Dell m1530

Hi all, I am new to this forum and apologize if my thread is in the wrong place. I recently saw the Dell XPS m1530 on sale and was curious as to if this laptop was worth purchasing. I enjoy to play games such as RTS and this computer can definitely handle what I want to play. I have heard that the battery life is bad and the screen is horrible. Any truth to these rumors? Thanks!!

 

First of all, this is the correct place to direct your concerns about Dell laptops. From what I've heard, I haven't heard anything great nor bad about the XPS M1530's battery life. They're average at best. There have also been reports about 'grainy' / 'sparkly' screens. This is NOT the norm for this laptop. If you do get a bad screen, you can either get an onsite technician to replace it or send the laptop back for a refund.

 

thank you Aussie! I appreciate your response. I have never owned a Dell, and onsite technician or an outright refund would be fantastic! Is there much of a hassle in getting it repaired? I have never dealt with Dell's Customer Service (microsoft and gateway aren't very fun to say the least).

 

Can't say I've actually needed to get a system repaired before. Hopefully someone else can help you with that.

 

Thanks Aussie.

http://www.notebookreview.com/defau...+Core+2+Duo+T5250+1.5GHz,+120GB+HDD,+2GB+RAM) Just read the fantastic review on this website- is the hard drive really that loud to the point that it's annoying and disturbing?

 

no..my hard drive hardly whispers...

This is also the best laptop i have purchased ever.. And i've been through a few.. Kudos to dELL

 

GMAN, did you have a screen issue? or have those been resolved?

Also I was looking at the 13 inch. It has a weaker graphics card but I don't recall hearing of screen issues with that (I could be wrong here). To be honest, I don't want to take a risk of getting a faulty screen. Would the 13 inch (top of the line) be able to handle games such as Call of Duty 4 and World in Conflict?

Also how do you tell if you have the LG or Samsung screen when you order? Thanks.

 

One last thing I should add:

I recently got accepted to college and I am aware that at the Apple store here I get a discount just by showing my acceptance letter. Is it possible to add an educational discount to the current promotion?

 

There should be a student discount. You have to go to DellUnleashed.com to register and you'll get an email with further instructions.

 

a m1530 thread and i have not commented on it.
Ok,

first of all, screen problems?
with mine? none.
Mine's the infamous Samsung, but... heck... this thing looks awesome, no backlight bleeding, no washed out colors, no grain... its awesome, just some viewing angle issues...

the haddrive is silent. (7200 rpm)

the battery, well i purchased the 9-cell, it lasts for aproximately 4 hours on high performance mode, and in high performance while gaming, it lasts about the same n_n.

lasts a lot more on power saver.

 

I just received my m1530 and it's fine. I also have an HP and the XPS screen is more usable in lights... less reflections on the glossy screen.

 

Thank you all for your responses!

So it seems that the screen issue is not that common (although I just noticed the very long thread on screen issues)? This sale is great, but only lasts til Thursday. I've been debating between this laptop, the Apple Macbook (black, 2 gigs of ram), and the Gateway P-6831x. The Gateway does not seem to have great battery life, while the apple seems the best. Gah, so confusing!

 

I'm leaning towards these specs:

SYSTEM COLOR Tuxedo Black edit
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2MB cache/2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition edit
LCD AND CAMERA High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440x900) & 2MP Camera edit
MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms) edit
HARD DRIVE Size: 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write) edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT edit
WIRELESS CARDS Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card edit
BLUETOOTH OPTIONS Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate) edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0


Again I know you say the screen issues are very rare, but with my luck I know I will get a faulty screen (hardware and I don't agree). I'm still on the edge about taking the risk.

 

Look in the first 4-5 pages of this section of the forums, there were 3 polls recently one for each of the available screen resolutions. LG screen seem like the best screen you can get and 1440x900 WXGA+ is the resolution with the best ratio chances to get one.

 

Will do, thanks.

 

So, it appears the screen type I decided on heavily favors LG.

 

Like it was clearly stated in the 1440x900 thread, nothing is official, I'm basing my argument on about one hundred people that voted on an internet notebook review forum not taking in consideration geographic details and everything else. But to reinforce it, I went with a 1440x900 screen and it will be an LG screen too like stated in my service tag.

Check this page (scroll down a bit) and you will see the difference between the Samsung and LG : http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=211283&page=3

quite stunning in my opinion

 

Good grief, that is a huge difference. Thanks Merranza. This just makes me more nervous about ordering it lol.

 

Like said before also, keep in mind people with problems will come to this forum probably more than people who received their laptop in a1 condition and didn't have anything to complain about. How accurate is the representation of the different discussions here is quite arguable I think. If Dell's laptop had so many flaws and problems all the time, I don't think they would have such a visible window and a big part of the market.

That being said, it is a good thing knowing what to expect in the worst cases. You might receive a Samsung with a very good quality of image. Remember, in the end, it's all subjective and if it fits you, don't search for more problems than there are. Dell have a good customer satisfaction policy and will exchange your screen and other parts if needed and you are not satisfied. You also have the 21-30 days (depending where you are) full satisfaction warranty.

 

That's good to know... and I'm not one to look for problems like you said. If it works it works! So if I don't feel like waiting for a screen I could just get a full refund which is always nice.