**Official Dell XPS M1530 Owner's Lounge**

I just ordered mine last Tuesday (4-22-08) and to my suprise, there was a 40% off the XPS M1530 that day only! It wasn't even part of the 10 Days of Dell deals, it just happened to be there when I went to their site. You bet your a$$ I went ahead and purchased in about 20 min. I got pretty much every option except the Wireless USB option (its not mainstream enough yet), and the 2.6ghz CPU, as it was way more expensive than the 2.5ghz 6MB cache.

Here's the specs. Total price paid, $1992 including the 3-year in-home warranty.
I will be installing Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit) as I already have a license for it that I haven't used yet, so i left the default to the cheaper Home Premium on the build.

My Components
Tuxedo Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB, 6MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
Full Hi Definition, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD ( 1920x1200) & 2.0 MP Camera
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
320GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load Blu-ray Disc (BD/DVD/CD read/write)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card
Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

My Software & Accessories
Trend Micro Internet Security 24-months
Auto/Air AC Adapter

My Service
3Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Support Reforestation: Plant a Tree for Me
Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr


So far, the only thing I'm very VERY VERY VERY sad about is the estimated Ship date. May 21st is the estimated ship date for the laptop itself, and June 5th for the Sound Blaster X-FI ExpressCard.

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

Monday was when they had even better deals. Mine is pretty much teh same, but i got the smallest hard drive as I have a 7K200 200GB already, and i opted out of the blu-ray. Mine, after all discounts, was $1280

 

One more question about the sound card before i order tonite: If i get the ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card, will i have to use it to have sound, or is there an "onboard" sound card too, if there is, is it the Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition?

 

I haven't been able to find anything out about this either. I'm assuming (hate to assume) that it would be the regular sound, without the Audidy HD Software edition, as you're not paying for that. You're getting the better add-on and are probably limited to standard sound without that card.

A call to a dell rep would probably be in order to find out definitively.

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

For the Sound Options, Here is the conversation I just had with a Dell Support rep using their online Chat option. I figured i'd do this rather than type it all out afterwards Not the news I'd hoped for, but is what I had expected.

============================

12:36:39 PM XPS_RR_Rep Welcome to Dell's XPS Sales Chat! I hope you are doing well and thank you for waiting. My name is SALES_REP and I will be your Sales Agent today.
12:36:44 PM Brian Good afternoon
12:37:15 PM Brian Myself and a bunch of others who are considering the XPS M1530 had a question on the Sound options.
12:37:25 PM Brian Can you answer this?
12:37:27 PM Brian If i get the ExpressCard Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card, will i have to use it to have sound, or is there an "onboard" sound card too, if there is, is it the Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition?
12:38:14 PM XPS_RR_Rep There is an on board sound
12:38:24 PM XPS_RR_Rep so when you are not using the express blaster you can use that
12:39:14 PM Brian ok, and with the onboard sound, do we also have the option to have the Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition when the ExpressCard is not installed? Obviously, that would be ideal, but I wanted to find out for sure
12:41:14 PM XPS_RR_Rep no its one or the other
12:42:34 PM Brian can the Software edition be purchased separately, or is that only available at the time of the order? 12:43:14 PM XPS_RR_Rep that is only available when you are ordering
12:43:27 PM Brian ok. I will pass on the news. I appreciate the info!

Brian / ChevyNovaLn

 

thanks a lot, thats good to know

 

No problem. I was actually quite curious myself, as my order has already been placed.

I wonder if there's a specific reason why they would not allow you to have both. Obviously, most people aren't going to use their X-FI card 100% of the time and would prefer to have better sounding audio if possible through software.

One question I did not ask him was if the internal speakers can/do use the X-FI ExpressCard or if its high quality audio is only used on external speakers that are physically plugged into the card.

I will ask this in a little while and post the answer here.

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

Hello,

I'm new to this forum, but i have to say it's been wonderfull reading all the posts and comments.
If i may, i would like to ask the following question:
I ordered my m1530 on saturday and the order states that it wil be delivered on may 25th. Can somebody please tell me if this is exact, or it gets delivered more quickly?

Thanx In advance.
Davy

I ordered the following configuration (Midnight Blue):
Core2Duo T9500
4GB RAM
WSXGA Screen
GeForce™ Go 8600M GT
320GB HDD
DVD-RW
Bluetooth
4 Years support

 

You and I are in the same boat. I really really hope it comes sooner than that. Mine says May 21st is the ship date, arriving shortly after that. Kinda depressing really, 30 day wait time.


Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

For anyone thats also interested in the sound options. I asked Dell the following series of questions regarding the built-in speakers, the HD Software audio stuff, and the ExpressCard SoundBlaster X-FI.


2:53:49 PM Brian I have a question about the M1530 and its audio options
2:54:04 PM XPS_AMB_Rep Sure ask away.
2:54:28 PM Brian There is an option for the Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card and i'm wondering how it works (i'll type my qeustion on the next line)
2:55:33 PM Brian If I have this ExpressCard installed into the notebook, when i'm running games with no external speakers attached, is the Sound Blaster X-Fi® Xtreme Audio Sound Card used within the game? The reason I ask is, some games have options to select which Sound hardware you have and I will not always have external speakers attached.
2:56:04 PM Brian I want to make sure the internal speakers can take advantage of the ExpressCard when its installed, rather than use the built-in audio.
2:56:10 PM Brian does that make sense what i'm asking?
2:56:42 PM XPS_AMB_Rep The sound blaster xifi is one of our high end sound card that is best for gaming.
2:56:51 PM Brian basically, I want to be able to hear the audio through the internal speakers while getting the audio processing capabilities of rhe ExpressCard
2:57:01 PM Brian wil that work?
2:57:34 PM XPS_AMB_Rep The internal speakers that you have on the laptop will be able to maximize the expresscard specifically for gaming and multimedia.
2:58:06 PM Brian ok, so when that ExpressCard is inserted into the notebook, I will be able to hear sound through the internal speakers that is gonig through the express card?
2:58:24 PM Brian essentially, bypassing the built-in sound
2:58:44 PM XPS_AMB_Rep yes that is how it works.
2:59:58 PM Brian ok. and the built-in audio, will the "Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition" be made avaiilable for when the ExpressCard is not in use?
3:00:12 PM Brian I'd like the option for both and the site doesn't give me an option
3:00:44 PM XPS_AMB_Rep yes that will work when the expresscard is not in use.
3:01:00 PM Brian but if I select the ExpressCard, Do I still get the Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition ?
3:01:08 PM Brian it doesn't state that anywhere which is why i'm asking
3:01:36 PM Brian it looks like its one or the other... either built-in with the HD Software Edition, or the ExpressCard
3:01:54 PM XPS_AMB_Rep Yes it is one or the other.
3:02:38 PM Brian I know its probably an odd request, but there are times when the ExpressCard wouldn't be installed while traveling, where i'd want the remote in the card slot. Is there an option to purchase the HD Software Edition software to use in this instance?
3:02:44 PM XPS_AMB_Rep If you happen to get the expresscard and upgrade to the soundblaster one later you need to disable the other one.
3:05:04 PM XPS_AMB_Rep Yes you can buy the hd software edition after point of sale and use it in substitution to the expresscard.
3:05:27 PM Brian do you have a link to the item I can use? I don't remember seeing that option anywhere
3:05:48 PM Brian I'm a real geek and want every option available and would be happy to purchase both
3:07:49 PM XPS_AMB_Rep You can buy the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio Laptop - sound card
3:07:54 PM XPS_AMB_Rep Dell Part# A1164635
3:08:08 PM XPS_AMB_Rep That is $65.99
3:08:10 PM Brian ok, so you're saying buy the ExpressCard afterwards
3:08:23 PM Brian buy the HD Software first, then get the Expresscard
3:08:54 PM XPS_AMB_Rep yes you can do that.

 

as far as i know the software is basically just EQ settings. VLC and winamp both have eq settings and once you find the ones you like i assume it would be the same if not better then the software. and you save yourself some money.

I just did a simple google search and there is a bunch of information about the HD software. and it all leads to it mostly being a waste of money.

also a friend of mines work ordered 2 M1530's both had the LG panels. I am pretty sure the samsung panels are on the outs. Atleast in the US. my replacement unit was an LG panel. Still havent decided which im keeping yet .

 

Well I just ordered mine, I didn't go for the Sound Blaster X-Fi. I figure I will upgrade later if I think I need it, hopefully by then there will be a better option for a express card sound cards.

 

What did you end up ordering? Did you get the same 30+ day wait time?

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

@ Icy

Yea the dates usually aren't accurate. Mine came atleast a week earlier.

 

Boy do I hope so. I think i've been through every single Review and video on Youtube living vicariously through everyone else. lol

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

Hi all !
Got mine yesterday. Used it for a couple of hours (only...) and I'm quite happy with it : nice screen (1440x900), nice keyboard, not too hot, the touchpad sucks but it doesn't matter.
Only big problem : Vista sucks so much !!! Omg it's so slow compared to my old XP on my old desktop... I had to uninstall some pre-installed software (McAfee, Dell's webpage redirector bull****, things like that), get updates, and reboot a few times. Sometimes I had to wait like 3-4 minutes for Vista to shutdown !
I guess I'll need some time to get used to Vista. But apart from that, I feel like this laptop was a good choice. Thanks to this forum by the way, it helped a lot !

Raph

 

Do most people here eventually switch back to XP? Or is there some way to fine-tune Vista to run well?

 

Good to hear your happy with the 1530
1st thing to do is get XP on it
It runs so much better than vista , well in my opinion it does

 

Yeah for the touchpad I adjusted the sensitivity so that it's more sensitive. I noticed it's much easier to use now. And as far as Vista being slower, yeah but not too bad. I uninstalled Google desktop and Trendmicro AV. So it's not as slow as when I first booted up my laptop.

 

I am going a little crazy and its such a stupid question,

Can someone give me a confirmation that one is able to undervolt (change the voltages) of the CPU? I have the T8300.

And has anyone successfully used NHS/RMClock with their M1530 - not to monitor anything but to succesfully change voltages/settings?

Thanks so much!

 

Ordered: 4/28/2008
Est Ship: 5/13/2008

Tuxedo Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LED LCD (1440x900) & 2.0 M
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
320GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load Blu -ray Disc (BD/DVD/CD read/write)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Trend Micro Internet Security 36-months
No Microsoft Office
3Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 3Yr Warr.
10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year
Recycling Kit and Plant a Tree for Me

 

Ordered: 4/22/08
Delivered: 4/29/08

9-Day Wait

1680x1050 LG Screen

 

Mind me asking what's your location? Ordered mine yesterday 4/28/08 and ship date is shown as 5/28/08? A month plus delivery?

I ordered the 1680x1050 Screen also.

 

Bay Area fosho

 

Hi Guys.

I have ordered a Dell XPS M1530 3 days back with the foll config---
C2D T8100 2.1 GHz, 3 GB DDR2 Ram, 256 mb nvidia 8600 gt, 250 gb hard drive , Win Vista and 1280X800 screen.

I thought this config was good enough to play all the latest and upcoming games apart from usual stuff, but someone told me otherwise.

Can u guys plz tell me whether T8100 is good enough for games like Crysis, NFS Pro Street, GTA IV(whenever launched for pc), Colin mcrae Dirt, etc etc.

Also, ive heard it is better to have 4 gb ram instead of 3 gb because the 3 gb ram will reduce the speed of system as the ram sticks are of sizes 2 gb and 1 gb. But also that vista recognizes only 3 gb. Its all very confusing. Plz help me out.

Also, in case the processor or ram is not good enough, can i change it to a better one, whichever u guys would suggest, now as i have already placed order 3 days ago and the laptop is due to be received by me on 7th may.

Regards and thanks for all the help.

 

Well I have a T-75 2.2 with 8600M GT DDR3 2 gig of ram and I play COD4 , C & C Tiberium Wars no problems. COD4 plays at my native resolution 1440 by 900 so at your resolution is should play well. I turn off antialiasing because I never notice the difference. Crysis also plays on the 1530 but you may have t o play with the settings a bit - look in youtube for 1530 and crysis. Maybe 1200 by 800 and turn off antialiasing and have things like water , shadows and smoke turned low setting.

Piss alll difference between T-83 and T-75 except battery life or if your rendering even then little difference . Penryn is 45 nm manufacture and Santa Rosa is 65 nm but for gaming its all down to GPU.
hope this helps

Vista will recognise 3.5 gig if you put in 4 becasue you need 64 bit for 4 gig RAM and above .
I have 2 1gig stick but am thinking of buying another 2 gig stick and having 3 gig , it wont be dual channel bit it might improve things a little bit.

 

I am now the proud owner of the M1530. it arrived at 10.30am today, so I've been playing with it, absolutly no problems or faults that I have seen.

I am just loving this machine, and the midnight blue is just gorgous, as you can probable see I am very happy with my purchase, I love the pouch/bag that it arrives in, I also like the fact that you get the disks not have to back up the recover.

I am just playing with it at the moment, but I intend doing the clean install soon following the directions in this forum, here are my specs, nothing fancy, but enough for me.

Ordered - 26/04/08 -
Delivered -30/04/08

Base Intel? Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5550 (1.83 GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2 cache)
Memory - 2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
Keyboard -Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)
Video Card -NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8400M GS with 128MB dedicated graphic memory
Hard Drive -250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Operating System -Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
Optical Devices -Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load drive, including SW
Wireless Networking -Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card - Europe - Core 2 Duo Processors
Gedis Bundle Reference -N04X5303
Standard Warranty -Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)
Enhanced Service Packs -Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)
Bluetooth -Dell™ Wireless 355 Bluetooth 2.0 Module (up to 3Mbps) with Enhanced Data rate - Eur
Primary Battery -Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
Biometric Identification -Biometric Fingerprint Reader with BLACK accent
Colour Choice -2.0 mega pixel Camera & Midnight Blue for CCFL Display
TV Tuner and Remote Control -Dell™ Travel Remote Control
LCD -15.4" Widescreen™ WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display (220nits) with TrueLife™

Sorry about the formating, don't know how others get it to look just right.

I live in the UK

 

Has anyone ordered that Built-in Wireless USB option? I was curious if it worked with other Wireless-USB hubs that i've seen in the stores or if it was in any way specific to certain brands of wireless-USB enabled devices.

I didn't order it and was wondering if maybe I should have, as the M1530 definately has room for it without having to sacrifice any other options.

I've never seen/used the Wireless USB stuff, so I have no opinion good or bad about it, i'm just looking for anyones experience with it.

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

hey guys, how do you use your battery?
in the summer, I stay home almost all day, so my laptop will be in charge 95%, should I remove the battery? or using the battery and charge it when needed??

 

I do not have my M1530 yet, but the way I have used my IBM T41 laptop for the last 3+ years was mostly plugged in, with the occasional (maybe once every 2 weeks) full rundown using the battery. I just sold the laptop after 3+ years of use and it still held a charge for 2 hours without using the CD-Drive (general browsing, typing, etc..)

Hopefully the M1530 will be able to maintain a battery as well. Maybe I got lucky, I dunno.

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

Thought I'd pop in here just to say I ordered my XPS M1530 last night at 8pm, and it's just now gone to Stage 5: Dispatched, that's a 23 hour turn around! Amazing.
I'm kind of worried they'll have forgotten to put it together properly because it's so fast

I'm in the UK by the way.

 

What are your specs? Most of us who have delays on our m1530s have them because the parts that we added are on backorder. I'm glad your's got built so fast though.

 

wow! yeh wud luv to know the specs please!

 

Thank you, coupon:

 

I ordered mine 9am Monday, shipping last night (Tuesday). ~36hrs. Due for delivery Friday AM. Very lucky as that means I'll not have to wait the bank holiday weekend

 

What score is the Vista Expierance giving you guys under gaming Graphics?
Video driver numbers might help. The more people who can respond the better. also the sooner the better .

For some reason i have two exact systems and have the same drivers but both score differently. Seems kinda akward so im just curious .

 

Ordered mine on the 22nd with WUXGA screen and was told that it was shipped today. I got free next day shipping so I should have it tomorrow and I'll post my scores as soon as I can... maybe , I'll probably just stare at the laptop the whole afternoon. Anyways, I'll try.

 

My specs were:

Core 2 Duo 2.00 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 2 MB L2-cache
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 8600M GT 256MB
250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
Windows Vista® Home Premium
4 Year Consumer XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-site support)
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
2.0 mega pixel Camera & Midnight Blue for CCFL Display
15.4" Widescreen™ WXGA (1280x800) TFT Display (220nits) with TrueLife™

For £706 delivered. I'll let you know how it performs once it arrives!

Edit: I have a question actually, I wonder what I'd need to buy to be able to connect an Xbox 360 to this (To use a a monitor), is that even possible? No big deal if not but it'd save me bringing another screen to university.

 

Hi There,

I ordered one yesterday and my delivery date is the 28th May!! I'm in the UK.

Is that just what they say on all the new orders>?

Thanks.

 

Ordered Monday, due Friday in my case. Bare in mind the bank holiday weekend however, so you'll be waiting till mid next week I'd guess.

 

I have exactly the same estimate on another order of the M1530, i think the reason they have done the estimate so late is because of 1. the bank holiday and 2. they may be short of hard drives i have heard from a rep. The estimate is usually 2-3 weeks ahead so you could get your laptop next week or the week after if your lucky.

 

Well if it arrives in a couple of weeks i'll be happy

 

when plugged in did you remove the battery? the thing that kills battery life is heat so im just curious. the problem with the m1530 is if u remove the battery the thing is not balanced. gets kind of annoying at times as it rocks. Just curious if you left the battery in while plugged in.

 

I never removed the battery. Same reason, it felt wierd not having the battery in there. The T41 was a cooler running laptop though. Very light, thin, and quiet. I expect the M1530 to be a little on the warm side compared to the T41.

Brian / ChevyNovaLN

 

Well the heat on the 1530 is at the front not at the rear where the battery is. and you have to realize computers now run cooler then they did before and use less power. I was just curious about the battery issue.

I saw a post on these forums about the batteries and it was all about if not using it then cool it in the fridge and so on and so forth its pretty rediculous. the one thing they did say is every few weeks you want to drop the battery down and charge it back up but not to go below 20%.

 

Just ordered my m1530

1680 screen
2.5ghz cpu
250 7200rpm HDD
4gb RAM

Im in the UK, but Im going to the states in June (having it shipped to a friends house) which allowed me to get a faster HDD and a higher res screen than what they offer currently in the UK( ). It also allows me to take advantage of the good exchange rate between the £ and the $ at the moment, not to mention skipping out on the 17.5% sales tax here in the UK (assuming I dont get stopped at customs on my way home and get hit with 17.5% sales tax and 6% import tax). But even if I did it would still be cheaper than buying it in the UK. God bless the strong £.

So any british people here, get them in the states if at all possible.

 

Mine shipped 4/30. Ordered 4/21.

Had been trying to get my sales rep on the phone or by email. I noticed the day after I ordered it that they had switched my WiFi Card from the Intel mini to the Dell Wireless. They never answered/returned my calls, or emails. Also wanted to down grade my screen from the 1050 to the 900 to (hopefully) avoid the grainy screens. But again, no response from sales rep. Oh well, it is on the way and suppose to be here tomorrow.

Anyone having any trouble with the Dell Wireless Card?

 

Hi guys plz help me out with above problem.
Thanks.

 

You're fine, man. The few extra hundred MHz that you would get from a faster processor would NOT make a huge difference and, obviously, would cost significantly more. I think you'll be more limited by the video card....8600GT is very good, of course, but this is still a notebook and not a desktop with a high-end card. Also, I think going 1280x800 for the screen was a wise choice. The larger the resolution the harder the video has to work.

Memory is fine too. Also, Memory is super cheap so you can easily upgrade it to 4GB later -- but like you said, 32-bit Vista can only utilize up to 3.5GB or so, you'll need to upgrade to 64-bit in order to use more anyway.

 

Hah! What a ripoff. You got charged a penny for them to say thank you to you!!!! I'd demand my money back!!

Brian / ChevyNovaLN