Anyone here uses laptop skins? Or keyboard "protector"s? Do protectors heat up the keyboard?

Whew - PC software is causing your internet connection to lag?

Complete cover only covers LCD Screen or internal parts damage, not surface scratches or cracks I believe - you can always give Dell a call.

Question: With the AlienWare M15... offering HD 5850 GDDR5, does this mean that the Studio XPS series can have 5850 in it in the future?

They hardly give discounts on XPS or AlienWare because everybody wants it! But people really want the laptops because of the specs.

Compared to Adamo which was given RM2/3000 discount (way overpriced anyway), and the high spec Dell Workstations, Latitude, and Vostro, which even have i7 dual core, high end graphics cards, and usually 1600x900 res, some have RM750-1000+ discount.

Special thing about XPS is the screen and backlit keyboard I suppose. The "business" type Dell laptops all need extra $ to get backlit, 500GB HDD, or even 4GB RAM.

I think 5850 is good but it isn't hugely better than 5730. But it still is by quite a bit. About time they moved up. 5850 has double the pixel shaders, whatever that means.

Anyone excited about the HP Envy 14? HD 5650, i3 to i5-520M, 14.5 inch 1600x900, backlit keyboard.
Quite expensive as it's a high-end, "premium" model. It totally looks like the new MBPs though!
BTW what is so special about the chiclet keyboards of MBPs and Envies? Apart from looking cool?

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 11 2010, 11:53 PM

Hey guys, what other notebooks have backlit keyboard?

Studio XPS, Studio, Latitude, Vostro, Alienware, Envy, MacBook Pro... and? Asus, Sony?

To syz: Since this is Dell's retail price then any Dell retailer should sell it at this price. Try Digital Mall, Low Yat... what happened to Mid Valley store, Idk.

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 12 2010, 10:23 PM

Whoa holy **** that's RM517 or more discount... wow

I wanted to purchase the 1647 but barely ~RM120 discount...

Why why why the price is not proportional to the product...

Oo i7 > 1645, i5 > 1647. They have different bases...

My experience with Dell services have been really good. The products have been good also. Just weird that a new desktop has a broken GPU and disconnected DVD drive.

Only concern is the XPS 16 has excessive temperatures (in reviews, when compared to other notebooks with similar GPU like HD 4670, 5650, 5730) even without Core i7.

Damn Envy 14 has no i5 option. The i7 one is RM5999, madness!

I think HD 5650 is quite ok. In terms of specs it can compare with the Sony EA16, same processor and GPU.

But, the Sony is crappy: 14 inch 1366x768, no backlit keyboard, and not as cool.

The Envy 14 looks great... 1600x900 14.5 inch... only 2.45kg... temperatures in the review are unbelievable considering the specs... downwards of 40C for external temperatures while under load (HP says only i7 version is available... Zzz...).

Comparatively the XPS 16 and Envy 14 are almost the same in power (5730 > 5650 > 560v but close, and i7 > i5 in multi-core apps). But the XPS is heavier, having Full HD and 15.6inch. For the average end user, a specific 1080p is not necessary, and 900p is good enough.

Sigh... maybe Singapore sells the Envy 14, and if I buy it there I can get international warranty? Hell, SG laptops are cheaper right (after conversion)? Not the student prices (ridiculously cheap) but even normal prices are cheaper... just like USA.

The Y550P here was RM4799, Y560 now RM4999. In USA the Y550P (regional) was only around US$999-US$1099 before heavy discounts. Even after shipping the difference is enough to buy a good netbook (which is stupid for me to say because I hate netbooks - an iPhone maybe).

Same thing, XPS 16 is a few hundred RM cheaper but not as dramatic as Lenovo.

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Holy shit i5-520 config is S$2499 with tax = RM5830 (only 2GB DDR3 WTF) which is nearly RM5999 for the i7 config! Are they flipping mad...
US version of i5-520 and 4GB DDR3 is only RM4275.

That's RM1555 or 36.4% more. WWTTFF.

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 13 2010, 04:02 PM

Hmm, by "verify" you mean you want to confirm the validity of the account.

Give the bank a call while handling your transaction.

Try Dell's website, has their main phone line, works on Sat.

Guys I have a strange question...

For laptops, they come in screen sizes of 11, 12, 13, 14, 14.1, 14.5, 15.4, 15.6, 16 inches etc.

Why is it that the actual length of the LCD screen, or the length of the display panel (from one end to another), is never equal to the number given for the laptop? Like mine is "15.6" but the LCD is 13.5 and the panel is 15.0 long. Same with my old laptop.

What's up with this? Very confused.

Ohh that explains everything. How odd... so it can compare width and height... TY

Don't toss the plastic sheet? What does this have to do with the battery?

Guys anyone excited about Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors?
They are just like the Core i series with 2 in front of the model names - i5-2520 and i7-2720 etc.

But they have some sort of integrated graphics (a bit like the crappy ones on i3/i5 now) which is shown to be as powerful as discrete GPUs (with high clock speeds of 1GHz-1.4GHz, is that even possible)...

Wonder how much they will cost. For mobiles they are making 2.5/3.2 to 2.7/3.4 dual cores (35W) and 2.2/3.3 to 2.5/3.5 quads (45-55W).
And I was wondering when this new hardware would come out. Q1/Q2 2011...

If it's anything like the Nehalem Core is come March/April all laptops will have at least the lowest dual cores (2.5 turbo to 3.2).

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 14 2010, 02:16 AM

I know it has a little gap there. But what can the plastic sheet do? The gap makes the LCD vulnerable?

So the plastic covers the gap, and prevents this?

Pics would be nice

Also i5 and i7 users could you guys post temperatures? Preferably without air cond to gauge usage in normal environments.

Holy... crap. 4-5 hours, and only 49-56C Cpu... and the GPU isn't hot either. Hmm you sig shows i5-450 but you're using i5-520.

These days it's been very warm. Those non-air cond temps are amazing! You got a very good unit.

I am quite convinced. So the vent problem must not be very serious. Considering i5 is 35W TDP.

BTW, I have a desktop with i3, I use CoreTemp and HWM, which is correct? One gives me ridiculously low (<30C) the other gives me very high (with little load).

I feel the Dell dock isn't very useful, lol. How do I make the time from 8/14/2010 to your 14/8/2010?

Next show us idle temps and gaming temps (if you play games).

Anyone watches The Big Bang Theory? They use XPS gaming laptops (not sold anymore) and Alienware and Inspiron.

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 14 2010, 09:39 PM

To disable UAC, you can start an installation file, and when the message comes up (about safety, etc) click on the UAC settings and you can turn it off or reduce it.

Otherwise you can go to control panel to change UAC settings.


Oo the bottom is made of aluminium eh. Well to me, if the top does not feel hot while using, that is great. But if the outside cover of the bottom is hot, if the inside is not hot (according to CoreTemp, HWM) then it should be good.

Oh also lee_what where'd you find that Coupon for -200, how come there're these top secret offers Dell never shows us.

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 15 2010, 12:09 AM

Hmm, yes the coupons are so rare they can only be found by googling... don't know where the hell they're from, but they work... RM400 off for Alienware

There's something really weird with the pricing which can't be explained...

For Alienware M15x, there are 2 starting options (all other specs are exactly the same):

i5-520M + 5730 + 4GB = RM5499
i7-740QM + 5850 + 6GB = RM6599

Now, why is it that if you upgrade the cheaper one to the same specs as the expensive one, it only comes to RM6310?
Shouldn't it be more expensive or equal? Otherwise, why is the i7 option so much more expensive in the first place?

For XPS 16 the higher specs version costs less than the upgraded lower specs version (makes sense, makes Dell more money, but bad for customers).
So of course buying the i7 and 6/8GB version is far more cost-effective than i5. But I don't want the quad core

BTW the coupon still works with Alienware, and expires same time as the XPS one.

Thing about Alienware is it's so heavy (4kg+) and huge it'd be such a bother. But the design and the backlit keyboard. Oh I wish other laptops had coloured backlit. Wish my own keyboard had backlit.

This post has been edited by LightningFist: Aug 15 2010, 02:55 AM

Like shit, treated badly? Lol. For the first 1/2 years I used my Latitude on the sofa.

And 5 years later I dropped it... and it's never been the same since.

And damn, refund received - time to get new laptop! Quick Dell update the XPS or open up a new model.