XPS M1330 or D830 (UK)

Hi,
I am a student in the UK (who is hopefully going to Cambridge this October) and I am looking to buy a new laptop.

The XPS M1330 is one sexy beast, but I am concerned that by the time that I order it (around 16th August - when I have found out if I have got in to Cambridge) it will be arriving slightly too late for me (I would start on October 1st, and looking around it looks like the whole process of ordering to receiving takes about 1-2 months)

I have found out that I would qualify for the Dell Student Computer Initiative ( http://www.dell-sci.co.uk/), and after looking at the notebooks there, I found that I could get a 40%+ discount on a D830 with the following specs:

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic - UK
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 (2.0GHz/4MB/800MHz)
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) DellSharp Wide Aspect Ratio TFT display
3Y NBD International (Next Business Day) On-site (incl. e-Learning Pack)
3 Year CompleteCare MultiCover : 3y Accident Cover + 3y Theft Cover
CFI Warranty Same Period as Box warranty parts replacement
2.0GB, 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM Memory (2 x 1024MB)
120GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
nVidia Quadro NVS 135M
8x DVD+/- RW Drive with Windows XP, Vista Home, Vista Business compatible software
79P-01207SCI Office Pro Plus 2007 (Microsoft Office 2007)
9 Cell 85WHr Primary Battery [
Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945AG WiFi Link (802.11a/g) for Core 2 Duo processors

This is for the princely sum of £945.88 (US $1932.05) with VAT and delivery. Going through the small business section of Dell's UK site, (i.e. without the student discount), the nearest system came to £1,408.83 (US $2877.67). That is a saving of £462.45 ($944.60), which is equivalent to 32.8%


I would ideally like to get the XPS M1330 with

Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium - English
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7300 Processor (2.0GHz,800MHz,4MB L2 cache)
13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display (300 nits) with TrueLife™
Crimson Red & 0.3 mega pixel Camera for White-LED Display
Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support
No Accidental Damage Support
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
120GB (5400rpm) SATA Hard Drive
128 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8400M GS
Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, including SW
Microsoft® Works 8.0 - English
Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
Intel® Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini-Card

All for £995.24 (US $2032.87)

I am not to bothered about having Microsoft Office 2007, nor about guarantees and warranties as I am always super careful with my laptops (hey, right now I have a Dell Inspiron 9100 which is two and a half years old and so well maintained that I have never had overheating problems with it), but I am stuck as to which laptop I should choose.

My gut feeling is to go with the XPS M1330, as I have been totally seduced by its charm (and compared to the Insp. 9100 its small size), but I feel that if I chose the M1330, I would be throwing away a great deal with the D830.

I would be using the laptop for sporadic gaming (the occasional Half-Life 2 ...) and software such as Wolfram's Mathematica and Visual Studio 2005.

Portability is an issue, as I probably would be taking the laptop around with me around campus.

Could you tell me which you think I should go for (it would be particularly helpful if the UK guys could contribute, especially with regard to the delay - in particular those of you who have ordered an XPS M1330 very recently).

Thanks,
dr_98_98

 

I'd say m1330. But, its whatever you need/want.