Comparing 2 core i7 laptops - suggestions welcome

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Comparing 2 core i7 laptops - suggestions welcome

Batman

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#62730 13-Jun-2010 21:46

Hi guys i've been looking at
HP DV6-3035TX (only at Harvey Norman, in NL they have 3041TX)
vs
Dell XPS 16

1) where do you get dellNZ coupons? in the states they seem to be handed out like tissue paper!
2) the HP has 5650 GPU but the Dell only as 4670 - which are similar in performance but the 5xxx series i heard has better features overall inc power consumption, DX11, ??ability to stream bitstream audio??
3) HP is 400g lighter! YAY
4) Dell has BD driver and 1080p screen! DOUBLE YAY!

*sigh - i think it will come down to which one i can get the most discount off. you can't have everything in the world can you?

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#341328 13-Jun-2010 22:07

HP HN: http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/hp-dv6-3035tx-laptop.html
NL: http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/computers/notebook-computers/pc-notebook-computers/hewlett-packard-wy36...
Dell: http://www1.ap.dell.com/nz/en/home/notebooks/laptop-studio-xps-16/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16...~~

Regs

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#341365 14-Jun-2010 00:54

joker97: HP HN: http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/hp-dv6-3035tx-laptop.html
NL: http://www.noelleeming.co.nz/computers/notebook-computers/pc-notebook-computers/hewlett-packard-wy36...
Dell: http://www1.ap.dell.com/nz/en/home/notebooks/laptop-studio-xps-16/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-studio-xps-16...~~

google gave me this link for dell - seemed to be a good discount applied:
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/ap/topics/microsite/en/microsites_anz?c=nz&cs=nzdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&dgc=AF&cid=33195&lid=783217&acd=10590620002348913

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heavenlywild

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#341366 14-Jun-2010 00:59

I think your decision should be based on what you would like to do on your laptop. If for gaming, go with the HP with DX11. If you aren't a gamer and just want to watch movies, go with the Dell.

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#341369 14-Jun-2010 02:01

Regs:
google gave me this link for dell - seemed to be a good discount applied:
http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/ap/topics/microsite/en/microsites_anz?c=nz&cs=nzdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&dgc=AF&cid=33195&lid=783217&acd=10590620002348913

this link shows a system with a pentium dual core processor that's why :)

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#341370 14-Jun-2010 02:03

i think i'm going to go with the dell. is there any advantage in going HP? eg more reliable etc? will check with the wife first heh heh. i really hope they dont take forever to send me the thing

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#342149 16-Jun-2010 01:02

28 days ETA?!! my goodness and now i'm 3g poorer too. anyone thinks this is too long?

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

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#355598 23-Jul-2010 23:17

Just an update:

I bought the Dell Studio XPS 16. Appears to be feature packed for its price
$2600 and has BD ROM, i7, integrated mini subwoofer, backlit keyboard, HD5730 graphics (essentially a rebranded 5650), 9 cell battery, and the standout thing is its build quality: very solid, bullet proof, incredibly smooth and 'pleasurable' keyboard and trackpad. very very bright screen: at minimum brightness in full sunlight is not an issue at all.

cons: extremely HOT. not kidding, my brother's dell studio 15 also an i7, idles at 40 degrees and hits 54 degrees at peak. mine idles at 54 degrees and hits 80 degrees at peak. solidity's price is weight. 9 cell battery's downside is bulk - it juts out.

XPS is dell's luxury product so they are very very very helpful - 24hr helpline. mine had a hinge which has a loose screw and a phone call of whining/complain resulted in a full replacement - i also asked (whined) for an upgrade to their 740QM - no problem.

very nice eye candy product.

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#362745 4-Aug-2010 07:26

ok my dell's bricked. for about 2 weeks now, i can't play dirt 2 without it jerking like mad (feels like under 10 fps) despite it saying it can produce 61fps on lowest of lowest setting. no tweaking of CCC (10.6, 10.7 tried) will work. other games seems to be fine, jerks once in a while, but they are far less graphic intense. WEI still gives 6.7. reinstalling dirt 2 didnt work so i'm presuming it's a hardware issue.

it happened after i rolled back bios to older version, but reflashing to latest didnt work. (did that because latest bios causes GPU throttling when it overheats, while previous bios causes CPU throttling when it overheats).

awaiting replacement anyhow, as above. weird.

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#362762 4-Aug-2010 08:45

I bought a Dell XPS 16 late last year (i7 - one of the first to have it) and have had no real issues with it.
It has preformed well and is a joy to view DVDs and esp Blu Ray on the beautiful 1080 RGB screen.

I also am a gamer, and I realised that many current games would not run at it's native resolution with the video card. however, any game 3 or more years old should run fluently. Oblivion is a joy to play at the moment :D

Also, it still looks very good and sharp at slightly lower resolutions and I have been playing Far Cry 2 and Dragon Age quite happily like this.

The issue of heat is due to, I believe, the aluminum bottom acting like a heat sink. This is probably a good thing for the internal temperature but we who want to put on our laps don't enjoy so much. I have solved by simply using a comfy cooling pad whenever I use for gaming. In fact, the pad is so comfy that I tend to use all the time. In summer I will turn it's fan on and it works well to cool down the laptop so I never have issues with the GPU being throttled back.

I have a beast gaming PC with a Radeon 5850 so I use that for Crysis and more recent demading games, but I am still amazed by how well my lappy can handle modern games.

As I said, anything over 3 years old (Crysis excluded - came out 2007) will run very well in native resolution and look gorgeous. anything newer can be run in lower resolution which still looks pretty good as the DPI is already very high.

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#364518 7-Aug-2010 00:29

ok got replacement laptop today on the exact day stated on website.

took me a while to find a prog that can copy partition only that works on windows 7, figure out how to work, in the end used clonezilla, cloned partition onto new system.

fixed boot error with win 7 dvd, then works like a dream. game runs FINE now! woo hoo.