Dell XPS Gen 2 Review

[Embattle]

I saw one of these on Dells website the other day, have to say it was very tempting.....even more so with the review I've just read:

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzU3

 

[Jonty]

Nice review Personally I'd probably go for the Dell Inspiron 9300, as you can spec it up with the latest Sonoma technology and a GeForce 6800 (not sure if it's an ultra, though) and it looks a lot nicer than the finish of the XPS and performs just as well. That said, either of these systems rock (I'm fortunate to own one of Dell's 17" model notebooks and they are brilliant).

Sadly Dell continue to reserve their best offers for the US market, with cheaper starting prices and a discounting scheme which, cumulatively, I've known to save systems up to $1000 of the original asking price. Some people still say the best deals are to be had by ringing Dell are cutting a deal, though

Kind Regards

 

[Clown]

A gaming laptop. Fuck off.

 

[Embattle]

The 9300 is just the stardard 6800 plus the screen isn't as good as the XPS one

 

[Jonty]

Hi guys

Thanks for clearing up the card issue, Embattle, I couldn't remember if the 9300 had the Ultra or not. Even though it doesn't, I still imagine it performs admirably. As for the screens, having just checked the 9300 and XPS Gen 2 share the same 17" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) TrueLife technology, although I do wonder if that resolution would be a little too high, even on a 17" screen. Going to save up for one, Emb?

As for gaming laptops, Clown, yes the graphics can rarely be upgraded but you can buy a new Pentium M processor, DDR2 RAM, HDD etc. for these lines of notebooks (in fact the graphics can be removed, so if Dell offered another card with the same form factor it could be upgraded). I know which I'd rather cart to my friend's house/LAN party, a notebook or an entire system

Kind Regards

 

[Escape]

Which laptop would be good for the £700 mark. Not likely to be used for gaming...

 

[Jonty]

Hi Escape

Acer make good, reasonably-priced notebooks. You can have the following spec system for around £593: AMD Sempron 3000+ (1.8GHz), 15.4" WXGA TFT display (1200x800), 512MB DDR (2 x 256), 60GB HDD, DVD-RW (±) Dual & CD-RW, 64MB Dedicated NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 Graphics, Wireless 802.11g LAN. It wouldn't be great for games but for everyday usage I imagine it would be alright (1363WLMi). Alternatively you could have a Pentium 4 or Centrino-based Acer system, with better graphics, for around £718.

If you're just after a Dell, you could spec up an Inspiron 6000 (like the 9300 in design only with a 15.4" screen) for around £700.

Kind Regards

 

[Clown]

A serious gaming laptop for playing Source on the bog. Yeah. For the price, I'd just buy a SFF and kit it out.

 

[Embattle]

Hi guys

Thanks for clearing up the card issue, Embattle, I couldn't remember if the 9300 had the Ultra or not. Even though it doesn't, I still imagine it performs admirably. As for the screens, having just checked the 9300 and XPS Gen 2 share the same 17" WUXGA (1920 x 1200) TrueLife technology, although I do wonder if that resolution would be a little too high, even on a 17" screen. Going to save up for one, Emb?

As for gaming laptops, Clown, yes the graphics can rarely be upgraded but you can buy a new Pentium M processor, DDR2 RAM, HDD etc. for these lines of notebooks (in fact the graphics can be removed, so if Dell offered another card with the same form factor it could be upgraded). I know which I'd rather cart to my friend's house/LAN party, a notebook or an entire system

Kind Regards

I considered it for a while before slapping myself, basically reminded myself that I wouldn't spend money on my computer for as long as possible.....although technically you could say I wouldn't be as it would be a totally new computer, or laptop BTW the 9300 comes with the WXGA+ as default with the WUXGA as £117.50 option

I've had an SFF but the idea of a very powerful gaming laptop appeals because in reality it is even smaller and has less cables.

 

[Embattle]

The other thing that can annoy with Dell is their insistence on using the two sodimm slots on the laptop, this stinks of them trying to rip customers off and seems even more so when looking at the prices they charge to upgrade the memory. Looking at the XPS Gen 2 they charge an extra £400 for upgrading from the 512MB DDR2 to 1GB DDR2 where as you can get an extra 512MB DDR2 for less than £100

 

[Jonty]

Hey Emb

You're absolutely right, Dell have always ripped off their customers in some areas, particularly RAM which can be incredibly expensive all things considered. I can also vouch for Dell's dodgy customer care, their online services were very troublesome in comparison to their phone support, the latter of which sadly isn't a freephone number.

That said, I love my Dell laptop, and I can say the WXGA+ screen is perfect on the 17" display, and allows for running in the native resolution for some games (and even at lower resolutions the quality remains).

Good luck if you decide to go for one

Kind Regards

 

[Yaka]

fucking ell @ the price