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(More customer reviews)I got the latest XPS 17 aka L702x last month to replace an HP Pavilion dv6. The specifications are,
CPU: i7-2630QM
DRAM: 6GB DDR3-1333
Screen: 17.3in FHD 3D
GPU: GeForce GT555M 1GB
Hard Drive: 640GB
Optical Drive: Blu-ray burner
Battery: 9-cell
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium.
My first impression is that the XPS is huge compared to the HP, even though the screen is just 1 inch bigger. The weight is also substantially greater. The 9-cell battery protrudes from the bottom, making it even harder to fit into tight space. Although the 9-cell is supposed to extend the battery life, I get just under 3 hours in mixed usage. So, the XPS is a desk-top replacement through and through. If mobility is an important consideration, the XPS 15 can be had with the same CPU and screen resolution, and will be a much better choice.
In terms of computing power, the XPS does not disappoint. The i7-2630QM is capable of 8 threads simultaneously, and I have not experienced any slow-down so far due to CPU overload. The GT555M can run all the latest 3D games if the graphics is set to low quality, but it gets really hot and loud, not to mention the quick battery drain. For gaming, a good desk-top remains the best option. The XPS comes with a pair of 3D glass, but I have not had the urge to try it out either for movie, because of the lack of interesting media, or for games, due to the heat and noise the GPU generates. I intend to use the computer for numerical work, and the CPU, the memory system and the hard drives are the key components.
6GB of memory and a 5400-rpm drive do not match well with the high-performing 2630QM, and I had planned to upgrade them right after the purchase. Once the machine arrives and gets its belly opened up, however, I am shocked to find just 2 SODIMM slots. Dell is advertising "up to 16GB RAM" in 4GBx4 configuration, and this is clearly not the case. After some exhaustive research, I finally find the explanation in an obscure Dell customer forum. It turns out that, to save literally a few pennies, Dell has used two different motherboards in the same model: one with 4 SODIMM slots and 3GB of GDDR RAM, the other with 2 SODIMM slots and 1GB of GDDR RAM. I had noticed and got puzzled by the $170 price difference when one stepped up from the GT555M 1GB to the GT555M 3GB. This kind of explains Dell's thought process in the pricing hierarchy. Still, I am upset that Dell fails to explain any of this on its website because there are customers like myself who do not care about the graphic RAM but do want to have the potential to upgrade to 16GB of system memory. I had paid $300 extra compared to HP dv7 for Dell exactly because XPS was supposed to be a premium brand without too much corner-cutting, but I under-estimated Dell's capacity for taking advantage of their customers. In the end, I can only replace the 2GB SODIMM with a 4GB module. The swap costs me $30 after the old SODIMM is sold on ebay, still much less than what Dell would have charged me to upgrade to 8GB memory in the factory.
Upgrading the hard drives, on the other hand, is something that the designers of XPS obviously take into account. The XPS comes with 2 drive bays, with the 640GB drive occupying the first one only. I have a new Crucial RealSSD C300 - Solid state drive - 64 GB - internal - 2.5" - SATA-600 ready and just have to move the 640GB drive to the second slot before replacing the SSD in the primary drive bay. Unfortunately, these drive bays are covered with aluminum shields that are attached to the motherboard with tiny screws. I strip one of the screw heads by using a driver a little too large. This necessitates some drilling followed by the application of a screw extractor. The whole process is extremely scary because of the danger of breaking the motherboard, and should be avoided if at all possible. In the end, I have to say that installing the SSD is quite straightforward if I had not had the accident with the screw. Once the hardware is in place, I reinstall the OS with the DVD which had cost me $19 extra, and wipe the 640GB drive to use for data. All the drivers are either included in a free DVD or can be downloaded from Dell's support site easily. The applications such as PowerDVD, however, are nowhere to be found. I have to call Dell support line and have the DVDs shipped to me, but they are at least free of charge. All together, the pre-installed softwares including the OS take up 30GB, leaving 29GB of usable space ("64GB" drives really have only 59GB of usable space in another case of misleading vendor advertisement.) on the SSD for other applications.
Once the upgrades are done, I am very happy with the performance of the machine. The SSD really makes a big difference. Windows 7 boots up at under 15 seconds and shuts down in 10. For this alone, I am willing to endure the bulk of the XPS 17 for the dual drive bays. Overall, however, I am somewhat less happy with Dell than HP for three reasons:
1. The HP dv6 just seemed more tightly put together;
2. I did not experienced misleading feature descriptions with HP;
3. I miss the fingerprint scanner on the HP notebook.
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Dell XPS 17 Laptop, i7-2630QM, 6GB DDR3 Memory, 17.3in FHD WLED AG (1920x1080) Screen, NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus, 500GB 7200 RPM HD, Tray Load CD/DVD Burner, Windows 7 Home Premium
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