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Dell Studio XPS 15, XPS 17 rumored to be coming this fall
These aren't quite completely official just yet, but a pair of new Dell Studio XPS laptops have turned up on the French website LesDelliens.com, and Dell France has seemingly offered a confirmation of sorts that they'll soon be rolling out. The laptops in question include the Studio XPS 15 and Studio XPS 17 (seemingly successor to the XPS 13 and XPS 16 pictured above), which are said to pack Core i7 processors, an unspecified NVIDIA graphics card, and up to 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive on the XPS 15, and up to 16GB of RAM and a 1.2TB hard drive on the XPS 17. As for that statement from Dell France, it says that while it doesn't normally comment on rumors, there is a "strong likelihood" that the systems mentioned will be marketed in the near future, and that they'll be "great machines" that are "slim and sleek."
Dell finally makes right, offers up-rated power adapters to close the Studio Throttlegate
It's taken a long time, too long by most accounts, but Dell finally has what looks to be a proper, honest to gosh fix for the CPU throttling issues that have been plaguing some of its Studio laptops. Users were reporting that the machines, when faced with slightly elevated temperatures, would throttle themselves back by up to 95 percent, leaving some folks with 100MHz paperweights. Dell issued a firmware update quickly after we shed a little light on the situation back in December, a "fix" that helped some but, apparently, not all. We're just now hearing that the company apparently launched a program back in February to replace the stock 90 watt power adapters with more capable 130 watt models for anyone suffering this affliction. However, this doesn't seem to be a proper recall, as the reports we're seeing indicate only customers who call and complain have been made aware of this program. So, consider yourself made aware. The source link below will take you to the official site where you can order a replacement adapter, but if it doesn't like your service tag number give Dell support a call and mention this program. We're hearing others are having success going that route. [Thanks, Kevin]
Dell sticks AMD's latest crop inside new Dell Studio XPS 7100 line
Dell's wasting no time appropriating AMD's new Phenom II X6 chips, pushing out a brand new Studio XPS line to deal with the new top of the line (and a few quad cores as well) from "that other processor company." While AMD can crow about having more cores at a mid-range price, Dell isn't trying to pass these off as pure competition for Intel's brood: the Studio XPS 7100 line is AMD-only, while the Core i-based Studio XPS 8100 desktops are a clear step up model number-wise. The 7100 baseline system, with integrated graphics, goes for $699, but Dell's doing this with an enthusiast slant, packing in a 460 watt power supply to power up some fancy graphics and giving hardcore users room to grow. We got to check out a $1,199 system running the AMD Phenom II X6 1050T, which is supposed to be somewhat comparable to an Intel Core i5 760, and paired up with ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics and 6GB of RAM the machine makes for a pretty tight gaming rig. Unfortunately, AMD's top-of-line 5970 graphics are being held for the Studio XPS 8100, and AMD's best new X6 chip, the 1090T (roughly a Core i7 870), won't be available from Dell until this summer. Still, if you're looking for a nice balance between price and performance, AMD and Dell might have something to offer with this new understated desktop setup. %Gallery-92820%
Studio XPS 16 OLED concept laptop hands-on
Beautiful viewing angle and legitimately wide viewing angle, the Studio XPS 16 OLED concept laptop was on hand and turning heads at Dell's CES suite. It's definitely a beaut, claiming a super-thin 2mm screen, a 0.004ms response time, and a contrast ratio "exceeding 10,000:1." The big catch here, as you can see in some of the images below (the giant "Please Do Not Touch" sign deterred us from fixing ourselves) is that the ultra-glossy wrist panel is a beacon for dust. Feast your eyes below! %Gallery-82330%
Dell packs Intel's Lynnfield CPUs into Studio XPS 8000 and 9000 desktops
With the introduction of new Intel CPUs comes the introduction of new rigs, and you can bet that Dell has been champing at the bit to unveil these two beauties. The new Studio XPS 8000 and 9000 machines are amongst the first from the Round Rock powerhouse to include Intel's minty fresh Core i5 and Core i7 processors, with the 8000 aimed squarely at mid-range users who'd prefer a smaller case. Both rigs can be equipped with some pretty decent innards, with up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM, room for dual internal hard drives, eight USB 2.0 ports, an eSATA socket, 350W power supply and an optional TV tuner available. Graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA are also available (ATI's HD 3450; NVIDIA's GT220, GTS240 and GTX260), and if you're really feeling crazy, a Blu-ray drive can also be slotted in. Both rigs can be ordered up today, with the 8000 starting at $799 and the 9000 requiring at least $1,999 to bring home.
Dell's Mini 9 vanishes from retail site as red Studio XPS 16 returns (update: Mini 9 is on the outs)
We don't want to point fingers, but at the same time Dell's Studio XPS 16 red option suddenly returns -- now a "Merlot" instead of once-axed "Crimson" -- the Mini 9 conspicuously goes missing from the company's website. Coincidence? We think not. It's a regular murder mystery, and it looks like we have our prime suspect here, caught... erm, red-lidded. Catching the killer, though, won't bring it back, but at least its younger brother, the Vostro A90, still seems to alive and kicking. Update: We just got off the phone with a Dell customer service rep who told us the same thing a handful of our tipsters heard: the Mini 9's being phased out, with its official "End of Life" possibly as soon as Monday. Shed a tear for our 2008 netbook of the year. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!] Read - Merlot red Studio XPS 16 Read - Dell.com search for "Mini 9" Read - Refurbished Laptop stockroom
Dell now offering Studio XPS 13 with Ubuntu
Dell's been showing Ubuntu lots of love over the past few months, so it's no real shock to see the Linux-based operating system slide on over to Dell's hottest (literally and figuratively) 13-incher. The Studio XPS 13 can now be ordered with Ubuntu 8.10 or 7.04 right from the factory, though it seems you'll be forced to upgrade to Jaunty Jackalope once the rig hits your doorstep. Ah well, you won't find us kvetching over added options, so we'll just pencil on a smile and raise a glass to diversity at Round Rock.[Thanks, Landon]
Dell injects WiMAX into trio of laptops
While making a point to assert it's looking into LTE as well, Dell has for now jumped on the WiMAX bandwagon by announcing it'll offer the technology as an option on its Studio 15, Studio 17, and Studio XPS 16 laptops. US customers can pick the Intel 5150 WiMAX / Wireless-N combo card for $60 under the wireless card tab when customizing. Right now, we'd wager a few people living in Portland, Atlanta, or pockets of Baltimore just got mighty happy.
Sonic shoves Qflix DVD burners into more Dell desktops
We know you're struggling to believe your eyes, but those Qflix burners actually are still hanging around. For those who missed all the action last year, these devices enable users to download a DRM-laced film onto their PC and burn it onto a specially-keyed DVD for playback. In other words, you can forget about toasting flicks to that dusty stack of DVD-Rs you've got laying around from late '05. For whatever reason, Dell has seen fit to extend its partnership with Sonic Solutions by offering internal Qflix drives on the Studio XPS Desktop, Studio XPS 435, Studio Desktop and Studio Slim Desktop. The wild part? Its actually charging more for having you clean out its inventory.
Dell Studio XPS 13 unboxing and hands-on
We finally managed to wrestle one of the sleek Studio XPSs from Dell's mitts, and we've got the pics to prove it. At first glance, the 13-inch laptop is striking, with its leather wrapped back and high gloss finish. However, we have a few minor quibbles that make the laptop a little less exciting than we'd hoped. Firstly, the leather is a bit rippled across the top -- not a huge deal, but it skews the "design" aspect here. In a similar fashion, the super-glare display is just as distracting as it is on other screens of this type, and there seems to be another slight ripple -- or wave -- in the plastic (though this isn't wholly uncommon). Once you open the box, you're greeted to a matte, low-profile keyboard that feels terrific to the touch, though unfortunately the trackpad is not only minuscule in size, but located to the left of center, which makes no sense to us (especially on something of this size). For hands like ours, we found the experience to be a bit cramped. On the software side, the boot into Vista was certainly speedy, and though we had typical issues (crapware, pop-ups, general bugginess), the system still felt pretty snappy. We're going to be taking a more in-depth look -- especially at the capabilities of that NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G 9500M GPU -- but for now, feast your eyes on the gallery below!Update: Our mistake! We actually have the model with the 9500M GPU. Even better!
Dell's Studio XPS laptop might be going red
The so far black-only Studio XPS laptop might soon be getting an injection of color. A "Bordeaux" (red) version of the portable was spotted at Dell's design labs, and the company told CNET an official release is currently under consideration. It isn't related to (Product) Red, however, so if you're eyeing this beaut, be sure to do it for style and not charity. Also on display at the labs were some test designs for next-generation server racks, for the fashion-minded out there needing a proper storage solution. Hit up the read link for more pics from the lab.
Dell Studio XPS 435 up for sale, action starts at $1099
Yeah, we're smitten. We couldn't tell you what Dell's doing here that they haven't managed in the last 100,000 XPS desktop designs, but whatever it is we want to buy it flowers and CryEngine 2-powered games. The new Studio XPS 435 landed on Dell's site a couple days ago, and is now available for configuration and sale. The "base model" sports a 2.66GHz Core i7-920 processor, 3GB of RAM and an ATI Radeon HD 3650 256MB graphics card. Things of course rise dramatically from there -- you can add another grand to the pricetag by bumping the processor alone, and the 24GB of RAM option is a nice $1,500 addition -- but we'd say the base model is a pretty solid start. Dell's quoting a March 19th ship date, but that's just "preliminary" at the moment. [Via DesktopReview] %Gallery-45941%
Sleek new Studio XPS 435 materializes on Dell website
Well, what do we have here? Dell's own website has outed a new Studio XPS 435. Here's the specs for its supremum configuration: a 3.2GHz Intel Core i7 processor extreme edition on a X58 chipset, up to 24GB DDR3 SDRAM and 4.5 TB with three hard drive bays, ATI Radeon HD4870, Blu-ray disc drive, 15-in-1 card reader, and eight USB 2.0 ports. Of course, getting the max settings is certainly going to cost you a pretty penny, and at this point we've got no deets on pricing or availability.[Thanks, Chris]
Dell Studio XPS 13 and 16 hands-on
We hit up Dell for a few more minutes with the sleek new Studio XPS 13 and 16, and our positive early impressions just got better with time. We're really digging the leather panel on the lid, and while the machines are total fingerprint magnets, when they're cleaned up they're pretty eye-catching -- particularly the light-up circles on the hinges and the backlit keyboard and mouse buttons. Even the bottom is slick -- it's nicely detailed and the whole things lifts off (Dell calls it a "garage door") for easy access to the RAM and hard drive. We nabbed a ton of shots, check it out in the gallery!%Gallery-41436%
Dell's Studio XPS 1640 gets rough-handled and photographed
Dell's new Studio XPS laptops came quietly onto the scene this morning, and CNET has been gracious enough to share their hands-on photos of the 16-inch beauty with us. The 1640 (like its 13-inch sibling, the 1340) is the love child of the company's Studio and XPS lines. If you're so inclined as to hit the read link there are plenty of delightful pics of the machine with its backlit keyboard, "smart-looking" leather trim and happenin' 16:9 display.
Dell's Studio XPS 1340 and Studio XPS 1640 sneak onto the scene
In all-too-familiar fashion, Dell's new Studio XPS laptops have snuck onto the company's store with nary a press release to keep them company. The 1340 is obviously the Studio XPS 13 we saw last month, while the 1640 is naturally the 16-inch version of the leather accented system. Both machines are (oddly) hitting at the same $1,199 pricepoint, with Core 2 Duo processors and the typical smorgasbord of options. The base model of the 1340 includes a P8400 processor, Vista Home Premium, a 13.3-inch WXGA LCD, 2 megapixel webcam, 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, 320GB 7200rpm SATA drive, slot-loading DVD burner and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G graphics, while the 1640 is similar, but with ATI Mobility RADEON M86XT graphics.[Via NotebookReview.com; thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - Dell Studio XPS 1340Read - Dell Studio XPS 1640
Studio XPS 13 materializes on Dell website
Earlier this week we showed you photos of the slick Dell Studio XPS 13, and now it's popped up on the company's website -- sort of. It's currently showing among its laptop lineup, but trying to get to the individual product page gives us an error screen. Starting price is $1,406, sandwiched just between the XPS M1330 and M1730. We think it's safe to say we'll be seeing the official launch soon.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Dell's Core i7-packin' Studio XPS hits the review bench
Dell's Studio XPS had "winner" written all over it from the get-go. With practically every other Core i7 rig on the market catering specifically to gamers who were willing to pay a premium for an equally cutting edge GPU, this machine directed itself to everyone who just wanted to do everything but game (and do so quickly). The kids over at DesktopReview were able to take the sub-$1,000 box for a spin, and while they weren't too fond of the relatively plain chassis, it was pretty much thumbs-up everywhere else. Performance in everyday applications was stellar, gaming was better than average and the value was unbeatable. Overall, the Studio XPS is darn close to the perfect machine for folks who want to compute quickly and play a game or two on the side, but rather than taking our word for it, we'd suggest hitting the read link and having a look for yourself.[Thanks, Max]
