thinking of getting a 1530... a few questions

I have the opportunity to get a really good deal on an xps m1530 but I just have a few questions before I buy it.

First, how bad is the 8600m gt overheating issue... has anyone that games had one of these for over a year without it going bad?

Second, The unit I am looking at has the 256gb ssd... is there a significant performance boost from this, and does it generate more or less heat than a regular hard drive? Do you guys think it is worth it to get one?

also how are the LED screens on them... I know a while back they had a lot of screen issues.

 

Depending on what SSD they provide, I wouldn't trust them. Dell doesn't care what the consumer gets. They still sell 8600's because Nvidia gives them money for every defected one! An 8600 is very weak and is prone to failure and overheating.

The short story is that all the G84 and G86 parts are bad.

The official story is that it was a batch of end-of-life parts that used a different bonding/substrate process for only that batch. They all use the same ASIC.

Nvidia also said they would not change the assembly process or material set for a batch, much less an EOL part.

So I would stay away from an 8600M.
And I would also stay away from an SSD, I would purchase one yourself (the fastest one is around $550.) Because a weaker SSD can be similar in performance to a 7200RPM HD.

 

I game pretty heavily, and I have not had any issues at all for a whole year. Several owners can vouch for this as well. Unless you can get a really good deal on an M1530, I'd stay away from one due to chances of getting an immediately faulty GPU.

 

Yep I game often and have had my M1530 for 13 months now and it's still going strong. I have however had the fan/heatsink replaced twice because of really high temperatures. Every time they were replaced, temperatures dropped back heaps to a normal level but then they gradually went high again. I later found out that this was not because of any faulty GPU but because the thermal pads/paste they put on the heatsink suck...cause every time they replaced it and were taking it off I saw how the thermal pads were all melted and covered all over the chips so they had to use a screwdriver to scrape it off! So if you ever get overheating it's most likely because of the heatsink's thermal pads/paste. Getting the heatsinks replaced with Dell will fix it so you can just keep getting it replaced until your warranty runs out I guess. Once it runs out though just replace the thermal paste with some AS5 and voila.

If you don't game intensively, temperatures shouldn't get hot, there shouldn't be any real stress and so the thermal pads/paste should stay intact and you shouldn't get any overheating. I've been using a Zalman NC-1000 laptop since my last heatsink replacement and since it keeps temperatures cool at around 72 degrees C under load, temperatures haven't increased and so I have yet to replace the thermal pads/paste since they probably haven't melted away yet.

Edit: Oh I forgot to mention that I did have my motherboard replaced in December because I thought that was the problem of the overheating but it did nothing. Since the GPU is part of the motherboard I guess my current GPU is only 6 months old then...

 

I hope you're joking about the screwdriver!

By the by, thermal pads are supposed to melt, thats how they work.
Kind of like wax melting when heated, then it fills all the tiiny pores.
Thats why its such a pain to get it properly cleaned up before you apply AS5.

 

I have had my M1530 for over a year, it is still going strong, no problems.

However, it is an old system, now discontinued on most Dell regional sites. I wouldn't bother with it unless it was very cheap. Better to buy a more up-to-date system, and one that you won't have a little worry in the back of your mind about (GPU problem).

 

I've had a 1520 (8600, but ddr2 not 3 like the 1530) for almost two years, and the heat is a serious issue (fried my first mobo, seems to be frying my current one). I posted this in another thread but I'll put it here too.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-geforce-faulty-defect-gpu,7795.html

 

Ah ic. Well once it melts away I'll replace with AS5 . And nope I wasn't kidding. He used a flat headed screwdriver to scrape away the big chunks and then he used some isopropyl alcohol to clean it up.

 

Hopefully he didn't damage it, or anything else.

Definitely when cleaning the heatsink and the chip, only something like a plastic spatula or the equivalent should be used.

It kind of cancels out the benefits of thermal compound if the tech goes and scratches up the surfaces.

 

I got a M1530, and it's a good laptop, but the highly "potential" GPU problems aren't worth the purchase unless it's MAD cheap (and I mean MAD). I've had it for about a year and a half (since Jan. 2008) and I've had the overheating issue once. (That could be due to the fact that I didn't game too much until about a year after purchase, or else the problem might have occurred earlier/more often).

So I had the motherboard and the heatsink/GPU configuration replaced (in Jan. 2009). The temps got bk to normal (and this is just normal for an M1530, they're still not the best). The temps started to increase slightly again, so I said "F the warranty" and I just applied AS5. (I don't think the dell tech will notice the AS5 anyway!) Temps are alright now and hopefully stay, but the time I put into caring about this "overheating problem" is not worth it. This time should be spent gaming and not worrying whether I shouldn't play a certain game for fear that my GPU will overheat/crash. It's quite stupid frankly.

So long story short...don't get the M1530, there are much better options out there. It's not worth the potential hassle.

Good Luck.

 

Well I have had the 1530 since Feb 08. I have had no major issues with it at all.
I have booting problems 3 times over the year I have it but Vista repairs itself and its fine. The 8600M GT works fine for me , no overheating issues.
LED screen is great. But I broiught an external 22inch 1900 by 1200 screen and its beautiful.
Cannot get the old xps1530 anymore in Aus , its now called the Xps studio 16inch -I like mine better . Nicer design.

So I can recommend the 1530 if you ca still get it.

 

Owner of the 1530 since 1/08..have the 8600 GPU...no issues yet..

So, I say this.. If,the 1530 is what you want..over any other lappy' you have been looking at..then get it.

Peep's are going to give you their suggestions both positive, and negative on the 1530..In the end it comes down to what you want.

The 8600 GPU...could potentially be a problem, but then it could never, ever be a problem for you..if you purchased it with your lappy. If so, you have the extra 1 year warranty on the GPU that covers it.

The LED screens are very nice on the 1530..IF you happen to get an LG one, even better!

Looks like somewhere down the road..no official date set..that the 1530 will be gone gone going...so keep that in mind..and remember, there is no date *set in stone on that* yet.

The 1530 is a solid lappy, though!~

Cin

 

yeah... I was looking at numerous laptops and these are probably some of the sleekest pc's out there. not really a big fan of the studio xps 16.

Anyone have any info on whether or not the SSD's are any good from dell? (it is a 256gb one)

also... what are the average temps that the GPU in that thing runs at?

 

If you get a good one, average idle temps. should fluctuate between 50-65 C and load temps. can range from 70-85C (mine max at 78). If load temps get over 90, it's getting a little hot and maybe overheating. My highest temps were 93C before I got it fixed, and that was mainly because the GPU was downclocking in games to avoid damage (thus slowing down the game's FPS).

Don't get me wrong, as Cin' said the m1530 is a fantastic lappy if you disregard the "potential" GPU problems you might come across if you happen to get a faulty one.

 

yeah... the only reason I am considering it despite it's issues is because I really prefer the look of it over the studio line. also because on the studio 16 the only screens you can get are a the 1920x1080 one (which is to big) or the 1366x768(?) one which is way to small.