->The official POST ABOUT YOUR NEW DELL NOTEBOOK thread. <-

Just got my new Vostro 1700 after having a pentium 4 for the past 4 years. My main use is as a DAW, and other general tasks.

I spent months deciding what to buy, I had never thought of DELL as a possibility, but after seeing what I could get for the money, there was no other challengers.

I am very pleased with my purchase, the keyboard in particular feels great, and the numeric pad is a great bonus. The screen is great and all the fuss about veiwing angles doesn't bother me, if I change position... I adjust the screen hmmmmm.

I have read the full thread about the problems with the firewire connection, I hope it is now solved. My firewire seems to work ok so far, but I would like to use it with an Express card.

Please could someone confirm that this problem has been solved and if necessary which firewire cards work. This is very important to me as I am about to buy an Express card and I don't want to have to take or send it back.

 

Had my XPS M1330 for 6 weeks now and overall I like it! It has not been problem free however. I live in the UK and the laptop was built in Ireland. The fitted Western Digital 250 gig HD clicked all the time and caused a serious vibration in the chasis. Eventually this was changed for a 320 gig Samsung drive which has so far been fine. I bought the 3 years on-site warranty which I'm now glad about. The customer service has been good when I had my problem.
However the technician who replaced the drive seemed to have missed a few steps when he re-installed the operating system e.g. there is now no recovery partition on the hard drive and the useful media buttons are no longer appearing when I change brightness and volume levels. Have contacted tech support for some advice about this.
Before buying the XPS I had an ACER 8104 which worked well for two + years but I fancied a change and so far I have been relatively happy.

 

just checked my order status and it was shipped as of 12 am this morning and the est delivery is this thursday 3-27 but i know it'll come sooner because mine is being shipped out of TN, USA!

 

You need to install Dell Quickset for the on screen volume display.

 

Thanks abnet. Dell tech support replied within 30 mins with that info and another 10 mins later I had the problem fixed. They did say that the recovery partition is installed at the factory and a straight re-format after that does not include the extra partition.
Overall the tech backup has been good from Dell.

 

Got my m1530 today! It's awesome. I love it, I'm having so much fun with it.

 

Just pulled the trigger on a new Vostro 1500. Thanks to the many folks here who helped me make an informed decision.

And yes, I got the internal graphics card rather than the Nvidia. And the anti-glare screen. I'm a non-gamer, and I opted for cool operation over graphics power, given my meager graphics needs. I also write for a living with the light source usually right behind me--thus I avoided the TrueLife screen.

BTW--You don't have to configure up to $1299 with the Vostro 1500 to get the discount! It says that at first, but if you just go up to $1249 and then go to the cart, you still get the $500 off. Spread the word!

Specs:

Vostro 1500 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)

Operating System Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition

LCD Panel 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Anti-Glare Display

Memory 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM

Video Cards Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Hard Drive 250GB 5400RPM Hard Drive

Integrated NIC and Modem Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader

Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator

Sound Card High Definition Audio 2.0

Wireless Cards Dell Wireless 1505 Wireless-N Internal-card

Camera Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera

Bundle Microsoft® Works Plus 2008 - Works + Word 2003

TOTAL:$762.00 with free shipping! Tax was $63.80. I'm happy.

 

The twins have arrived in the form of a Latitude D830 (work) and a XPS (RED) 1530 (play / work) just moments ago. I haven't even taken them out of the box yet.

These new babies are replacing a 4 year old Acer Aspire 1800 (the boat anchor with a desktop P4) which has served me very well and been a real work horse.

So I don't look like some spoiled rich dude, the "double up" is to avoid any security concerns when I am on the road with my band using my "work" PC. The Latitude D830 will stay safe at home in the office and the XPS will get to stretch its legs and see some of the world.

 

yesterday took the plunge on a new XPS 1730, T9200 processor (2.5ghz), 4gig's of ram, twin 160GB hdd's in RAID0 at 7200 RPM, and Dual 8800GTX's in SLI, Sapphire Blue, and even comes with the Agaiex Physics card (however you spell it).

have been watching alienware for 4~5 months or so for their M17x model to replace my Amilo Xi1546 (see sig). but a lack of information on AW's part prompted me to look elsewhere.. i checked the Dell site, and saw that a laptop from dell with similar (if not identical specs) to what i'd get from AW not only would be around £300-400 less to start with, but i also had the £200 easter-offer, and then got to use a 10% off coupon ontop of it, £2k for a £2.5k laptop that i was originally going to pay around £2.8k for with alienware..

no idea when the'll deliver it, can't wait to start playing around with it =P

 

Got my m1530 today!

Unfortunately I got the sub-par Samsung SEC3350 grainy screen, but it is not as bad as i expected. Brightness is acceptable, dark levels are acceptable. There is a bit backlight bleeding at the bottom of the screen, and the graininess is definitely there and a bit annoying especially on light background, but all in all, I may end up accepting it.

To hear the rumored HD noise, you would have to be in a VERY quiet environment. I would consider my HD very quiet - this is certainly no problem at all on my m1530.

Also, I have not experienced any problems with the touchpad, or getting electrocuted.

The DVD drive IS in fact a bit noisy, when the disk is spinning fast. Obviously, to play a DVD, you do not need the disk to spin fast, and then the DVD drive is almost inaudible. You would need DVD player software that manages the DVD speed, or you could download Nero Drivespeed or something, but if you want a laptop capable of quietly reading DVDs at high speed, then the m1530 is probably not the laptop for you. Also, it is a bit noise when inserting and ejecting DVDs.

I am not satisfied with the guy who assembled my laptop though. There is a bulge at the XPS logo above the keyboard, and also one on the bottom of the laptop, but that one a can easily fix myself using a screwdriver. The one on th front i certainly do not want to fix myself. Personally, I am satisfied with the DVD drive.

I AM a little disappointed by the screen however. If I had known, I would have ordered the low-res screen (saving $200) and bought the LG screen through Dell parts afterwards. I'm considering trying to get Dell to replace the screen (got on-site service), but on the other hand, my screen is not THAT bad - just very mediocre. I probably got one of the better samsungs.

 

I don't my disk drive isn't that bad and thankfully I didn't get the buldge in the keyboard.

 

Hello!

Inspiron 1420 owner, my first notebook. Received it on March 19th. Very satisfied so far!

Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 1.66Ghz proc
MS Vista Home Basic
14.1" Truelife display (1280x800)
Espresso Brown colour kit
2Mp webcam
2Gb RAM
160Gb hard disk
Free Targus wireless mouse
Earbuds

Not quite as hot as some of the machines mentioned here in this thread, but it was a good deal at RM2599 (USD810)...

Surprisingly fast considering the fact that it's running Vista Home. Build quality is good except for the display frame on the right side which is a bit loose.

Battery life better than expected.

No other issues to report.

 

I regret to say that my first day with my refurb M1530 has been a series of escalating concerns and disappointments.

* I got a Samsung screen and it's mildly grainy, but more troubling, it is inconsistent in brightness overall and the smallest head movements cause significant falloff. Also, sometimes you can see negative reflections around type. Not good. ( Edit: On my Inspiron 6000 with a matte finish screen, I now notice the same falloff, so the problem is just grain.)

* Right out of the box, a panel on the bottom, near the HD bay, was pulled up as if pried. I was able to snap it down, but WTF?

* The bezel across the top of the display is flimsy and so poorly designed that the mere act of opening the lid by using the raised ridge causes it to flex and pop off. Am I expected to slap some duct tape in this to hold it together?

* Continuing on the creaky tip, when I hold it by the left-front corner, the palm rest compresses and starts to slip inside the plastic of the HD bay. Again, WTF?!?!? I've never felt a laptop with so much give. For something that lists for over $2000 new, this is some rather shoddy workmanship. (I support Dells at my work and this feels flimsier than models with plastic shells like the C600.)

* The fingerprint scanner doesn't work. There's nothing in the BIOS to turn it on or off and updating the software has done nothing. It shows in Device Manager, but will not function.

* The web cam is a joke - comparable to the Xbox Live Vision camera for sheer slow and smeary frame rates. Even at 320x240, it does no better than 15 fps and usually runs around 7-8 fps. I've updated the software with no improvement.

* Compared to my old Inspiron 6000, the touchpad is too small and the buttons are recessed, making them hard to depress.

* I was forced to download Vista SP1 manually because Windows Update refused to recognize that it needed to be updated. I saw a thread here blaming out-of-date biometric reader drivers, but after updating that and everything else WU wanted to, it still wouldn't work. Lame.

* I ran the Windows Experience Index and despite having a T7500 and 3GB RAM, it comes up as only 4.8 because of the RAM? Huh? All other scores are from 5.1 (CPU) to 5.9 (8600M GT), but the RAM score is pokey? Why?

Sheesh......and this is just what I found in the first 8-10 hours intermittently looking at it. I can't wait to see what goes wrong next week.

What's good about this? The included earbuds sound very nice, it arrived in two days, and it can run Company of Heroes at 1280x1024 with all settings at High with some scattered Mediums.

My OOB experience has been poor. I can't wait until I have to tussle with Dell Support about this. (When my Dell Axim X30i was messed up right out of the box, I had TWO refurb replacements sent with such poor screens - they felt like mush - that I decided to put up with the original one's intermittent glitches.) At this moment, I'm feeling that I got seriously ripped-off by Dell. My last laptop was an Outlet buy and has been fine for 2-1/2 years. This hasn't lasted 12-1/2 hours. I'd be unhappy if this cost $300 and I spent a grand more than that.

 

I just received my new XPS 1530 (T9300 processor, 3 gig RAM, 200 gig 7200 rpm HD, WSXGA+ screen, 8x DVD RW) and I am wondering what I should check out / test to make sure it is all working as designed.

I've heard that some 1530s have grainy screen problems, but mine looks good. It also is an LG screen (which seems to be more reliable).

The DVD drive seems to make some noise each time the computer starts up (checking for a disk?), but I don't know whether or not this is normal as this is my first "slot loaded" drive.

Also, I was wondering what Intel branding sticker other penryn purchasers have been getting. Mine is just "Intel Centrino inside" -- should it be Centrino vPro or Centrino 2?

My next step is to follow the guides on here to do a clean install of Vista and perform some of the basic tweaks, but any other "out of the box" diagnostic advice would be appreciated so that I make sure to take advantage of the free return period if needed.

Also, does Dell still offer a lowest price guarantee period? I know you used to be able to call within some number of days of your purchase to get a lower price if available--does that program still exist? How many days does one have from the purchase date to take advantage of it?

Thanks,

Robert Gerrity

 

Ooch! sorry to hear that. My experience with dell, however, has being that of a positive one. Got my m1530 about 2 weeks ago, with a T8300, 3gb ram and 8600 GT, and a LG screen, of course.

genrally speaking, when you go into it, the m1530 is really quite fast. the 8600 is HIGHLY overclockable, i am able to OC the default 425/850/725 card to 625/1250/880, which gave a HUGE performance boost (15-20 fps) in games like Crysis and Bioshock, and I am able to play Crysis with most of the settings on High with an average FPS of 20-30 (pretty good for a laptop i must say).

Most m1530 users acclaim their lappie as the best ever, so i think your problem is with buying it via the Dell outlet. Just remember, buying a laptop is like investing in a car or in a new house, so you don't just go out, buy a laptop and return it (with the 15% restocking fee) to Dell for no reason. the Laptops are refurbished for a reason, and so buying refurbs is like taking a bet, and luck will not always be on your side (unfortunately...). My recommendation? return that piece of Sh*t of yours to Dell right away (you must return it within 21 days of purchase, of Dell won't accept it). If you are able to convince Dell that your lappie is indeed a piece of Sh*t, then you might not need to pay the 15% restocking fee. Whatever is the case, DON'T ask dell to repair your laptop! the "technician" Dell sends to your home is nothing more than a technical neophyte who is learned in the skill of ripping your laptop into pieces in 30 seconds (literarily) and not being able to put it back without damaging it. DON'T RELY ON THEM! Even a random construction worker on the street can do the same thing as those "technicians" are trained to do...

Then, you must also remember: you won't be able to Miraculously transform a ****ty laptop into a good one by repairing it. If it is Sh*t to begin with, then the most you will end up getting is Sh*t, if not worse. By God...just return it to Dell while you can, and buy a NEW one fresh configured. (M1530 is on sale right now, and even if you choose the "Best" configuration, you will still be able to get it for about 1.5K, with has a Penryn 8500, 8600gt and 3gb of ram...pretty nice deal I must say).

All in all, just configure a new lappie from dell, don't settle with the refurb...who knows what's going to happen after this...

P.S. the Biometric reader works perfectly fine on my lappie...able to get all 10 of my fingerprints in, and it is great for entering passwords on websites and for launching apps.....sweet tool....

 

Wow. That's some nice condescension there, pal. Where to begin?

* As I noted, it seems pretty speedy; my complaints aren't about performance, but poor build and design quality. Look at the front-right corner of your 1530 on the side where the HD bay is. See how the palmrest sits directly on top of the plastic drive caddy? Where do people usually grasp their laptops? Perhaps by the front corners with the weight cantilevered in front of them causing the palmrest to press down? On the Inspiron 6000 I'm presently writing on, the left side has the DVD drive shrouded completely in metal and the right side has the HD situated halfway back so there's more metal-on-metal. For Dell to make a major stress point a meeting on metal (or metallic plastic) and flimsy plastic is simply dumb.

* The construction of the display is also foolish. On most Dells I've seen, the bezel is at least 3/4" inch wide across the top of the panel and secured by six screws which are hidden under the rubber half-dome "bumpers". Compare that to the 1530's flimsy press-fit bezel which is too thin to have the teeth needed to securely snap together. When all you need to do is open the lid to pop it off, that's a sign of poor design. Well-designed bezels are hard to pull apart even when the screws are removed. How do I know?

* I'm a certified Dell Service Technician. I know the certification process is a joke (i.e. it's an open browser exam which tests your reading and search skills more than tech knowledge), but to blanket smear every tech the way you did smacks of specious arrogance. Why don't I just have Dell send me the parts and put them in myself? I'm not cert'ed on this line and just as when I go to a restaurant, I'm paying to have them do their damn jobs, not doing it for them. If I want to play Mr. Support Tech, I'll go to work and get paid or build my own home PCs.

* There is no way to get a decent M1530 for $1500 unless you're gimping things. The T8300 isn't available and matching my configuration runs over $2000, so I'm calling BS on your claim and I'd like to know how you got an LG screen at 1680x1050 when there is no way to spec one? If I'm going to spend that kind of money, I may as well buy a MacBook Pro and hang out at Starbucks attracting the attention of the cute Marxist college girls.

* As for your slam on refurbs, perhaps you're wealthier than the poor sods who need to economize, but my 2-1/2 year old I6000 is still chugging along nicely. If I wasn't looking to do some seriously taxing multi-media stuff on it, I wouldn't even have been shopping. If I could eat at a four-star restaurant but only have to pay Denny's prices by letting someone take a bite of my steak first, it'd be the same as this. Why was this particular unit returned? I dunno. Maybe the guy who bought it discovered that cute Marxist girls prefer guys with Macs and returned it to buy one and get laid. Maybe he didn't think the Tuxedo Black matched his tux well enough. Maybe he thought it was broken. Whatever.

Before I could lease new cars, I bought used ones because it was more economical. I need regular feedings and enjoy living indoors during inclement weather, so my luxury purchases need to be fiscally prudent. Saving $940 over the price of new makes this hassle a minor distraction. Since most of the problems are related to poor design choices, that I didn't buy new isn't the problem. Dell made the bad engineering choices and chose the cruddy Samsing panels, not me. If I'd paid $5000 for this brand new and it was delivered by the Kittycat Dolls - the swear filter stars out the real spelling - wouldn't make a bit of difference. All the performance in the world means nothing if it's poorly implemented.

I'm really happy that you aren't having any problems with your purchase. I wish I could join you in the Satisfied Users column, but until this is straightened out, I'm a voice of righteous dissent.

 

just got my 1530 on friday! I ordered it last sunday so that seems like a ridiculously fast build time. I had a student code and with this 599 off instantly sale i saved about 900 on a $3000 system specs:

t9300 processor
whatever the biggest screen resolution is (can't recall right now, but i got the gorgeous LG screen)
200 gb 7200 hdd
4gb ram
vista ultimate
blu ray drive

so far so good.

 

Guys, To Robert Geritty's question, saying his Intel sticker just says "Centrino Inside" Does that mean it has Vpro or is it just Centrino? Thanks!

 

@ Dirk Belig,

Seems like you got a lemon to me.

• I can open my 1530 without the bezel popping open.
• My fingerprint reader works flawlessly.
• I have the Samsung screen and it sux so I have an LG on the way. I am putting it in myself.
• Not sure about the way you described carrying the laptop but I tend to close mine and put it in a bag if I am carrying it anywhere other than from the coffee table to the dining room table. And even then I use two hands.
• Vista SP1 not showing up on Win Update is nothing new, happens to many people on varying hardware.
• Ya the webcam is whatever... I don't really use it so I don't care.
• I had to move the touchpad speed way up to get it usuable for me, buttons are fine IMO.
• I have te same 4.8 Win Exp Index... and so what. It doesn't mean anything so who the **** cares?

Send it back and get another one. The bezel issue sounds pretty out of the ordinary to me.

 

Just recieved my XPS M1330 last thursday and I like it a lot and I had to have them reinstall Norton Internet Security Suite becuase it windows security center kept saying it didn't recognize the software. But now it works great now and am very please and got through to technical support extremely quick with no problems! Thank God!

 

Received my refurb XPS M1330 yesterday. Indistinguishable from a brand new notebook. I LOVE it! Everything works great and it is flying! I've already used Les' Vista tweaks guide and my boots are at a hair under 40 seconds currently. I couldn't be happier.

 

got my refurb m1330 today! i love it. it looks brand spankin new! even with the new peel off protector stickers. no blemishes, no loose hinges. LOVELY.

 

I called Dell XPS Support and spoke to "Sean" (of the Bangalore Seans, I gather) and this clown couldn't understand what I was telling him. (I was working off my complaint list here, so it's pretty clear.) When I told him the screen was "grainy" he asked about it being "green". I've had people ask if I work in radio because of my voice and I was making darn sure to enunciate clearly for the benefit of those 12 times zones away.

After giving him the laundry list of particulars, all he would do for me is tell me to come home and run a hardware diagnostic as if a crappy screen and shoddy fit and finish will show up this way. The screen has serious backlight clouding and leakage and I'm supposed to provide an error code for this? Yeesh.

Any advice for getting these jokers to cough up some parts and service for their junk? Sean didn't sound too amenable about getting an LG screen just because I wanted one. I get less stick at work about parts, but then again I work at a giant company that buys Dells by the tens of thousands. Grrrr. You can PM me to prevent dragging this thread off topic. Thanks.

 

Just ordered my XPS m1330.
RED Slim & Light WLED display with VGA webcam
200GB SATA 7200RPM Performance Hard Drive
Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T9300 2.5Ghz
4GB ( 2 X 2048MB ) 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
NVIDA 8400 (whishing I had onboard for battery life)
3-year XPS Premier Service with 3-year CompleteCover
$2200 AUD

 

That part cracks me up
I'll PM you.

 

I Just got my Xps 1530!!! and i'm loving it .. it even arrived 5 days before the estimated arrival date! This is the best laptop I have ever had: stylish, relatively light, and incredibly powerful!!
overall an excellent buy, and i recommend it to any new laptop seeker

 

After being generally mistreated, lied to, and ignored by the Dell "Support" apparatus, I finally hit a sympathetic guy who suggested it would be easier to return it than try to squash all the bugs my woeful M1530 came with. After he transferred me to the returns CSR, this 2nd bloke asked if I had been offered an exchange and put it thru to have another unit sent with "the same or better specs". Yeah, right. I'll frakking believe it when I see it. 7-10 business days, he said. I had my original order in TWO DAYS flat! Yeesh. Hopefully this next unit will be screwed together properly.

 

Congrats! And iI cant but agree with you

@DirkBelig - Good luck with the next one..

 

ive had my m1530 for about a week now i love it every bit more than the toshiba a135 it replaced. reformatted it right out of the box. wifi catcher is so good at especially at uni cause you can find signals you would have never known were even there. my specs are:

core 2 duo t8300
nvidia 8600m gt
wsxga 1680x1050 LG
4gb ram
250gb hdd
6 and 9 cell batteries
intel 4965 wifi

 

I just got my M1530 today in the mail... Reformatted directly out of the box and everything is working verrrrry smoothly. I'm just formatting my partitioned D drive. I was really nervous about getting the dreaded Samsung screen everyone's been complaining about but thankfully I got the beautiful LG screen. I'm from Canada and it took literally a week to build, produce, ship, and get delivered.

Specs are
Core 2 duo T8300
Nvidia 8600M GT
1440x900 LG
3GB ram
250gb HDD
6 and 9 cell batteries

 

I got a new 1420 a couple of weeks ago and I thought I'd share some pics for those who are trying to decide what color to get.

Specs:
C2D T8300 2.4 GHz (Penryn)
2GB DDR2-667
GeForce 8400m
250GB HDD
Intel pre-N wireless
85 WHr Battery

 

WOW. I'm impressed with Dell already.

I ordered my 1525 Friday afternoon and it's going to be here Tuesday!

Order Date: 4/4/2008
Order Status: Shipped

Shipping Method: 3-5 Business Days
Shipped Date: 4/6/2008
Est. Delivery Date: 4/8/2008
Carrier: DHL EXPRESS

 

Very cool. What are the specs?

 

After some long-standing issues with my HP Pavilion notebook, it finally died. I quickly needed to find another notebook, and I settled for the Inspiron 1525 after hearing that Dell notebooks have improved a lot recently in design and build quality. I shopped around local stores and read some online reviews, and the 1525 seemed to be the best fit for what I was looking for and my situation (needing to find a new notebook quickly).

The specs are as follows:
Intel Core 2 Duo T5450
2 GB RAM
250 GB Hard Drive
Dell Wireless 1505 draft n wireless
DVD RW

Within an hour of getting the laptop, I reformatted and reinstalled Vista using the reinstallation media Dell provided. After installing all the drivers and updating Windows, the system seems to run very smoothly. In fact, the notebook scores a 3.5 on the Windows Experience Index, which is equal to my desktop!

The overall design of the notebook is similar to my HP, but the Dell seems a bit thinner, and about the same weight. The battery life seems to last a few hours longer than my old laptop (not sure because if it's new or not).

 

I got it today!

Yes.. I ordered this FRIDAY and it got here Monday! GROUND shipping!

I'm very happy with my 1525. I reformatted it so it's CLEAN.

Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83 Ghz
3 gigs
320 gig HD

How do I find out what screen mine has? I'm really satisfied with it.. very sharp and bright.

 

I received my Vostro 1700 yesterday and absolutely beautiful. I also love the build quality.

 

Well, I've spent the last two months evaluating various UMPCs (Ultra-Mobile PCs) including the following:

Vye S37b (rebadged Kohjinsha SH8) convertible tablet
Sony Vaio UX390N with 32GB SSD
Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium
Vulcan FlipStart (of the 4, this one is my fave... may keep it as a neat toy)

While I want mobile and light, I don't know that I can deal with tiny (or in the case of the Sony, microscopic). I found that, while tablet functionality is "neat", I don't find myself using the inking capabilities all that much.

I considered one of the new HP Mini-Note 2133 subnotes, but the poor CPU and pitiful battery life dissuaded me.

So what to do... I've also been really wanting to try a SSD-based machine, and not a 2GB or 4GB eeePC.

So earlier today I threw caution to the wind and ordered a Dell Latitude D430 from the Small Business Outlet:

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor ULV U7600 (1.20GHz, 533Mhz)
-- 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz (2 DIMMs)
-- 64 GB Solid State Drive, 1.8MM
-- 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
-- Genuine Windows XP Pro
-- 9 Cell Primary Battery
-- Dell Wireless 360 Bluetooth Module
-- 3945 802.11a/g Wireless Mini Card
-- Lat D430: 3Yr Basic Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service

$1349 + tax (looks like I missed the outlet coupons by a few days, drat).

We'll see just how responsive SSD is...

 

Placed order online Mar.31st, got it Apr. 5th.
totally $793.00 (including shipping, tax)

Vostro 1500

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/2MB cache)

LCD Panel 15.4 in Wide Screen SXGA+LCD Display w/TrueLife™

Memory 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM

256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8600M GT

160GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive, 7200RPM, for Dell Vostro 1500 Notebook

Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition

Integrated NIC and Modem Integrated 10/100

Bluetooth Wireless Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate), WinXP

Optical Drive 8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator

Sound Card High Definition Audio 2.0

Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card

Integrated 2.0 mega pixel Web Camera Creative

Dell MediaDirect™ Instant Play Software Application

56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

Limited Warranty, Services and Support 1 Year Basic

Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service

1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup

Network Assistant Dell Network Assistant

 

Hi guys, i ordered mine on thursday,heres the specs.

210-20596 XPS M1530 CORE 2 DUO T8300 2.40GHz,800,3M 1 S
200-53602 N04X5307 1 S
230-10143 Display 15.4" WXGA+ Widescreen (1440x900) TFT with Truelife 1 S
214-10030 Fingerprint Reader Biometric with BLACK accent 1 S
320-10174 CCFL backcover black & 2.0mp camera 1 S
340-14929 Resource DVD XPS M1530 - (Diagnostics & Drivers) 1 S
340-14931 Documentation English XPS M1530 1 S
340-15221 Ship Accessories UK XPS M1530 - Power Cord 3 PIN 1 S
370-12386 Memory Dual Channel 4.0GB (2x2048) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM 1 S
400-14158 Hard Drive 320GB SATA (5400rpm) 1 S
429-12854 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive, including SW 1 S
450-10999 AC Adapter 90W - 3 Pin 1 S
451-10506 Battery XPS Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion 1 S
460-10041 Not Included Carry Case 1 S
490-10756 Graphics Card 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT 1 S
506-10024 Dell Travel Remote control 1 S
530-11691 Modem Not Included 1 S
555-11012 Intel® Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-PCI Card, EUR 1 S
555-11135 European - Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module 1 S
583-11745 Internal Keyboard Uk/Irish (QWERTY) 1 S
619-10906 English - Vista Home Premium 1 S
630-11001 English Microsoft Works 9.0 (Word Processor, Database) with Recovery CD 1 S
640-10280 UK Internet Service Provider - Tiscali 1 S
640-10395 English - Adobe Reader 8.1 1 S
640-10551 Dell Support Center 2.0

lets see when im gonna receive it,im in UK.

 

Just got my M1330. 2.2ghz processor, 1gb RAM(upgraded to 4gb kingston), tux black, 7200rpm free fall sensor hard disk, LED backlit, bought a 4gb extreme (20mb/s) SDHC card for ready boost and an invisibleshield, but they haven't come yet.

Lovin' it!

 

Received my D430 from the outlet yesterday. One thing I've gotta hand Dell: they ship things quick!

The unit does not appear to ever have been used (at least I couldn't see any evidence of use).

Random musings in no particular order:

Love the size and weight. I had an Inspiron 700m that, while having the same overall size, was considerably weightier. This one is svelte by comparison. Even with the 9-cell extended battery, this one is easy to toss around.

Screen = meh. I guess I just prefer the look of gloss screens, not to mention that the screen has considerable bleed. Blacks look grey, even turning down the brightness. Probably the most disappointing aspect of the unit.

I like the extended battery on the front of the unit creating an extra palmrest. I didn't run the battery all the way down, but it looked to be that working on wireless with the screen at reasonable brightness, that the unit would get about 7 hours of battery life.

Touchpad. Surface feels odd and I never liked the touch sensitivity and speed, even after adjusting the settings. The tiny touchpad on my FlipStart is infinitely better.

Build quality is quite solid; has a robust feel.

SSD. Performance = meh. I had read that the 1st generation SSDs really didn't give great performance benefits over a 7200rpm drive. They were right. The system boots and shuts down fairly quickly, and the system is quite responsive when multitasking, but I didn't see the lightning-quick application startup that people refer to.

On the other hand, I was amazed at just how silent this notebook is... no hard drive sounds, no resulting heat generation. Normally you can "feel" the hard drive operating through the keyboard/palmrest; the absence of that was quite nice.

I think that SSD is the way to go, for these reasons and the increased battery life... just not the early SSDs.

I think I will return this unit, then the next time there are some Dell Small Business Outlet coupons out, pick up one of the cheaper units with a low capacity SATA drive, and swap in a high-performance SSD. It will ultimately cost me $200-300 more than what I paid for this unit, but I'd rather pay the additional and have the performance I want...


What other options (including non-Dell machines) are there in the 3-pound or less weight class and an 8.5x11 footprint?

 

Almost there!

Mine just shipped today (check the details below).

 

M1530 arrived today and is in perfect shape
I have the WSXGA+ display 1680x1050 and it is great. Panel is a Samsung but I believe they have changed the part -- mine lists as a XR860 and is blemish free: in fact it is bright and excellent
I have:
XPS M1330 - Product Red
T7250 | 4GB, DDR2, 667MHz | 320G 5400RPM |256MB NVIDIA 8600M GT
Dell 1505 wireless N| 6-cell Battery | Vista Ultimate

 

XPS 1730, ordered 28/03, delivered on 15/04 (their estimated delivery date, bang on) delivered by Walsh western, no problems with delivery or anything like that on westerns end.

when ordered on the website, i had the £200 off offer, the -10% off coupon and 3 years warranty for the price of 2 deal, when the payment went through, the £200 offer never turned up, called dell, they instead of refunding offered to upgrade me from the 2.5ghz processor to 2.6ghz for free instead, which wasn't too bad i guess.

specs are: 2.6ghz processor (Core 2 Duo T9500), 4GB ram, 8800GTX x 2 SLi, 2x160GB HDD's in RAID0 7200rpm, 1900 x 1200 panel (samsung i think), and Win XP Pro as the OS.

everything runs nice and smooth, have only got stock stuff on it at the moment, which handles UT3 without a problem, will try playing around on other stuff tonight, LightFX is prett fun xD

only 1 problem so far, 1) that i can't configure my wireless's card's MAC address to match my lan, which is causing slight networking problems atm.

 

so here I go, ordered today:

1 Intel; Core 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)

1 Alpine White

1 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz

1 High Resolution, glossy widescreen 14.1 inch display (1440x900)

1 128MB NVIDIA; GeForce® 8400M GS

1 Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

1 Genuine Windows Vista; Home Premium Edition

1 Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem

1 CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)

1 High Definition Audio 2.0

1 Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card

1 Integrated 2.0 Megapixel Webcam

1 Microsoft Works

1 No Security

1 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)

1 1Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service

1 Support Reforestation: Plant a Tree for Me

1 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor

1 Windows Vista™ Premium

1 Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr

Final price with shipping & taxes: $1037

unfortunately the estimated shipment day is 5/01/2008 ... that is quite long + 3-5 days of shipping... when do you think can I expect it? earlier or is their information correct?

I also chose to not buy the Soundblaster audigy software edition... I researched quite a bit and people oftten describe having it as the "placebo effect" ... that you think it is better with it, but as it is just a software program, it doesn't really do anything....

also I am going to buy another 9-cell battery propably from eBay... a store offers them "used and tested good" for $45... so might buy 2 or 1 of those... ending up with 3 batteries and paying less than $100 instead of $169 on the dell store...

I also decided to go with a better processor... it is described as lower-heat, lower-noise and lower-voltage... so it might improve battery life as well as last for a longer period...

and last but not least, 3gb seemed to me as enough, because of vista 32bit having some problems what I've read with 4gb... and I didn't choose bluetooth because do not think I will need it, and if I will, I will just buy an external module...

did anyone buy the external sound card for it that dell offers as well for extra $75? how is that one???

what do you recommend after receiving the Dell, a clean format of the HDD or just uninstalling bloatware and tweaking out Vista?


please comment on what you think about my configuration and what you think about the deal I got !!!

 

CLEAN FORMAT right away! Your laptop will run SO much faster.

 

just to note, the date that dell quotes on its website is the delivery date, aka, the date they think it will arrive at your door.

dell quoted me exactly 2 weeks from order date, and sure enough, on the estimated date it turn up at my door. it takes longer if you're ordering a new laptop rather than an old refurbished one.

also worth noting that the dell quote is "on or before" meaning it's the latest it should arrive at your door, it's entirely possible that it will arrive sooner, the thing which takes awhiel is usually the Pre-production ( where they wait until all the parts they need is in their inventory before they start actually building)

 

Wow, its here already,this morning the bell rings,and there it was my new Dell M1530.

 

I just got my XPS 1530 today!

XPS 1530 Midnight Blue
C2D T8300
4GB RAM
nVida 8600M GT
Vista Home Premium w/Aero
320GB Hard Drive, 5400rpm
WSXGA+ display 1680x1050
MS Works
Dell CompleteCover

The price is roughly S$2900 (US$2140).

I love it already. Great display and package.

Yeah I know 4GB doesn't work on 32-bit, but Dell was having a 10% discount so I couldn't resist.

Started by fiddling with all the windows settings (startup, firewall, etc). Did a few rounds of Windows Update/restart. Downloaded Mozilla. Now it's defrag time using PowerDefrag+Contig.

Some of the problems that I've heard from other people: loud slot drive, heat build-up; well I haven't noticed any of that yet.

It's good that the vent's behind. On my dad's Inspiron 1520, the heat comes out from below the laptop, which heats things up very quickly unless you have an external laptop mount.

Some scary things though. The system crashed during shutdown after the first windows update. And my right-click on files and folders is awfully slow (>4secs). It's fine if I right-click in webpages, but not on files in explorer/desktop. Could anyone give me some advice on that?

 

with my new laptop i posted above, am i going to be able to use this lcd screen with it? Samsung SyncMaster 940BF - LCD 19"

it has a DVI and VGA connection possibility? what do I have to get to be able to use it? is DVI going to work ?

thanks folks!