Test Setup

Below is the test configuration for the Studio XPS 16. We will compare its performance with other recently tested notebooks, although if you've read the review so far you probably already know whether or not this will fit your needs. We still need to put the overall performance in perspective, though, so we'll be comparing the XPS 16 with a selection of previously reviewed notebooks. (Please look at articles in our Mobile section for the specifications of any other notebooks.)

Dell Studio XPS 16Test System
Processor Core 2 Duo P8600 (Dual-Core 2.40GHz, 3MB Shared L2, 1066FSB)
Memory 2x2048MB Hynix PC3-8500 @ DDR3-1066 7-7-7-20
(Hynix HMT125S6AFP8C-G7)
Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 512MB
Driver version 7.14
GPU/RAM Clocks: 680/1600 MHz (128-bit)
Display 16.0" 1080p (1920x1080) RGB LED Glossy
Seiko Epson M077D/160HT (?)
Hard Drive Seagate Momentus 7200.3 320GB 7200RPM 16MB (ST9320421ASG)
Optical Drive 4x DVDR/BD-ROM Slot-load (Sony Optiarc BC-5600S)
Battery 6-Cell 54Whr, 9-cell 85Whr
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit

We used ASTRA32 to collect information on the monitor, and the best we could come up with is that Seiko Epson makes the LCD panel. The model number is given as "M077D€160HT", but we were unable to find any additional information for that part on the Internet. It could be that ASTRA32 is reporting incorrect information. More likely is that Seiko Epson just doesn't make information on their displays readily available to the public - I spent over an hour searching their sites to no avail. If anyone has a link with additional details I would like to see it. (Seiko Epson also appears to be leaving the small to medium LCD market, which may account for some of the difficulty in finding information.)

We run all of the standard application tests at the native LCD resolution - 1920x1080 for the Studio XPS 16. For the gaming tests, we will compare the Dell Studio XPS 16 to other notebooks using a standard resolution of 1680x1050. We will also include results at 1280x800 and 1920x1080 to show how the XPS 16 scales to lower and higher settings. This will allow us to provide an apples-to-apples comparison with other laptops while also showing the performance range you can expect by lowering or increasing the resolution.

Subjective Evaluation Gaming Performance
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  • bowerfind - Thursday, September 10, 2009 - link

    In your review of the Dell XPS16 Studio notebook, the RGB LED 1080p was highly recommended. Dell offers both a 15.6" and a 16.0" edge to edge glass screen. Dell assures me that both of these displays are of equal quality. Which of these 2 displays was examined in your review and do you agree that they are both of equal quality?
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, September 10, 2009 - link

    The display tested was a 1080p 16.0" model, so I don't know about the 15.6" LCD.
  • arst - Saturday, August 1, 2009 - link

    just want to know is there any gamut data between 13~14 inch display laptop? this article show only 15 inch upper laptops..
  • tOM Trottier - Monday, August 3, 2009 - link

    Alas, this doesn't cover the wide gamut laptop screens from Sony (on Vaio AW series) nor Lenovo (Thinkpads with "Flexview"). The Sony, in particular, is supposed to have about ~136% of Adobe RBG gamut.

    tOM
  • arst - Monday, August 3, 2009 - link

    thx for reply
    alright, I think i should give up to choose 13~14 inch screen laptoop
    does anyone know any good 15 inch one?
  • griddley - Sunday, July 12, 2009 - link

    Hmmm.. looks like this thread could be dead. But thought I'd ask anyway: Anyone get this sxps 16 with the 1G GPU option? I am concerned about an increase in system noise over the 3670.
    I want to replace a first-gen xps whose fans run all. the. time. (and I clean them regularly!)
  • mlarma - Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - link

    I got one from the Dell outlet store. Let me say that these things are hot tamales there and you'll need to keep tapping refresh or whatever on the filter for the laptop type and when you see one add it to the cart then decide if it is what you want. If not, remove it. Took me an hour of hitting refresh to get the following for $1269:

    Studio XPS 16
    - T9550 (2.66GHz, 6MB Cache, 1067MHz)
    - 4GB (2x2GB DDR3, 1067MHz)
    - 500GB 7200RPM drive (with fall sensor)
    - DVD-RW
    - 1920x1080 screen (this of course was a must have)
    - 5100 wifi card option
    - Bluetooth
    - 2.0MP Camera with facial recognition
    - 6 cell battery
    - Vista Ultimate 64-bit/SP1
    - Standard 1 year warranty, on-site after on-phone diag

    I'm super stoked. Plan on having dual boot with Linux and Vista. I've toyed with a few Linux flavors. Anyone with one of these laptops have a preference?
  • CStyles357 - Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - link

    This should have been compared with the HP HDX 16-1140US Notebook PC - $1,149.99
    Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz Dual-Core X64-Bit Mobile Processor
    4GB DDR2-800 (2x 2GB) PC2-6400 (400MHz) Cas 5 Latency, 5-5-5-15 Timing Memory Max up to 8GB
    Seagate Momentus ST9500325AS 500GB, 5400RPM, 8MB Cache, SATA 3.0Gb/s
    HardDrive w/HP ProtectSmart HD Protection
    Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7543A LightScribe Super Multi 8X DVD+R/RW
    w/Double Layer Support Multimedia Drive
    Samsung 16.0" WSXGA + High-Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Widescreen Display (1920x1080)
    NVIDIA GeForce Go 9600M GT Graphics w/2302MB Shared Video Memory
    (500MHz DDR2 GPU Clock, 512MB, 128Bit, 65nm), DirectX 10, HD Pure Video,
    128bit FP – Graphics Processing Unit
    Realtek RTL8168/8111 Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps BASE-T Ethernet LAN
    Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n integrated WLAN
    Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN w/Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless Technology
    5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader
    Altec Lansing Dolby Home Theater Speakers w/Sub-Woofer & Integrated Digital Microphone
    HP Imprint Finish with Integrated 1.3 Megapixel Webcam & Fingerprint Reader
    3 USB 2.0 ports + 1 eSATA/USB port

  • 7Enigma - Tuesday, April 14, 2009 - link

    Thanks again for including "lower/higher is better" in the display portion of the review. Makes browsing that section much easier for some of us.

    I did have a question as to why it seems the Apple products only show up in the benchmarks they do well at (typically the battery life). Where is the x264 benchmark and the rest? I know some of the benchmarks may not have Mac OS compatibility but is just seems like they are only in benchmarks they do well at.
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, April 16, 2009 - link

    Well, I didn't test the MacBooks - that's Anand - and the different OS severely limits the amount of comparing we can do. Playing DVDs or surfing the 'net isn't all that different on OS X, Linux, etc. so we can compare that aspect. Worth note is that MacBook battery life under Vista drops in half... driver problem, or the underlying OS? You decide.

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