XPS 15 vs M1530

Hi guys,

I was on the phone arranging a service with Dell yesterday, and after this was complete I was transferred to the group supervisor. He offered me an upgrade as I have had quite a lot of problems with the laptop in the past. He offered me the laptops value minus 30%.

Having looked on the Dell UK website, I have found an XPS 15 (L501) for pretty much the value I would get for my laptop (would have to pay about £30 more).

Just wondering if anyone has gone from an M1530 to an XPS 15, and their opinion on build quality and feel of the laptop etc?

I can compare specs relatively easily so this isn’t so much of an issue, although the price range I am looking at would come with the low res screen (I have 1440x900), so this could be a problem.

Any input much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

The quality of your M1530's 1440x900 screen is much better than the quality of the 720p screen in the XPS 15. The WXGA+ display is actually a fairly good screen compared to others, while the XPS 15's screen is not.

Don't accept a replacement unless it's got the 1080p screen.

Even the 1280x800 display in the M1530 is better than the 1366x768 display in the XPS 15.

 

Hey,

I've actually just this week made the transition from my old trusty M1530 , after picking up a bargain XPS 15 (L502x) on the Dell UK outlet - I've been on the look out for a while and the XPS 15 always caught my eye.... Here's some of my initial thoughts after 4 days of ownership , and in some cases both machines are world apart !

I'm not a power user buy any means, but my general use is web browsing, light gaming, basic image editing, watching movies

Pros:
-I have the 1080p rgb screen, and WOW massive difference to the 1440 x 900 on my M1530. I realise how bad the screen was on in now! Definately a must if you can afford it
-Speakers. Again WOW no comparison at all, great on the XPS 15
-Performance, well I had an SSD in my old one which I've transfered over so used to things being relatively quick. But even so I notice the machine is much more response etc
-Gaming, well I haven't had much chance to bench anything yet unfortunately. I game much that on my M1530 so can't really compare, and if it was , just older games.
-Keyboard, much prefer it, I like the wider spaced keys on the XPS15 (I also have the backlit one which looks great!)
-touchpad, much bigger area to use
-general looks, thumbs up (although I miss the blue cover on my M1530!)

Not so Pros:
-Weight, it's a little more bulky. I had the 9 cell batt on my M1530, and on this one. new machine weights approx 200g heavier, coming in at pretty much bang on 3kg
-noise, I notice the fan noise a lot more, it's louder but not excessive.
-build quality is slightly lower i'd say, a little more plastic feel but still feels well built.

those are some intial thoughts. tbh if you put both of them in front of me and asked to choose, XPS 15 any day just for the screen 1080p screen and speakers ! hope thats of some help.

Andrew