M1210, you happy now?

just to make sure i'm getting the right notebook.. any comments on the battery life, screen size, performance and hardware would be appreciated.

 

Everything works great. The screen is just right, the performance is unmatched for the price/size, battery life is better than expected, and the build quality is superb.

The only gripe I have is that I wish it had a DVI-out instead of VGA out and the speakers are a bit subpar. Other than that it is all thumbs up. IMHO of course

 

Yeah if it has a DVI port, better speakers, and a better video card, It would be perfect. I mean if they could put a 7600 in it and have it create the same amount of heat it would be awesome. But thats not really possible. Its a good notebook.

 

I agree about the desire for a better video card with dedicated memory, but I think that the 7400 is sufficient for casual gamers who want an upgrade over the integrated intel graphics.

And on the screen...I definately wouldn't want anything smaller than the 12.1", but I would like to see Dell make an entry into the 13.3" market with an XPS or inspiron model.

 

very happy with mine, waited long than others to get mine, and have a couple weeks of use on it. Met all my expectations, and no regrets.

 

so where are the people who said they hated it? I would love to hear their reasons...

 

i hate the battery life... it last too long... I usually wanna keep the battery in good condition by draining it completely and recharging it completely... this is a whole different story... this computer FORCES me to game on it to kill battery life :'(.. I HATE IT!!

 

I love mines

 

same here, id say they are either buyers that got lemons, or people that dont even own one.

 

Battery life is great. I have the 6 cell, integrated graphics, and a 5400 rpm HD, and I can muster 4 hours and 15 minutes out of it using programs like NHC (notebook hardware control) and about half brightness.

Screen size seems fine to me. Ive been using 15" screens all my life, but this works out perfectly. Performance and hardware are all good to. I love the keyboard and touchpad, compared to some other laptops ive used.

 

have you had any problems with NHC on your m1210? I read of some install problems with the latest version. Is there a bat life improvemnt over the stnd dell/xp management?

 

^yeah I want to know to. I read how so many laptops get the BSOD from using this program.

 

My XPS M1210 is using the latest NHC with no issues, it froze after it was installed but after restarting it, it works fine now.

 

I am extremely pleased with the m1210. I didn't cut any corners on the options, so it was pricey. Outside of price, the only negatives I have are:
- Lack of a real docking solution
- It runs a little warm
- All of the cr@p that Dell includes in the bundle that has to be uninstalled (or start with a fresh build)

Here is my config from my order summary:
XPS M1210, Intel Core Duo Processor T2600 (2.16GHz/ 667MHz FSB)
12 inch Wide-screen WXGA Display with TrueLife, Camera,WW Ant, Ear Buds, for XPS M1210
2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm for XPS M1210
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 TurboCache, for XPS M1210
100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive,for XPS M1210
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 English
Integrated 10/100 Network Cardand Modem, for Inspiron
8X DVD+/-RW Drive, for XPS M1210
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps), for XPS M1210

This is my first laptop from Dell. I have used only HP/Compaq since the Armada days. My m1210 replaced an HP nc6000.

 

Everything about my M1210 is fine, but I could really use modular bay, which made me lean towards the W3J. In the end though, the Dell Outlet pricing made the decision for me. Now that I have it, being able to oc to 523/1.05 stable is pretty nice.

 

Ya it's great after returning two with crappy Toshiba LCD's! C'mon Dell, at least look at the finished product!

 

You'll get crappy LCDs with any model of computer...it's the luck of the draw.

 

Having owned mine now for a couple of months - I can tell you it is a winner.

I like the small size much better. I don't miss a bigger screen at all. Unless they come out with a video card that can do better resolution than (1280x800) - I don't see the point in wanting a larger screen (unless you sit very far away from your laptop or are using it as a tv sometimes)

Battery life is excellent with the 9 cell.

Fit and finish is very very good - on par with Apple MacBook.

Too much bloatware is my only complaint.

 

Unless they come out with a video card that can do better resolution than (1280x800) - I don't see the point in wanting a larger screen (unless you sit very far away from your laptop or are using it as a tv sometimes)

Acutally, the 7400go can do much more than 1280x800. Maybe not so well in games, but it looks great running DVD's and such at 1680x1050 on my 22" Samsung.

 

I love my M1210. It has great battery life, lightweight despite people complaining that 4.5-5lbs is too much (weaklings..you need to go to the gym). Overall it's a great little notebook that you can bring anywhere and you won't be disappointed with your selection. The only downside is the bloatware pre-installed and the subpar speakers but did you honestly expect 5.1 surround sound?

 

I too love my m1210. This is one screaming laptop, faster than anything I'm around. I use some resource heavy stuff in my job, and it can handle everything I throw at it like a breeze. My only complaint are the poor speakers (kind of a lame complaint as I've never heard good speakers on a laptop) and the massive bloatware. Actually the bloatware complaint is mitigated by the sheer joy of reformatting the hd and blowing that junkware up and then seeing just how fast this thing can go without the extra weight. What a great laptop. Size? Never seemed fat OR heavy to me, just SOLID. Keyboard is easy to type all day on. Battery life is good enough to work until I want a break. Seriously the best laptop I've seen. Period. Glad I researched it so well before I bought it. Can't think of one I'd trade it for.

 

I don't own one personally but I know people who do so I have had experience with theirs. I love the m1210. Sure it's not perfect but it's VERY close. I have wanted one since it first came out. I wish I had the cash, because if I did It would be ordered the very second I had enough money to pay the bill.

 

The laptop is flawless except it has sound stuttering when playing Battlefield 2142, even when hardware acceleration is set to emulation (off). Anyone have any others how to fix it? I did not get the Audigy upgrade.

dL

 

What are you talking about? Not wanting to carry a certain weight doesn't mean they don't have the ability to. So, are you saying every person that buys a 12" ultraportable is a weakling that needs to go to the gym?

Unless you happen to be a professional weight lifter, I'm sure many of them are probably stronger than you.

Also, with your logic everyone should carry 17" laptops with the best performance, because 8lbs + in itself isn't very heavy. Oh no, you don't want to? Woah, you use a 12" laptop instead of a 17" laptop? Dude, you're a weakling, go to the gym.

 

Take a chill pill. He's just saying that despite this laptop being a 4.5-5lbs, it's still a great ultraportable laptop since some people complain about this laptop due to its added weight compared to competitors.

Enough said, just go read the November 2006 issue of PC Magazine and you'll see who wins the ultraportable segment.

dL

 

LOL on par with Apple MacBook? Gimme a break. Surpasses Macbook's build quality. Talk about discoloration and overheating causing the "polycarbonate" to start melting.

Only complain with the m1210 build quality is the scratch mark that may appear after opening and closing the lid for a long time.

dL

 

I actually do go to the gym for the past two years actually. I'm sorry if I offended you but I was just saying how people complain about something that weights 0.5 lbs more than it should. I think you took this a bit too serious and no I got a M1210 cause its sexy =]

 

To nx6288.

Yeah, I did get a bit worked up.

It's just that I've seen that "you weakling you need to work out more" line used a bit around here.

And, I don't appreciate the assumption that anyone who is fickle or picky about their 1-2k$ investment is a weakling and needs to go work out, lol.

Sorry if I took your statement to mean more than it did.

On the other hand, I don't know what you're talking about dL.

Maybe you should take a chill pill as well.

I was talking in general about the weight comment and nothing more. So I have no idea why you're bringing up PC magazine to prove that the m1210 is such a great laptop.

 

Its a great laptop. Everything I need. Good looks, great power, good battery, durable. I couldnt be more pleased with a laptop. And ya, it blows the macbook away coz

- no overheating
- GPU
- rotating webcam
- no discoloration
- completecare
- no random shutdowns
- no mooing

 

I ran the exact same poll a couple months ago & am glad to see that the M1210 still seems to be extremely popular. The results of my poll were identical.....resounding support for this little beasty!!
I want one!!!!

 

The laptop is awesome, the only complain i have is the user.

 

no complains - bloatwear can be removed and the paint stripping is just the excuse i need to do my own paint job

 

a bit too thick. They should have tried to get it as close to 1" thick as possible. Vertical viewing angles are pretty bad even with the auo screen.

other than that, its a good laptop.

 

Did anyone ever get the sound stuttering thing sorted when playing games? I rang up Dell support and they seemed to be at a loss.
BTW, I have posted up a mini review at www.michael-fraser.com enjoy.

 

I love mine, got it through the outlet with a t5600,2gig 667,dvdrw and gf7400 for under a grand shipped, the price,power,portability factors are completely unmatched, its by far the most useful and practical portable pc on the market right now

no sound stuttering in prey,empire at war,BFME2 or forces of corruption, only games I've tried so far, and they all run great, max res, high details, no aa, also a note, the new bios(a04) upgrade improves the sound a little bit, it might help your problem

 

i love my m1210

 

I have the same problem with the Battlefield 2142 Demo and Americas Army: SF. A skipping sound every 3 seconds. It seems to only do this with downloaded games. At least these two. I also have a copy of Homeword 2 and it runs and sounds fine. Sound card drivers?

Overall a great notebook. Very powerful for it's size. Wish it had a more powerful video card but the Go7400 is very good. 80FPS inside and 30FPS outside for Americas Army: SF. Highest graphic settings at native resolution.

I also have a 2.0 Core 2 Duo, 7200 80GB HD, with 2GB Ram, it's very fast and can easily multitask. Downloading, virus scan, web, and adding hundreds of songs to the MP11 libary without hitches.

If anyone fixed the sound problem let me know.

 

Bump, does anyone know how to solve this problem.

 

i'm experiencing this sound problem as well while using skype + world of warcraft. any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

I'm having a similar sound problem with world of warcraft + ventrilo. Every 3 seconds the sound skips.

 

Bump. A lot of people seem to have this problem. Anyone have a fix?

 

I voted for hating it just to stir the pot

 

When I plugged in a mic and switched ventrillo to use sigma tel audio instead of the notebook cam, the skipping sound disappeared. So there must be some conflict with vent and the built in mic.

 

Pros: Lots!

Cons:
-No DVI
-A bit Thick and Heavy, not too bad though
-Very Weak Speakers
-Sound skipping
-Terrible screen viewing angles
-Battery life is not great.
-No gigabit ethernet
-Buttons on front are hard to push (Play, Pause, etc.)
-Card Reader is very slow *Very useable, but very slow compared to an external usb 2.0 reader
-Air intake on bottom
-Poor webcam quality considering how its a hyped up Logitech (Relatively good though)
-Dedicated Graphics are nice... but an ATI or a Go7600 would be better suited... Go7400 is often slower then my 3 year old thinkpad with a Radeon 9600...Even Vistas Performance Index thinks so....and thats saying something.

Overall: Fantastic Notebook!

 

I love my XPS however the slightest pressure on the screen causes ripples. I also would of liked the 7400 to have had 128MB dedicated memory.

 

What steps did you take exactly? Do you have to somehow turn off the camera mic?

 

With the way nvidia implements turbo cache, you get virtually the same performance with 64 meg as you would with 128 dedicated, check the benchmarks between a m1210 and a like configured sony vaio equivelent, the m1210 actually outperforms it in some cases, the only way 128 dedicated would have a big payoff would be if you were using 512 or less system ram, and pretty much nobody does that anymore, in the end its just a very effective cost saving measure with a minimal impact on performance

 

I had to click setup in vent and choose sigma tel audio as the input device.

 

hmmm I have the m1210 and play both music (winamp streaming audio at that) and my friend also has the m1210. He mentioned about issues he had with playing music while playing games and that the sound skips. I was not looking forward to this when i got my m1210. However this problem doesn't affect my laptop. The big difference is his has the intergrated cam and mine does not....


WHO HAS AUDIO SKIPPING ISSUES IN GAMES that DOES NOT have the intergrated camera?



Oh and to go along with the original thread....I have always wanted the m1210 and it rocks hardcore! Money well spent!

 

I have the problem with the 3 second sound skip+intergrated cam/mic. Can't fix it.