Aghh!! To buy or not to buy (M1530)??

I really wanted to buy the M1530. I have done litterally TONS of research and the XPS is my firm fav when compared with other dells and brands (including acer, HP etc).

However, my only concern is the Nvidia 8600GT card which, if forums are to be believed, is not the most reliable card on the market.

That said, EVERY reasonably powerful notebook seems to have overheating problems nowadays, including Apple, Acer and other "quality" brands.

So, my question is this... is it worth taking the risk with this laptop and just taking good care of it (which i would anyway). Keeping is dust free, cool etc?

I know some people seem to think that a new XPS will be coming out soon, but for me it doesnt really make a difference. A new XPS revision may be morep powerful, but it will cost more and I am on a budget and the current XPS is powerful enough...

Basically, those that have an XPS 1530, would you recommend it???

 

Question is where are you going to use the 1530 you are planning to buy? For gaming? Browsing... Gaming.. i would think twice about the power of this laptop... i would still go to desktops.. other than that.. its pretty much ok..

 

It will be used for a combination of work/ internet / gaming and perhaps some video editing. I need a laptop as I am often based in different places for work. I don't expect the performance of a gaming rig, but being able to play some decent games occasionaly would be nice.

 

Im not sure about the requirements for video editing but this laptop has i mid range GPU.. that's something to think about... For games, my unit specs (CPU T7250s, 256MB VRam, 3GB RAM) cant handle quite nicely GTA 4 right now. But other online games are ok... You mentioned that your firm is fun of xps, dont they have 1530s currently that you can check its perf before buying it?

 

If is gaming is important a 9600GT class GPU or Ati equivalent will serve you better.

Asus, MSI, HP, Acer, so much to choose from.

Dell XPS 1640 should be available soon. I reckon in 10 days.

Sony FW will refresh with Ati4xxx series soon.

 

The XPS 1530 does not just have "normal overheating problems" it HAS a DEFECTIVE GPU = WITH WEAK DIE-PACKAGING material = GET FRIED when you 'even' occasionally do intense gaming.

*Not all GPUs, but VAST majority of 1530's suffer this..

Wait for the 1640. Or get yourself HP Dv5t with 9600m GT cheaper than 1530 with coupon.

 

XPS 1330 is pretty nice in the 13 inch form factor.

But the XPS 1530 is not what I would get in the 15 inch class.

Look at Clevo/Sager, ASUS, MSI or even NEC for a decent 15 inch gaming model with all the fruit.

Yeh or wait for the newer Dell.

Don't rush it just yet. The 15 inch form factor has the most choice and therefore the best bargains. There are HEAPS of choices.

 

Stick with your original choice otherwise you'll be all confused. I love my 1530 with the 8600 GPU. No problems so far.

 

ok will this 1630 be more gaming or more work because i have an order down for a full blown out 1730 should i cancel and wait or do you guys think the 1730 is still a great laptop?

 

Yeah..alot of people hate the XPS M1530 because they didn't know about it until they boughy a low-brand laptop. (MSI, Sager, HP Pavilion etc)

All 8xxx cards are defective according to nVidia, but the chance of getting actually a failing card is close to zero.
I've owned all the other laptop brands except Alienware before, and I can say XPS M1530 is in fact, the best. First, it's one of the lightest and most stylish 15.4 laptops, secondly it offers GDDR3 8600M GT which is a very capable videocard. (1280x800 you'll be playng the latest games on High* settings).

Sure, you can get slightly more powerful laptop for that money from another brand, but if you want quality .. get the XPS.
Not to forget XPS M1530 was like what, 6 months the 1st most popular laptop on NBR?

 

yeah i had an alienware had a broken graphic card in it when i got it but a lot of people seem to be doing well with it i just got a dud.

 

Agreed. My 1530 is now 6 months old and after 2 hours of Crysis the GPU never reached 70 C. Even though it's outdated in some places, the 1530 remains my best computer to date.

 

Hey there!

I have the 1530, have had it for just about a year now. I also have what is considered, or referred to as the faulty 8600 GPU.

I have never had even the slightest problem with it. I don't look for trouble with my lappy. If something wrong was to happen with it, I deal with it then.

And, I love how peep's who do not even own a XPS 1530, have bad comments about it. Don't knock it down, until you actually own one! That's the way I feel, sorry....(And, yes those are very strong feelings).

The choice is up to you with the 1530, and exactly what you are going to be using it for. I'm not a gamer per se. However, I got the 1530 because after looking for almost 6 months at Dell's, and others brand's lines ~ the 1530 just worked for me.

My uses are: multi-media, internet, photo's, music, etc. Almost the same things as your are looking at, minus the gaming factor.

However; if I were to start gaming ~ I am confident that my 1530 would be awesome at that. It's one of the things that make the 1530 a great machine. Also, even though the 15.4 is larger than a more portable 1330 ~ I have no prob's when out-and-about with it (and I'm petite)! Get a good bag and your good to go!

Treat your lappy right, and it will treat you right! Keep it clean, keep food and liquids away from it, keep it dust free. Things like this are not hard.

As, you have stated you have done *tons* of research on the XPS line. I think you just need to make *your own choice*, you know what you want.
The deals on the XPS line are really good right now.

Good luck to you!

Cin

 

If you can wait a bit the new models should be here within the next month. However they would be more expensive. So if you like the price and specs you will get with the M1530 you should buy it.

 

2 Questions:

I know its not out yet, but does anyone have a decent price estimate on the new xps line coming out?

Can I assume the 1530 will continue to drop in price?

 

The price would probably be in the range of $1000 to $1300. The M1530 will continue to drop in price and the remaining inventory would be handled by the Outlet after the new models are out for a bit.

 

i would recommend it 100 %! keep a good attitude, dont think about the nvida problem, keep ur mind out of it, or you will just attract it, there maybe some heating issues, chip issues, who knows... but nvidia makes gpus for computers for years, they made the PS3, XBOX gpu. this guys know what they are doing, i got a m1530 and after three months i got temperatures of 97 degrees in my gpu, i was in venezuela, and i was coming to the states in december, i kept pushis the gpu for four months.... at 97degrees, playing Cal of duty onlne almost everyday, it comitted emergency shutdown once at 120 degrees! gpu never showed lines or ay symptom of defective gpu, worked fine but hot, so i called dell and replaced the motherboard heatsink and thermal grease, the thing was that dell messed up and they only applied termal paste to the CPU so the chipset, and gpu, were getting so hot because of the no thermal grease in this components... now my cpu dont go anywhere past 55, gpu wont go past 74 degrees, and i overclocck this gpu and won hit the 80s.... another thing, i think the fan that come with my new heatsink is more powerfull.... but im pretty happy, besides u got the extra year warrantly, and chipsets were fixed after octuber i think... so... if u like it go for it, my experience is great! in all ways, design! and power!, gaming, battery is normal not big deal, but still... and if u are video editing! get 64 bits OS, and th T8100 T8300 O T8900 lighting fast!
Remember there was a thread that said that people come to forums looking for help for their problems, so like u, trying to get a good recommendation, u wouldnt come here to tell us about how great is ur notebook and how it performs! unless u are already a member.... XD u know... count how many people have the nvidia problem in this and other forums and compared to how many xps m1530 have been sold... minimum percent.... think about it...

Sorry for the long post! hop it helps!

 

The 1530 is amazing - it's the best laptop on the planet.

 

Nice, simply stated sentence...

The 1530 just *rocks*, as far as I'm concerned!


Cin

 

There's one more design defect of the 1530 which almost resulted me to send it back which is worth mentioning here.... try pluging it directly to a lan cable , stand or just make sure your bare feet are touching the floor (havent tried it on a carpeted floor, just on a wooden and cement floor) then rub or feel the palm rest of it.. and you'll feel that tingling sensation.. nice The metallic design of the laptop is redirecting the electric ground or something like that to your body specially if you dont have good grounding system. This happens even if you are using that three pronged plug which we are using here in singapore.. As per dell its not dangerous to people and to its internal parts, but who will buy something that comes with a bit of electric "tingling" sensation on it.. See this..

http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2007/04/24/8522.aspx?PageIndex=4

But you know they know about this problem even before they released the 1530s.. see this

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread188600.html

Their escape goat is the 2 pronged adapters... I ask their support back then why am i experiencing this same issue when 1) im already using a 3 pronged adapter and 2) even if my laptop is not plugged into the adapter. Guess what is their response, its because of the electrical wiring in the house that i was renting back then (oh yeah, now your blaming the electrical wirings when your primary escape goat is of no use, who are you going to blame next, my electrical provider?).. told them that this is not the only electrical device that has metalic parts in our house, our microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, hell, even my e51 nokia phone has metallic parts on it... btw in singapore every appliance is using a 3 pronged plug, very seldom you'll find a 2 pronged plug, but i dont get a sensation in them when they are plugged in to our electrical system.. and the phone line went silent..

I think dell is just using this 2 or 3 pronged plug as an escape goat when the fact of the matter is, their design is faulty...

Btw i reconsidered my decision to send it back coz back then, except for the 1730s, there's no laptop in dells product that can match its specs..

 

I'm also getting more and more tempted to buy one of these, but im also very curious about the new line coming out...such a hard choice.

 

I am very interested in the 1530 too. I am not into gaming at all, I really want it for speed and performance as I do a lot of data processing (matlab), programming, etc...

I am pretty much ready to buy but keep hearing about drop in price because of the new line. Would Dell go even lower that their $999 current. I am not cheap but, would not mind saving a bit more, most of all after all the Christmas spending!

 

If you are looking for the lowest price, check out the Outlet.

 

if u are curious for the new model, i hope u have money to support ur curiosity... cuz it wont come out any cheap xD and consider 16 inch screen.... nevertheless, hope dell provides something great for us and hardware updated, not new design with same cuztomized options

 

Hiya, another proud owner of m1530 here

There is no doubt that m1530 is an awesome piece of machines. To those people who are badmouthing the nvidia GPU, get a life ... not EVERY gpu is defective.

However, i have to say that ... wait for the next refresh line. although, if you can get a really really good spec'ed m1530 for a cheap price. Like USD 900-1100 or something. Then i would say go for it.

As a comparison, mine is about 1000 USD at the time i bought it (with AUD money) with the following spec
T9300
8600m gt GDDR3
320gb HDD
4GB RAM
2 years warranty
1280*800 LCD screen

 

There is going to be an XPS refresh within the next couple of weeks (it will stay the same price) so I would really highly recommend you wait a little while.

 

rofl....anybody else chuckle at the "escape goat"....hahah. I can't stop laughing at the mental picture.

dude, it's "scapegoat". definition


=|

 

I got the M1530 during the summer for university, looking back at it, I only use my laptop in my room which means a desktop would have sufficed. Since that's the case, I should have waited a bit longer and got the Black Sony Vaio FW. Whatever though, we can never stay caught up with technology, every year something new and cheaper comes out, what can you do. Soon we'll have 128gb flashdrives for $20 or something. Although the M1530 wasn't a bad choice, there were other options that I could have waited for.

 

This is the config I am going for:

(PRODUCT) RED (PRODUCT) RED
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista ® Home Premium Edition SP1
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
LCD AND CAMERA High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4inch LCD (1440x900) & 2.0 MP
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
HARD DRIVE Size: 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
VIDEO CARD 128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GS
WIRELESS CARDS Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

Total cost: $1120 (with tax)

So, am I getting a good deal? I did not want to go $1050 (with tax) but maybe I was being unreasonnable. I am tempted to wait to see if the price would go down even further but I am afraid I would miss out and end up buying something more expensive.

 

Can't you configure for 8600M GT? Because 8400M GS is a low-end card.

Otherwise it's good.

 

I could but I guess I did not see the need to. I do not play games. Ever. So besides gaming is there a reason to get a better one? I will use my computer, mostly for internet surfing, and heavy data processing for my work. Maybe some video editing but nothing fancy, I am a newbie. What do you guys think?

 

I tried entering that config in and using the coupon QTG19$Q09BR9SJ , the total came to $1043 with the second level sound card (to put it over 1300 pre coupon) and also just because i was curious i checked and it came to $1103 before tax with the upgraded graphics card. Unless of course i missed something in your configuration that would be raising the price.

 

Also can you not increase your warranty to 3 yrs (which is the max, i think), also your HDD, there's already a 320GB 7200rpm available..

 

I threw in the belkin bundle and it came to $1308 before coupon and taxes, after coupon, $1046. This is without the upgraded card.
I really don't want to go over this. Can someone give me the advantage of the upgraded card if I don't play?

 

oh.. sory, i didnt knw dat we hve a speling bee aspirant hre.. btw hws my speling nw?

 

Well the GeForce cards are made for gamers, and the Quadro are for work with GPU intensive applications such as Photoshop CS4, AutoCAD, etc. Though you can game+do work meant to be done on quadro cards with both series of video cards. If you don't do any of these tasks you should be fine with integrated graphics/low end dedicated video card.

You should be fine without an upgraded graphics card.

 

Thanks for the answer. I did not upgraded the warranty since I get doubled with my credit card. SO I think I should be ok.

My work will be mostly CPU/ RAM intensive, that's why I get the 4 gb and the 2.4 ghz processor, which jacked up the price a lot.

 

i was going to mention that, but didnt want to sound like a dick

 

get the lowest ram possible, you can get it much cheaper elsewhere

 

I'm sorry to say that the prices of the XPS line of notebooks might to go down that much when the new models comes out. It's Dell's bread and butter line and they won't compromize it. They have the Inspiron line for budget laptops. Am waiting for the new 1330 with the leather feature and the Mac Book Air contender. I heard it's coming out next month! yay