Someon sent me a PM asking me several specific questions about my XPS. I decided to publish my responses.
How is the portability of the notebook?
If portability means walking from the car, across the parking lot, into a building then yes it is portable.
If portability means walking about a 200 meters (about 650 feet or two North American football fields), then it is not portable for many people.
is it really as huge as people make it up to be?
Yes. It is like 2 notebooks stacked one on top of the other.
Weight, does it kill your shoulder?
Fill a backpack/bookpack with 13 pounds (just under 6 kilograms) of books and stuff, and carry it around. Wear the backpack over one shoulder - to emulate a laptop case.
How is the performance?
Excellent. Make sure you get the 60 GB 7200 RPM drive. A slower driver - even if it has more gigabytes - hurts performance of the unit.
sound?
The sound is very good. Note: the included battery has a subwoofer. It is recommended to purchase the optional battery, which does not have a subwoofer. The optional battery has a longer life.
does heat become bothersome?
The XPS and 9100 run HOT - especially under prolonged use. This is normal for them. There are 3 fans in them - fan vents are on the bottom. These machines ARE NOT supposed to be placed on a lap. They need a flat surface - desk, table, lap tray - to allow air flow under the unit for the vents.
How is the WUXGA screen, for general use.. Word/IE is the text too small?
I don't wear glasses, plus I am naturally far-sighted. In my opinion the resolution is fabulous on WUXGA, Text is small and crystal clear. It's great for a developer like myself because I can be in the Visual Studio.Net IDE with all the toolbars that I want pinned, and still have a very large work area. I love it.
How is the design?
The design is good. The keyboard is rock-solid.
i know its not the most pretty notebook unlike the ferrari which is a head turner,,, but how is the dell?
"Industrial" describes it well.
is it such an eyesore that some people here think it is?
No. Other people want Dell to produce custom colors. Dell probably won't do this because it wants to be able to have interchangeable case parts between the home and business PCs. Most fortune 500 companies want plain looking PCs. I would expect Dell to follow the wishes of "big business".
i really like the specs and i need a notebook for 3-4 years and i like playing games every now and then so the graphics card will let me keep the notebook much longer especially with the 256MB card....
what are your thoughts on the Ixps? pros and cons
Pros: I love my XPS. It has everything that I need in a notebook.
Cons: There are air vents at the top corners of the keyboard, right in front of the hinges. The only bad thing about them is that if you leave the notebook running and you close the lid then it will begin to overheat.
The cover plates for the memory and mini-PCI card can get hot enough to scald bare skin. Letting the notebook cool down before putting it away is probably a good idea. The laptop case or backpack will insulate the notebook and will keep it from cooling down quickly.
The two buttons above the scratch pad need a heavy touch of the finger to make them work.
Any major gripes?
There is no auto/air adapter for it - at least not yet.
How is the portability of the notebook?
If portability means walking from the car, across the parking lot, into a building then yes it is portable.
If portability means walking about a 200 meters (about 650 feet or two North American football fields), then it is not portable for many people.
is it really as huge as people make it up to be?
Yes. It is like 2 notebooks stacked one on top of the other.
Weight, does it kill your shoulder?
Fill a backpack/bookpack with 13 pounds (just under 6 kilograms) of books and stuff, and carry it around. Wear the backpack over one shoulder - to emulate a laptop case.
How is the performance?
Excellent. Make sure you get the 60 GB 7200 RPM drive. A slower driver - even if it has more gigabytes - hurts performance of the unit.
sound?
The sound is very good. Note: the included battery has a subwoofer. It is recommended to purchase the optional battery, which does not have a subwoofer. The optional battery has a longer life.
does heat become bothersome?
The XPS and 9100 run HOT - especially under prolonged use. This is normal for them. There are 3 fans in them - fan vents are on the bottom. These machines ARE NOT supposed to be placed on a lap. They need a flat surface - desk, table, lap tray - to allow air flow under the unit for the vents.
How is the WUXGA screen, for general use.. Word/IE is the text too small?
I don't wear glasses, plus I am naturally far-sighted. In my opinion the resolution is fabulous on WUXGA, Text is small and crystal clear. It's great for a developer like myself because I can be in the Visual Studio.Net IDE with all the toolbars that I want pinned, and still have a very large work area. I love it.
How is the design?
The design is good. The keyboard is rock-solid.
i know its not the most pretty notebook unlike the ferrari which is a head turner,,, but how is the dell?
"Industrial" describes it well.
is it such an eyesore that some people here think it is?
No. Other people want Dell to produce custom colors. Dell probably won't do this because it wants to be able to have interchangeable case parts between the home and business PCs. Most fortune 500 companies want plain looking PCs. I would expect Dell to follow the wishes of "big business".
i really like the specs and i need a notebook for 3-4 years and i like playing games every now and then so the graphics card will let me keep the notebook much longer especially with the 256MB card....
what are your thoughts on the Ixps? pros and cons
Pros: I love my XPS. It has everything that I need in a notebook.
Cons: There are air vents at the top corners of the keyboard, right in front of the hinges. The only bad thing about them is that if you leave the notebook running and you close the lid then it will begin to overheat.
The cover plates for the memory and mini-PCI card can get hot enough to scald bare skin. Letting the notebook cool down before putting it away is probably a good idea. The laptop case or backpack will insulate the notebook and will keep it from cooling down quickly.
The two buttons above the scratch pad need a heavy touch of the finger to make them work.
Any major gripes?
There is no auto/air adapter for it - at least not yet.
