We're still unsure of Dell's goal in combining the mid-range Studio and high-end XPS laptop lines into the new Studio XPS brand, but at least it means we're finally getting a true 16:9, 16-inch laptop from the company, in the form of the Studio XPS 16.
Prices on the Dell Web site for this laptop start at around £799. The version that we tested costs around £1,090.
Design
The Studio XPS 16 is a smart-looking laptop with some new features that distinguish it from a run-of-the-mill Inspiron, including a backlit keyboard and leather trim on the back of the lid. We think the trim is superfluous but we feel more positively about the leather-clad wrist rests. Dell's Studio XPS models also offer options not available on the standard Studio (non-XPS) line, such as a full, 1,920x1,080-pixel LED-backlit display.
The rounded hinge and tapered design remind us of Dell's XPS and Studio laptop lines, which makes sense, since this is a hybrid of the two. Unlike many other Dell systems, the Studio XPS 16 is only available in one colour scheme -- a shiny piano black, with a matching black-leather trim that covers a strip on the back of the lid near the hinge. The leather accent seemed arbitrary to us, but it's a matter of taste and certainly not unattractive.
With a backlit keyboard and flat, widely spaced keys, the Studio XPS 16 shares a general typing aesthetic with Apple and Sony laptops. We always encourage backlit keyboards (Toshiba has started adding them to lower-priced models), as they are fantastically useful when, for example, looking something up online while watching TV in a darkened room. A row of touch-sensitive media controls sit above the keyboard -- a feature Dell includes in even its low-end laptops.
Thanks to the 1,920x1,080-pixel display, the Studio XPS 16 is great for watching Blu-ray movies or other high-definition content (an optional Blu-ray optical drive is available). For £150 less, you can get a more basic 1,366x768-pixel display, but we wouldn't recommend it. Both display types, however, have that edge-to-edge glass that seems to be all the rage these days.
The Studio XPS 16 is one of the first systems we've seen with a DisplayPort connection built in. According to Dell, it's getting behind the new standard in a major way, and we should expect to see it on most Dell laptops in the future. While the technology itself is fine, we're dubious of how quickly the public will adopt DisplayPort. After all, HDMI is just starting to gain mainstream acceptance, thanks to cheap HDTVs and HD game consoles, such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Jumping to a new connection (and a new set of required cables) is going to be a hard sell for the typical consumer. Fortunately, the Studio XPS 16 also includes VGA and HDMI connections.
Performance
The 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 CPU, coupled with 4GB of RAM and the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, makes for a powerful performer, even though it's in the mid-range of Dell's processor options for the system (you can trade down to a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 or up to a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo T9600). Any of these choices are more than adequate for typical use -- Web surfing, editing documents, media viewing and so on -- as well as photo and video editing.
The 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 is a good mid-range choice for a multimedia system that will also handle light gaming chores. We got nearly 60 frames per second at a 1,280x800-pixel resolution in Unreal Tournament 3, and the ATI card is included in the base configuration for the system.
The Studio XPS 16 ran for 1 hour and 43 minutes on our video-playback battery-drain test, using the included six-cell battery. That's not terribly impressive, and makes this more of a stay-at-home laptop than a mainstream portable machine. We also received a nine-cell battery, which added significant bulk and weight, but came closer to 3 hours of battery life.
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lamarr 24 February 2011
Good: It is regarded as a supreme workhorse in the office
Bad: price
Comment: I seen 3 other staff using it and it seems they are the only ones never having anything to complained about their laptops! Whereas many other encountered the occasional woes using Adobe/AutoCad/Maya, I am really impressed at how reliable and fast the XPS 16 is.
km124 12 January 2011
Good: The price for what you get.
Bad: Not much I can think of.
Comment: This Laptop is available of Dell's UK website starting at £800. Now many people review this laptop and say stuff like "Oh its poor for gaming." and "The graphics capabilities are poor!", when in actual fact they are looking at one of the poorer models.
When buying this Laptop, I recommend looking into the £879 version. It has an Intel i7 Quad Core processor (As opposed to the Core 2 Duo that comes up in most people's reviews.), an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 575v Graphics Card (Which can run demanding games such as Crysis and Call Of Duty: Black Ops on high settings).
It also comes with 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB SATA Hard Drive, both of which are pretty standard for demanding laptop tasks. Another commonly slated feature of the XPS 16 is the 6/9 cell battery. A lot of people have been criticising the battery, saying that it will only last between 1-2 hours for gaming or HD video watching. However, if a bit of common sense was applied, and the battery was taken out and the laptop plugged into the mains, I'm sure people would make much less of a complaint about it.
Besides, its not the battery faltering that is the problem, it is the hardware that it has to run. With such a fast processor and a relatively fast graphics card, Dell would be hard pushed to create a battery that would last any more than about 7-8 hours while idle.
Given that I have said that it is fast enough to game/watch hd playback on, I will not go into any other tasks it may carry out, because you won't find anything more taxing than 3D games of today.
Overall, a very good laptop and well worth the price. Just make sure you fully look into the specs of each model, as going for the most expensive model isn't a sensible rule of thumb with this machine.
tomgates 4 November 2010
Good: The 16 inch 1080p RBG LED Screen, The Speed, The Reliability, The looks and The Design
Bad: Nothing
Comment: I have had my laptop for a year now, and it has been nothing but perfect. The screen is the best i have seen on any laptop by far, it is sharp, crisp and bright. The laptop is also very quick and great for multi tasking and gaming. I can easily run the highest demanding games on it. I have 8GB DDR3 RAM, i7 Q720 processor, 500gb hardrive, 9 cell battery, 16 inch edge to edge display and 1GB ATI Graphics card. The only bad thing about it is the battery life, but this is because of the very bright screen and processor, which uses allot of battery up, i would recommend you get the 9 cell battery.
I highly recommend this laptop as it is all you would want and more in a multimedia/gaming laptop and the screen is simply stunning, and the quality of materials used, and the design make this laptop look exceptional.
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