Monday, March 5th 2018
Despite Disinterest in AMD Products, Dell Launches Ryzen-Powered Laptops
Dell may not believe in an imminent "AMD-Intel duopoly", even though the green team has some very interesting products in its portfolio. But even so, Dell has silently launched some Inspiron laptops that are powered by AMD's latest architecture. The total number of AMD-powered laptops reaches four in their Inspiron 17 5000 line, with a mix of AMD's latest Ryzen 3 and Ryzen 5 APUs with Vega integrated graphics.Dell has chosen to pair the same overall system configuration with AMD's Ryzen 3 2200U and Ryzen 5 2500 U APU solutions, with two models based on each processor offering some differing specs when it comes to their storage and memory configuration. All four models sport the same 17.3" 1080p display, with a port configuration of 2x USB 3.1 (Gen 1), 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x HDMI 1.4b interface, and an SD card reader.
The entry-line Ryzen 3 version sports 8 GB (1x 8 GB) of DDR4-2400 and a 1 TB 5,400 RPM SATA HDD starting from $679.99. The same CPU then is offered with a bump to 12 GB (1x 4 GB, 1x 8 GB) memory while keeping the same HDD, for $729.99 - a strange memory configuration that's hardly ideal.
The Ryzen 5 models, on the other hand, feature 16 GB (2x 8 GB) of DDR4-2400 and a 2 TB 5,400 RPM HDD - the only difference between the two higher-end models is that the $999 version comes with Dell's Premium Support Plus coverage for 1 year, whereas the $899 model does not. All other specs are equal. Puzzlingly, Users looking for an SSD-powered Ryzen APU system need look elsewhere.
Sources:
Dell, via Tom's Hardware
The entry-line Ryzen 3 version sports 8 GB (1x 8 GB) of DDR4-2400 and a 1 TB 5,400 RPM SATA HDD starting from $679.99. The same CPU then is offered with a bump to 12 GB (1x 4 GB, 1x 8 GB) memory while keeping the same HDD, for $729.99 - a strange memory configuration that's hardly ideal.
The Ryzen 5 models, on the other hand, feature 16 GB (2x 8 GB) of DDR4-2400 and a 2 TB 5,400 RPM HDD - the only difference between the two higher-end models is that the $999 version comes with Dell's Premium Support Plus coverage for 1 year, whereas the $899 model does not. All other specs are equal. Puzzlingly, Users looking for an SSD-powered Ryzen APU system need look elsewhere.
43 Comments on Despite Disinterest in AMD Products, Dell Launches Ryzen-Powered Laptops
Gotta gimp it somehow
Thanks DELL.
Fwiw, Linux doesn't have much market share on the desktop, yet Dell still sell system with Linux.
Stop making news where there isn't any.
It's much like what happens over here with ISPs. DECO (our national consumer defense organization) fought to enable us consumers to have the right to subscribe to an ISP without having to be tied to it for 2 years of "loyalty" (if one tries to leave before the period is over, one is forced to pay the full 2 years worth anyway), and they succeeded.
But there's a few catches ...
- it costs more per month (VS the "loyalty" options)
- you'll have to pay the installation price of around 300€ (free with the "loyalty" options)
- you'll have to pay the activation (also free with the "loyalty" options)
- doesn't include bonuses (all "loyalty" options offer 1 or more of these, such as mobile net, for example)
Then why is it available in all of the ISP providers? Because DECO managed to get the law changed and that forced the ISPs to "offer" this option, which they did: they just made damn sure nobody would choose it.
Back on topic!
Sure: Dell is offering Ryzen based products. However, they are doing it so in a way that nobody will ever buy because the discrepancy in price / performance VS other offerings is so large due to the specs being so gimped on the AMD's versions.
By going this route, Dell can't be accused of selling Intel-only products even though, for all intents and purposes, they'll only be selling Intel-only products.
EDIT
Mine and other ISPs often call to let me know of new offerings and / or cheaper ones and i always ask the same question: "do these require new "loyalty" period (always 2 years)?"
When they say "yes" i always reply with the same "then not interested".