Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 turn white, we fall in love
By Tim Stevens 
posted Aug 26th 2009 9:18AM
posted Aug 26th 2009 9:18AM
Read - Studio XPS 13
Read - Studio XPS 16
posted Aug 26th 2009 9:18AM
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damn!
I'll take the Piano-Black model over this ipod-white nonsense.
2ed this.
Agreed. Black just looks better on the XPS line.
No kidding, the darker my electronics, the better.
Normally I would agree that black w/chrome always looks better than a white w/chrome option. In the case of the piano black option or the white option, the white just looks better. Give me matte black option then 100% the black option will look better.
Once you go black
white is superior to black in everyway except technology
iPod-white? I personally thought it leaned more towards macbook-white but that's just me. It's about time they made it in white, I seriously thought of purchasing this back when it first came out but due to many hardware/software complaints and the fact that I would have to wear gloves whenever I used it go keep down the unsightly fingerprints that would inevitably happen because of its ultra gloss black paint I decided to pass.
I like the white on black color scheme of the one in this picture, actually. Extremely classy looking. Whereas the all-white Macbooks look a little toy-like.
Black plastic looks always looks cheap. The white Macbook is way better looking than the black Macbook.
@Steve >> "Black plastic looks always looks cheap."
Plus... black shiny plastic always looks scratched!
If black plastic looks cheap, then why where people willing to pay the $100 premium just to get black?
I'll say this: White really is a fantastic colour for technology.
So long as it never gets touched.
Well, on a glossy system like this, it's not such a problem.
Actually, glossy white handles touching A LOT better than glossy black.
@CJ: To me, it really just depends on the gadget. Most look ok in a glossy white, but some just look like crap. Same goes for other glossy colors though. I think matte version of colors always look decent.
@jakem: Like the piano black option is any better? Atleast with the white, you wont see the finger prints, scuffs or dust on it as much.
If the rest of the laptop's plastic was also white, I'd vote for this, but as-is; not a chance.
I actually prefer the matte black finish on my thinkpad. Flat black hides all sorts of blemishes.
i'll keep my leather accent, tyvm
How is the leather accent holding up? I am torn between the leather option or having the plastic option on this laptop.
the leather is actually doing great, i really really really love this laptop (16)
Powerful enough? Hows the screen? Did you get the blu ray drive option?
Im looking for a laptop that is powerful enough to play games (Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Supreme Commander 1 and 2 mostly), some photo editing/graphic art (CS4), movies and internet browsing that is future proof enough that I wont have to buy a new laptop in 3 years to keep up with software.
The [non rgbled] screen is gorgeous, but recently they moved to 15.6" panels for the entry model, so YMMV. I did not get the blu-ray option, only because I only download/stream my media. As far as power goes, it has handled everything I've thrown at it very well, CS4 Master Suite, GTA 4...haven't tried Crysis yet, only because it crashes in windows 7. This laptop is pure sex, and i would recommend it to anybody who needs power and [a fair amount of] portability.
@Matt
I've had this laptop for almost a month and it is simply the best laptop I've ever owned. The LED Screen puts my 24" Dell LCD to shame. I use CS4 and Lightroom, both run great and I love the monitor for graphics editing. I also went with the Blu-Ray, SSD, and the 1GB Radeon options. The SSD is quiet and SUPER fast. I do development and my Visual Studio build times have been cut in half due to the speed of the SSD. I was able to run the HDMI port to my TV and get full 1080p and 5.1 surround. Blu-Ray movies look and sound great running from the laptop onto my entertainment system. As for gaming I was able to run Crysis at 1080p with High settings and I've really enjoyed playing Tales of Monkey Island on my TV while relaxing on the couch.
The biggest downside is it gets hot when you are running anything graphic intensive. You wouldn't want to do much gaming or movie watching with it in your lap. However while running applications or just browsing the web this isn't a problem.
I think it should be able to run Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 just fine, but as I don't know the system requirments for the games I can't really say for sure. But I think for the price this is one of the better all-in-one gaming/multimedia laptops around.
@Andrew Moulton,
I am running Crysis with no issues on Windows 7 x64 (RC and RTM). I'm using the Windows 7 drivers from ATI and I installed all the Crysis patch's. I've played it a couple of hours and not had any issues.
I ordered my XPS 13 in merlot last week, and I got the leather option as well. I hope it holds up, because the pics look great with it. I bought mine for virtualization more than anything else and got 8GB of RAM to go in it.
How well is Windows running on that laptop?
I bought a Dell Studio 1537 a couple months back and Windows does not want to cooperate.. A clean install of Ubuntu runs great, but I need Windows for my own personal "expeditions"..
Sexy!
So instead of a black overheating machine, you can have a white overheating machine...fantastic....
It doesn't OVER heat, it just gets reasonably hot when you really push it...I will say, if you're gaming, put it on a FLAT surface, as to not block the bottom vents.
Given that it's no way pushed as a gaming machine circa 'ye olde XPS'... you shouldn't be suprised if it melts your groin when you try your luck with gaming. Especially on the 13 with its tiny chassis and insufficient cooling for the task.
For those of you looking, I was lured by its good look and bought 3
1st one had a bad hard drive
2nd one froze and died from overheat
3rd one returned due to loose / defective vent at the back
All of the above have problem disscipating heat. If you push screen backward, it blocks the vent, whole machine become an oven.
I had one USB port that didn't work (i bought scratch 'n' dent from the outlet) but it was no big deal, they came to my house, replaced the motherboard and left, no problem what so ever.
Does this have an overheating problem too? My ex-girlfriend's Dell Studio 13 would get so hot that you could fry an egg on it. Hey, multi-tasking!
It's a feature actually...
While heat may be an issue, a Crudbook "Pro" - supposedly a machine capable of greater things, if Applefawning people like engadget are to be believed - gets hotter. What people weirdly don't acknowledge is that they actually put a PC to better, more intensive use than a Mac they treat with kid gloves. Crudbook overheats in Boot Camp gaming? "Oh dude, it's not designed for gaming" "Oh dude, buy a cooler" "Oh dude, you've got to be careful with the fans". Why doesn't the same apply to a machine a thousand bucks cheaper? Simple - we expect PC's to be more useful, and actually in fact, really "just work" in the end, and we feel cheated if they aren't.
My only reason for dumping the XPS 16 was the screen - just like the glossy Crudbooks, totally invisible outdoors or in brightly lit interiors. If they go matte I'll gladly re-buy it.
Except this system overheats while surfing the web.
Now that I think of it, It probably does overheat, If you use Vista...I wouldn't know, I upgraded to 7 the day I got it.
+1 for monteb.
"My only reason for dumping the XPS 16 was the screen - just like the glossy Crudbooks, totally invisible outdoors or in brightly lit interiors. If they go matte I'll gladly re-buy it."
That's the one reason I didn't buy it. The same reason I was considering dumping Apple. *sigh*
As a high-tech marketing dude, I can tell you with absolute certainty that people make big-money electronics purchases based on color alone ALL the time. You'd be amazed.
You can be a "gadgeter" and to keep the style.
100% truth.
For the average consumer looking to buy a cheap digital camera in Best Buy, I would imagine the thing that matters most is price, while brand recognition and color are tied for 2nd. If it's a color/gloss/matte/texture that they absolutely LOVE, I wouldn't be surprised if it's actually MORE important to the average customer than brand recognition.
If Apple does it, it can't be wrong marketing-wise.
hey.. i had tipped engadget on this 3 days ago! So engadget takes 3 days to read tips & investigate!!? Tats fast! LOL
I tipped engadget yesterday too! they kept the story to themselves no thank u or anything to us :(
No-one makes purchasing decisions based on colour... except Microsoft's Polish customers apparently.
Can someone crudly photoshop / gimp / mspaint this laptop into that image?