XPS M1330: Why no Gigabit Ethernet?

I'm looking for a new ultraportable, and the M1330 was a contender until I realized that it does not have Gigabit Ethernet. This is a serious omission for me. Anyone any idea why the M1330 has only 10/100 support? Can it be user-upgraded? My laptops have had Gigabit for a number of years now, and naturally, now I rely on that speed.

 

Damn you got a 1000mbs connection at ur place? That's pretty nice...

Have you looked in expansion cards that might have gb ethernet. Try newegg.

 

No idea.... and it isn't user-upgradable. Of course that doesn't mean its impossible. If you are a tech savvy person, you could try modding the laptop to have a Gigabit Ethernet port (and void the warranty.... or you could simply buy a PCI Express card that supports gig-e.

At this rate though, if they had a gigabit ethernet option... they might as well delay it a WHOLE YEAR. LOL...

 

They have GigE ExpressCards that you can get without a problem.

 

I noticed that the new small Gateway systems being released are 10/100 too. Maybe the gigabit chip is still too large for this small systems?

 

I don't think size is the issue. Even the tiny Sony TZ notebooks have Gigabit.

It is odd, given the multimedia pretensions of the M1300, that the networking is only 10/100. Ever try to move video files around your network on 10/100? Or do a backup or restore? Gigabit is the only way to go.

Just wondering if anyone knew this compromise was made on the M1330.

 

Yes most everyone knows.

 

Sometimes you have to compromise to get a good system. I don't mind... atleast I don't think I mind.

 

lol unless ur home is wired by fibre optics. don't even plan on gigabyte transfers. copper wire which is usually used in homes, will not even be close to handling gigabyte transfers

 

The Sony SZ series, which is most comparible to the m1330, also does not have gigabit onboard. *However* when you add the Sony docking station it comes with a gigabit connection. I don't know why they couldn't make the onboard port gigabit...

I'm using Cat 5 (not even 5e) for my home and I have 5 computers all connected at gigabit speeds. The difference over 100mbit is incredible.

 

Well that would work well say if you had a network storage and a router with gigabit ethernet, correct?

Really I think it's the fact that you want a 13 inch laptop that's the problem. I know the 1520 doesn't have it either. Neither does the 1720 though so who knows.

The XPS 1710 has it, I believe.

 

Hate to break it to yah bud but copper has been handling GigE for about 7 years now. GigE switches are now becoming affordable. 200bucks for a decent 8 port switch. 10GigE and 100GigE are in the works. 10GigE copper actually is out now and operates in many core networks. Look up a little outfit called Force10 started by ex-Cisco folks.

 

The Latitudes have GigE too.

 

Obviously for business folk, speed on the intranet is key - many big businesses have very good networks, at least internally.

I presume they didn't bother going with GigE on the consumer laptops as it's not common in households and a lot of time will be spent on wireless. Most houses are not wired up for ethernet.

 

yah i wish it had gigabit lan but o well i bought n wireless so i could have something close to gigabit lan would be nice are family has 23 desktops all at gigabit network 48port switch and 3 server lol got to love a technological family

 

standard cat5e cable can and does support gigabit. even regular cat5 at short distances (most house wiring would be much shorter than 100m) would support gbe.

 

true and most does not mean all in my bedroom alone i have no less that 8 ports not counting my switch or telephone jacks

 

I don't know of a single copper 10g shipping chip (some are sampling I think). The company you mention has only optical 10g not copper 10g. 10g copper (ie 802.3an) is probably the last real copper ethernet. people are talking about 100g but it's a dream (zimmerman first needs to make 10g on copper work) and ti won't be a copper only 100m solution.

 

I think it comes down to controlling costs on ultraportables. First, 10/100 LAN is directly available off the Santa Rosa chip, so it's cheap and easy to implement. Gigabit LAN is supported but not integrated - it is only available via the addition of Intel's 82655 chip. My guess is that it would take up too much real estate on an ultraportable's board. The other option would be to stuff a Broadcom GigE chip in there, like Dell does with many of their other platforms, but, the space limitations still apply.

Second, the assumption is that if you have an ultraportable laptop, you're going to be using wireless most of the time. That's why the integrated Intel 4965AGN wireless option is available on all Santa Rosa platforms - Intel largely ignored wired connections in the update to Centrino/SR and focused entirely on offering better wireless speeds via Draft-N. It's actually too bad that Intel pulled WiMAX and WWAN from the chipset before release - they would have made it even more of a wireless beast.

 

They're idiots plain and simple. Also ask them why they left out an esata port.

Some people will tell you that gigabit isnt that popular well neither is wireless draft N and thats an option.

 

I'd stick with Maelways explanation here, that is what i thought when i first read the speccs.

eSata and 2 more USB ports would have been really sweet on this one, but still i think they would have run into some real estate problems integrating them.

 

I agree with Mael. The 10/100 probably comes built into the Santa Rosa chipset, and gigabit requires an additional chip on the board. So added cost, and more space.

 

I hope that they decided against the GigE for space reasons.
Don't like the idea of the feature being left out of a premium product (THE premium headliner in Dells notebook lineup in fact, despite being the most affordable of the bunch) just to save some 20$ in production per unit.

 

Bleh!. I am going to stock up on all express card modules for whatever I feel is missing- eSATA ports, for starters.

 

Most people don't have Gigabit at home and the M1330 is a "home" machine.

The Latitudes and up have gigabit because they are more "work" machines which usually have gigabit networks.

 

yah sure thats what dell thinks is happening

 

This seems like the most reasonable explanation. Thanks Maelwys.

Gigabit is a requirement for me. I have a Gigabit cable on my desk which I use to move large amounts of data like videos and full backups to and from my current notebook. Saves no end of time. My wired network has been Gigabit since 2004. My desktop and home server are Gigabit.

I am looking for a new notebook, but haven't found my 'perfect' one yet. I am a long-time happy ThinkPad X-Series user, but the Santa Rosa X61 still has the same type of 12.1" XGA screen the original X-Series started with in 2000. After seven years it looks crappy compared to the competition - low resolution, brightness, viewing angle. My other contenders are the M1330 and Sony SZ6. Both a bit bigger and heavier than the X61, but better screens... the Sony is looking good right now (Monday ).

 

OK, gigabit ethernet is one thing M1330 skimped on. I think I can live with it with all the other sexy goodness though.

 

You do not need gigabit on a laptop yet.

 

OK, I'll bite. Why don't I need Gigabit yet?

 

As someone already pointed out, the SZ at least offers GigE via a Marvell Yukon chip on the docking station, so that's probably your best bet bananaman. It's too bad that Dell sacrificed the docking station on the M1330, presumably so they could focus on aesthetics. Still, I like Sony's solution - putting the docking connector on the bottom of the laptop - and there's no reason Dell couldn't have done something similar, especially for a gaming machine.

For myself, I plan on using the machine via wireless (Draft-N @ my university for the naysayers) 90% of the time, so GigE really isn't as critical as portability.

 

I didn't actually notice that until you said. but as has been suggested..usb to rj-45 works fine. Got one right here.

 

Man it sure is baffling as to why people feel the need to tell other people what their capabilities and needs are, on these boards.. experienced the same thing when I went inquiring about 4GB memory sticks..

Annoying.

 

Yep the Sony SZ is looking good right now. Even more so because the SZ6 has built-in Gigabit. It is not shipping yet, but is about to (sound familar? ).

I've found docking stations very useful in the past, and it is nice that the SZ has that option too.

 

Beyond annoying. They have no idea what your needs for the notebook are and they make generalizations based on what their own personal needs are.

 

get an express slot card thats simple but you dont need it everywere do you most likely only one or 2 places

 

Yeah, I hate it when people say stuff like.. "you don't need HDMI yet", "you don't need gigabit yet" ... stop doing the sour grapes thing... accept a product for what it is... I have an M1330 on order, I know it doesn't support gigabit, I know it has no docking station support, and I know mine comes with a VGA webcam... hell.. im still holding my breath for mine..

 

This doesn't really solve the GigE issue though unfortunately. USB to RJ45 adapters are only 10/100 (I've never seen a GigE one at any rate), and even if they did come in a GigE form, USB 2.0 is 400MBps max and usually runs at actual speeds of about half that, so you wouldn't be getting the full benefit of the line.

 

I'm not sure about the m1330, but the 1420 has gigabit <_<

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but no, it doesn't.

Taken straight from the 1420's Tech Specs on Dell's website:

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but...

 

If that's true, the M1330 should also be Gigabit as the part number is:

430-0493 Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron.

 

Again, before someone creams their pants...this is the 1420, NOT the M1330...but it could only be ASSUMED that the 1330 has the same/similiar ethernet card as the 1420 and would be Gigabit as well because I have the same exact part number as well

 

Can anyone with an m1330 (cliegal or tileman or someone) confirm this?

 

Great info. Can we get some confirmation please.

 

What did I just say? I have the same part number in my 1420, and it is Gigabit...isn't that confirmation enough?

 

Someone in the m1330 thread (in the sub forum) confirmed just the opposite... that it isn't gigabit.

 

No it's not. For all we know the part number might just be for the port stuck on the motherboard.

 

But if it's true (and I doubt they would put a better ethernet port on the 1420 than the M1330), then this would be wonderful news!

 

Man there is so much incorrect information in this thread. If you have no idea what you are talking about or can't back up your statements, please keep quiet!

In terms of hardware, it is not much more complex to produce a gigabit network adapter than to produce a 10/100 one. I know because I designed a few network boards. Just tighter specs and newer ICs to go to gigabit. If you mass-produce them onto mainboards, the ICs and overall production costs will end up dirt cheap.

In terms of infrastructure, you can pick up brand-name (Netgear, etc) 8-port network switches for roughly $80US and desktop gigabit NICs for $20US. You won't get gigabit speeds because the average hard-drive will limit you to 50MB/s ... but the cable is not a limitation and you don't need fibre optics.

In summary there should be more gigabit support as there isn't much technical reason not to.

(disclaimer: I quoted $US as a generic currency, though I am not from the U.S.)