Dell Vs Dell

[jprotege]

Hello all,
Trying to figure out my best route here. Want a laptop that can handle games (desktop not a factor, this is for mobility).

Inspiron 17R SE Vs XPS 17
Everything the same except:
****
XPS:
2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2670QM processor (2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.10 GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 550M 1GB graphics with Optimus
$975
****
SE:
3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM processor (6M cache, up to 3.3GHz)
Nvidia GeForce GT 650M 2GB
$1050

Thoughts?

 

[C12Friedman]

No question in my mind, the SE is worth the extra $75 but get a cooling pad if using for gaming - it will help.

 

[jprotege]

Yeh I guess $75 isn't too much to worry about for the performance upgrade...
Is a cooling pad still a good idea if it's going to be on tables, etc? I normally don't keep it right on my lap, too awkward of an angle when using a mouse.

 

[C12Friedman]

I really can't stress cooling pads enough, even on a table. The built in fans are adequate for normal settings on a flat hard surface but when you bump the settings to performance and start working the GPU, the extra fan(s) help quite a bit.

 

[jprotege]

Good to know. This will be my first laptop with an actual GPU in it so thanks for the heads up.

 

[jprotege]

Best answer selected by jprotege.