Anyone have experience with this notebook? I'm beginning to lean towards it for my new personal computer purchase and it looks like it has plenty of juice to do the things I want. Its got a 16" widescreen monitor, but this will be used mostly as a desktop replacement with very little travel involved. Here are the basics. Let me know if there is anything i need to be wary of.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz)
Memory: 4GB - 2DIMM DDR3
HDD: 320GB 7200rpm
Graphics: ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670 (512MB)
Display: 16.0" 1080p Full HD RGBLED LCD with 2.0 MP Webcam
Optical Drive: 4X Blu-ray Disc Combo Drive (DVD/CD +/- RW +BD Read)
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64 bit)
Wireless: Intel Wireless 5100
Mediabay: 8-in-1 Media Card Reader A+G+N
Battery: 6-cell and 9-cell batteries
Other: Facial Recognition Security; Dell Dock; Dell Video Chat; 2GB Data Safe Online
Dimensions: 0.95"-1.34" x 15.15" x 10.02" with 6-cell battery (H x W x D)
Weight: 6.53 lbs with 6-cell battery

2/4/2009 1:01:56 PM

if you arent going to take it anywhere, just get a traditional desktop

it will be cheaper

2/4/2009 1:12:24 PM

eh, i dont really want a desktop or i would have gone that route.

2/4/2009 1:34:29 PM

that facial recognition software might not work since your so ugly

but other than than, looks good

2/4/2009 2:13:59 PM

POW! Right in the kisser.

2/4/2009 2:47:38 PM

Quote :

"if you arent going to take it anywhere, just get a traditional desktop "

2/4/2009 3:34:44 PM

hmmm, what do i need to look for in a desktop compared to a laptop?

Is it cheaper to buy a monitor seperately these days?

What about RAM? Should i splurge for 8GB on a Desktop?

2/4/2009 6:38:46 PM

whats your budget? dell had a nice deal going on that was a 23" widescreen + nice desktop.. 6gigs ram, 500gb HD, etc for under a grand

probably is something cheaper but that was an easy buy for a desktop for someone at work a few weeks ago

2/4/2009 6:53:47 PM

a grand is probably my ball park.

2/4/2009 7:22:36 PM

I like having a laptop even tho it doesnt leave the house much

I like being able to bring it on the couch, on the porch, on the bed, in the john, in the kitchen, etc.

Don't like being tied to a desk...I get enough of that at the office

[Edited on February 4, 2009 at 7:34 PM. Reason : right now I got this bitch in the kitchen watching my lobster bisque-couldnt do that with a desktop]

2/4/2009 7:33:04 PM

yeah those are my sentiments exactly.

Right now my current laptop is setup like a desktop due to it's hinges being busted. And i like the idea of having just the keyboard in my lap. But, ultimately, i think that when i'm finally in my own place i'm going to want the mobility of the laptop. From my desk, to the tv, to in bed if i'm hungover on sunday.

2/4/2009 8:03:33 PM

went with the XPS 16 after reading tons of reviews and spending countless hours asking questions on notebookreview.com.


should be here in a couple weeks.

2/10/2009 8:54:45 AM

it'll be here by friday if it's anything like what i usually order..

they always say it'll be a few weeks and almost always deliver in under a week

2/10/2009 10:20:01 AM

bttt, well this never panned out. My order was cancelled by best buy, apparently dell cut their deal with them on this particular build. Its actually not that big a deal, i got to see the smaller version of this notebook and did not like the keyboard or touchpad at all, so i guess it worked out.


I'm getting ready to order an HP. This one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147919



The one main difference i notice is that the Dell had 4GB DDR3 memory and this HP has 4GB DDR2. I dont game and don't use programming or editing software. Will i notice any difference here?

3/11/2009 9:20:10 AM

no.

3/11/2009 10:01:45 PM

might slow your PornFinder 9000 down a little

3/12/2009 12:05:06 AM

i can't have that!


and to update this thread again... so i was seconds away from placing the order on the hp when my email pops up. Its from BestBuy, i'm expecting it to be the 5 day email to notify me that the order has been cancelled and everything was back to normal. Nope, exact opposite, your order has been received and packaged for shipping. So it looks like i'm getting the studio xps16 after all.

[Edited on March 12, 2009 at 8:09 AM. Reason : add]

3/12/2009 8:07:45 AM

lol wtf.. would have sucked balls if you ended up with 2

3/12/2009 8:11:46 AM

yeah no kidding...

especially b/c i would have had to keep the HP. I was going to order from newegg and they have a no refund policy on their notebooks.

Now this would have been perfectly fine, the HP is great except for one thing...the screen. Its WXGA+ 17", but the CCFL "brightview" backlight just isn't strong enough to provide even brightness on a screen of that size. I played around with the stripped down version at best buy even more so last night and just couldn't shake that. It was almost like tunnelvision.

3/12/2009 8:14:06 AM