Can''t decide on a new laptop/processor..help =/

[Waleed786]

After weeks of research, I've set my mind on the dell XPS 14 (unless someone can convince me otherwise), my question is that for the same price I can get an i7 740qm with 4gb RAM or an i5 560m with 8gb RAM. Which one would be the better option? (assuming all other specs are the same)

I want the i7 but I heard it gets too hot and will really drain my battery. Is there really that big of a difference? Does the i7 really get that much hotter than the i5?
Also, I know a lot people say that the i7 is pointless unless you're doing extreme 3D editing and things, but I want to make my notebook future proof. I can upgrade the RAM later, but not the CPU. Do you think more programs and future Windows will use the i7 to its full potential?
Money is not really an issue, I just don't want to lose too much battery life, I'm hoping it won't be too much of a difference

[Cowboy]

Rule of thumb for me is if you have the money spend i5-i7 that much noticeable of a difference not really but you will be happy with your computer long if you get the latest and greatest. As for the battery life and warmth. Yeah your going to lose a little battery life. Honestly i am not to sure on the warmth thing tho.

[CaptainChaos]

I run the i7 coupled with 8gb of ram and a 1GB discrete graphics card. Get the i7 and then later on, dump a couple of more gigs of ram in it and you will be future proof. I am a gamer and although the laptop does get hot the temperatures are still in optimal range on all 8 cores.

[Waleed786]

thanks for the help guys, I just found out that the i7 quad core processors dont have built in intel graphics so I won't be able to use Nvidia's Optimus so save battery...you guys know if Optimus really saves that much battery? Is it worth it to downgrade from a i7/nvidia 425m to a i5/420m in order to get optimus?

[awesomeSlayer]

Choose what suits you.

[ikesmasher]

ive always discouraged people to buy dell, have had AWFUL experience with both them and HP. but thats just me...

[Cowboy]

I love hp. Dell has horrible customer service

[CaptainChaos]

I only buy HP and have had a great experience with them. As far as Optimus goes...I wouldn't worry about the 4 minutes of battery life it will save you. I can control more of the battery saving functions right through the Control Panel.Run with the i7.

[Waleed786]

thanks guys, I think im gonna go with the XPS 14 with i7/4gb ram/nvidia 425m 2gb vram/500gb 7200 hard drive. I got all that for $1000 plus a free Sony H55 14mp camera, and free shipping. Good deal right? I've been doing a lot of research and hunting for coupons and that's the best I could find.

As far as brand name goes I guess it's just a matter of personal experience. I've always seen Dell as one of the top in customer service and product reliability. That's why most school's and business's use Dell's. I would've gone with the HP Envy but it came out to be $500 more with the same specs, but that's probably because of all the Dell coupons out there. Only thing missing in the XPS is USB 3.0 and multitouch mouse pad. The Envy is also rated low on battery life so it balances it out.

In the end, the XPS had the most power for it's value, and plus it's Dell's flagship media notebook so I'm assuming I'll have excellent support from them if I ever run into any problems

ive always discouraged people to buy dell, have had AWFUL experience with both them and HP. but thats just me...

What do you use then? Sony? I looked at some of those and although their top of the line in build quality, they're a little overpriced IMO. A Sony with the specs as the XPS would cost me double. I think Sony Vaio is like Macbooks, you're basically paying for the name, not the specs. If I had the money I would definitely go for the luxury.
Other than that I guess we have Acer and Gateway (Didn't Acer buy Gateway?) but I'd rather get something more popular and well known, so if I have any problems in the future there will be more support for it

[CaptainChaos]

Dell does have really good customer service. Where I have never used one of their laptops I have to say I am very disappointed in their desktops. They are buggy pieces of junk that my company seems to love for some reason. You got a really good deal on a very nice laptop. I paid $200 more a year ago for my HP with the only difference being I have a second hard drive bay that I am about to drop another 500gb hard drive into. I have a friend that runs the XPS and he loves it.

[Waleed786]

thats a pretty good deal for a years ago, especially since thats when i7 first came out. Last question, what do you think about those hybrid hard drives? The ones will a small SSD storage for common files, do you think those will help with speed and heat? Obviously theyre not as good as real SSD's but are they close?

[ikesmasher]

thanks guys, I think im gonna go with the XPS 14 with i7/4gb ram/nvidia 425m 2gb vram/500gb 7200 hard drive. I got all that for $1000 plus a free Sony H55 14mp camera, and free shipping. Good deal right? I've been doing a lot of research and hunting for coupons and that's the best I could find.

As far as brand name goes I guess it's just a matter of personal experience. I've always seen Dell as one of the top in customer service and product reliability. That's why most school's and business's use Dell's. I would've gone with the HP Envy but it came out to be $500 more with the same specs, but that's probably because of all the Dell coupons out there. Only thing missing in the XPS is USB 3.0 and multitouch mouse pad. The Envy is also rated low on battery life so it balances it out.

In the end, the XPS had the most power for it's value, and plus it's Dell's flagship media notebook so I'm assuming I'll have excellent support from them if I ever run into any problems



What do you use then? Sony? I looked at some of those and although their top of the line in build quality, they're a little overpriced IMO. A Sony with the specs as the XPS would cost me double. I think Sony Vaio is like Macbooks, you're basically paying for the name, not the specs. If I had the money I would definitely go for the luxury.
Other than that I guess we have Acer and Gateway (Didn't Acer buy Gateway?) but I'd rather get something more popular and well known, so if I have any problems in the future there will be more support for it

I <3 acer/gateway. gateway used to suck, then they were bought by acer.
there is plenty of support for gateway/acer. Believe me, they are well known. at least here in the south. never had a problem with them. Asus is fine too.