Dell Stuido XPS 16 Question

[Alcal]

I also vote g73. My friend has an m15x, and it weighs just as much but doesnt utilize the mass as well (smaller screen). I get with power saver on and screen brightness at around 1/2 (kb backlight off) around 1.5-1.75 hours if I'm in a class with no outlet near me. Its manageable.

The webcam for the g73 is also LEGIT, like 2mp if I recall correctly, and shows colors pretty well. Not great in low light, but hey, its a webcam. The mic is only single array, but picks up sound just fine and none of my friends complain even though they all have gaming headsets with built in mics and I just use Sennheiser stereo headsets+the laptop mic for gaming.

I can't speak for the M15x webcam/mic/battery (although I have a suspicion that the 460m is a more power-hungry card than the 5870)

Upon research, the 5870 uses 50 watts while the 460 seems to use 72 watts (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M - Notebookcheck.net Tech) so I suspect you may get better battery life with the asus, especially if you make use of the power4gear utility. Again, solid battery figures would be better.




@Audiophil92
About the cooling, the M15x with the GTX260 and the G73 with the 5870 have very similar temps both at idle and under load. I think the 460 will make significantly more heat than the current 260 however. The new nvidia Fermi cards are remarkably power hungry and put out loads of heat (hence the high TDP mentioned earlier)


EDIT 2:
With the M15x you will get a sturdier chassis (although the g73 is far from flimsy), really honking cool lights, and some awesome branding.
With the Asus you will get a larger screen (and dedicated numpad), if you get the G73Jh-A1, you get a great default warranty: 3 year+1 year accidental and generally more bang for your buck (8gb ram, 1tb hdd, 1080p default screen, the list goes on).

PS. I was struggling with the same choice as you are, and my only regret with the G73 is the vbios firmware issue, but that and just about all of the other G73 issues have been fixed now.

PPS.They will have near identical performance as long as you get the GTX 460, not the 260 or 5850.

[Audiophil92]

Upon research, the 5870 uses 50 watts while the 460 seems to use 72 watts (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M - Notebookcheck.net Tech) so I suspect you may get better battery life with the asus, especially if you make use of the power4gear utility. Again, solid battery figures would be better.

your post seems to imply that the m15x uses the 460...the m15x only has the gtx 240, 260, and the 5850MR as gfx cards

@Audiophil92
About the cooling, the M15x with the GTX260 and the G73 with the 5870 have very similar temps both at idle and under load. I think the 460 will make significantly more heat than the current 260 however. The new nvidia Fermi cards are remarkably power hungry and put out loads of heat (hence the high TDP mentioned earlier)

I was talking about the m15x temps with a 5850, not with a gtx 260

[tnad]

I don't think anyone was able to figure out how to play games on the G73JW on battery. They cannot override the downclocking on battery. I suspect the G73JH is the same. In any case, gaming on battery will probably give you less than 30 min with any gaming laptop. The 460m by the way runs much cooler than the 5870m. I also doubt battery can go over 2 hrs in either the G73 or m15x.

[tnad]

your post seems to imply that the m15x uses the 460...the m15x only has the gtx 240, 260, and the 5850MR as gfx cards

That's not true. It uses the 460m too.

[Audiophil92]

o.O rly? I haven't checked since I got mine, guess its pheasible :> I'd still say get the 5850 tho, if one is willing to OC... One can easily clock the 5850 to 5870 levels, or even a bit higher... Don't know the exact temps on the 460 but as far as I'm aware it has less OC'ing headroom/runs hotter than the 5850..

[jwolf7722]

M15x. Build quality alone wins.

Got mine from the outlet for around 1000 so deals are out there.

[Alcal]

The G73 battery throttle issues are based in software and can be easily fixed.

Yes, the M15x just recently got the GTX460, and I don't know about the OP but I would always take the highest power card available to any system I buy. Its easier and safer to downclock/undervolt than to overclock

@Jwolf
that's a bit of a two-dimensional comment, and having handled both machines extensively, it's safe to say that there is NOTHING wrong with the BQ of either machine. The M15x is more solid, but its like comparing oak wood to hickory, both are pretty dang hard.

[ePsychotiC]

LOL, all the people that have replied have either owned or owns both of the laptops specified.

M15x
-Metal Chassis(not saying better BQ but feels better than plastic)
-Alien FX lighting
-Being Alienware
-Very easy to change parts and overclock
-Better warranty(yes ASUS has ADW but their actual quality of reps is lacking compared to dell's)

ASUS
-Better GPU
-Looks less flashy
-Better webcam
-Better value for the money

I would go for the M15x with the GTX460m if money was no object. If money does come into play then I will definately suggest the ASUS over the Alienware. If you like all of the flashy colors and the pride of owning an Alienware go for it!
-

[Alcal]

both computers will scare the heck out of your teachers if you're a student. My m15x buddy and I compete for awkward looks from our teachers, but he usually wins when he starts changing the colors of the alien head... that really bothers them lol

[Boomcrafterr]

I want to check this laptop out before I buy it so I was wondering where I could find it in retail, whether it's better to buy at retail or online (generally because there might be a great deal or something).
I live north of New York City (zipcode: 10520 if it helps).


The second part of the question is that since the laptop is premade I was wondering where I could find all the options so I know what I'm looking at. I think the Asus site is sort of bad because I can't finde prices or The different options or anything, so help would be appreciated.