Hi all.
I figured with all the help I got with questions during my visits to this website I decided to add my own review. I don't have a camera so I won't be able to take any pictures sadly but there are plenty on the site from other people already.
First I want to point out that I had originally had an Area 51m 7700 on order with Alienware but after doing some research and asking questions in different threads here I decided to cancel my order. So I cancelled my Area 51m 7700 order on April 11th and placed my order for the Dell XPS Gen 2 instead.
My reasoning behind the switch was very simple: I wanted to get the most advanced graphics card available. I was leery about the Dell having a Pentium M but after I read through the thread I put up comparing the Pentium M to the Pentium 4 and reading the information given from other people there I figured that the gap wasn't nearly as large as I had originally thought.
The original shipping date for my XPS was Monday, April 18th however there was a delay with the shipping so I didn't get the computer until Friday, April 22. All in all I was very pleased with the service from Dell so I can't complain about the small delay.
I had read in some threads that not everyone was getting a copy of the Windows XP CD or driver CDs with their order. I was happy that my order did in fact have all the accompanying CDs in the package including the Windows CD. After getting the computer out of the box I opened it up and turned it on. Not a single dead pixel anywhere on the screen. I found the resolution to be a bit high for me so I had to turn that down a couple of notches so I could actually read the text without squinting.
One of the first things the computer did when it turned on (before even making it all the way into Windows) was detect not one network (mine) but THREE networks in range with the built in wireless networking card. Heck my desktop only picks up my own network with a USB network adapter.
As far as light leakage goes there was a small bit of light leakage along the bottom edge of the screen when I first turned it on. After running the computer for a couple of days (today being Sunday) I can say that the light leakage is completely gone.
I tested the DVD player by watching I Robot all the way from the beginning to the end and I am very impressed. Very sharp image.
The LED lights are one of my favorite parts about this computer which is ironic since I was unaware that the XPS even had LED lights at the time I placed the order. Upon first turning the computer on it was set up with the Sapphire color on all three sections (fan, speakers, and back panel). I have read a thread or two here which had pictures showing an in Windows application to adjust the lights and fan speed however I have yet to find that application anywhere. I instead changed the light settings in the BIOS when the computer first boots up by pressing f2 right before going into the Windows splash screen. Right now I'm still playing around with the different colors but I'll most likely go back to all sapphire when I'm done. As I mentioned in another thread there are no pictures that truely do the LED lights justice, it's one of those things you must see in person to believe. I think that was the major fascination with my coworkers who saw the computer. Even though they were impressed with the system's performance, they were mesmerized by the LED lights.
Keyboard -
The keyboard is probably the one thing I'm not very impressed with. It feels more like a kid's toy then an actual keyboard. Every so often I actually get my fingers caught on the bottom edge of the keys and it feels like I might accidentially pull the key out of the socket. I'll most likely be using a USB keyboard when using this computer so it's not really a big deal.
Touchpad -
I really don't have an opinion either way with the touchpad as I have been using a USB optical mouse since the computer came out of the box. Optical mouse > all IMO
From what little I've used it, it seems very nice. I had a less then stellar experience with the touchpad on my parent's Inspirion 1000 that I had purchased for them as a Christmas present in 2004, hence I use an optical mouse instead.
Overall I'm happy with my Dell XPS purchase. With the use of a USB keyboard and mouse this thing blows away my desktop. Which is a good thing since it's going to be my desktop replacement for the next few years.
I played some EverQuest on Saturday and even with all the settings maxed except for resolution which I lowered so I could read the text, I didn't have a bit of slowdown even running through the crowded areas of the game where my desktop slows to a crawl. I had no slowdowns in any of the areas with lot's of vegatation either which was another choke point on my desktop.
If you managed to read this far you're probably wondering what kind of benchmarks this computer is pulling. When I first loaded 3DMark05 up and ran it with all the Dell garbage loaded and running in the background my score was 4889 3DMarks - then I realized that the graphics card was set to 75% Quality and 25% performance. I reran the benchmark after adjusting the setting to 100% performance and scored 5028 3DMarks in 3DMark05.
Today on Sunday, April 24th I ran a whole bunch of benchmark tests for your viewing pleasure...
System Specs (Relevant to the benchmarks):
Dell XPS Generation 2
2.0 Ghz Pentium M
1 GB RAM
60 GB HD @ 5200 RPM
NVidia GeForce 6800 Go Ultra 256 MB
The following benchmarks were run on default settings with all the Dell programs running in the background as well as my Yahoo!IM. No overclocking (since I don't know anything about overclocking). For the Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmarks and the Aquamark 3D benchmark I ran each test three times to get a good idea of what this XPS was scoring. So without further adeau:
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 2 - Low Resolution Setting
First Run - 6888
Second Run - 6914
Third Run - 6830
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 2 - High Resolution Setting
First Run - 6554
Second Run - 6529
Third Run - 6554
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 3 - Low Resolution Setting
First Run - 7332
Second Run - 7321
Third Run - 7322
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 3 - High Resolution Setting
First Run - 5521
Second Run - 5482
Third Run - 5483
3DMark05 Free Demo Version- Default Settings
5018 3DMarks
Game Test 1 - Return to Proxycon 21.3 fps
Game Test 2 - Firefly Forest 15.0 fps
Game Test 3 - Canyon Flight 25.3 fps
CPU Score 3748
CPU Test 1 (Canyon Flight) 1.9 fps
CPU Test 2 (Return to Proxycon) 3.4 fps
3DMark03 Free Demo Version- Default Settings
11,207 3DMarks
Game Test 1 - Wings of Fury 324.8 fps
Game Test 2 - Battle of Proxycon 87.4 fps
Game Test 3 - Troll's Lair 70.4 fps
Game Test 4 - Mother Nature 59.2
CPU Score 845
CPU Test 1 (Wings of Fury) 99.7 fps
CPU Test 2 (Troll's Lair) 14.1 fps
3DMark2001SE Free Demo Version- Default Settings
22,313 3DMarks
*I accidentially closed the window before I could get the details by game for this test. Whoops.
Aquamark - Default Settings
First Run:
65,574 - GFX: 9594 / CPU: 10,443 / 65.57 fps average
Second Run:
65,592 - GFX: 9576 / CPU: 10,405 / 65.59 fps average
Third Run:
65,522 - GFX: 9582 / CPU: 10,359 / 65.52 fps average
-- Links to places to download the above benchmarks. --
FFXI Official Benchmark 2
http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1064591426/
FFXI Official Benchmark 3
http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1096480428/
3DMark2001SE / 3DMark03 / 3DMark05
http://www.futuremark.com
Aquamark
http://www.aquamark3.com/
Thank you all for your help with all the questions I had about notebooks and for helping me decide which notebook to get. Without all the information I've read on this site I would have been completely in the dark about buying my notebook.
I figured with all the help I got with questions during my visits to this website I decided to add my own review. I don't have a camera so I won't be able to take any pictures sadly but there are plenty on the site from other people already.
First I want to point out that I had originally had an Area 51m 7700 on order with Alienware but after doing some research and asking questions in different threads here I decided to cancel my order. So I cancelled my Area 51m 7700 order on April 11th and placed my order for the Dell XPS Gen 2 instead.
My reasoning behind the switch was very simple: I wanted to get the most advanced graphics card available. I was leery about the Dell having a Pentium M but after I read through the thread I put up comparing the Pentium M to the Pentium 4 and reading the information given from other people there I figured that the gap wasn't nearly as large as I had originally thought.
The original shipping date for my XPS was Monday, April 18th however there was a delay with the shipping so I didn't get the computer until Friday, April 22. All in all I was very pleased with the service from Dell so I can't complain about the small delay.
I had read in some threads that not everyone was getting a copy of the Windows XP CD or driver CDs with their order. I was happy that my order did in fact have all the accompanying CDs in the package including the Windows CD. After getting the computer out of the box I opened it up and turned it on. Not a single dead pixel anywhere on the screen. I found the resolution to be a bit high for me so I had to turn that down a couple of notches so I could actually read the text without squinting.
One of the first things the computer did when it turned on (before even making it all the way into Windows) was detect not one network (mine) but THREE networks in range with the built in wireless networking card. Heck my desktop only picks up my own network with a USB network adapter.
As far as light leakage goes there was a small bit of light leakage along the bottom edge of the screen when I first turned it on. After running the computer for a couple of days (today being Sunday) I can say that the light leakage is completely gone.
I tested the DVD player by watching I Robot all the way from the beginning to the end and I am very impressed. Very sharp image.
The LED lights are one of my favorite parts about this computer which is ironic since I was unaware that the XPS even had LED lights at the time I placed the order. Upon first turning the computer on it was set up with the Sapphire color on all three sections (fan, speakers, and back panel). I have read a thread or two here which had pictures showing an in Windows application to adjust the lights and fan speed however I have yet to find that application anywhere. I instead changed the light settings in the BIOS when the computer first boots up by pressing f2 right before going into the Windows splash screen. Right now I'm still playing around with the different colors but I'll most likely go back to all sapphire when I'm done. As I mentioned in another thread there are no pictures that truely do the LED lights justice, it's one of those things you must see in person to believe. I think that was the major fascination with my coworkers who saw the computer. Even though they were impressed with the system's performance, they were mesmerized by the LED lights.
Keyboard -
The keyboard is probably the one thing I'm not very impressed with. It feels more like a kid's toy then an actual keyboard. Every so often I actually get my fingers caught on the bottom edge of the keys and it feels like I might accidentially pull the key out of the socket. I'll most likely be using a USB keyboard when using this computer so it's not really a big deal.
Touchpad -
I really don't have an opinion either way with the touchpad as I have been using a USB optical mouse since the computer came out of the box. Optical mouse > all IMO
From what little I've used it, it seems very nice. I had a less then stellar experience with the touchpad on my parent's Inspirion 1000 that I had purchased for them as a Christmas present in 2004, hence I use an optical mouse instead.Overall I'm happy with my Dell XPS purchase. With the use of a USB keyboard and mouse this thing blows away my desktop. Which is a good thing since it's going to be my desktop replacement for the next few years.
I played some EverQuest on Saturday and even with all the settings maxed except for resolution which I lowered so I could read the text, I didn't have a bit of slowdown even running through the crowded areas of the game where my desktop slows to a crawl. I had no slowdowns in any of the areas with lot's of vegatation either which was another choke point on my desktop.
If you managed to read this far you're probably wondering what kind of benchmarks this computer is pulling. When I first loaded 3DMark05 up and ran it with all the Dell garbage loaded and running in the background my score was 4889 3DMarks - then I realized that the graphics card was set to 75% Quality and 25% performance. I reran the benchmark after adjusting the setting to 100% performance and scored 5028 3DMarks in 3DMark05.
Today on Sunday, April 24th I ran a whole bunch of benchmark tests for your viewing pleasure...
System Specs (Relevant to the benchmarks):
Dell XPS Generation 2
2.0 Ghz Pentium M
1 GB RAM
60 GB HD @ 5200 RPM
NVidia GeForce 6800 Go Ultra 256 MB
The following benchmarks were run on default settings with all the Dell programs running in the background as well as my Yahoo!IM. No overclocking (since I don't know anything about overclocking). For the Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmarks and the Aquamark 3D benchmark I ran each test three times to get a good idea of what this XPS was scoring. So without further adeau:
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 2 - Low Resolution Setting
First Run - 6888
Second Run - 6914
Third Run - 6830
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 2 - High Resolution Setting
First Run - 6554
Second Run - 6529
Third Run - 6554
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 3 - Low Resolution Setting
First Run - 7332
Second Run - 7321
Third Run - 7322
Final Fantasy XI Official Benchmark 3 - High Resolution Setting
First Run - 5521
Second Run - 5482
Third Run - 5483
3DMark05 Free Demo Version- Default Settings
5018 3DMarks
Game Test 1 - Return to Proxycon 21.3 fps
Game Test 2 - Firefly Forest 15.0 fps
Game Test 3 - Canyon Flight 25.3 fps
CPU Score 3748
CPU Test 1 (Canyon Flight) 1.9 fps
CPU Test 2 (Return to Proxycon) 3.4 fps
3DMark03 Free Demo Version- Default Settings
11,207 3DMarks
Game Test 1 - Wings of Fury 324.8 fps
Game Test 2 - Battle of Proxycon 87.4 fps
Game Test 3 - Troll's Lair 70.4 fps
Game Test 4 - Mother Nature 59.2
CPU Score 845
CPU Test 1 (Wings of Fury) 99.7 fps
CPU Test 2 (Troll's Lair) 14.1 fps
3DMark2001SE Free Demo Version- Default Settings
22,313 3DMarks
*I accidentially closed the window before I could get the details by game for this test. Whoops.
Aquamark - Default Settings
First Run:
65,574 - GFX: 9594 / CPU: 10,443 / 65.57 fps average
Second Run:
65,592 - GFX: 9576 / CPU: 10,405 / 65.59 fps average
Third Run:
65,522 - GFX: 9582 / CPU: 10,359 / 65.52 fps average
-- Links to places to download the above benchmarks. --
FFXI Official Benchmark 2
http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1064591426/
FFXI Official Benchmark 3
http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1096480428/
3DMark2001SE / 3DMark03 / 3DMark05
http://www.futuremark.com
Aquamark
http://www.aquamark3.com/
Thank you all for your help with all the questions I had about notebooks and for helping me decide which notebook to get. Without all the information I've read on this site I would have been completely in the dark about buying my notebook.
