DELL XPS 15 upgrade nvidia 525m to 540m for 100$?

[phishschtick]

98$ to upgrade at their website. Is it actually worth it? i understand neither is a "gamer card", but those are my only 2 options with this build.

I will order with the 2720m i7 processor. I may play a game here or there on this laptop, but nothing serious as i have a desktop for such, but i would like them to at least be "playable".

Just wasn't sure if there was enough bang for the buck for the upgrade. I have searched and found a few people make comments, some yes, some no; but really no solid evidence or benchmarks to prove it. Was hoping someone could present me with the facts, and if not, user experience will do.
Thanks ahead of time.

 

[toyota]

they are the same gpu with just a small increase in speed on the 540m. no way is that worth paying 8 bucks more for much less 98 bucks. does that 540m have the optional gddr5 maybe?

 

[phishschtick]

it doesn't say. Here is an example link though. I do know it is 2GB rather than 1GB like the 525m. I also compared them at the Nvidia Website.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...l_id=xps-l502x

they are the same gpu with just a small increase in speed on the 540m. no way is that worth paying 8 bucks more for much less 98 bucks. does that 540m have the optional gddr5 maybe?

 

[toyota]

it doesn't say. Here is an example link though. I do know it is 2GB rather than 1GB like the 525m. I also compared them at the Nvidia Website.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...l_id=xps-l502x

it says thay are both gddr3 when you click on compare side by side on the Dell site. so the only performance difference is the tiny 12% bump in speed which you would never notice. the additional 1gb of vram would be useless as even 1gb of vram would not come close to being utilized with that level of gpu. just get the 525m for sure.

 

[phishschtick]

I should have included this info to help earlier i guess. Here is the nvidia specs for the
540m
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gt-540m-us.html
Here is for the 525
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gt-525m-us.html

Now after looking at these specs, and then i noticed the dell includes 2GB discrete memory with the 540, and only 1GB with the 525....would that make much difference? Like 100$ worth?

 

[phishschtick]

ahh, you posted right before my last post, sounds good though, thanks for your help!

it says thay are both gddr3 when you click on compare side by side on the Dell site. so the only performance difference is the tiny 12% bump in speed which you would never notice. the additional 1gb of vram would be useless as even 1gb of vram would not come close to being utilized with that level of gpu. just get the 525m for sure.

 

[1h4x4s3x]

Yup, like toyota said, the additional 1GB won't make a difference at this resolution. It's plain scam marketing.

 

[notty22]

The main spec imo, is the # of cuda cores. These 2 have the same amount and same memory type. Except for amount. It is not worth paying for that extra memory buffer. And small bump in speed.
The gpu will have 'ok' performance, what is the max resolution of the laptop screen ?

 

[phishschtick]

The main spec imo, is the # of cuda cores. These 2 have the same amount and same memory type. Except for amount. It is not worth paying for that extra memory buffer. And small bump in speed.
The gpu will have 'ok' performance, what is the max resolution of the laptop screen ?

It will be 1080p (1920x1080)

I am actually looking at this deal here
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=2765603

Pretty good deal imo, my friend has an xps15 he just ordered (not this deal though), and its seems like a pretty solid laptop for the price.

 

[Gloomy]

I have the last gen L701x. These new XPS models are all very solid, with surprisingly few manufacturing defects, a welcome change from the SXPS 16.

I hear they actually improved the build a bit with this sandy bridge refresh. They're good laptops. Feels a little weird saying that about a Dell :\

But it's true :thumbsup:

 

[n0x1ous]

I have the last gen L701x. These new XPS models are all very solid, with surprisingly few manufacturing defects, a welcome change from the SXPS 16.

I hear they actually improved the build a bit with this sandy bridge refresh. They're good laptops. Feels a little weird saying that about a Dell :\

But it's true :thumbsup:

+1 :thumbsup:. I also have an L701x with an 32nm Arrandale chip and GT435m (gf 108 based) optimus. It actually the wifes, but I guess I consider all our computers mine lol. the build quality is fantastic. I have had it for a few months now and its a great laptop. Not a powerhouse for gaming by any means but plenty for my quakelive on the go and few others.

 

[hawtdawg]

2 gigs is completely pointless for that GPU/resolution. Also, they are no doubt the exact same GPU with different clock speeds. Get the 525m and then overclock it.

 

[Qbah]

What toyota said :thumbsup:

 

[Gloomy]

+1 :thumbsup:. I also have an L701x with an 32nm Arrandale chip and GT435m (gf 108 based) optimus. It actually the wifes, but I guess I consider all our computers mine lol. the build quality is fantastic. I have had it for a few months now and its a great laptop. Not a powerhouse for gaming by any means but plenty for my quakelive on the go and few others.

Mine has the quad core with the GT445m. It's surprisingly adequate. I don't play many cutting edge games but this computer carries me through Call of Hats 4: Modern Hat and League of Legends.