Dell XPS13 G210M & Windows 7 Review

[marker01]

Originally Posted by powerpack

Very nice write up. I mean sweet! I like small. But can you talk about heat? I know as small as it is going to run hotter but what do you think? Good?

Excellent question. The quick answer is that it depends if SLI is enabled, but the results are drastically different.

I basically have 2 modes of PC usage.

1. Basic usage = NO HEAT
This includes internet browsing, watching TV, M$ Office. All with SLI disabled.

I think I put “basic usage” is put to the limit. I’m taking online classes for a Masters in Computer Information Systems. For this last class I’ll commonly have 10+ IE windows open, 3 or 4 word documents, some excel, at least one video lecture playing, and multiple “minor” apps running (mostly calculators) to get me through this advanced calculus course. I experience no heat at these times, and I’m online for many hours at a time. After clocking 4 hours in a class you can barely call the notebook warm.
I also do much remote work on this notebook, where i'll have a sea of application open (i commonly max IE instance, 15+ office docs open, countless instance of explorer.exe, etc) with the same results. no heat, no need for a laptop cooler (outside of proper air flow). Since CISCO does not have an x64 VPN client outside of CISCO Anywhere, I sometimes have to run an x86 Windows XP VM when connecting to this VPN concentrator. Even with a VM running heavy and high CPU usage, I experience no major heat and do not require a laptop cooler for comfort.


2. Gaming (SLI enabled) = Hotness!

My current game is AION, 2009’s MMORPG of the year. AION puts any gaming rig to a test, not the worst, but certainly going to have the GPU fans running 100%. To put the heat into perspective, I still use the Nexut TDD-3000 Heat-Pipe laptop cooler(no fans) and it actually gets HOT after a couple hours of gaming. My Alienware m15x (GeForce 8800m GTX) never had this laptop cooler “hot” but the XPS 1340 certainly does. The rear exhaust blows heat at such a high rate you can compare it with a small hair dryer. Its fine to game on, but you “need” a decent laptop cooler; you’re not gaming with this rig directly on your lap! However, the palm rests, keys, and mouse pad only get (rather) warm. Never uncomfortable, but you know your notebook is cooking underneath.


That is the leather trim you see, and it is very nice. I normally don’t care about things like that, but I had to get Boston University red and you have to get the leather. It adds nice aesthetics, and is helpful when carrying the notebook; if you only touch the leather it prevents fingerprints on the glossy surface.

[airtas]

hows the keyboard on this?

[mosh]

Hey marker01 can you specifcy what you mean by "with a push" to get 5200? Did you overclock the card? If so with what program. Thanks.

[marker01]

Originally Posted by airtas

hows the keyboard on this?

Love it! no wide open slots between keys. The lighted keyboard is great for use in a dark room. There are 3 settings; off, dim, and bright.

Originally Posted by mosh

Hey marker01 can you specifcy what you mean by "with a push" to get 5200? Did you overclock the card? If so with what program. Thanks.

Glad someone asked
I did slightly overclock it, getting that to work was not easy.
Rivatuner failed, it would not show the GPU's for overclocking.

The standard Nvidia nTune OC utility did not work either. it seriously blue screened the box when you try to launch any nTune utility (including NVmonitor!)

I finally came across 6.02_nvidia_system_tools. this is a Nvidia add on that works great for overclocking the 9400m & g210m in the XPS13! default Nvidia OC tools work fine.
I know it can go further then the 3dmark score i got, the trick is getting both the 9400 and g210 in a "happy" sync. I just haven't had time to push it any further.

[qhn]

Originally Posted by marker01

Love it! no wide open slots between keys. The lighted keyboard is great for use in a dark room. There are 3 settings; off, dim, and bright.


Glad someone asked
I did slightly overclock it, getting that to work was not easy.
Rivatuner failed, it would not show the GPU's for overclocking.

The standard Nvidia nTune OC utility did not work either. it seriously blue screened the box when you try to launch any nTune utility (including NVmonitor!)

I finally came across 6.02_nvidia_system_tools. this is a Nvidia add on that works great for overclocking the 9400m & g210m in the XPS13! default Nvidia OC tools work fine.
I know it can go further then the 3dmark score i got, the trick is getting both the 9400 and g210 in a "happy" sync. I just haven't had time to push it any further.

Link please?

cheers ...