# Dell XPS 15 Query & Sandy-Bridge Questions



## sameer.pur (Feb 8, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I am thinking of getting a Dell XPS 15 Laptop (L501x)

But since Sandy-bridge is here, I want to clear some things up.

1. When will Dell have new Sandy-Bridge models i.e. for Dell XPS 15 line??

2. Is *Sandy-Bridge fault* is gonna affect the launch of new models?? How much delay can be there??

3. Is there gonna be a price drop in a month or so..??

I need the laptop by end of this month. But i could wait for march if there is something interesting 


Thanks..


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## Kishal (Feb 9, 2011)

Sandy bridge based xps 15 may not be so near, although dell will me refurbishing its linup in the near future. IMO, their interst will be to test sandy bridge with better lappys first, as they have already included SB in the M17x. anyways, i may be wrong, so look out.
Notebooks will rarely be affected, coz the defect is with the chipset, not the proccy. read this
Sandy bridge laptops have already begun coming up, like the asus N53SV.
Hp has SB lappys in the US, no tentative date for India. Lenovo will also be launching SB lappys soon.


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## sameer.pur (Feb 9, 2011)

^ Hmm.. thanks for the info.
But I am solely interested in Dell only. So i guess i will just go with this one. 
One question though, when L502x comes out.. current one will be discontinued or it's price will go down??


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## Kishal (Feb 10, 2011)

IMO, dell will just add SB processors to its customization list and will also continue to provide older cpu's for a while. i'm not an economist, just a student, so again, i may be wrong here. Another thing that appeals to me is that the xps 16 is still the old studio xps thing with a C2D. they might be willing to revamp that first. I did hear a rumour that dell will improve  its limup in feb, but it hasnt been to any effect as of now. BTW, by when do you need this laptop


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## sameer.pur (Feb 12, 2011)

Hi, sorry for the late reply.

Well, I am eager to get it now .. 

But I could wait until 10 march, if there is something interesting...


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## Kishal (Feb 13, 2011)

if you can wait, then its always better be patient than to bang your head in the nearest wall when your newly bought product gets outdated (have experienced it). look out for SB, and IMO, check out other brands too.


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## sameer.pur (Feb 13, 2011)

hmm... you're right. 
I hope they will at least give a announcement for upcoming lineup.


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## sameer.pur (Feb 23, 2011)

Dell US site already have new sandy-bridge XPS 15 and 17.

And all XPS 14,15 are gone from Dell India Site.
Hope this means that they are gonna launch here too soon...


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## Garbage (Feb 24, 2011)

sameer.pur said:


> Dell US site already have new sandy-bridge XPS 15 and 17.
> 
> And all XPS 14,15 are gone from Dell India Site.
> Hope this means that they are gonna launch here too soon...



Can you please give the URL?

Because when I checked, its saying.. XPS 15 laptops are currently out of stock. We recommend a range of XPS 14 and Inspiron 15R laptops that can serve your requirements.


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## pauldmps (Feb 24, 2011)

The XPS 14 has been discontinued. Dell claims that they will replace it with something thinner & lighter.

The XPS 15 & 17 will see Sandy Bridge refresh.


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## sameer.pur (Feb 25, 2011)

Garbage said:


> Can you please give the URL?
> 
> Because when I checked, its saying.. XPS 15 laptops are currently out of stock. We recommend a range of XPS 14 and Inspiron 15R laptops that can serve your requirements.



I said it's available in US and Europe. Check

```
*www.dell.com/us/p/laptops
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pauldmps said:


> The XPS 14 has been discontinued. Dell claims that they will replace it with something thinner & lighter.
> 
> The XPS 15 & 17 will see Sandy Bridge refresh.



Yeah, I have read that news. But XPS 14 is still available on Dell India site for now. 


On the other note, I have ordered a Dell XPS 15, as I seriously need a laptop now. 
i3,i5 are out of stock and i7 is also limited. (as told by Dell Sale Rep.)
But I got a 6% discount.. So it's good for me.


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## Garbage (Feb 25, 2011)

sameer.pur said:


> On the other note, I have ordered a Dell XPS 15, as I seriously need a laptop now.
> i3,i5 are out of stock and i7 is also limited. (as told by Dell Sale Rep.)
> But I got a 6% discount.. So it's good for me.



Hey, great... Congratulations for that! 
BTW, whats the configuration? And whats the exact model number?


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## pauldmps (Feb 25, 2011)

The XPS 15 is now out of stock in India.


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## sameer.pur (Feb 25, 2011)

Garbage said:


> Hey, great... Congratulations for that!
> BTW, whats the configuration? And whats the exact model number?


Thanks... It's the L501x.
Config is = i7-Q740M, 6GB RAM, 750GB HDD, 1080p screen,  nVidia GTX 435M video card and 9-cell battery with back-lit keyboard.
Final price for me 62k.



pauldmps said:


> The XPS 15 is now out of stock in India.


Yeah, it is no longer available for order.


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## reddead (Feb 27, 2011)

sameer.pur said:


> Thanks... It's the L501x.
> Config is = i7-Q740M, 6GB RAM, 750GB HDD, 1080p screen,  nVidia GTX 435M video card and 9-cell battery with back-lit keyboard.
> Final price for me 62k.
> 
> ...



when will it be available again.....i need one by april end....


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## pauldmps (Feb 27, 2011)

^^

Dell XPS 15 Laptop Details | Dell India



> XPS 15 laptops are currently out of stock. We recommend a range of XPS 14 and Inspiron 15R laptops that can serve your requirements.


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## sameer.pur (Feb 28, 2011)

reddead said:


> when will it be available again.....i need one by april end....


I think sandy-bridge upgraded XPS 15 (L502x) will be here by then.


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## reddead (Feb 28, 2011)

what might be the possible cost of sandy bridge version of xps and will they offer the old xps too???


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## sameer.pur (Feb 28, 2011)

reddead said:


> what might be the possible cost of sandy bridge version of xps and will they offer the old xps too???


I don't know, but from the looks of it and pricing of old XPS and new XPS 15 in US, I would say that price would be around 10k higher if not same, but the old ones won't be offered. They would just replace the current processor options.


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## reddead (Feb 28, 2011)

sameer.pur said:


> I don't know, but from the looks of it and pricing of old XPS and new XPS 15 in US, I would say that price would be around 10k higher if not same, but the old ones won't be offered. They would just replace the current processor options.



does it mean that they will just add up the option of sandybridge processor in the customization options.....while showing the earlier processors too...


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## sameer.pur (Feb 28, 2011)

^ No, In my opinion and the way the sales rep who i talked to said, old processors are out of stock for now, and since new are here, they aren't gonna replenish the old stock.

So only 2nd gen. processors and compatible hardware (read GT5xxM series) will be available for customization.


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## reddead (Mar 1, 2011)

crap! i wanted the  dell xps 15....for 55k it was possible for me...
dunno at what price would they relaunch it.....


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## pauldmps (Mar 1, 2011)

Will be at approx the same price range.

You can also look for other brands. Lenovo Y560 is an excellent VFM. For your budget, you can pick an i7 based Y560 with 1GB HD 5730.


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## sameer.pur (Mar 1, 2011)

One of my brother's friend who also ordered a XPS 15, just 2 days before me with a i5 processor, got free upgrade to i7 and GT435 graphics card because i5s were not available.

By the way, mine is in shipping now. The shipping company shows it in Transit now for chennai to bangalore.


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## reddead (Mar 1, 2011)

i wish the sandybridge version also cost 55k only....?


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## sameer.pur (Mar 1, 2011)

^ best of luck for that. 
And yeah, try for some discounts by talking to sales rep. I got central govt. employees discount of around 5%.


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## reddead (Mar 1, 2011)

thanks bro...
u really central govt employee???


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## sameer.pur (Mar 1, 2011)

Not me buddy... my father is...


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## pauldmps (Mar 1, 2011)

^^ Won't they give discounts to state govt. employees ?


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## sameer.pur (Mar 1, 2011)

^ Don't know. Maybe you should try asking them. But, be very polite with them.


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## pauldmps (Mar 1, 2011)

I still have about 3 months before going for a purchase so let's see then.
Thanks anyways.


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## netcitizen (Mar 2, 2011)

What is the dell xps  equivalent Asus Sandy bridge laptop ??


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## reddead (Mar 5, 2011)

inquired about the new dell xps 15 and dell people say that it would be here by 25th of march:0

EDIT:sb xps will be releasing on 29th or early next month


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## Garbage (Mar 5, 2011)

reddead said:


> inquired about the new dell xps 15 and dell people say that it would be here by 25th of march:0



I don't think so... I checked with 2-3 people from DELL. All said they are no more making it... :S


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## pauldmps (Mar 5, 2011)

^^ XPS 14 has been discontinued. XPS 15 will ship with Sandy-bridge processors sometime soon.(If you believe *reddead*, then 25th March this month)


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## sameer.pur (Mar 11, 2011)

Yeah.. one of my friends also ordered XPS 15 with me.
While mine has been already shipped. His order was on hold, sales rep said they can't provide XPS 15, so they offered old XPS 14 stock (old because now discontinued, no sandy-bridge). But he declined because there is no Full-HD screen on that.
So now he will get a XPS 15 L502x (sandy-bridge one) with 2-yr. extended warranty also in compensation. Estimated date is around march 25. so it's a win-win situation for him. 
Meanwhile I am happy with my laptop. It's a beast machine and regarding heat/noise issues, i haven't found any.  
No noticeable noise and heat is acceptable. (Since my battery is 9-cell one, it's elevated.. so good airflow too!) and battery life is not bad.


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## reddead (Mar 11, 2011)

@sameer.pur
congrats
your friend getting the replacement without any extra charges???


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## sameer.pur (Mar 11, 2011)

^yeah...
today he got a call that i5 is available in XPS 15, but I advised him to wait, and he did so.


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## Crhysis (Mar 13, 2011)

@sameer.pur - I also recently ordered an XPS 15 which got cancelled and Dell asked me to get a XPS 14 instead. But since I insisted on the XPS 15 they said  I would have to wait till the 25th of March to place the order again.

Will your friend receive his laptop by the 25th of March or will he be able to place his new order then?

I have been asking the sales rep about the Sandy Bridge version of the XPS 15 but he says he has no information about when it will arrive.

Also it would be great if you could let me know how your friend went about getting compensation from Dell on his new order so that I can maybe get the same. After all, they have delayed my order by over a month.

Thanks.


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## sameer.pur (Mar 15, 2011)

^ Actually I think orders will be placed from 25th itself only (hopefully..)
So ~10-15 days from 25th would be the delivery date. 
And the sales rep himself said that they are ready to give him one year extra warranty. He didn't ask beforehand.


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## Crhysis (Mar 16, 2011)

@sameer.pur - Thanks much. The XPS 15 just went back on sale on dell.co.in this evening. However they don't have the option to configure it with the i7 processors yet, only the i3 and i5 for now.


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## ashu@digit (Mar 16, 2011)

are they built on 2nd gen processor  ... ?


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## Crhysis (Mar 16, 2011)

So far its still the 1st gen listed on the site


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## sameer.pur (Mar 16, 2011)

yeah.. looks like they've got stock.. but it's 1st gen only for now..
they'll just add 2nd gen proc. options when it releases here. 
It also reads 2nd gen. processors in the XPS 15 description there..


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## reddead (Mar 18, 2011)

jsut checked dell Malaysia site and the dell xps l502x i7 SB  prices starting at 56k,same as l501x so i guess there wont be any price diff in india too...
sweet deal,getting it in month or 2


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## sameer.pur (Mar 21, 2011)

^Good... My friend will be one of the first ones to get it..


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## Crhysis (Mar 22, 2011)

Don't know if we will see Sandy Bridge processors here that soon. I spoke to Dell again and they said no news of it as yet, but they did confirm that the 1st gen i7 processors available on the 29th of March.


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## siddheysh (Mar 22, 2011)

when Dell Inspiron 15R with SB processors will available in India?


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## Crhysis (Mar 25, 2011)

Update: Spoke to Dell today they said that the XPS 15 with 2nd Gen i7 will be available by the 29th of March.

Of course earlier this week he told me that it would be 1st Gen i7. So I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.


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## reddead (Mar 26, 2011)

^they cant bring the old gen i7 again
sandybridge will for sure.....dont worry


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## Crhysis (Mar 29, 2011)

Dell XPS 15 with i3, i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge processors now available on Dell India website
Dell XPS 15 Laptop Details | Dell India


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## DMD007 (Mar 29, 2011)

WTF yaar...they have put i5-2410 (2.3 ghz), i7-2630(2 ghz)..
whr the hell i7-2620, 2720??????
m really disappointed..i was eagerly waiting for this launch..


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## 047 (Mar 29, 2011)

Can anyone tell me if there is any price difference between laptops from india and UK...? I want to buy xps15 (with SB) from UK but dont know if there is international warranty on it. Can anyone pls help me?


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## pauldmps (Mar 29, 2011)

^^ Dell has international warranty. You'll just have to fill up a form at their website.

And there is a huge price difference between India & US (can't say about UK). But unless someone brings it with himself, you're going to pay a lot of money as custom duties & shipping charges. That will be more than what you'll pay if you buy it in India.


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## DMD007 (Mar 29, 2011)

ya dats true..its lot cheaper in US and btw if someone is not coming from der then which are the safe ways to get one from US? i mean like DHL service or something other??? shud it be purchased in our name in US or wht?


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## pauldmps (Mar 29, 2011)

^^ If you get it shipped, you'll have to pay custom duties which amounts to about 15-20% of the price + shipping charges (about 4-5k for a laptop package).

USPS, DHL, FedEx, etc. ship to India.


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## reddead (Mar 29, 2011)

crap, 2.5 k more for the 540 gpu...
will have to adjust with 720p screen...


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## pauldmps (Mar 29, 2011)

^^ I agree. GPU choices are disappointing.

Keeping my fingers crossed for the Lenovo Y570 series.


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## amit3987 (Mar 29, 2011)

reddead said:


> crap, 2.5 k more for the 540 gpu...
> will have to adjust with 720p screen...



I guess it would be better to upgrade to a 1080p screen than upgrading the GPU.... as I read in the notebookreview forums that the GT540M is similar to an overclocked GT525M and gives only a slight performance upgrade.

Also in the same forum I saw people complaining about the quality of the 720p screen(though most of the users were from U.K)..... I have seen the 1080p screen of L501x and its just awesome....


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## pauldmps (Mar 29, 2011)

What is the use of a 1080p screen if you cannot play games in HD resolution on it ?

Those laptop manufacturers think people are fool to buy laptops based on how good looking they are. eg:- Sony


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## amit3987 (Mar 29, 2011)

Wanted to know if there is any significant difference between the default :
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 with Bluetooth v3.0+HS and the 6230 ??

Also is there any significant difference between the 2630Qm and the i5 one which dell are offering?? 
which one would be a better config for a futureproof lappy plus playing  latest games at med res. : 
i5 + GT 540M 
or i72630QM+ GT 525M


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## Manickaraj (Mar 29, 2011)

According to Dell site the new XPS 15 laptops can be configured with HSPA mobile broadband card and tv tuner card similar to the XPS offered in the US. But I can't find it in the customize option. Any of you guys successful?


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## 047 (Mar 30, 2011)

pauldmps said:


> ^^ Dell has international warranty. You'll just have to fill up a form at their website.
> 
> And there is a huge price difference between India & US (can't say about UK). But unless someone brings it with himself, you're going to pay a lot of money as custom duties & shipping charges. That will be more than what you'll pay if you buy it in India.




Hi, Yes someone is coming from UK so i planned to buy a laptop from there. I have heard that there is some power supply issue with those of UK/US if we use them in INDIA. Is it true?


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## pauldmps (Mar 30, 2011)

^^ The power adapters are generally universal. Check the input voltage - If it is 100V-230V; 50-60hz, it will work in India. Else, purchasing a different adapter from India will do.


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## 047 (Mar 30, 2011)

How much is the performance difference between i3 with SB and i7/i5 (without SB)..?
which one will be better in performance..?


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## pauldmps (Mar 30, 2011)

The i7 in most cases (multi-threaded applications & in multitasking).


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## reddead (Mar 30, 2011)

amit3987 said:


> I guess it would be better to upgrade to a 1080p screen than upgrading the GPU.... as I read in the notebookreview forums that the GT540M is similar to an overclocked GT525M and gives only a slight performance upgrade.
> 
> Also in the same forum I saw people complaining about the quality of the 720p screen(though most of the users were from U.K)..... I have seen the 1080p screen of L501x and its just awesome....



i have been told that there is not much of a difference in 720p and 1080p on a 15.6 screen .....it is noticable more on a bigger screen


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## amit3987 (Mar 30, 2011)

amit3987 said:


> Wanted to know if there is any significant difference between the default :
> Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 with Bluetooth v3.0+HS and the 6230 ??
> 
> Also is there any significant difference between the 2630Qm and the i5 one which dell are offering??
> ...


 anyone???


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## pauldmps (Mar 30, 2011)

^^ For games, the first config will be better but don't expect it to do wonders. Even HD5650 is a better GPU than the GT-540M.


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## 047 (Mar 31, 2011)

Can anyone tell me which is better ?

1). Intel® CoreTM i3 2310M Processor (2.1GHz/3MB cache) click here)
2). Intel® CoreTM i5 480M Processor (2.66GHz/3MB cache) click here)


which one to choose?


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## Crhysis (Mar 31, 2011)

047 said:


> Can anyone tell me which is better ?
> 
> 1). Intel® CoreTM i3 2310M Processor (2.1GHz/3MB cache) click here)
> 2). Intel® CoreTM i5 480M Processor (2.66GHz/3MB cache) click here)
> ...



The i3 2310 is comparable to the i5 430M. So I'd say go with the i5 480M processor. It will be slightly faster and also has turbo boost which the  i3 2310M  does not. However the integrated graphics card on the i5 480 is not as good as the one on the i3 2310M, but you will have the Nvidia card in any case for your heavy duty graphics processing.


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## sameer.pur (Mar 31, 2011)

^^ Of-course i3 2310M will be better!
Why go for 1st gen processor when there already is 2nd gen. processors available??
(Unless there is budget issues..)


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## 047 (Mar 31, 2011)

Thanks sameer and crhysis for ur replies....


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## reddead (Mar 31, 2011)

does i5 and i7 make much of difference??
bcoz my budget is 60k at max and i want both the 1080 screen and 540 gpu
i5+1080+540=61k[640gb]
i7+1080+540+65k[640gb]
which one should i go for??


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## amit3987 (Apr 1, 2011)

even I am stuck in the same dilemma as reddead above. 
which config would suit better for browsing, med. res gaming(fifa, nfs, cod), watching movies, multitasking etc.
i5-2410m + 525m or i7-2630m +525m...
would like to know if I would really feel any significant performance boost if I choose the i7 over the i5. 
Also I have read that the power consumption of the i7 will be larger about (10w) than the i5. would this be a significant difference.

I would also like to know what discounts does dell offer and how much? 
Also, in a quote that I received from dell they have included an extra charge called the CVD which amounts to almost 9% of the laptop(which I dont understand considering the fact that on the site it states that the price is inclusive of all taxes.) Do other manufactures like Sony , Hp also charge this CVD  above the mentioned price??


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## pauldmps (Apr 1, 2011)

^^ The 2nd generation i7 will definitely be better than the i5. Power consumption will be higher on the i7.

For gaming, I won't suggest the 525M. Get the 540M.

Dell offers 5% discount to students & 8% to Dell employees.

I have never heard of CVD. Do you mean Octroi ? Which state are you in, BTW ?


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## Crhysis (Apr 1, 2011)

Just received confirmation for my Dell XPS 15 today. They upgraded my order to the L502x. So I got the 2nd Gen i7, Nvidia GT540 and a 750GB HDD at the price that I paid a month ago for the 1st Gen i7, Nvidia GT435 and a 500GB HDD.

Can't wait for my order to get here.


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## amit3987 (Apr 1, 2011)

pauldmps said:


> ^^ The 2nd generation i7 will definitely be better than the i5. Power consumption will be higher on the i7.
> 
> For gaming, I won't suggest the 525M. Get the 540M.
> 
> ...



CVD= Counter Vailing Duty. Its almost coming to 8-9% of the cost of the laptop. I am from Mumbai. 

Also I have heard about problems of driver updates of GT 540m due to which most users are not able to play latest games.... hence had opted for GT 525m.... let me know if the GT 540M offers a significant advantage over 525m
Also any idea of the availability of Sony C series laptops here... I say pre-booking being done at Flipkart... though am a little sceptical of the prices mentioned there.. as they quoted a 14 inch model for 55K+ whereas the same config 15 inch model was for around 54K


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## Crhysis (Apr 1, 2011)

Dell offers a 12.5% discount to employees. I got a quote for a fully loaded XPS 15 which cost 81G on the Dell site but the total cost on the quote was 71G. If you know someone at Dell who can help you out it is totally worth it.


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## pauldmps (Apr 1, 2011)

The GT-540M is definitely better than GT-525M. But I won't be happy with any one of them especially when I'm spending 50k on a laptop.

So I'm waiting for the Lenovo Y570 with GT-555M.


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## reddead (Apr 1, 2011)

pauldmps said:


> The GT-540M is definitely better than GT-525M. But I won't be happy with any one of them especially when I'm spending 50k on a laptop.
> 
> So I'm waiting for the Lenovo Y570 with GT-555M.



lenovo y570???
launch date??expected price??
i personally dont like the build quality which lenovo provides....
anyways if they offer better than dell at same price i dont mind..
will 570 have full hd screen??


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## sameer.pur (Apr 1, 2011)

I doubt lenovo will have full-HD... but who knows.. maybe. 

My friend also got his quote today. He paid 60k for i5,GT420, FHD, 500GB & 9-cell battery a month ago.
Now he's getting i7,GT525, FHD, 750GB & 9-cell battery with bonus 2-yr. ext. warranty..


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## pauldmps (Apr 2, 2011)

^^ The Y570 would have a full HD screen (optional maybe). 

[youtube]CsPGujAXhYo[/youtube]


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## dreamcatcher (Apr 4, 2011)

MSI Sandy bridge laptops have been launched in india. Check site for more details.

Can anyone give me details on the support provided by MSI? IS it worth taking the plunge?

Can anyone tell me where i can buy MSI lappies in kolkata?


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