Just got my XPS M1330 and a new one is already on its way...

I received my XPS M1330 today finally after much anticipation and unfortunately there are some build quality issues. As far as performance goes the computer is great but there are some problems with the construction. I first noticed that the lid did not close flush against the base which led to me discovering that the left speaker is not completely depressed into the base and will not go down, there is a gap on the left hinge, and lastly the border at the bottome of the screen (the part with the DELL logo) is bent outward in multiple locations.

So I called Dell today and after a bunch of transfers and a little bit of holding, and without any fight whatsoever, Dell will be sending me a brand new laptop within 8 days. Hopefully they send me a winner because if I have to deal with this garbage again I am going to start getting mad.

I must say that despite the issues, I really love this laptop, the only thing that really bothers me is that the slot loading drive is pretty loud but I can live with it. Overall it is a very nice and well designed slick little laptop and I can't wait to get one that is put together a little bit better.

 

Join the club Your first impressions echo pretty much the average opinion. Go ahead and add your experience(s) to this M1330 thread

 

I have the same issue where the lid does not close flush against the base and the left hinge gap but I'm wondering whether to return it as it has no other major issues.

 

What are your specs? What's your battery life with those specs? And how hot does your M1330 get?

 

i have just too many issues to start with, from the palm rest all the way to the motherboard and wireless card


the replacements i had :

3 palm rests
1 wireless card
1 motherboard
1 heatsink
1 fan
1 top bezel
1 dvd-writer

and now they say the processor's gone? gosh....
oh ya...did i mention? this is my replacement unit

 

I also had several assembly defects with mine, but I managed to fix most of them myself. First the Center Control panel was not straight; I was able to make things better by reinstalling it. Then there was a slight curvature in the keyboard, this was due to a misplaced wire underneath it. So I took out the keyboard, bent it slightly, then reset the wire and put everything back; now it looks almost ok. However I couldn’t do anything about the gap between the hinge and center control panel, apparently this is a common issue in all M1330s according to what I read in the forum.

Other than that, rest of the notebook is almost perfect, no CPU whine, relatively cooler (compared to my previous M1210), and a good screen (I believe its LG). There is an occasional clicking sound coming from the HDD (like its powering down suddenly) , but I've decided to give it some time and see what happens, because this HDD is faster than what I had in my previous M1210 (benchmarks are better and I can even feel it).