XPS 1530, Centrino 2 when?

Centrino is dead — it's official. But don't worry. On 14 July, Intel will launch Centrino 2 — codenamed "Montevina"

Given that the new Centrino 2 platform is about to come out, a refresh of the xps line may be around the corner! Guess they are keeping quirt to keep the sales of the old xps up. Trouble is that with the new studio line 15 basically the same as 1530 and better in some cases, but just slightly thicker. You might as well buy that now an save a whole lot of ££ OR $$!

With the new 1530 or similar name, we should expect:

1. Centrino 2 of course
2. LED in the UK
3. A backlit keyboard
4. Maybe different GPU
5. Changes to the orientation and looks

There is no way i am going to buy a Centrino 1 xps 1530 minus led backlight keyboard ect, what with the studio line bettering the top of the range xps line !!? so there just must be a new line round the corner!

If not a great alternative to the xps1530 could be the new Sony Vaio FW which i will buy if dell doesn’t make a change to the xps range!

Anybody have any ideas about any changes to the XPS Range, since nobody is talking about this

 

It's possible the refresh will be out before school starts again. Since everyone's doing a refresh, Dell will likely follow. I'm curious to see how the new XPS's will look and how much of a price difference they will be. Although maybe there won't be a refresh since there's been talk about Dell phasing out XPS for Alienware and the fact that studio is pretty much equal to xps. It's all talk so take things like a grain of salt until it's official.

 

I'm a little aghast that Dell haven't intentionally leaked some kind of vague confirmation that prospective buyers will be able to buy Centrino 2 XPS gear soon.

As of right now, they're giving us 'prosumers' precisely no incentive not to jump on another manufacturers premium line bandwagon.

There haven't been any articles on any of the tech blogs that I read regarding any kind of future for the XPS line beyond pure speculation and educated guessing, especially with regard to the M1330.

 

Dell wants consumers to buy the M1530 right now and lessen the amount of people who will patiently wait for the new one. They KNOW many people will get the new one when it comes out, but for now, they want to see how much M1530 they can sell.

They have sold a ton with the deals, right now they are most likely using the M1530 to see how high of a price point they can price their new successor that a good number of people will buy.

It helps their profits as it gets those "on the edge" people to buy one now instead of later.

 

When you know that Centrino 2 is imminent and that competitiors have announced a slew of compliant products, why would you buy a current model?

This is from the perspective of us prosumers (people who use forums such as these and actively seek the latest info on gear)

Regardless of Dell announcing Centrino 2 XPS gear, consumers who don't do their research here or elsewhere will still be buying the old stock anyway. It just means that those of us who do can better make our decisions and factor future Dell products into them.

Personally, not telling me these things in advance will just set my mind and money on something else. Not least with the premium lines which tend to be quite the investment for anyone with less money than sense.

 

Design and powerwise, the M1530 is the most popular on NBR, and most likely many other places.

Dell is probably very confident on their new release and is just keeping it in the shade. They know it won't matter since its not like people can buy Montevina notebooks even ones that are announced anytime soon.

Remember that Dell is one of the first companies to get their hands on Montevina even before companies like HP, so even though HP may have announced their new Montevina based notebooks, Dell will still be the first one to roll out. Early adopters who want the latest will most likely buy from whoever comes first, and Dell will be able to meet it.

Of course, it could be that Dell is waiting till its closer to the launch date. Perhaps late July or Early August.

For now, Dell is just soaking up sales from normal consumers who don't do too much research with the Studio, which is doing VERY well.

 

Fair comment.

 

I am glad that I do my research before I buy anything because otherwise I would have bought the current XPS systems without looking into any of the new technology coming out. I do have to say that I am also on the same boat as the people that would wish that Dell would release some "leaked" information on their ideas with XPS and the new Intel processors.

PS: Does anyone else think it is weird that Dell's deals for this week end on Friday instead of Thursday? Perhaps that's when it will happen?

 

Montelavia wont be a big deal when they came out. you get a little faster performance & battery life. However, the performance is already good enough for office user. If you are gaming, wait for the 9800m on other systems.
if you want xps next generation, you can wait, no body wont push you to purchase right now. get your system when you need.
best luck.

 

I have been lokking at the xps 1530 for a little while now, but not sure if I want to get one now or wait and see if they refresh it. I don't really care about montevina that much, but if it helps with better battery life, that would be nice, plus it would be nice to get a little more powerful graphics card then the 8600gt if they would upgrade the gpu in the refreshes. But the main reason I am unsure is if they refresh the 1530, I am guessing that they would include a backlit keyboard, which would be nice to have. So I wish they would make an announcement soon so I can make a decision.

 

You could wait for Montevina, but, you have to understand that montevina will increase the price of the m1530, probably up to the $1800+ range when you could get the laptop for around $1300 with a decent coupon now. IMO, the price hike isn't worth the small improvements of montevina, or a LED backlit keyboard.

I recently purchased a XPS m1530 and it's been my best computer choice, ever.

 

The real reason I am waiting is not only because I want the new Montevina processor, but because I personally don't think that the video card in the XPS 1530 can handle upcoming games that I plan to get. I would of actually bought the XPS 1530 already if it had a better video card.

 

Dell is pushing the current tech right now because the margins are highest for profit. So they want to keep the lid of future products on tight so that people keep buying them without proper research.

 

I like it, "Montelavia...." It will be a big deal since its 25% smaller in form factor that current Santa Rosa and huge power savings, though if the price is cheap now, get it while its cheap. There will always be improvements.

If Dell keeps selling current XPS at the prices they are now selling them for, don't go for it and wait for Montevina err Montelavia since the prices won't be all that much more expensive.

 

The thing is, not everyone can afford the latest gears even though they are well informed. Just because Centrino 2 is out soon, doesn't mean that the Santa Rosa on the current XPS line are worthless. We have yet to see how big a performance gain Centrino 2 will provide compared to the current gen CPUs. If I'm looking at $1200 for a current system and close to $2000 for a new system, the choice is pretty clear to me, and I believe for most people as well.

 

I will undoubtedly sound like a bit of an ass saying this but I deem it important so I'll run the risk...

We're talking about Centrino 2, not Montevina. Yes, the Montevina processors are a part, a big part, of the platform but what entails the rest of the Centrino 2 specification is definately all gravy.

GigE, Displayport, WiMax and hopefully by association through sheer timing, 9 Series GPU's. (Which I didn't really care too much about until I read about the alarming 8 Series thermal issues recently and obviously I realise that these have nothing to do with C2.)

All this in a package that's lighter, faster, more efficient and cooler running and all mere weeks away. At this point for my money and the promise of future standards support out of the box, the decision to wait is a no brainer.

I only wish they'd give some indication official or otherwise, for better or worse with regard the XPS line as to what exactly I'm waiting for (M1330), because as I glossed over earlier I'm not waiting forever.

 

I highly doubt that. That's the reason I never even considered an XPS before. Way over my budget until the July 4 sale this past weekend. And I have alerts set up for laptop deals from slickdeals and fatwallet...

 

I agree, it depends how much furthur that hypothetical '800 dollars' goes. Which is what I'm waiting to find out. If you don't see the specification of Centrino 2 as worth the investment then go for a current model, but from what I've personally read the 'fixtures and fittings' stand to prolong the life of my investment, and don't get me wrong, I consider an XPS purchase an investment.

I'm not made of money either so this thing had better last a while.

 

You know, its kinda scary how good the Studio has become despite it being an Inspiron. If Studio is this good.... can you imagine how crazy the next XPS refresh is going to be aesthetically and functionally? That remote on the Studio... wow...

 

It's a good little setup isn't it. If any mythical new XPS machines don't ship with backlit keyboards now I will be calling a hit on Michael.

...

Why are you laughing?

Seriously though, you don't even want to know how long I've waited for that to appear on PC's.

 

its funny how there hasnt been any real news on an update. kinda acting like apple

 

"GigE, Displayport, WiMax and hopefully by association through sheer timing, 9 Series GPU's. "
GigE is almost useless for most users, since HDD and your internet connection will become bottlenecks.

Displayport sounds cool, but I don't think that it will phase out DVI(or even VGA) completely in a close future(VGA has last 21 years and is still supported).

WiMax is more interesting, but a m1530 user can always buy an WiMax expresscard. Also, in large cities, the benefit of WiMax is not that evident with the spread of Wi-Fi hotspots.

Geforce 9 series' card are almost Geforce 8 cards rebranded, so if nvidia has problems with 8, it is possible that 9 series is also affected.

Of course, next-gen stuff is always cool, but nest-gen=more expensive and does not always worth the extra money. The true interest of next-gen, imo, is that after the release of the newest stuff, the previous' generation will cost less.

"to prolong the life of my investment"
If you really want to prolong the life of your investment: go for the older generation. For let's say 1500$, the "m1550" will have 2gb of ram, standard screen and a low-end graphic card while you may have 4gb of ram, high-end graphic card and LED screen. IMO, these options are more important than some "future technology" for the long run.

 

I wonder if Dell takes trade-ins for laptops...

If this refresh turns out to be really great, I'd have no problem trading in my current laptop for credit toward a new one and having to pay and extra $500 or so...

 

Only the entry level 9300 (8400) and 9500 (8600) are rebrands* to my knowledge. But yeah, it had better not be either of those in the mix for the markup.

* Although I believe I'm correct in saying they've been shrunk too.

That's not prolonging the life of your purchase. That's just saving your money now and spending what you didn't in 18 months time when all your new apps on your old hardware start bleeding pixel tears.

 

I’m guessing that there is no news about the new XPS line because, as most other companies have not accuracy released anything yet, just that it has been leaked. Dell must just be tight with their information. People have been saying things like "the xps line is going to be discontinued as ailenware are taking over the high spec models" and "there won’t be an update to the system until Christmas" I was starting to get a little worried as i like the Dell xps line.

As I am a student who is going to be at uni, I am going to want a notebook that is going to last. Thus the top of the range XPS 1530 notebook or new Sony Vaio FW Centrino 2 biased notebook. But the dell being the cheapest, and the specs Quoted in OP, it will be a great notebook for my studies I just hope we get some information on it soon!

 

9600m GT is not rebranded, but it's almost the same core shrinked to 65 nm. Performance is almost the same (maybe a gain of 5-10% max, same for power saving).

The big "wow" with 9600m gt is hybrid power, which saves battery. However, Sony laptop already have similar feature, and it's not guaranteed that dell will implant hybrid power(if yes, then it's at least an extra 50$m if not 100$).

The problem is performance wise, Montevina and geforce 9 brings nothing outstanding. So if an application has problem on a high-end Santa Rosa+geforce 8 laptop, it wont run really better on a high-end Montevina+geforce 9 laptop. On the other hand, if an application has problem on a low-end Montevina laptop, it will run better on a high-end Santa-Rosa platform.

 

also has a student, i would need this laptop before heading off to university in early sept. as much as i would want to wait for Montevina, the longer i wait, the less chance ill get the notebook before i leave. people ordering their notebooks now are getting estimate shipping dates from mid-end of august

 

Try to find a good deal for a m1530 and go for it. You will save money, and the extra money can be used for accessories (mouse, bag, surge protector, softwares blablabla).

Buying a laptop is not finish after paying the laptop itself. ^^

 

I wonder if now that smaller components used in Centrino 2, a bigger more powerful GPU can be used. And above post I thought Sony was going to be using ATI's. Do u think the new FW/Z which will have ATI HD3650 with 256 MB would have hybrid technology?

If worst comes to the worst and the ship date is the time I’m off to uni, I will have to make do without a notebook for the first two weeks, which I probably won’t need in the first weeks anyway! Then I will have it sent to my parent house and will come back sometime to see my parents, anyway it will be another reason to see them.

If it is your first year at uni then there will be things like freshers week for two of so weeks! Plenty of time, and you can always borrow if need be

 

Hardly. We've seen leaks for the Inspiron (twice!), the Vostro, the Studio, the XPS M1530, the E (by Michael Dell himself!) and the Latitude long before release. All during the lifespan of the first generation M1330.

This is part and parcel with the uncertainty of the lines future. We really ought to have heard at least substantiated rumours of a new M1330 at this point if there were going to be one under Centrino 2; and the M1330 (akin to this generation) would likely be the indication as to the direction of the younger M1530's refresh if they were to continue to have staggered releases.

 

I don't think so, since ATI wont allow intel to use its chipset(will sony use amd's cpu?). and a 3650 is as powerful as a 8600m gt.

The bigges gpu that I think that dell may give to "m1550" is geforce 9650m gt to avoid competition with alienware. And a 9650m gt is still not a big boost.

 

The 13 and 1530's aren't gaming machines. 'XPS' itself is becoming distinctly sans gaming and 'pro Vaio'.

Style with substance. But no longer marketed as gaming rigs. (Disregard what the current 1730 is upto. I reckon that's going the way of the dodo.) There is no reason to believe that any 13/15/1730 refresh under the new XPS mantra would have anything better than a mid-range 9 Series GPU and look like ***.

I don't know how you can make something 'look like ***' but then you knew what I meant so it doesn't matter.

 

Montevina is not the name of the processors, it is the chipset. They will still use the Penryn chips until Nahlem drops Q2 2009.

 

Yes, you're entirely right and that's exactly what I meant to say. Slightly faster Penryns on Montevina. Thanks for setting me straight.

Wouldn't it be great if they just called the next lot 'Bob'? It'd make discussion about all this stuff just that much simpler...

 

Well I might just wait for a refresh of the xps with the 9series or if they move to ati graphics cards due to the whole speculation about the 8 series cards being defective. I would immagine if it was untrue, Nvidia would come out and say it was untrue because statements like like hurt the company, but they can't denie the claims if they are untrue because there would be hell to raise by the shareholders for being lied to. Since we have not heard anything from Nvidia, I am leaning towards believing the 8600's in the dells are bad and will probabally stay away form them, even though I can get a great deal on an XPS 1530 with 3 years complete care warranty, I would rather avoid having to send/wait for parts and technicians to come to my house to replace the motherboard/gpu if my card ever fried from it being faulty.

 

It would be a lot simpler for discussion sake. It's just how Intel likes to complicate our lives with their tick-tock CPU development.

 

The absolute lack of XPS leaks has me worried. Other than the new Latitudes, there has been no info on any other line getting Montevina or GeForce 9M.

Maybe the guys who were leaking info have been caught!

Regardless, I really hope that the 1530 gets a refresh with Montevina and GeForce 9M.

 

It's possible that Dell had plans to get rid of the XPS line and replace it with their Studio line (like others have said), but changed their minds. In other words, the refresh could be delayed now until the Fall. We'll know for sure in the next couple of weeks.

 

Hey guys. It's August already and no sign of the new processor. Do you guys still think it may come out in the next weeks? Kind of late for back to school don't you think?

Thanks

 

At this point, back to school is no longer the target. Hopefully something will come out within the next two weeks. It not, Dell is about a month behind the rest of the pack.

 

Is Dell still producing XPS with the Santa Rosa platform? Tsk...Tsk...When will they bring out a new line of XPS or has anyone heard the rumours lately

 

Soon, see this thread. We should see the new models at CES.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=323801