I take it you mean Massachusetts' Republicans? The rest of the country calls them Democrats, lol. (I'm only being slightly facetious here, originally being from a state, NJ, that also produces lots of RINOs.) At any rate, NJ is 3/4 of a percent higher than MA. Yet another reason why I prefer building rather than buy OEM.
In the market for new general use laptop
- Thread starter steamboateng
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steamboateng
New member
Well, I don't want to get into MA politics or politicians here because I may end up on the floor in a mouth foaming rant!
Suffice it to say that I was quite surprised because that was the first time I've ever been charged a state sales tax for an on line purchase!
Dell is on my *#X@ list over this!
COWARDS!
FOOLS!
TRAITORS!
Etc., etc., etc.....................
Suffice it to say that I was quite surprised because that was the first time I've ever been charged a state sales tax for an on line purchase!
Dell is on my *#X@ list over this!
COWARDS!
FOOLS!
TRAITORS!
Etc., etc., etc.....................
Yeah, probably not, though I got charged tax for internet sales sometimes in NJ too. It really depends on who you're buying from and, I think, if they have an in-state warehouse or distribution point. Whatever the reason, I guess now we know about Massachussets! lol
steamboateng
New member
I know that an i7 can generate a lot of heat. So I will need an appropriate device (nerdy Trainz talk) to dissapate afore mentioned heat.
Short of running a pop corn popper with the excess BTU's, anyone got a clue as to what to sit this thing on? I don't know where an XPS 17 exhausts from..... the bottom,.......side......in my face!
Learned suggestions appreciated!
Short of running a pop corn popper with the excess BTU's, anyone got a clue as to what to sit this thing on? I don't know where an XPS 17 exhausts from..... the bottom,.......side......in my face!
Learned suggestions appreciated!
Get one of those laptop cooler things. I have a Belking I picked up at Best Buy for about $40.00 It's big enough for the laptop runs via the USB port, and acts as a USB hub so you can plug in your external mouse (recommended for Trainzing). I also got a small laptop-pad that I put that on which has a mousepad built in. The laptop and cooler sit on the laptop-pad and the mousepad slides out on the side. This is very useful if you want to Trainz while on the couch. The problem is the legs go to sleep after a short time. I have to say that this was very useful when I was bed ridden a few months ago. I was able to Trainz while in bed and not worry about getting blanket lint into the bottom of the cooler and laptop.
John
steamboateng
New member
John, I Googled-up the large Belkin, as well as the large Logitech cooling pads. They look neat and seem to be a worthwhile buy. My problem is I don't know where the Dell XPS i7 exhaust port is. If it s on the bottom I'll have to find another solution!
Good point. Mine is on the left side in the rear. It's really a heat pipe with the fan on the bottom that pulls air in from below and sends it across the processor and video card then out the side.
My fuzzy feelings are your laptop will be the same, knowing how manufacturers like to keep standard components for various versions of the same hardware.
John
My fuzzy feelings are your laptop will be the same, knowing how manufacturers like to keep standard components for various versions of the same hardware.
John
steamboateng
New member
John, I dived into some reviews and found that The Dell XPS i7 is set up pretty much like yours for air flow, with intake at the bottom and exhaust at left side rear. I'm checking into cooling pads now, Cooler Master and Zalman coming formost to mind at present. I use Cooler Master cpu coolers in my desktops and am quite pleased with their quality....., but I will shop around.
Thanks for your input.
regards
Mike
Thanks for your input.
regards
Mike
This is correct. Dell has local offices in MA so they have to collect sales tax. If we can, we sneak over the border and visit retail shops up there because there's no sales tax. This works for some items except for cars, pianos, and other really big ticket items.
John
That's cool.... Hehe pun intended.
I use a Targus which has two fans on it. I put my laptop away today and took a look at the name on the pad. I picked mine up at Best Buy for $39.99, roughly.
I also use CoolMaster cpu coolers and Zalman units. They are really high quality devices.
John
steamboateng
New member
Surprise, the Dell laptop came today!
I have it hooked up and loaded most of my programs.
Just for general info, theDell XPS i7 appears to be a well constructed unit. The case seems sturdy enough. I opted for the 1080p display. At native resolution it is quite clear and detailed. The i7 2670QM processor seems to be operating just fine, with tubo-boost kicking in (up tp 3.1GHz) as needed. The NVidea GeForce gT 555M, w/3Gb graphics RAM also appears to be working just fine. I don't have any games installed as yet, so I can't say too much about the graphics card at this point. Remember, I bought this rig for general computing, NOT A GAMING RIG. Trainz will not be installed. However, it seems more than capable for my modest needs. So far, I'm pleased. My old HP 15" laptop is still ticking on. Hopefully this one will last as long too.
I have it hooked up and loaded most of my programs.
Just for general info, theDell XPS i7 appears to be a well constructed unit. The case seems sturdy enough. I opted for the 1080p display. At native resolution it is quite clear and detailed. The i7 2670QM processor seems to be operating just fine, with tubo-boost kicking in (up tp 3.1GHz) as needed. The NVidea GeForce gT 555M, w/3Gb graphics RAM also appears to be working just fine. I don't have any games installed as yet, so I can't say too much about the graphics card at this point. Remember, I bought this rig for general computing, NOT A GAMING RIG. Trainz will not be installed. However, it seems more than capable for my modest needs. So far, I'm pleased. My old HP 15" laptop is still ticking on. Hopefully this one will last as long too.
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This is awesome. I wish you well with your machine which is more than capable of running Trainz if you want. You may not want to use the machine right now for that, but this gives you the option to do so later. Whenever I plan on a machine or upgrades, I try to future-proof my purchase. The machine you have is a good example. There's plenty of growth here to keep up with later operating systems and future programs and games should you wish to load them.
I wish you lots of excellent luck.
John
steamboateng
New member
Thanks for the kind words, John. As an IT Pro, your opinion of the laptop is comforting. Future-proofing is the primary reason a spent the few hundred extra dollars for the processor and video card.
Dell has been a perrenial favorite with our family over the years, due maily to their reliability and service. Besides, our local computer guru deals with Dell exclusively and also fixes them. But he's gonna be mad when he finds out I didn't buy this one from him.
I doubt I will load Trainz on this puppy, cabable as it may be. My desktop (a Digital Storm build) handles Trainz12 quite well, with its NVidea GeForce GTX 570 video card, Intel Core i7 950 o/clocked to 4GHz, and a 120Gb Trainz dedicated SSD. (It also has a separate 75Gb SSD for the WIN7-64 OS. I just had to brag about that machine, too!)
Regards
Mike
Dell has been a perrenial favorite with our family over the years, due maily to their reliability and service. Besides, our local computer guru deals with Dell exclusively and also fixes them. But he's gonna be mad when he finds out I didn't buy this one from him.
I doubt I will load Trainz on this puppy, cabable as it may be. My desktop (a Digital Storm build) handles Trainz12 quite well, with its NVidea GeForce GTX 570 video card, Intel Core i7 950 o/clocked to 4GHz, and a 120Gb Trainz dedicated SSD. (It also has a separate 75Gb SSD for the WIN7-64 OS. I just had to brag about that machine, too!)
Regards
Mike
Just got this Dell Inspiron 17R SE 7720 with an i7 3630QM CPU, 8GB RAM, 1TB hard drive and Nvidia 650 GPU (2GB).17.3 inch screen. Its pretty sweet.
http://www.ipernity.com/doc/pinzac55/26762685
http://www.ipernity.com/doc/pinzac55/26762685
cascaderailroad
New member
I imagine that it all boils down to is, not shopping at "Big Box" stores, as you actually get a $500 laptop, when you in fact paid $1200.
And that buying online from a reputable mail order warehouse, you actually get what you pay for ... rather than pay through the nose, for what little you get ?
I saw QVC selling laptops for $1700 ... lol ... They also were selling Angus steaks for $63 per pound, and a birt-day' kake for $78 !
What supplier did you get this laptop from ?
And that buying online from a reputable mail order warehouse, you actually get what you pay for ... rather than pay through the nose, for what little you get ?
I saw QVC selling laptops for $1700 ... lol ... They also were selling Angus steaks for $63 per pound, and a birt-day' kake for $78 !
What supplier did you get this laptop from ?
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I got it from this ebay seller which currently has the i5 version listed http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=131003246027&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:GB:1123 and it still has the Nvidia GT 650 GPU. I have been into repairing busted laptops for a while now and one of my biggest successes was this Dell Inspiron M5110 http://www.ipernity.com/doc/pinzac55/26770305 which I got for £107 with a busted hard hard drive and it was in mint condition only a year old. The problem is that Dell constructed these in such a way that you have to strip it right down to the mobo to replace the hard drive. Once stripped I replaced it with a nice fast Hitachi 7200 RPM 320GB HDD and put in another 4GB RAM to bring it up to 8GB and it was a storming machine!
For the second part of your post I would rarely buy any PC part from a high street shop unless I was in a desperate rush for it. The thing with laptops is that, like desktops, they have a small range of fittings known as "sockets" for CPU's so you can get say a laptop with an intel i5 CPU then replace it with a more powerful i7 and sell the old i5 making most of the cost of the i7 back.
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Congratulations, Lewis on your purchase!
Good luck with your machine and please let us know about it's performance.
Regarding the sockets. These are pretty rare in laptops as they mostly surface mount the circuit right on to the motherboard. In most laptops, they are then cooled by a heat sink and heat pipe assembly that is placed tightly over the chip. Maybe you are lucky with the machine you purchased, but given that it's a very inexpensive laptop, compared to a desktop, you'll never recoup the cost of a new processor. The laptop-type CPUs are more costly for the public because they are not purchased in bulk like they are from an OEM machine builder.
John
Good luck with your machine and please let us know about it's performance.
Regarding the sockets. These are pretty rare in laptops as they mostly surface mount the circuit right on to the motherboard. In most laptops, they are then cooled by a heat sink and heat pipe assembly that is placed tightly over the chip. Maybe you are lucky with the machine you purchased, but given that it's a very inexpensive laptop, compared to a desktop, you'll never recoup the cost of a new processor. The laptop-type CPUs are more costly for the public because they are not purchased in bulk like they are from an OEM machine builder.
John
HI JC, regarding the performance I haven't tested it in a systematic way but instead by checking the amount of heat coming out of the exhaust; playing Far Cry 2 it gets quite hot, playing The Walking Dead it is "medium" and running my self built route in TRS2009 there is virtually no heat.
Regarding the Sockets I meant CPU Sockets which are standardised across AMD or Intel CPU's. An Intel i5 can be had used on ebay for about £30 and an i7 for about £50, far less than the difference in cost of pre built laptops.
The GPU's are soldered on and a common source of trouble due to micro fractures in the soldered joints but I dismantled 2 Dell Studio 1558's and replaced the 1mm thick tape with thermal paste then tightened them up and they ran fine. BTW the Dell Inspiron M5110 ran TRS2004 very nicely even with the UP Big Boy.
The desktop chip pricing is amazing now that the third and fourth generation chips have come out. Laptops though are still difficult to work on, at least for me. I think they're manufactured by Tiny Parts with Gazillion Screws, Ltd. Taking them apart is the easy part. Putting them together properly, well that's another story!
Interesting heat observations. I've had TS12 make my Alienware get so hot that it was like a space heater on my lap. It's great during the winter months when it's damp and cold here, but not so nice in the warmer months.
I remember the thermal fracturing issue that plagued HP and Dell laptops for awhile. NVidia refused to solve the problem and let the chips go through the process. HP and Dell's answer was to run the laptop slower and underclocked everything. Nice!
John