Questions on M1530 (First Laptop Purchase)

I have always built my own desktops, but now for the first time ever I will be purchasing a laptop and I have pretty much narrowed it down to the M1530 because it really is in a class of it's own for it's price.

So I have a few questions regarding the configuration I'm looking at:

1. Is the 1920x1200 screen any good? They currently have it as the only option on their 10 days of Deals Dell M1530 sale which ends later today. I don't mind the high resolution and small text. I want a high resolution, but I am asking about the quality of the LCD screen itself.

2. Is a 250GB 5400 RPM HDD slow? I have always had 7200 RPM hard drives in my desktop. It cost $200 to upgrade to a 250GB 7200 RPM drive which seems crazy considering I can get a Seagate Momentus 7200 RPM 200GB drive on Newegg for much less.

3. The 9 cell battery is a free upgrade. Is it annoying to always sit on a slant like that? Also the 6 cell is delayed till 7/1 which is crazy.

Anything else I should know?

I'm looking at getting a T8300 2.4Ghz CPU, as its the best deal for the money I think. I am also getting 4GB because I have 4GB in my desktop and I can't imagine Vista without it. Also its included in the 10 Days of Dell XPS M1530 sale. So why not?

 

1. Have not seen it myself but many with it say WUXGA is looking good.

2. No not really. 250GB 5400rpm is not "slow". The 250GB 7200 is quite new so it is $$$. If you want to upgrade the HDD I'd either go for 200GB 7200rpm or 320GB 5400rpm. Or as you say just get the cheapest option from Dell and buy the upgrade elsewhere... it is easy to swap the HDD.

3. No in fact people seem to like the forward tilt of the machine with the 9cell.

 

(1) Yes, 1920X1200 is pretty good.. I have used it for quiet some time now, and though small text, I find it good to have many things around in the desktop just a click away.. BUT mainly, high resolution is always a nice thing IMHO.
(2) Nope, I had a similar Q, and I found out from a reply here _as well as_ a visit to one of my comp tech friends, where I personally felt that its not slow. Also for the price you have mentioned for the upgrade, I wouldn't recommend it.
(3) Yes, I like the forward tilt of the machine.. infact its nice to type for long with the tilt.. its kinda comfortable in an uncanny way.

 

Thanks. So the 1920x1200 Samsung screens (according to the FAQ Samsung is the only 1920x1200 provider) haven't been reported to be grainy? Is gaming crappy on the 1920x1200? I will use my 8800GT for gaming mostly...but I want to occasionally play a game of Couunter Strike Source. Does playing a game at 1440x900 (or other lower than native resolution) on the 1920x1200 LCD look really bad?

I here the Samsung 1680x1050s are usually no good.

Ya I guess I'll just upgrade the HDD later if the default 250GB 5400 RPM is too slow for me. I have built quite a few desktops, so I'm sure I could upgrade a laptop HDD lol.

Yeah I guess the 9 cell aint so bad really. It's a free upgrade to which is sick.

 

Why does Dell make you buy Bluetooth with some configuration options? I really do not think I would ever use it.

Random Dumb question: If I get the Intel Wireless N card instead of a Dell N card do I get a nice little "Centrino" sticker?

 

I'm sure you would get "Centrino" sticker since Intel wirless card and those chipset are certified as centrino.

 

Yeah thats what I figured. :laugh:

So should I pull the trigger:

XPS M1530 - Black
T8300 2.4Ghz
Vista Home Premium
4GB DDR2-667
250GB 5400 RPM (might upgrade to 7200 RPM HDD later and put this one in my dad's Dell 1720)
15.4" 1920x1200 Full HD
8600M GT 256MB
DVD Writer
Intel Wireless N
Dell Bluetooth
9 Cell
2 Year Warranty
2 Year Accidental Coverage and LoJack (LoJack LOL)

Price: $1384 (Dell 10 Days of Deals, expires today at 11:59 CT)

 

GO FOR IT~!!!

 

get white and take lots of pictures and post

 

White color?, that was not even an option. Only Black, Blue, and Pink.

Yeah so I did it, I pulled the trigger

 

Pull it, that's a great setup once you factor in a 7200rpm drive.

 

Yep I know. I think I got a good deal. I have been monitoring Dell Home and Small Buisness sites for a few weeks, and this is the best deal I have seen yet. I do wish they had a cheaper 7200 RPM HDD option, but I can put that in myself latter.

 

I have been using a 10K rpm drive in my desktop since the first 36GB raptor was released and just recently got my 1530 with a 160GB 5400(with the plan of upgrading myself later, if need be) and so far it hasnt been an issue though I havent tried gaming just yet.

I mean it just is slower obviously but not so much to wear its noticeable and annoying all the time, in fact I've never had a "god this POS is slow" moment at all yet

 

Yes, playing a game at non-native resolution on an LCD screen will compromise its crispness, since the pixels have to stretch. However, it's not as noticable inside a game as say surfing the net. Blurred text is alot worse than blurred textures.

If you do find the HDD to be too slow, just make sure you remember to use 2.5" as 3.5" ones won't fit.

 

Yes I have a 20" Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW that is native at 1680x1050 and I have played some games at different resolutions then it's native so expect simlar differences on the laptop.

Ya I know to use 2.5" drives lol.

 

Alrighty then,

I just canceled my other order & ordered pretty much the same thing~ Only difference is I bought spar AC adapter & boat ware creative software

Code:

1	223-5880	XPS M1530, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800MHzFSB, 3M L2 Cache) 	$1382.10
1	467-4352	Midnight Blue Casing With Microsatin Finish XPS M1530 	$0.00
1	311-7823	4GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm, for XPS M1530 	$0.00
1	320-6694	15.4 inch Full Hi Definition Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCDwith Camera for XPS M1530 	$0.00
1	320-6082	256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 	$0.00
1	341-5632	250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for XPS M1530 	$0.00
1	310-9764	DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP, XPSM1530 	$0.00
1	420-5769	Internet Search and Portal 	$0.00
1	420-5924	Icon Consolidation Application 	$0.00
1	420-6436	Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp 	$0.00
1	420-8566	Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition, English 	$0.00
1	420-6995	DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP 	$0.00
1	420-7590	Media Direct 3.5 	$0.00
1	463-2282	Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access 	$0.00
1	420-7468	ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP 	$0.00
1	313-5820	8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPSM1530 	$0.00
1	420-8183	Roxio Creator DE 10 	$0.00
1	313-5014	Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy 	$0.00
1	430-2449	Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini-card 	$0.00
1	410-1184	McAfee SecurityCenter 15-month 	$0.00
1	467-4764	85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1530 	$0.00
1	412-0148	No Internet Service Provider Requested 	$0.00
1	420-8051	Microsoft Works 9.0, English For Inspiron 	$0.00
1	902-0941	Warranty Support,1 Year Extended 	$0.00
1	950-3338	2 Year Limited Warranty 	$0.00
1	988-5608	Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year(s) 	$0.00
1	970-2311	Type 3- Third Party At HomeService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, 1 Year Extended 	$0.00
1	412-0360	Soft Contracts - Banctec 	$0.00
1	988-5607	Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year 	$0.00
1	984-2330	Type 3- Third Party At HomeService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year 	$0.00
1	960-8710	Warranty Support,Initial Year 	$0.00
1	412-0358	Soft Contracts - Consumer Complete Care 	$0.00
1	960-3708	CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron, 2Years 	$0.00
1	991-1149	Bund. LoJack Theft Recovery - 2 Year DHS 	$19.75
1	420-8652	LoJack Theft Recovery Softwarefor Laptops, 2 Year 	$0.00
1	330-0171	S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks 	$5.67
1	430-2673	90 Watt Spare AC Adaptor, XPS M1530 	$18.89
1	410-1196	Adobe Pepe,English 	$.00
1	467-2337	Finger Print Reader XPS M1530 	$.00
1	430-2566	Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR) 	$12.59
1	310-5408	Free Recycling Kit 	$.00
1	320-6808	15.4 inch Blue Wide Screen WUXGA TrueLife LCD with 2.0 MPCamera for XPS M1530 	$.00
1	420-7715	Camera Software XPS M1530 2.0MP 	$.00
1	310-9348	Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor 	$.00
1	310-8628	You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System 	$.00
1	420-7091	DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 	$.00
1	420-7092	DataSafe Online Dim/Ins/XPS 1YR-FREE 	$.00
1	987-4817	Insp Datasafe 3GB,1YR(Incl in price),DHS 	$0.00
1	988-0099	To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online 	$.00

Main reason why I stayed with 5400rpm instead of getting 7200rpm because 1.the price
2.It gets much hotter at a faster rate

So I'm happy with 250gb 5400rpm drive ^^

 

It will be interested to see who gets thiers first.

What's your estimated ship date? Mine is now June 19th in the order status. The "preliminary" ship date was June 13th (in the system configurator)

 

6/23/08 estimated shipping because I ordered today & there was a delay on the Midnight Blue display.

HOWEVER, it's better then what I previously ordered on 6/2/08 est 6/26 =/ (because of the battery)

 

Yeah I thought about ordering the MidNight Blue, but went with Tuxedo black because of faster shipping date, and the black kinda matches the whole rest of the bottom of the laptop.

 

Stupid thing is the Case it comes in is BLACK regardless of what color notebook you buy -_-

Also, I have an on-going dispute with DELL right now about the order I just canceled the receive the 64-bit edition of Windows Ultimate so hopefully they ship it to me before they realize the order has been canceled >.<

anyways, I have to go to work.. cya~

I'll post back once I receive the machine... hopefully before you

 

Yeah I run x64 Vista on my Desktop, but I think I'll just stick with 32 Bit Vista on the laptop even though I'm getting 4GB of ram.