1530 & 1330 here are the specs! :))

Hi all~ I stopped by Best Buy this a-noon and took a look at the 1330 and...Yummy, that is one pretty & sleek looking notebook! I liked the Alpine White color (but want red).

So...it now comes down to whether I order the 1530 or the 1330! And, I plan on ordering before 1/1/08!

Between the 2 what are your opinions? Price difference between the 2 is basically $25, the Video Card on the 1330 is 128 vs. the 256 on the 1530, and I downsized on the wireless card on the 1530 to save $50 (instead of the wireless N). I'm thinking with my music library size 7GB, & everything else I should be fine with either system & going into the future.

With the Wireless N - will that mean that I should go w/a Wireless N router for home? Or, doesn't that matter?

I realize that my screen resolution is going to be the 1280x800 on both. But, I played w/the 1330 for a few minutes at Best Buy & it wasn't to bad (wouldn't mind a higher res, though)!

Here are the specs for the 1330: (I want the Crimsom Red) it's included in price)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium Edition LCD and Camera:
Standard Display with 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
Memory: 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz 3G2D6
Hard Drives: Speed: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) Free Fall Sensor 160GB72
Combo or DVD+RW Drive: CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW Drive) 8XDVDRW
Video Card: 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS Wireless Networking:
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Bluetooth and Wireless USB: Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
Primary Battery: 6 cell Primary Battery & 9 cell addtl Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Options: High Definition Audio 2.0
Fingerprint Reader: Biometric Fingerprint Reader
Network Card and Modem:
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Adobe Software: Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Processor Branding: Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Labels:Windows Vista™ Premium VPN
Camera Panel:Standard LCD w/Crimson Red Microsatin Casing &Camera XPS M1330
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed): Trend Micro Internet Security 15-months
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed):No Productivity software pre-installed
Dell Digital Entertainment:No Entertainment software pre-installed
Hardware Support Services:3Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service:1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection (CD Shipped Separately)
Datasafe:Included 10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year
Dial-Up Internet Access:No ISP requested
Price w/8% Discount - $1440.91

1530 spec's - Color Crimson Red
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
LCD, Color and camera:Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1280x800) & 2.0 MP Camera
Memory:3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
Hard Drives:Speed: 160GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Combo or DVD+RW Drive:Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT 25686GT
Wireless Networking Cards: Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card
Bluetooth Options: Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
Primary Battery:6-cell Primary Battery & 9 -cell addtl Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card:Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Dell Printer Driver:Windows Vista™ Premium
Software - Adobe:Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
Processor Branding:Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Software - Antivirus:Trend Micro Internet Security 15-months
Productivity:No Microsoft Office
Warranty & Service:3Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Accident and Theft Protection:1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection (CD Shipped Separately)
DataSafe Online Backup:Included 10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year
Dial-Up Internet Access:No ISP requested
Price w/8% discount - $1,416.45

Oh, and - Thank You

 

if you are a gamer go with the 1530, the 8400GS isnt that good

 

You know... if you really wanted the wireless N on the 1530 you could always drop the Integrated Sound Blaster for High Definition Audio. I believe this would save you enough money so that when you add the wireless N card it comes out to about the same as the 1330. You'd have to check on it though.

Nice build by the way. I went with the 1530 if that matters.

 

Nope, no gaming..more my main usage is internet, multi-tasking, multi-media, e-mailing, taking where wifi capable ~ maybe gaming in the future, though

 

the resolution on 1330 is 800X1200 but remember it's only 13" so when you go with the 15.3" it doesn't look as good unless you invist 50$ for 900X1400..
downgrading the sound is not good ieda if you care about music ..

 

Thanks! I don't think I want to downgrade on the sound. I really like the 1330 - but am somewhat still leaning towards the 1530.

I am hoping that if I do order the 1530, I can call Dell an upgrade the resolution for that extra $50 for the 900x1400.

Who knows, doesn't hurt to try.

 

If gaming isn't your priority now, get the 1330. When the time comes and you are actually interested in gaming, you'll probably be searching for another laptop then anyway. And it will probably be better and more powerful [at least in today's standards].

With wireless-n, of course you'll want an n-router to take full advantage of it. But any router should, at least, work [I think it's backwards compatible to both -b and -g].

Oh, and IMO, get the 1330 with the lowest RAM option [1 or 2 GB] and just upgrade it yourself. Save yourself some bucks.

Also, no LED?

 

I just went in & reconfiged the 1330 w/the LED & the cost came to $1,519.
And, the 1530 w/the Wireless N is @ $1,465.

So, it amounts to, if I call Dell and they will let me add the higher res. for the extra $$ on the 1530 w/my discount that I am already getting, or not. Price point look's like I'm around $1500 or less, either way.

I would love to see the 1530 in person - but at the Dell Kiosk in the mall nearby, they stated they will not be getting the 1530 until the end of January!!

(Yes, and just simply lovely....my cat just knocked coffee all over me.....at least it wasn't on my computer.....*sigh*)

 

I was able to add the higher res screen and still get my discount. I just waited until we were done with the build and asked for my discount. He went off the line for a couple of minutes and came back and said ok!
steph

 

What do people think of the solid state drive offered with it?
Jane

 

What is up with everyone asking for a discount at the end of the sale? I thought they were already taking off $600 from the M1530? No?

 

what is the wireless N card? it uses the card slot? Its the only option on the 1530, but since according to them they dont have any spdif that is capable of passing 5.1 audio to a receiver then i would have to get the upgraded sound card (from them or elsewhere)...then i couldnt use wireless and play the audio at the same time?

 

Dell said this card is "installed in the machine" not in the expresscard slot, is that correct? thanks.

 

I asked for my epp discount which wasn't configurable with high res screen yet. I don't see why they wouldn't give a discount I was eligible for as a state employee when all I wanted to do was upgrade and spend more money anyway. Someone here at NBR suggested "it doesn't hurt to just ask" so I did and got the discount I was entitled to. make sense?

 

gamer 1530, everything else 1330

 

If you already have a desktop or want something portable, then 1330, but if you need something for gaming, then the 1530 is your only option.

 

if you're at all thinking of installing XP, get the soundblaster and avoid the hassle of the screwy sigmatel drivers.

(Finally got sound working on mine after 3 hours dell tech support... I solved it myself with info on the dell forum)