Dell Releases New Studio XPS Laptops

Despite the fact that some of our forum members discovered the release 24 hours early on the Dell website, today Dell officially announced the availability of the new Dell Studio XPS line of notebooks. The first members of the new family are the Studio XPS 13 (1340) and Studio XPS 16 (1640). These are the first Studio laptops to bear the XPS high-performance designation. We even have a full review of the gorgeous Studio XPS 16!

Both the Studio XPS 13 and the Studio XPS 16 feature a nearly identical new chassis design that combines magnesium alloy, plastic, brushed aluminum, and genuine leather in some very sexy ways. The only real difference in the outward appearance of the two notebooks is the Studio XPS 13 features a 13-inch screen while the Studio XPS 16 features a 16-inch screen. Both systems start at a base price of $1,199.

The current flagship of the Studio XPS line, the Studio XPS 16, delivers advanced performance and entertainment capabilities, including 16-inch edge-to-edge 16:9 HD WLED display and 7-watt Dolby 5.1 audio with subwoofer, Intel Centrino 2 processors, and ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 graphics with 512MB of dedicated graphics memory.

For true cinema lovers and amateur photographers will love the optional Full HD 1080p display which is RGB LED and optimized for 16:9 content with a 100 percent color gamut for truer colors combined with 300-nit brightness. The 8 millisecond response time means smoother gaming and movie viewing, and the 130 degree viewing angle ensures that multiple people can view the display together without distortion.

The Studio XPS 13 features a starting weight just under five pounds and is available with NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GE with Hybrid SLI technology for your choice of low power consumption and better battery life or better video and gaming performance when you don't need the best battery life.

Pricing and Availability

The Dell Studio XPS 16 and Dell Studio XPS 13 laptops are available today on www.dell.com/studioXPS starting at $1,199.

 

9500 in a 13", that'll be one hot laptop!

 

The LG P310 has a 9600M GT and a T9600 and remains cool.

 

"9500M GE with Hybrid SLI" does that mean it will be a lot faster than just a 9500M?

 

I think he means Interchangeable GPUs, not Hybrid SLI.

Isn't Hybrid SLi called geForce Boost?

 

I don't know but I thought this is maybe the explanation why they choose 9500 instead of 9600.

 

HybridSLI has 2 parts HybridPower and GeForceBoost but it's not necessarily true that the system will support both.

Regardless Nvidia and notebook manufacturers always use HybridSLI to describe their product even though only one of the features may be supported which is pretty shady IMO.


That short rant out of the way the 9500 may get a performance increase from GeForceBoost with a 9400M chipset but not likely to get any boost from an Intel chipset. I don't know which chipset the XPS13 is using but from the sounds of that description it's only getting a benefit from HybridPower.

 

Is it just me, or is the 1340 a rather heavy machine for a 13" computer nowadays? Yes I know the previous gen Macbook war ~5 pounds, but I just got an IdeaPad U330. 4.2 lbs, lighter than the Macbook at 4.5. It's no Air (have that too) but no backbreaker either. This unit on the other hand...seems rather heavy for a premium product, especially when the M1330 is lighter.

Wonder how many 3DMarks the 9500M gets on this machine...I know the Radeon 3450 in my U330 is comparable to a GeForce 9400M.

Nice that you can get reasonably fast processors in both computers though (2.53 in the 13", 2.8 in the 16"). Beats Apple on processing speed on a 13" unit, equals them on a 15-16" computer. Though again the 16" PC is a rather heavy beast.

 

wow Hybrid SLI in 13".

So this means that laptop can choose which GPU to use and can use both at the same time?

 

Yes, you can use the integrated graphics processor (IGP) and shared memory when you want to save battery life ... or you can use the discrete graphics with dedicated memory when you want better video or gaming performance.

 

I think he means use both at the same time so that it is better than a 9500 itself.

Btw, how does the sound option work for the 16"? 5.1 speakers but with HD audio 2.0? Do I need the sound blaster cards.

 

The lids look shiny.

A 13.3" at under 5 lbs? Thats heavy!

 

If not for the terrible quality of Dell's most recent lineups I'd be all over the Studio XPS 1340...

 

Which lineups are you referring to as being poor quality?? I have been looking at Dell as a potetial source from which to buy a new laptop from, but I don't know if it is a good idea to go with Dell... did you have some bad experiences with that company?

 

The new XPS look like solid machines. I can see from Dell's recent designs, especially their business Latitude line, that they prefer a more squared-off look than HP. It's different and I think it looks quite modern.

Backlit keyboards look cool, though to me they're for show only. My desktop's keyboard is 100% blank - no markings or anything. I don't need no lights.

The XPS 16 isn't much wider than a typical 15.4" notebook like my HP dv5t.

W x D x H
XPS 16: 15.15 x 10.02 x 0.95 - 1.34
dv5t: 14.05 x 10.2 x 1.37 - 1.65

Very interesting. I guess that would mean I'd actually consider one.

Now the question is how many notebook sleeves/bags would fit a 16" notebook. I guess you would have to buy the 17" ones.

 

Aww, these are not available in Canada yet... and apparanty in the US you have waaayy more colour and design options on the original studio's than what is offered in Canada... Do you think that Canada will have these options soon??

 

I've been buying Dell laptops for the better part of 10 years, exclude my one Compaq and one Asus and I've owned all Dell laptops (Latitude CPxH, Inspiron 4100, Inspiron 9200, Inspiron 9300, Inspiron 1521, Inspiron 1520, XPS M1330)
The Latitude CPxH still works, but the touchpad stopped responding several months ago. Considering it's almost 10 years old, good for it! Did a very good job.
The Inspiron 4100 is my primary laptop right now! I didn't own it for it's entire life, I actually resurrected it from two totally dead Inspiron 4100s. Perhaps not a fair comparison, but consider it is also probably also 7-8 years old, not bad. Only issue is that whole series had an issue with the right hinge breaking.
The Inspiron 9200 I still have, just for light gaming on the go. The Inspiron 9200/9300/6000/E1505/E1705 etc is where the quality of Dell peaked IMO.
The Inspiron 9300's board died (charging circuit no longer worked - so the system would work on AC but would not charge a battery), parted out and sold off stuff.
The Inspiron 1521 was for my girlfriend, and was sold after a short time because it gamed terrible (that's not Dell's fault - it's not a laptop for gaming in the least - she just wanted an Inspiron 1520 like mine)
The Inspiron 1520 was mine for almost a year before selling it to build a shiny new desktop. The quality of this and the 1521 were both decent, but nowhere near the 9200 and 9300.
The M1330 was to make taking my laptop to class easier, and it could still game in such a small form factor which appealed to me. There was the whole faulty GPU ordeal, which was nVidia's fault not Dell's... But the real issue I had was the build quality was just so much worse than what I was used to from Dell. My friend's M1530 is in the exact same boat. I am sure the M1730 is pretty nice though since I am pretty sure it's still built like the older Inspirons and XPS2's *not a fact - I just think this is the case.
Not to mention, the Inspiron 1525's I have worked with are even FLIMSIER feeling than the 1520/M1330, and the studio lines are built the same was as the 1525.

I won't be owning another Dell...
Gonna move to Lenovo in my future purchases.

 

I agree that ~5 lbs is heavy for a 13.3" notebook. I am guessing that the M1340 is heavy due to the substantial cooling hardware needed for a machine with such heavy duty CPU and GPU in a small package.

The U330 is a descent weight for a 13.3" notebook. Personally I think the 13" notebook space should have a standard weight of 4 lbs.

 

Chaz, do you have the DAS keyboard?!

 

How would you compare?:
Lenovo U330
Dell Studio XPS 13
Sony Vaio Z590CTO

I think the Dell is probably cheaper than the Sony. The Lenovo is the cheapest out of all of those?

If you were going to watch a movie on the respective screens, would there be a significant difference among the three?

Thanks for any answers? (Feel free to bring the focus back to the Dell if you know about it)

 

Yes I do. And I love it to death. I've been using mine for about a year, and I'll never look back (or down ).

 

My bad, I just checked again and bam! not the XPS Studios appeared! But I am still thinking that US has waaaay better deals and so many more options to choose from! Can you buy from the U.S. site if you live in Canada??

 

The Dell with 9500 has the best GPU and is best for gaming.
The Vaio Z is 700 grams (about 33%) lighter and better suited for people who need their laptop to be portable.
Lenovo U330 may have a price advantage.

All of those screens will do fine. I recommend a LED screen (optional with Dell).
By the way, watching movies isn't the most demanding task for a screen.

With Dell it isn't 100% sure what LED panel you get. Toshiba makes some very good 13" panels that are used by Sony and Dell.

 

that 9500 isn't integrated is it? Ive heard rumors of an integrated 9500 that would come after the current 9400

 

Well, Dell is synonymous with brick. The XPS 1330 was just one of the very exceptions. It's a pitty. I almost wanted to throw out my Ideapad until I saw the weight and it's $800 price premium over the U330. *phew*

 

hmm...why are the Insert and Prnt Scrn exchanged?

there allways needs to be some catch

 

Not sure but to make use of HybridSLI would require a discrete and integrated GPU so if the 9500 is integrated then there should be mention of a discrete card as well.

 

Was designed by Asus engineers if you didn't know. LOL

 

lucky sob when I'm finally living in one set place I'll get a desktop w/ one!

 

the xps 13 looks yummy. hope it is not another sexy egg cooker from dell like the xps 16

 

Nvidia 9500GE in a Dell 13"... you might be able to fry eggs on the palmrests

 

Do you like the funky looking silver hinge on either sides?

Right now Sony make the best laptop out there. I like my Z.