At exactly 9am in the morning I was stunned to find a SkyNet truck waiting in front of my house, suddenly Terminator 3 popped up in my head, to my surprise it was the Dell Vostro I've been waiting for these past two weeks. And guess what, Its order No.1 for the day and perhaps the first to be delivered in Malaysia! Boooyaaa!

Specifications

17.3" High Definition+ Wide LED Anti-Glare Display
Intel Core i5 430M 2.26GHz
4GB Dual-channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
Windows 7 Home Basic 32 bit
Vostro 3700 Nvidia Geforce GT 330M 1GB Graphics
500GB Hard Drive, 7200 RPM
x8 Drive DVD/RW
Palmrest with Finger Print Reader
Wireless Network Card 802.11
Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Module
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
90W AC Adapter
Price:RM 3077.00



I'll upload the unpacking pictures when I can, gonna be a bit busy soon.
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Update!
Gosh, after a very busy day finally I'm able to upload the pictures, hope you guys like em!



Here's a link to my flickr account. I made it specially for the unboxing!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48649820@N02/

Graphics
i. Just completed benchmarking it with Unigine Heaven 2.0 under Direct3d11, which turned out quite slow. Scored a lousy 259 with an average FPS of 10.3 on high settings with native resolution! I did another check on native resolution with low settings and it gave a score of 329 with PFS of 12.9, which isn't a big difference from the initial score. So the claim that some said that the native resolution was too heavy for the graphic card is now plausible.
Not so decent results, but I haven't tried it with games yet. Maybe I'll try it out with L4D2 since thats the only game I'm currently playing.

ii. Some of the guys here suggested I test it out on 3D Mark 06. Most fortunately, I've been holding an original CD which came along with my Sapphire where I couldn't get it to work on my current desktop. Until just today I got it to run smoothly with much patience. Had a decent rating on optimum settings with a score of 6721 which was what some reviews on the net gave for Nvidia Geforce GT330. It strengthened my faith in my new laptop.

I also attached the benchmark results for anyone who wants to check it out for themselves.

General Usage
Overall, the layout is great with a comfortable keyboard, got used to it quite fast; still craving for back lit ones. Weight is surprisingly lighter than what I expected. The design is sleek and elegant with the huge 17" screen. Sound wise, I bluetoothed an mp3 from my phone; which took awhile to figure out but the sound was below average. Strain it with high volume and there goes the sound, thinking of getting those mini speakers so I can watch movies with my girl, but I'll stick with my headphones at the moment. Battery lasted for about 2 hours with everything on, bluetooth, wifi, downloads etc. So its quite decent for work. OS response so far was good, but I still prefer a better Windows 7 edition with 64x. The DVD drive was running well but creates a buzz when its functioning, nothing to complain about. Overall, a good laptop for work/college, some media entertainment and light gaming which is exactly what I aimed for. To say its worth the 3k? I should say yes, definitely.

Opinion
As for the casing color I got mines changed for free, apart from the great service I was given, the pleasant surprises on the actual speed of delivery and the build itself; despite being a little disappointed about the graphics along with limited customization for Windows 7 Home Basic, all in all, its worth the 3k spent. Concerning the weight of the laptop, I think it weighs the way it looks, not as heavy as expected. Somewhat lite for its size, but rest assured its best to get a backpack for it if you intend to bring it around, the weight will definitely take a toll on your posture so its not advisable to use a sling bag. Skater bags are always huge so it would go well for this laptop. For those who are into the freedom of customizing your OS to your own preference, such as 3rd party themes, customizing windows layout etc, the Windows 7 Home Basic is limited from full customiztion because it is only available for Home Premium and above, so for me, this was quite a disappointment. The best I'm able to do is just change the wallpaper and change the appereance setting which only came with limited colors. It doesn't come with the 'Personalization' shortcut provided by the better versions.

Laptop Bag for teh Vostro:

I just went hunting for a laptop bag and found a sweet deal by someone in the Garage Sales section who was selling laptop bags called Everki. Despite its strange name, the bags looked quite simple and yet stylish for my taste. Well I went to the dealers place this evening at Bangsar, after a tour around Bangsar; lost for a moment, I finally found the place. It was the first turning to the left after the temple at Jalan Bangsar. With much anticipation, I met the dealer, and checked out the backpack. It looked surprisingly small for a 17" bag, which was good. But since the Vostro is quite big, it couldn't fit the edges in. The backpack was slightly smaller for the laptop to fit, even if it did fit, the extra space wouldn't be enough if you were to bring a whole lot of other stuff along. Despite the minor setback there was another model which is meant for 18" laptops, but with less luck. It was out of stock. The price is much expensive than the previous bag I had in mind. But it provides what I need, something to fit the laptop and everything else. So I'll be getting the bag later this Monday, so for those who're having trouble for their bulky/huge laptops, here's a heads up.

Everki Beacon Laptop Backpack: 18"

Everki Swift Laptop Backpack: 17"

Just got the Everki Beacon last night from montell81. It was a swift deal, I came, I saw, I tried and I bought it. Simple and precise. I love the look, I don't really mind its size because the design is quite good. The Dell Vostro fitted perfectly into the bag compartment and there was plenty of space for books and such. I even stuffed in my somewhat cumbersome headphones in. Its quite heavy if you put a lot of things inside, but the weight distribution over the shoulder was somewhat effective, so you wouldn't really feel the actual weight. The only minor downside is I didn't like the way the bag was wrapped around my shoulders, it was a tad wide around my shoulders, if it was slightly narrower it would've been perfect. Despite that, still it was a good deal and a great purchase! Thanks montell81 for the sale!

Here's a link to some of the pictures I took of my new laptop bag!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48649820@N02/...57623732861912/


This be teh link to the seller:
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...&hl=Laptop+bags


More to be done, more to be said, so once I'm done with my fun I'll update you guys!

This post has been edited by SPuNx: Aug 5 2010, 08:56 PM


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 unigine_20100324_1427.html ( 3.21k ) Number of downloads: 149
 unigine_20100324_1442.html ( 3.19k ) Number of downloads: 78

Received mine @ 8/4/2010

All comparison are based with Asus K50AB.
My user experience is only based on what i feel, it may not reflect to one's preference.

Built Quality & handling

Chassis feels sturdier and suprisingly better built than i've expected. Less creaks and assembly parts feels better assembled than my previous Asus. Nice multimedia touch screen with bright white lighting as indication. Keyboard wise, it's ok, but i prefer the Compaq CQ' series tactile feel. They are deeper stroked and have more 'mass' to the button. The vostro is ok, definitely not the best, but also not the worst. stroke is a bit short for my liking. Arrow keys are a bit small, sometimes i miss pressed it.

Cover lids are crafted from aluminum, which makes me to believe (as other website reviews indicated), the chassis is made from alu too, which provides better rigidity and less flexing

Screen Quality

Out of the box, it needs some calibration & tuning. I based it on the windows' calibration color tool, and now it seems better to my eyes. Viewing angle, well it's decent. off course, don expect full blown quality from this kind of price. it's OK so to speak, i can live it it well. One thing good, it's not glossy' relatively. compared to my previous Asus, it definitely has the anti glare coating over, sort of like a semi 'matte' viewing experience. i like it alot, it's an improvement over the conventional reflective glasses.

Audio

I would rate it slightly better off than my previous Asus. It has more clarity (probably tuned for more treble?) . OK, for normal use.

Gaming

ALL @ OC mode.

Games I've Played:
- Battlefield Bad company 2 = Smooth with all settings @ medium
- Supreme Commander 2= Smooth all max( game itself is not graphically stressing, so no suprise)
- Assassin Creed2= Smooth, all max except, shadow and texture quality set to 3/4 respectively
- GTA EFLC = soon
- Napoleon Total War = Soon
3dMark06(attachment)

Stock = 67xx
OCed (about to the max) = 83xx

well again, it's only as reference, u may hit higher/lower depending on the luck/batch of chips u have.

Heat Management
Quite good. on the right hand palm, it's virtually cool even at load. on the left it's slightly warm, but not overburning and uncomfortably hot. I did some Folding@home, GPU folding (card OCed 740/850), whole chassis doesn't heat up that much except for the heatsink area off course. card stays around 70-72C @ room temperature with normal ceiling fan.

Battery Life
Around 3hours Wifi+power saver setting. Well, not bad for a 17". It's meant as a deskstop replacement.

Is this laptop for you?
Simple ask yourself, if you're looking for deskstop replacement,and do not mind a 17.3", this is an excellent option to go. why? for below 3k, u get a gt330m, above average chassis, and dell's exceptional after sales service. Off course, there are trade off with the physical size. Battery life and portability is compromised.

IF battery life/portability are priorities, this model won't fit u well

Dell Vostro Competitor
TBC

This post has been edited by kucingfight: May 17 2010, 04:03 PM


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This is fast...can't wait for the unboxing pictures ...

yeayea..
open a topic thr.. and picture pls..

Congratz for get ur hands on the Beast~
i would say, currently best lappy under 3k~
expecting ur specification and review~

Well, need to inform mod if want to move this thread

Yes do inform the mod, am currently fidgeting with the lappy, the finger print thingy is annoying, I'll get to that later. Pictures have been taken.
Not really good at taking pictures though.

Awesome! i hope u can put review of this Laptop 2 help "poison" d others. lolz, enjoy ur new terminator!

haha... is really a good desktop replacement with a reasonable price..

Gratz 1st since you're the lucky no.1 Vostro 3700 user in LYN . Now show me the pics!!!

TS must be busy fiddling around with the monster by now..hope can give us update in time soon ..waiting to see the pictures

Can anyone borrow me money to buy vostro 3700

Wow, so fast already arrived ha. I thought need to wait for weeks n weeks.

Pics n benchmarks would be nice.

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Added on March 24, 2010, 1:08 pmI am also saving money for a laptop. But no decision to buy or not yet.

This post has been edited by Borsch Soup: Mar 24 2010, 01:08 PM

Pictures are up ...NICE!!!!!

There were plenty of more pictures I wanted to add, but all the coding was really confusing so I randomly chose a few pictures from the start of the unboxing till the end. There were tons to pick but pecah kepala la wanting to choose carefully.

quick one..reso is 1600x900?

Yup, The red colour SO NICE.

nice Red colour...

Home Basic???

you color roughly just like mine