FINALLY received my XPS 1530

Well it was worth the wait, thats all I can say..

Ordered April 25th. Delivered May 23rd. Yes.. almost a full month after.

Here's my config:

Black XPS 1530
T9300 Core 2 Duo
8600 GT 256 MB DDR3
LED 1440 x 900 15"
4 GB RAM
250 GB 7200 HD
4965 Wi-Fi N
Bluetooth 255
Software AudigyHD
6 Cell Battery
Vista Ultimate 32

Well, after 1 1/2 days of playing with the thing, here are my first impressions.. First, outstanding build quality. No loose parts, dents, scratches, misaligned hinges, etc. First grade build. No hard disk noises, clicks, etc. This Samsung 250GB 7200 is extremely silent, and fast! TEAC DVD is well behaved, other than load/eject sounds. No sound stutter while playing MP3/streaming/etc.

In terms of temperature, it actually runs cooler than my 1yr old Inspiron 6400/E1505 that had a 7200 Intel and low end Nvidia in it. The fan does come one every once in a while, but its relatively silent.

No electric shocks. Mine came with the 3-prong adapter out of the box.

The CMO LED screen is very nice. Extremely bright (can't use the top setting, it blinds me). Definitely 20-25% brighter than my Inspiron. Viewing angles are good, although not as great as my Inspiron AUO screen (same size and resolution). Little bit of grain, but nothing major. Again, my old AUO screen was truly flawless in terms of grain, so I have that one to compare to. Unfortunately, there is fair amount of light bleed, mostly concentrated in the bottom part of the screen.

Sound is Ok for a notebook. Sufficient volume for my needs. No distortion even at top volume. Clear. Lacks bass obviously.

Have not tried the web cam yet, nor the media remote. The BIOS was at rev. A08 already, so no need to update. The touch pad operates adequately, although I use a Logitech VX Nano wireless mouse 99% of the time.

All in all, I am very satisfied with this new notebook. I was anticipating some issues, after reading this forum for one month (while waiting..), but I'm pleased to say that, so far, I have experienced none.

Out of the box, I simply removed some bloatware and updated the Nvidia drivers to 174.31. Did the Vista updates/SP1. Turned off some unnecessary services and cleaned up the registry and start up folder. No reformat necessary. This notebook runs FAST. VERY FAST.

Well worth the wait (although I would have appreciated a speedier delivery, but o well... just about every part of this notebook was back ordered at some point or another during the build process).

Im off to continue my Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, and COD 4 games

 

Glad you are happy with your XPS. Others like myself have the common problems with EJECT button freezing the computer for few seconds, stuttering/clicking/popping music playback, etc. See if you have any of these symptoms.

 

Yes, I have noticed this as well. But, for me, this is a non issue. I mean, just how often do I eject discs while listening to something else.. Can't speak for every one of course, but this doesn't bother me one bit. This must be a combination of hardware and software issues which causes too many hardware interrupts which ends up in major latency in the media stream.

 

Non issue for me as well.... as a matter of fact, i've only gotten the blue screen once, its when i updated my wifi drivers, and while installing it got stuck...

then the driversr were kaputz...
but iz fixed now...

and.. thats about it.. its not a faulty pc, its very stable, and very fast.

 

I just talked to Dell support; Basically with no trouble at all they're coming to my house in 1 - 2 business days to replace my Optiarc DVDRW drive with a better one. Cool.

 

Right on! Im glad you got your's.. I can't wait to get mine..

 

Awesome. Glad to see people who ordered around the time I did are getting their systems.

I hope mine goes from build to something else soon...

 

Yes, I'm sending Dell some good mental vibes for all you guys still waiting for your systems. I know the feeling.. It's inhuman.

Forgot to mention, in my mini review, that this notebook is sooo light! With the LED and 6-cell, I feel I have a feather on my lap

 

My XPS makes this weird bleeping (*bleep!*) sound every so often, I've also noticed my hard drive is pretty scratchy...Meh...

 

Dammit I can't wait anymore, I want a feather on my lap too lol.. My HP ZD5000 is like 7.5 pounds..

My XPS is suppose to ship on the 28th and arrive on the 29th..

 

Mine started going through the boxing stage yeserday. I ordered the same specs, 250gb 7200rpm.... i do hope the boxing stage changes to shipped status on tuesday or wednesday. The earlier the better!

I hope mine will be flawless.

 

jfdube, does the Logitech VX nano work well with your dell xps 1530? im planning on getting the same laptop with the same mouse. would you recommend the mouse? how far does the receiver stick out? pics would be really nice, but i understand if they can not be made available.

 

Sorry for the late reply aznarcher. I love my my VX Nano. Works like a dream. Receiver sticks out about 1/4 inch. Can barely notice it. Its absolutely great. Works on all surfaces and battery life is amazing. It is light, precise, and I like the 2-mode (friction or free-style) scroll wheel.

I definitively recommend this mouse, unless you have huge hands, in which case you may find it a bit small.

 

Actually, I've had mine on my lap almost non-stop since I got it, so its starting to feel heavier now

 

I have the Hitachi 7200/200 hard drive and it's EXTREMELY scratchy. It's the only complaint I have about my 1530, everything else is awesome

 

Thats really too bad. My 250GB 7200 Samung is dead silent. Wouldn't even know its there, honestly. I'd buy another in a heart beat. Performs very well also. Posted some bechmarks not so long ago. Very happy.