanks a lot

 

Due to the GPU I think I'll end up buying the 17R SE over the 15R SE. I don't think I'll bother with blu-ray; got a PS3 that can do that... The fact that there is a second HDD slot is also another feature making me lean towards the larger of the two. I will probably get 16GB RAM and maybe an SSD for the 2nd HDD space.

 

SSD for the 2nd slot is a smart choice. I would install Windows 7 on the SSD, reformat the HDD and use the remaining space on the SSD for games/programs, and all your documents, videos, pictures, etc. on the HDD.

 

How does one move the operating system from one drive to another? Also would it still make a huge difference if I kept the OS on the HDD and only installed my programs on the SSD?

 

If you are getting a SSD anyway, I would definitely install the OS on it. Dell doesn't deliver a backup Windows 7 CD anymore, so you would have to make your own. Dell-Bill (or was it Bill-Dell?) here said he would upload a video soon on how to do this. You need to use the Dell Backup program to make your own CD. And I think you also have to move the SSD to the 1st bay, because for some reason if it is in the 2nd bay the notebook won't recognize it as a boot disk.

It probably sounds more complicated than it is. My advice: do it immediately once you get your notebook, before you install anything.

 

Yes they send you a backup cd (at least here). Sometimes they take €4 for it so its very very cheap. Just call them and they fix it

 

Hi there, I plan to buy the Dell inspiron 17r se, someone can tell me if this ssd can be inserted inside?

Crucial RealSSD c300 128gb 2.5' sata3.

Also I read a lot of reviews but noone specify if the laptop stay cool under heavy usage for let's say 4 hrs, someone have try it?

 

There is no normal laptop cool after 4 hours of heavy usage with this kind of hardware.

I see no reason for that SSD not to work.

I have this one Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128D/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit

You could get this one Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit

Samsung are well know for being reliable.

 

Guys I really wana buy 15r SE (i5) . . Bt I wana knw ur xperince with th machine till nw. . . This wil b my 1st laptop. . . but I am badly confused between this and "HP Pavilion dv6 7011" . . Plz guys I need help out hre. . . if possible then someone please tell me which one is better. . . This thing is important to me and if you will say 15r is better than HP then I will right away order it. . . But plz let me knw the true data. .. Thnks