[s1rrah]

  Hm, I thought they named the desktop 980 chip in a laptop the 980M. Looks like I was mistaken. mb

 
The newer one that they are calling "a desktop grade GTX 980" in a laptop, was initially (I think) going to be called the 990M but since it's specs were/are identical to a desktop 980, I think they just decided to market it that way.  This latest, faster variant is still a real new thing I think and I'm not even sure that the rigs are shipping yet (although I know you can at least order from boutique builders like XoticPC).  I'd love to have one but I just don't game mobile enough to warrant the expense...

 

[Dobrescu George]

   
The newer one that they are calling "a desktop grade GTX 980" in a laptop, was initially (I think) going to be called the 990M but since it's specs were/are identical to a desktop 980, I think they just decided to market it that way.  This latest, faster variant is still a real new thing I think and I'm not even sure that the rigs are shipping yet (although I know you can at least order from boutique builders like XoticPC).  I'd love to have one but I just don't game mobile enough to warrant the expense...

As I only game on my laptop, that could come in handy. 
 
Well, a laptop with desktop CPU and GTX980 would cost about twice as much as an Acer Predator with 6700hq and 980m.. But that more expensive laptop has an even better UHD IPS display... 

 

[214324]

 

  Hm, I thought they named the desktop 980 chip in a laptop the 980M. Looks like I was mistaken. mb

 
The newer one that they are calling "a desktop grade GTX 980" in a laptop, was initially (I think) going to be called the 990M but since it's specs were/are identical to a desktop 980, I think they just decided to market it that way.  This latest, faster variant is still a real new thing I think and I'm not even sure that the rigs are shipping yet (although I know you can at least order from boutique builders like XoticPC).  I'd love to have one but I just don't game mobile enough to warrant the expense...

Surprised they didn't do the GTX980MX or something, though MX may imply the use of a MMX connector which is getting some attention due to MSi using it for their Mac Pro esque machine.
 
Edit: I spoke too soon.
 
http://www.overclock.net/t/1589360/vr-nvidia-gtx-970mx-and-980mx-gpus
 
Just rumor, but why not.

 

[bowei006]

  So here's the thing with the XPS 15:
 
The models with a 256GB or 512GB M.2 SSD generally come with a 84 Whr battery that spans the length of the entire wrist rest area in the chassis.
 
The models that come with a 2.5" HDD have a smaller battery that's a 56 Whr (the numbers I don't remember but one's bigger, one's smaller, point made) to give you space to fit that 2.5" HDD.
 
So the model you are looking at has no empty 2.5" bay. It just has a larger battery. You can tell which model comes with which by just looking at the rated battery capacity in watt-hours. If it's 56, it's the shorter one and there is space for a 2.5" HDD. If it's the 84 Whr one, the M.2 SSD is the only storage you have.
You do realize that a 980M is a 980 (desktop part) just binned for lower power consumption right?
 
 

 
 
Yep, I knew that in mind. I was looking at getting the smaller battery if need be.

 

[vantt1]

If the PCIe slot meant for graphics cards is usually the topmost slot, but the case's slot cutout actually obstructs the top of the slot a little, preventing proper connection of HDMI or DP cables, whose fault is that? The case manufacturer's, or the card manufacturer's?
 

 

[lostinthesauce]

If the PCIe slot meant for graphics cards is usually the topmost slot, but the case's slot cutout actually obstructs the top of the slot a little, preventing proper connection of HDMI or DP cables, whose fault is that? The case manufacturer's, or the card manufacturer's?

The case manufacturer. From the way you picture looks I'd assume that either the expansion card holes were drilled incorrectly or the motherboard mounts.

 

[bowei006]

Thanks for the help everyone on the laptop! Just got it
 
Dell XPS 15 9550 (newest model)
 
$1009 total Dell Certified Refurbished (someone bought it and returned it as in)
 
CPU: Intel i7 6700 HQ (Quad Core w/ 8 Threads up to 3.5GHz)
GPU: Nvidia GTX 960M 2GB
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 
SSD: M.2 PCIe Samsung 512GB SSD (~2GB/s R/W speeds)
Display: 15.6" Dell Infinity Edge 1920x1080
Battery: 84Whr 6 Cell
Weight: ~ 4Lbs to 4.2Lbs or 3.9 if I get the standard 54Whr battery
Warranty: 90 Day return and 1 year standard Dell Warranty (same as buying new)
OS: Windows 10 x64
 
Comes with extra TV Antenna, Palm Rest, Upgraded Thermal heatsink solution
 
This model and specification new is $1800 so I saved....$800 buying the return model as they had a special extra $500 off coupon today.
 
Very excite!

 

[214324]

  Thanks for the help everyone on the laptop! Just got it
 
Dell XPS 15 9550 (newest model)
 
$1009 total Dell Certified Refurbished (someone bought it and returned it as in)
 
CPU: Intel i7 6700 HQ (Quad Core w/ 8 Threads up to 3.5GHz)
GPU: Nvidia GTX 960M 2GB
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 
SSD: M.2 PCIe Samsung 512GB SSD (~2GB/s R/W speeds)
Display: 15.6" Dell Infinity Edge 1920x1080
Battery: 84Whr 6 Cell
Weight: ~ 4Lbs to 4.2Lbs or 3.9 if I get the standard 54Whr battery
Warranty: 90 Day return and 1 year standard Dell Warranty (same as buying new)
OS: Windows 10 x64
 
Comes with extra TV Antenna, Palm Rest, Upgraded Thermal heatsink solution
 
This model and specification new is $1800 so I saved....$800 buying the return model as they had a special extra $500 off coupon today.
 
Very excite!

Do want.

 

[bowei006]

  Do want.

They are selling one with simililar specs right now for about $820 I believe. You need to call the Dell Outlet sales number (8am to 6pm CST). The coupon of $500 off $1199 and above XPS ends tomorrow. YOU WON'T see it on the Dell Outlet website. The phone service has access to the most up-to-date inventory. 
 
I believe these were the specs:
 
XPS 15 9550 
 
Intel i7 6700HQ (Quad Core, 8 Threads)
8GB DDR4
256GB PCIe M.2 SSD 
GTX 960M 2GB
15.6" Infinity Edge 1920x1080
54 Whr Battery
 
I didn't get it because for $170 more, I could get the much more expensive SSD and RAM along with the higher battery. Also this one doesn't come with the upgraded thermal solution or palm rest. I didn't care about the palm rest but I wanted the thermal solution. 
 
I also didn't care about 16GB of RAM but Dell put the 8GB version in 2x 4GB configuration so it would cost you the full $100 for the aftermarket 16GB DDR4 laptop size to upgrade. I'll be doing lots of Matlab with Simulation this semester so I said why not.
 
 
 
If anyone is interested in this version, give Dell Outlet a call. They also have one with the same spec above for $880 but with the TV Antenna, palm rest and upgraded thermal solution added on. 

 

[Dobrescu George]

I have 256gb SSD, but never used it for anything else but simple windows keeping for speeding up my OS. Seems like it would reduce it's life, which is a bother, considering that I got this laptop for 6 months and am already selling it. 

 

[214324]

  I have 256gb SSD, but never used it for anything else but simple windows keeping for speeding up my OS. Seems like it would reduce it's life, which is a bother, considering that I got this laptop for 6 months and am already selling it. 

Well it sips power compared to a HDD so...you really can't get any better.

 

[bowei006]

Well it sips power compared to a HDD so...you really can't get any better.

Yeah

Some M.2 SSD are rated at 2mW. I forgot if this was idle or load

 

[Dobrescu George]

I do get that, I was extremely worried about them having flash typical memory, and me consuming the cycles of writes too fast, this was why I did not write anything to my SSD other than OS.

 

[214324]

  I do get that, I was extremely worried about them having flash typical memory, and me consuming the cycles of writes too fast, this was why I did not write anything to my SSD other than OS.

You're getting this completely wrong. The stuff they use in flash drives and SSDs are completely different. There's a reason we see servers using SSDs and not flash drives for storage.
 
The tech used for flash drive NAND chips is eMMC which is cheap to make and poor performance. Solid state drives use a much more different kind of NAND, which is why we don't see our flash drives with NAND capable of doing 700-900MB/s of read/write like most SSDs do nowadays (ignoring interface limitations).
 
And here's the TLC lifespan article if you want some numbers for the shortest living type of NAND we can find in consumer SSDs right now: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6459/samsung-ssd-840-testing-the-endurance-of-tlc-nand
 
Keep in mind that lifespan depends on the amount of NAND chips you have as well since wear is spread over all of the chips. Even with a 128GiB TLC SSD you're looking at 11.7 years at 10GiB of read/write per day. That doubles with 256GiB drives and etc.
 
There is no reason to just keep the OS on disk. You're wasting free space and time (since it loads up programs waaaay way faster) by just having OS on there. You only get a boot speed boost and that's it. Everything from there on out is slow if it's not regarding the OS.
 
I don't know where you thought SSDs use eMMC like flash drives but that is completely wrong. There are countless servers that use ONLY SSDs as their storage medium and they write hundreds to thousands of gigabytes per day (if not even more). If they used eMMC, sure they'd be dead in a few days but there's a reason these servers can use SSDs.

 

[Dobrescu George]

  You're getting this completely wrong. The stuff they use in flash drives and SSDs are completely different. There's a reason we see servers using SSDs and not flash drives for storage.
 
The tech used for flash drive NAND chips is eMMC which is cheap to make and poor performance. Solid state drives use a much more different kind of NAND, which is why we don't see our flash drives with NAND capable of doing 700-900MB/s of read/write like most SSDs do nowadays (ignoring interface limitations).
 
And here's the TLC lifespan article if you want some numbers for the shortest living type of NAND we can find in consumer SSDs right now: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6459/samsung-ssd-840-testing-the-endurance-of-tlc-nand
 
Keep in mind that lifespan depends on the amount of NAND chips you have as well since wear is spread over all of the chips. Even with a 128GiB TLC SSD you're looking at 11.7 years at 10GiB of read/write per day. That doubles with 256GiB drives and etc.
 
There is no reason to just keep the OS on disk. You're wasting free space and time (since it loads up programs waaaay way faster) by just having OS on there. You only get a boot speed boost and that's it. Everything from there on out is slow if it's not regarding the OS.
 
I don't know where you thought SSDs use eMMC like flash drives but that is completely wrong. There are countless servers that use ONLY SSDs as their storage medium and they write hundreds to thousands of gigabytes per day (if not even more). If they used eMMC, sure they'd be dead in a few days but there's a reason these servers can use SSDs.

Thanks for the clarification. 
 
When I first googled what SSD is and what is it made of, someone write that it is made of the same thing as USB flash drives, and they will eventually reach out of data. 
 
I was curious about TRIM, or what they use to not re-write the same cells. Is this feature embedded in the firmware of the SSD, or the OS should do this?