Sell me on MSI 1656

I've been looking a lot at options for a Core i7 laptop. I keep waffling about my priorities of performance, quality and looks...but for now I am considering an MSI 1656 from Xotic PC and the Dell Studio XPS 16. Here are the prices and specs of each machine as I would configure them. I feel like the Dell is a better value, but I really don't like the design of the laptop (I bring my laptop with me when meeting with clients and I want it to look professional, which the MSI does despite being pegged as a gaming machine...the XPS looks kind of cheesy IMHO).

I'm interested in what you think about the trade-offs between the two.

$1948 - MSI
FORCE 1656 (Built on the MSI-1656) - PRE ORDER FORCE 1656 (Built on the MSI-1656) - PRE ORDER
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™ i7-820QM, 1.73-3.06GHz, (45nm, 8MB L3 cache)
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- nVidia GeForce GTS 250M 1024MB PCI-Express GDDR3 DX10
- ~ 4,096MB DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 SODIMMS) (Requires Vista 64-Bit to utilize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 80GB Intel X25-M Solid State Drive (SSD Serial-ATA II)
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Internal Bluetooth + EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n
- No Network Accessory
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- Windows 7 Home Premium - 64-Bit
- 1 Year Complete Care Warranty - 1 Year Parts with 2nd Day Shipping, 24/7 Telephone Tech Support & Lifetime Labor Warranty

$1919 - Dell
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Intel ® Core ™ i7 820QM 1.73GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 8MB Cache)
1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis - Important Information
McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Full HD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080) W/2.0 MP
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
128GB Solid State Drive
8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi MB
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish
My Accessories
Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Studio XPS 16 Notebook
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9, Multiple Languages
Napster Link

 

Not to make it more difficult for you, but the MSI 1727 might also be an option.

If the dimensions on all the sites are right, they are all actually sized pretty similar.

MSI 1656:
14.11" (w) x 9.7" (d) x 1" ~ 1.4" (h)

Dell 16:
15.15" (w) x 10.02" (d) x 0.95" ~ 1.34" (h)

MSI 1727:
15.55" (w) x 10.94" (d) x 1.32" ~ 1.56" (h)

 

GPUs will probably perform similarly, but the MSI's will use less power since it is a 40nm piece. Also, the silver/black MSI's do look mighty professional compared to other "gaming" machines.

 

Similarly configured, the 1727 is only $84 more. But it does break the $2k barrier which makes that $84 sound like a lot more than it is. Also, it adds on 1.7 lbs over the 1656 and is of course thicker. I carry my laptop every day, so I'd like to consider weight, though I'm letting it drive things too much. Also, I'll eventually get a large monitor for my home office, so the 17" isn't a huge draw, though I use my laptop a lot away from my home office, so it wouldn't be wasted either. In any case, thanks for pointing out the similarity in dimension, I had pretty much ignored the 17" assuming it was way bigger.

Thanks, I don't know much about video cards other than I want a good one so large CAD files and streaming videos don't bring my computer to a crawl in 3 years, like they do to my old laptop right now. Just curious, what is 40nm a measurement of, and how does the smaller size relate to power use?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45_nanometer.

Nanometer is basically the size of the parts created in the silicon chips. This usually translates into fitting more transistors into the same/similar space. That means doing more work with the same amount of silicon.

It takes less power to drive smaller transistors, so there are power savings when they make everything smaller. The downside is the heat that is generated gets more concentrated, but they design the packaging around the chip and cooling to handle that.

I have been using this as a rough guide of performance between mobile GPU's. http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html. The new 40nm chips have estimated rank since they haven't been reviewed yet, but it should be pretty accurate.

Back onto MSI 1656 vs Dell XPS 16:

The MSI is going to have a little faster and a little more efficient (power wise) video card.

I don't think we have a look at the cooling yet on the 1656, but it should be pretty similar to the 1651/GT628. I haven't seen a lot of cooling issues on that machine. They probably don't need to change the cooling design, as the GPU goes from 160m's 60watt down to GTS 250m 28w, while the CPU goes from 25-35w to 45w. There is no north bridge on I7 machines, so that should save another 3-7w. So net it is ~100w down to ~75w.

I haven't seen inside the dell 16 to know how they arranged the cooling. The new I7 XPS 16 has the same gpu as the previous versions and is listed as 30-35w I believe, so adding the I7 increases the total heat output 10-20w (core 2 duos came in 25w and 35w). From what i see in a couple quick reviews the XPS 16's ran a little hot?

Knowing heat can lead to premature death of electronics I would probably check the respective owners lounges for heat issues and see which cooling solution you trust.

Professional reviews like this one can show you a heat map of the laptop:
MSI, http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-MSI-GT628-Gaming-Notebook.20357.0.html

Dell, 1640
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Studio-XPS-16-ATI-HD4670-Notebook.21440.0.html

Just did a quick search, so you might need to dig or wait for reviews of the I7 version.

 

Xoticpc support is the best, and anyone who has had to deal with dell support knows that they are very far from it.

 

I think you already convinced yourself.

 

The GTS 250 GDDR3 version is not good and will not preform at high resolution in games. The GTS 250m GDDR5 version scores 9000+ in the Toshiba x505 stock. That is the card MSI should have went with. With a mild overclock it got 10,400. I know the GDDR3 250m will not even come close to 9000 points.

 

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I noticed tonight that Dell revamped their options on the i7 Studio XPS 16. The big difference is that now they force you into 6GB RAM as the min (8GB is still max), so now it is $2150. So that is looking less likely as an option.