And the annoying hardware options continues.....even on the new XPS range....!!!

March 2, 2011

Posted By:  ruserious

14 Votes

Status: Archived

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The status of my previous idea is, IMPLEMENTED but the annoying hardware options continue. The case in point is the new XPS 15 laptop with sandy bridge processors and 500M series nvidia graphics. The new XPS 15 only has options of Nvidia 540M and 525M graphics but the new XPS 17 get the options of Nvidia 550M and 555M graphics. The point i am trying to nake is both XPS 15 and XPS 17 have similar displays (in terms of resolution) and includes an option of a full HD display so why can't they have similar graphics options?? Why the higher graphics options in XPS 15 are neglected??
I am highly disappointed with dell since i expected the powerful 555M to be present in XPS 15. XPS 17 has near perfect hardware configuration but it is  less portable than XPS 15 which drives away users like me to search for 15 inch laptop outside the dell brand.

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  • Apr 5, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: AverageConsumer

    Differences between 525M and 555M are negligible

    I would rather see 

    -more harddrive cache(32mb+)
    -way more RAM(32gb+)
    -longer lasting batteries that fit flush with the casing
    -standardizing ports(usb 3.0, thunderbolt, hdmi)
    -thinner / more unibody type casing(ala macbook pro)
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  • Mar 22, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: ruserious

    I second ArDarsh. I am not against the differentiation between the two product lines, but currently the gap between the XPS range and the Alienware range is so big that dell could fit 1 more new product line if it wanted to!!!

    As far as cooling and power requirement is concern, i expect from a company like dell to take these into accounts at the time of designing the chasis of a laptop and redesign if the current chasis is limiting the choice of hardware that we want to have.

    The last thing to which i want to point your attention to is my suggestion of matching CPU and GPU. I came across a nice article-cum-review which will strenthen my point. I am giving its link below, please do read it.
    http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Intel-Sandy-Bridge-Processors-Gaming-Performance.49600.0.html
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  • Mar 17, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: ArDarsh

     If other companies can produce a GT555M in a 15.6 inch chassis at 6lbs or less, then Dell can too.

    Power users want a clean looking laptop too. We don't care for glowing alien heads to get good specs. And keep the mid-end GPUs in the average laptops such as 15R.

    And please go back to a tasteful design. See ASUS N53 or new HP dv6t quad core. And don't lose the full HD option because that is what sets you apart from most others in the 15 inch laptop category.
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  • Mar 15, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: christopher25

    There are only two options possible:


    1). As it seems now it is hard to find TDP values (both ATI and NVidia sites) but I suppose that if Quadro Mobile
    with 192 shaders is 70 Watt then 555M is also near this.
    Annec could be right if:
    a) 550/555m are only MXM modules (size) not BGA chips
    b) they require some power phase more than weaker chips
    c) You will need 150 Watt power BRICK (literally)
    d) cooling system require second fan/or/and second set of heatpipes
    e) ..i did see presentation screen of chips that stated that 550m is also for 15"/14"/13" designs!

    ..or...

    2). Dell wants to differentiate two product lines.

    To be sure about anything I would need to see innards of XPS 15 v XPS 17 and know exactly TDPs of those chips.

     
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  • Mar 8, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: ruserious

     @AnneC: as tvdang7 rightly pointed out that both 550m and 540m are of same physical size, the only difference being the clock speed. I suggest following improvements for the XPS range
    • please match the CPU with the GPU, a underpowered CPU will not harness the full potential of a powerful GPU and vice-versa.
    • why limit the powerful graphics options to alienware range?? I am not suggesting to include something like Nvidia 460M or a 485m in the XPS range, but people who can not afford an alienware deserves better graphics!!!
    •  Giving more than 1GB of memory in mid-range cards like 540M and 555M makes no sense. They are not powerful enough to utlize the extra amount of memory, you can check the benchmarks, adding extra memory provides negligible amount of power boost.  It only increase the cost to consumers.
    I hope you find the above suggestions useful....
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  • Mar 8, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: amd1600

    Perhaps you should find a way to increase the thermal headroom or shrink the chip? The lenovo y570, being released in May, is a 15 inch laptop and has an nvidia gt555m. The y470 is a 14 inch laptop and is expected to have a gt555m also.
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  • Mar 7, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: tvdang7

     the 550m is the same as the 540m with higher clock speeds. We both know the XPS 15 can handle the heat output of the 550m , Why not just make it available on the xps 15 as well? The difference is only like 70mhz and i am pretty sure you can get many customers to buy it so in the end its a win win situation.
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  • Mar 7, 2011     Comment Link

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    Posted By: Anne_c

    I am AnneC and I work in the Dell Consumer product marketing group. 

    Seriously, GPU offerings regularly are the focus of robust discourse on community forums across the web – and thank you RUSerious for sharing your feedback on the XPS 15. In my opinion laptops are amazing works of engineering and a little bit of magic in small spaces. The primary explanation for the difference in graphics offering between the XPS 17 and the XPS 15 is thermal headroom. While both Intel and NVIDIA have made great strides in reducing the thermal profiles of multicore processors and performance level GPUs, combine that with the heat generated by today’s fast memory and hard drives and you get to a very challenging thermal situation very quickly. The XPS 17 is the only laptop available currently to offer the 3GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M graphics option because its chassis can support both the GPU’s physical size (it literally will not FIT into the XPS 15 chassis) and thermal headroom requirements. We understand that XPS 15 owners are also looking for performance so we offer the 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M solution option, which is no slouch, yet meets the thermal requirements of the smaller chassis.

     

    Having said that we are investigating a couple of tweaks in the future, so can you share what is the specific spec you are looking to improve on the XPS 15 GPU offering? Is it the processor clock speed, the memory bit interface, or the amount of discrete memory? For example, would a 1GB or 2 GB NVIDIA Geforce GT 555M meet your needs?  

    Finally, for those whom top of the line graphics is a priority, I'd keep an eye on Alienware.