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Dell XPS 15 (L501X): Intel Core i7 840QM/2GB nVidia GT435m Review

Recently we have changed our method of measuring noise levels. Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground with our Extech digital sound level meter to mirror a real world situation.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

The Dell XPS 15 is generally silent with a noise output level just under 30 dBa. Under full load, it rises to 35.7 dBa which is clearly audible but never intrusive.

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13 comments

  1. That really is a fucking sweet laptop. even without the bluray and dropping down a CPU, its under a grand. t hat is excellent.

  2. Always great when I get a new Kitguru review alert on Twitter 🙂 awesome review man and that is a hell of a good looking machine. I am not sure im sold on the appearance, that two tone thing looks a bit messy, id prefer it was darker, like the front, but I suppose you arent looking at the underside much. the intel core i7 cpu is great.

  3. Wow that Intel QM CPU blows me away

  4. Well what a great stoke of luck. I was looking at this machine on christmas eve and didnt know if it was going to suck. ill aim for a lower specification than this, but I need a new laptop for 2011 for work, and ill bill it to the company (just need to keep it realistic).

  5. Excellent, I like the skins, some really cool looking ones

  6. njice to see dell reviews here, only thing I will say is that I have had a terrible time with dell batteries failing after 18 months to 2 years time. Not sure if it has been a batch, but google shows quite a few people seeing the same thing.

  7. excellent machine, I just bought an Acer for £500 quid in PCWORLD though :p

  8. Great machine, however, Dell took away the 1080P screen option though! Hopefully dell will have that option back soon, or else the CPU and the GPU will be wasted! (This option is back in other country except for the US)

  9. They actually arent selling the 1080p machine in the UK either? what happened?

  10. I think the 1080p machine is available in parts of europe now, but it might be due to 1080p screen demands and lack of stock. very unusual to pull a system mid range though.

  11. The 1080p option will be back at some stage. Dell said this “We still offer the screen but had to temporarily take it offline as our supplier had to de-commit on certain quantities. It can still be ordered over the phone if one doesn’t mind an extended lead time. “

  12. The 1080p option is back in Canada

  13. Conservative design in my opinion, and it’s even kinda of thick for laptops nowadays.