Dell XPS 17" i7/3GB 555m/6GB RAM/1920x1080

[Schmutz]

Hi, I have been searching for a laptop within my budget £500-1000. Through various promotions I have set up the following:

English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.10 GHz
1Yr Next Day Hardware Support
DataSafe Online Backup 2GB - 1 year licence
McAfee® SecurityCenter 15 Month Subscription
44 cm(17.3") FHD WLED AG (1920x1080) with 2.0 Mega Pixel Integrated Camera
3GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M Graphics Card
6144MB (1x2GB, 1x4GB) 1333MHz DDR3 Dual Channel SDRAM
DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write)
750GB (7,200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive
9-cell 90Whr Lithium Ion battery
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard
Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1000 (EUR)
Silver Anodized Aluminum Cover

in short. i7 2670QM/6GB RAM/3GB 555m/17" 1080p display/750GB HDD.

Price = £677.48/free delivery

I have been extremely patient in holding out for the best possible deal on a laptop. I understand this is a very good price though, according to the DELL website (to be taken with a pinch of salt of course) the original value was £1,447.99. The promotion will end soon so I should act quickly.

Massive saving, should I go for it/should I be patient and wait for further deals? I will certainly be investing in a laptop within the next few months.

General usage will be:

Adobe CS (especially After effects for video editing) 3D modelling. For this a reasonable GPU will be required. Music production/Web design/Video editing/Photo editing/watching tutorials. No interest in laptop gaming.

 

[Buckshot420]

I would suggest getting a laptop that comes with Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (make sure you get an actual CD with the laptop and not just a "restore" function). Also, that preinstalled McAfee is going to slow your system down right out of the box (can be resolved if you do a fresh install of Win 7 if the laptop comes with a Win 7 CD). I don't know the $ conversion but it looks like a decent laptop.

 

[Schmutz]

hi Buckshot. I intend on formating/setting up a windows 7 ultimate 64 bit installation regardless so that won't be a problem (also smart enough to get by without anti virus software. Ok, it might seem ironic to use "smart" and "no antivirus" in the same sentence, but I have used Ad-aware and nothing else for over 5 years and simply never get any problems.)

As for £ to $ it would be around $1100. BUT, hardware is generally a lot more expensive here (in the UK) than it is in the US. If this is on par with what you'd pay in the US, then it is a very good deal in the UK haha

 

[raybay]

I second the advice of Buckshot. There will always be a better deal or configuration. Just avoid buying too cheaply.
After serving our 1200th computer client, we would say your luck with Ad-aware is astounding. We find it does very little good, and puts you at risk. But then, again, you may be careful enough in other ways that you have not been infested with the bad stuff... yet.
What would be your purpose in using Ultimate?
I would definitely avoid McAfee, but maybe things work differently among you Brits.

 

[Schmutz]

with experience and knowing what to look out for you can avoid those nasty viruses. Really, haven't ever had a problem.

Now with regards to the laptop, my final concern is whether the upgraded screen @ 1080p / FHD WLED AG is the best laptop display you can get? how does it compare to the "B+RG LED" screen? If the B+RG LED is largely superior I may have to wait until the next deal because I do a lot of graphic design

 

[Buckshot420]

with experience and knowing what to look out for you can avoid those nasty viruses. Really, haven't ever had a problem.

Now with regards to the laptop, my final concern is whether the upgraded screen @ 1080p / FHD WLED AG is the best laptop display you can get? how does it compare to the "B+RG LED" screen? If the B+RG LED is largely superior I may have to wait until the next deal because I do a lot of graphic design

It's not even going to compare to a macbook display if that's what you're after. Most people I know that do G.D. work on macs. You prefer B+RG (It's called RBG LED in america, go figure) over OLED? If that's what you're after I'd wait until later in the year.

 

[Schmutz]

It's not even going to compare to a macbook display if that's what you're after. Most people I know that do G.D. work on macs. You prefer B+RG (It's called RBG LED in america, go figure) over OLED? If that's what you're after I'd wait until later in the year.

Well, there is also the fact that there is always something better around the corner. If the standard 1080p display is "good" then it will probably do. I can do most of the final calibration on the desktop display anyway.

I am left concerned about the portability of the xps 17. 3.6KG. The term "desktop replacement" is used a lot in reviews for this laptop and that really throws me off. I own an i7 2600K/16GB RAM/2x 560ti desktop which I will work on mostly. The portability factor is important I don't mind some compromise but if the xps 17 is completely unfeasible as a portable computer I'd probably be better off with something else.

It is tempting because I was very close to buying 15" i7/6GB/1080p/500GB laptop from kobalt about half a year ago which would have cost around £1200. This is far superior hardware and an amazing price..

 

[FraggerCrue]

Well, there is also the fact that there is always something better around the corner. If the standard 1080p display is "good" then it will probably do. I can do most of the final calibration on the desktop display anyway.

I am left concerned about the portability of the xps 17. 3.6KG. The term "desktop replacement" is used a lot in reviews for this laptop and that really throws me off. I own an i7 2600K/16GB RAM/2x 560ti desktop which I will work on mostly. The portability factor is important I don't mind some compromise but if the xps 17 is completely unfeasible as a portable computer I'd probably be better off with something else.

It is tempting because I was very close to buying 15" i7/6GB/1080p/500GB laptop from kobalt about half a year ago which would have cost around £1200. This is far superior hardware and an amazing price..

The "desktop replacement" term is used to describe a laptop that has performance on a par with a desktop computer. The biggest issues you may encounter with laptops in this category are weight and battery life. Battery life is easy to figure out, but weight can be deceptive. This HP laptop I'm working on is 6.31lbs and I consider it at or beyond the point of portability -- just too heavy to carry around all the time. Maybe okay for taking home at the end of the day, but not something I would want to carry to lunch with me to work on a project while eating. On the other hand, I also have a Sony Vaio Z series sitting here and I would consider it imminently portable; it weighs in at 3.04lbs.

 

[slh28]

You can't really have it both ways with performance and portability with laptops, e.g. the Vaio Z series is incredibly light and portable but also has a small screen and costs a fortune for a decent spec. Macbook Pro screens are amazing but a 17in one with your specs will cost at least £2k.

I think that's an awesome price for that laptop! Maybe you should go to PCWorld and try out the weight for yourself?