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Post #1
Jul 2 2009, 09:00
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Formerly known as ArtOf_War
Group: Registered
Posts: 7,395
Joined: 24-June 04
From: México
Member No.: 60,134
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The features are listed in descending importance to me I love high screen resolutions and I'm trying to find 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 in the smallest size possible that still has decent performance and is preferably around $1300. DELL Studio XPS 16
Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080)
ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 4670 – 1GB
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
500GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
6-cell Battery
Intel 5300 Ultimate-N (3x3) & Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
Obsidian Black with Leather Accent
8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive
Windows Vista™ Premium x64
$1,645.60 (including taxes & shipping)The good things about this one is the fact that it reportedly has the best notebook screen on the market (any actual reports from you guys will be appreciated), the machine itself looks very nice (aesthetically), it has a backlit keyboard and the awesome DELL warranty. The bad thing is the price.
Sony VAIO VGN-FW490
16.4" widescreen with XBRITE-FullHD™ LCD technology (1920x1080)
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD4650 graphics card with 1GB vRAM
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
1 Year Sony Warranty
4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2)
Standard Capacity Battery
WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Black
CD/DVD playback/burning
Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
$1,153.04 (including taxes & shipping)The good thing about this one is the price and the interior aesthetics are very nice. The bad thing about the Sony is the warranty which is shorter and AFAIK does not cover incidents outside the US, also I think the DELL looks a bit better in the exterior (maybe higher quality). Also, I'm not sure if this Sony has a backlit keyboard (if anyone knows let me know). DELL Studio XPS 16 from the Outlet
Edge-to-Edge FullHD Widescreen 16.0 inch RGBLED LCD (1920x1080)
ATI Mobility RADEON™ HD 3670 – 512MB
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
320GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [7200 rpm]
2Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1067MHz (2 Dimms)
6-cell Battery
Intel 5100 Ultimate-N (1x2) & Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module (2.1+EDR)
Obsidian Black with Leather Accent
8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive
Windows Vista™ Premium x64
~$1,400.00 (including taxes & shipping) The good things about this one is the fact that it reportedly has the best notebook screen on the market (just like the other XPS 16), the machine itself looks very nice (aesthetically), it has a backlit keyboard and the awesome DELL warranty. The "bad" thing is the 3670 graphics card and maybe the fact that it's a refurb. Now, if you know of any other notebooks in this price range and with decent specs feel free to let me know.
Also, where do you think the Mobility 4650 and Mobility 4670 would fit on this table: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon...ics,2296-6.html ? Would the Mobility 4650 on the Sony VAIO be closer to the 4650 DDR2 or the 4650 DDR3?
Which would be faster, a 500GB 5400RPM drive or a 320GB 7200RPM drive? Would it be noticeable?
I appreciate your help 
This post has been edited by Argote: Jul 2 2009, 09:50
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Post #2
Jul 2 2009, 09:18
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Neowinian
Group: Registered
Posts: 77
Joined: 21-December 05
From: Penang, Malaysia
Member No.: 146,195
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Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..
But maybe its just Asia Pacific that faces this quality issue... if you are lucky enough, you get a system that will last you for a very long time, if not, you'll be running into problem after problem and calling tech support and get ****ed in the end, just my humble opinion, does not apply for everyone.
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Post #3
Jul 2 2009, 09:27
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Microsoft Enthusiast
Group: News Reporter
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From: Canada
Member No.: 28,691
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I would recommend the Dell Studio XPS 16. I haven't used one personally, but if it's anything like the Studio 15 you'll love it.
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Post #4
Jul 2 2009, 09:41
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Formerly known as ArtOf_War
Group: Registered
Posts: 7,395
Joined: 24-June 04
From: México
Member No.: 60,134
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Quote - (systemX @ Jul 2 2009, 04:18)  Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..
But maybe its just Asia Pacific that faces this quality issue... if you are lucky enough, you get a system that will last you for a very long time, if not, you'll be running into problem after problem and calling tech support and get ****ed in the end, just my humble opinion, does not apply for everyone. I currently have a DELL Inspiron 640m which has served me well for about 26ish months now. I got the charger replaced once because cable stress broke the isolation on the wires and they became exposed.
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Post #5
Jul 2 2009, 09:52
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Perpetual Geek
Group: Moderator
Posts: 11,656
Joined: 25-May 04
From: Toronto, ON
Member No.: 56,814
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I recommend buying the refurbished Dell Studio XPS 16. It's pretty much identical to the other Dell Studio XPS 16. The only difference is the video card and hard drive. Keep in mind that the Mobility Radeon HD 3670 outperforms the GeForce 8600M GT which used to be the prominent video card for the Dell XPS M1330/M1530. As for the hard drive, you'll definitely notice the speed especially if you're accustomed to desktop hard drives which usually operate at 7200 RPM.
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Post #6
Jul 2 2009, 09:57
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Neowinian
Group: Registered
Posts: 77
Joined: 21-December 05
From: Penang, Malaysia
Member No.: 146,195
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Like I said, maybe its just Asia Pacific having this Q.C. problem  Sony really doesn't cover outside of the U.S.? That sucks.. I guess Dell would be the better choice here, in regards to warranty, I believe they would have a service center in Mexico as well, so it would be much easier for the techs to come and replace parts if there was any faulty hardware. The price like you said is much more expensive, most likely because of the 2 year limited warranty included, could be, just guessing. But XPS warranties allow you to call in any time, and it's 24/7, and you do get more "special attention" if it's an XPS system.
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Post #7
Jul 2 2009, 10:05
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A gamer, a Guitar Hero/Rock Band/DJ Hero addict, and a trainee a
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Joined: 15-January 06
From: Plymouth, England
Member No.: 151,617
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Quote - (systemX @ Jul 2 2009, 10:18) Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products.. Yeah, stay away, please. Dell's laptops are good quality products. I've got an Inspiron 1720, had it for about 6 months, and the build quality is good, and I've had no problems with it at all so far. The maker to avoid is HP. My parents bought one of their laptops, and it looks alright, but it uses a Synaptics touchpad, which is the cheapest touchpad you can use, and it shows, because it stops working half the time, and I've reinstalled the drivers countless times to try and fix it. It also comes bundled with a hell of a lot more crapware than Dell's laptops. It wasn't too hard for me to get rid of the Dell crapware; PC Decrapifier took care of most of it. HP on the other hand, has a lot of it, and it took a good couple of hours to sort it all out.
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Post #8
Jul 2 2009, 10:49
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Resident Fanatic
Group: Registered
Posts: 705
Joined: 12-January 09
From: United Kingdom
Member No.: 277,774
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Quote - (systemX @ Jul 2 2009, 10:18) Personally I will stay as far away as I can from a Dell because of the quality control that is lacking in their products..
But maybe its just Asia Pacific that faces this quality issue... if you are lucky enough, you get a system that will last you for a very long time, if not, you'll be running into problem after problem and calling tech support and get ****ed in the end, just my humble opinion, does not apply for everyone. Running a Dell Dimension 9100 which is 5 years old which has only had a RAM stick die. Otherwise no failures throughout our family (5+ computers across the family). I'd say definately the XPS 16 (Non Refurb) is the best option.
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Post #9
Jul 2 2009, 18:13
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Perpetual Geek
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Posts: 11,656
Joined: 25-May 04
From: Toronto, ON
Member No.: 56,814
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I don't see the point in paying an additional $245 for the non-refurbished model. Aside from the video card and hard drive, both the non-refurbished and refurbished models are identical.
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Post #10
Jul 2 2009, 23:45
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Formerly known as ArtOf_War
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Posts: 7,395
Joined: 24-June 04
From: México
Member No.: 60,134
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Quote - (Anaron @ Jul 2 2009, 13:13) I don't see the point in paying an additional $245 for the non-refurbished model. Aside from the video card and hard drive, both the non-refurbished and refurbished models are identical. Isn't the 4670 like way more powerful than the 3670?
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Post #11
Jul 3 2009, 21:40
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Perpetual Geek
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Posts: 11,656
Joined: 25-May 04
From: Toronto, ON
Member No.: 56,814
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Quote - (Argote @ Jul 2 2009, 19:45) Isn't the 4670 like way more powerful than the 3670? No. And it certainly doesn't warrant an extra $245.
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Post #12
Jul 3 2009, 21:54
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Killing In The Name.
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Joined: 7-January 05
From: London, UK
Member No.: 89,580
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You're also paying extra for the fact that it's refurbished, and not new.
i.e. it might have marks/blemishes, etc.
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Post #13
Jul 3 2009, 22:14
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Resident Fanatic
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Posts: 720
Joined: 13-December 08
From: UK
Member No.: 274,092
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Just a word of praise for Sony, really happy with mine and in this situation seems to be carrying a lower price tag. In the end it depends wherever you want to spend that extra for the extra you are getting.
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Post #14
Jul 4 2009, 05:47
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Perpetual Geek
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Posts: 11,656
Joined: 25-May 04
From: Toronto, ON
Member No.: 56,814
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Quote - (bmaher @ Jul 3 2009, 17:54) You're also paying extra for the fact that it's refurbished, and not new.
i.e. it might have marks/blemishes, etc. True, but it isn't definite. It could very well be a brand new laptop.
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Post #15
Jul 4 2009, 05:52
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Resident Elite
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From: Toronto, Ontario
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I've got the Dell Studio XPS 16, best laptop I've ever owned. The screen is definitely great.
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