I have officially fallen in love with my new laptop. Recently in October, Dell reintroduced its XPS (Extreme Performance Systems) laptops. I eyed it for sometime because of its highly updated features - two USB 3.0 ports, 720p HD webcam, full 1080p HD screen on a 15.6" screen and more as I discovered after receiving it.
I eventually placed my order on a Saturday 13th of November but Dell only started work on my laptop a week later on Monday 22nd, reason being - parts shortage. Ugh.. delays. The installations took two days, 22nd and 23rd, as indicated by the date programmes were installed on my laptop. Another week later my laptop finally arrived on Monday 29th.
I must say that the laptop's packaging is the most beautiful I've ever come across. Everything down to the protection foam is a cool solid black. I did an unboxing video the next day so you can see what I mean. It comes with a free bag which is of great quality. I chose the Abyss Belkin EVO bag-pack. My only complain is that this bag could be a little slightly taller to comfortably fix my 15" laptop. Dell specifically stated that it fits up to 15" laptops. It still fits, but somewhat tightly. I guess they use the same bags for both 14" and 15" version laptops. Dell Malaysia does not offer the 16" and above versions. I also included the OS Media Kit Discs (set of 5) in my order not realizing that I would be able to burn them out myself. Oh well, at least it saves me that trouble.
Here is the unboxing video:
Looking at flyers and pictures of XPS over the internet, its design and appearance was not appealing - looking like one of those common Dell Inspirons. However, looking at it for real did not appear as bad. In fact, it has its own unique design. The power adapter has a rubber strip permanently attached to it's side for conveniently binding the cable. There is a ring of blue light around the power cable's plug for the laptop-end to indicate the adapter is turned on.
My XPS L501X full specifications are:
Intel Core i7-740QM 1.73GHz 4Cores/8Threads, turbo boost up to 2.93GHz, 6M cache Processor
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 435M graphics
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
15.6" Full HD (1920x1080) B+RGLED display with TrueLife
4GB (2GBx2) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
640GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Tray Load Blu-ray BD-ROM
2.0MP, 270p H.264 Camera
Non-backlit Keyboard
Intel WiFi Link 6200 (802.11a/g/n)
6 Cell Primary Battery
JBL 2.0 Speakers + Waves MaxxAudio enhancement
1 x HDMI 1.4, supporting 3D output for 3D Blu Ray, 3D Video Streaming and Gaming, 5.1 Audio
1 x Mini Display Port
2 x USB 3.0 Ports
1 x USB 2.0/eSATA Port
2 x 3.5mm audio out (one of which supports S/PDIF
1 x 3.5mm mic in
1 x Giga-bit Ethernet LAN Port
9-in-1 card reader
The first impression I had when I first powered it on was the beautiful screen colours. The B+RGLED display does make a difference over standard WLED screens. The saturations appear enhanced and pictures were vibrant. Normal Windows applications do not appear over-saturated as is the case with RGBLED screens. The full HD screen resolution on a 15" laptop provides a good compromise for ample screen space and a less bulky laptop. I also love the generously large, Synaptics-powered, multi-touch pad (10 x 5.5cm not including left/right buttons). It even has pressure sensitivity but I am not sure how to make use of that yet. I wonder if you can use it as a tablet...
Another extra impressive feature are the JBL speakers! Dell has been true to their words. These speakers combined with a sub-woofer underneath the laptop makes incredibly powerful, base-rich and clear sound. You've got to listen to them yourself to believe it. Family members have already been telling me how great the quality is. Coupled with its quiet fan, it's a blast on a quiet night.
I uninstalled almost all of Dell's 'rubbish'. My XPS came with loads of extra cool software pre-installed but yes, I consider them 'rubbish'. Perhaps these programmes are useful for less computer-savvy users. A waste of money for me but I would prefer my computer to run lighter. First to go was the compulsorily included McAfree that comes with 15 months subscription! Why? Because I dislike how antiviruses hog system resources in order to conduct scans. I am my own antivirus and I will try to constantly backup my data. Perhaps I'm just prejudice especially with the now overloaded Norton, but I might consider a light version just to scan portable drives coming from other computers.
The facial recognition software was cool. I had my fun playing around with it, but I found it impractical as I find it troublesome to always position my head for the camera and that it still had to learn faces for different lighting conditions. A user entered password or perhaps a finger print scanner would be more efficient. This is the same case with Dell's Dock (Dell uses Stardocks software for this, must have payed them money and re-branded it). It looks beautiful and sleek with its transparent bar and all, but I don't find it practical. Windows 7's integrated Start Menu search allows me to instantly launch files or programmes without the need to move the mouse or type the full name of the programme. Think of it like a shortcut key. Much faster than moving the mouse, right? So it's goodbye to both facial recognition and dock. There are other user-friendly (or not) mini Dell branded softwares and tools which mostly just function over the original Windows 7 utilities.
The only Dell application that I appreciate is its Webcam Central. It has everything I need, from video and even audio (you can fake a cough or sneeze sent as if it was coming from your mic while in a voice chat for example) effects to desktop screen capture to show others your desktop top. I find this especially useful when I need to assist others with applications. Therefore, Dell Webcam Central replaces my ManyCam installation.
Dell XPS L501X laptop comes with 3 useful lighted touch buttons on the top right section of the keypad. The first button launches Windows Mobility Center which conveniently provide you with a set of most commonly used laptop settings. The second button allows you to launch any pre-configured application. The last one launches WAVES MaxxAudio3 settings.
Windows Experience Index gave my computer a 5.9, limited by the subscores Memory and Primary hard disk. See screenshot for details:
I had the chance to compare the real world speed for the USB 3.0 port with my 2.5" Transcent StoreJet 25M3 500GB external hard drive. Transfer rates are roughly 3 times faster than USB 2.0! A transfer of 34.1GB assaulted data took only 11 minutes on USB 3 compared to 33 minutes and 35 seconds on USB 2. See screenshots for details:
Battery life is typical with a core i7 processor and a dedicated graphics card. Since I'm on the standard 6 cell because I do not want the 9 cell battery that juts out downwards, it lasts about 3 hours with WiFi on. The left section of the keypad and palm-rest can get warm since mine is with i7. Here are some temperature values:
Do enjoy the following extra photos:
Do you own one too? What are your opinions? Leave comments.
