My XPS m1530 Experience

This board had a huge impact on my deciding to buy this computer so I figured I'd write about my experiences with this laptop, or at least the most pertinent ones. I'll try to touch on some of the things that made me wary of buying it, how it performs, likes/dislikes, etc.

Firstly, the specs
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz/800MHzFSB, 6M L2 Cache)
6GB, DDR2, 800MHz 2 Dimm RAM
15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ TrueLife LED LCD (1440x900)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
64GB Solid State Drive
2x BluRay Drive
Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)


The computer was ordered on Dec. 6th and arrived on December 13th, which is pretty good turnaround and I was pleased with the speed of the delivery. I didn't get to open the computer until Dec. 15th, however, because my university post office is closed on weekends (huge bummer).

First Impressions:
-It's very stylish. The pictures don't do it justice. My sister has a macbook pro and while I wouldn't compare their design elements, because that is more subjective, they are, in my opinion, equally portable.
-The keyboard looks cramped. I had heard this earlier from one or two reviews, and didn't think much of it at the time, but it does look cramped. Thankfully, however, it's a joy to type on and, if you ask me, still very stylish-looking.
-The touch-sensitive media control keys, which light up when touched, are very poorly designed. They are not very sensitive, which makes turning the volume levels from full to mute or vice versa very difficult, and the "glow" feature is weak and unimpressive. The Dell video of the XPS m1530 definitely exaggerates their effects.
-The computer has adequate ports for most people (plus HDMI), as I'm sure you already knew, but the stacked USB ports on the left side are extremely close to the power adapter attachment. Slightly awkward design. Similarly, the third USB port on the right side is underneath the far end of the slot-loading optical drive, which makes it "awkward" to insert a DVD if the port is in use.
-The laptop's lid does not have any mechanism holding it down. This surprised me at first, but, like the MacBooks, it works surprisingly well.
-The keyboard isn't as quiet as its Mac counterparts, but it is MUCH more enjoyable to type on. A good trade-off, in my opinion, since it's not like the keys are loud enough to bother anyone in class or work. On that note, the mouse-click keys below the touchpad are VERY silent, which is a huge improvement over earlier XPS models.
-The slot-loading optical drive is silent enough during insertion (it makes a slight clicking noise, which I've heard on other laptops w. optical drives), but I can't comment on its noise levels when in use (see below)
-My HDD is solid state, so there really isnt any noise from that.
-I haven't bothered reformatting to remove bloatware, but there are one or two things that certainly merit removal (cough* McAfee antivirus...)
-This was my first experience owning a Vista laptop, but it seems fine so far, although there ARE a lot of pop-ups asking for admin permission....hopefully there's a way to disable those that I haven't found.

Finally, the most annoying aspect of my m1530 experience thus far: my optical drive was not properly installed. I haven't exactly ascertained the error: either the hardware is faulty, which seems unlikely because it accepts discs and ejects them with no trouble, or it was not properly installed within Windows, since Windows doesn't recognize any CD/DVD inserted into it. I've spoken to Dell tech (via online chat) and that has been a positive experience so far, although the issue still hasn't been resolved. I'm of the opinion that a brand new laptop should work right out of the box though

I'll edit this post with future thoughts, particularly along the lines of battery and graphics performance, but feel free to ask any questions.

 

I love that glow effect! makes me press the keys for no reason, just to see it again!

I agree, I use my mouse on the right port, and I have a fat USB-stick-mp3 player wich wont fit on the left side (because of AC adapter "steric effects"), so I have to unplug the mouse and ride on touchpad for a while... annoying...

Also, I would like to lower the lid to almost closed, but not closed, when I walk away from it for a while at work. If I try to leave mine at 3-4cm from closed, it will slam closed.

Mine is silent during use, but noisy on insertion... I thought it was normal.... now you worried me...

I tried to use McAfee for the free trial period, but I got sick of it before a week was gone...

 

I agree about the cramped USB ports. The other thing I don't like is the lack of a posi-lock power connector. The power connector is too loose/flimsy for my liking.

 

Hey, nice little review there w/your impressions of your lappy..thus far!

If I were you, I would dump McAfee and use a free AV program..such as Avira.. Avira is awesome! Works well on my 1530!!!! (This is coming from Trend Micro from Dell on my lappy = horrible)

Cin

 

how did u get it with 800 MHz RAM? its motherboard doesnt even support 800 MHz it just downclocks it to 667

 

Welcome to Vista. Meet UAC (User Account Control).

To disable this, go to your Windows Users thing in Control Panel, from here, you can turn UAC on/off. You need to restart for the changes to take effect.

 

Woops, sorry.

I meant to type "it is silent enough during insertion." It does make a noise just as it accepts the disc, but its not disturbing at all, as some reviews have made it out to be.

@Signal2Noise, I previously owned an XPS m170 (one of the oldest XPS laptops, if I'm not mistaken) and the AC power jack was MUCH worse on that one, which is probably why I didn't think about it on this one, but you are 100% right. It isn't so loose that it will come out, but it isn't a snug fit either.

An update:
It turns out the BluRay drive sent with my laptop is defective. The customer support was polite and I am satisfied with them (people complain about the Indian outsourcing but I am always much happier to get them, as their English seems to be better than most of the American tech support team's hehe), but it is ridiculous that a brand new laptop would have a faulty optical drive. I assume it got through inspection because it does accept cds/dvds into the drive, but it only recognizes CDs and will not play DVDs/bluray discs or CD-Roms. Frustrating, but as the laptop is in otherwise perfect condition, and as they are sending a technician to my house to repair it here, I decided not to bicker.

Should I be wary of their on-site tech support? I intend to watch him very closely.

 

Oh and whoever asked about the RAM, it is available (or was, haven't checked lately) on the Dell US site. I am aware that it doesn't perform at those levels, but I still wanted the extra RAM (I had some great coupon deals and everything else was already pretty much maxed out haha)