M1330 Replacement Thread: come write your review here!

Hello, as many M1330 owners are waiting for their brand new baby to arrive I guess people who already have their replacements infrontof them can give you guys a taste of what the new M1330 looks like.

I don't have pictures yet cause I'm busy with work but I'll try to get them on sometime soon. Physically you wouldn't notice MAJOR changes (what I mean by that is a whole completely new design). However there are significant improvements made to their original design.

Physical changes:
1) Keyboard has less flex (it still does.. but reduced by half at least)
2) Better LED screen. I suspect that they've given me a CCFL after considering that my laptop got so much lighter and the screen was noticibly thinner.
3) Better viewing angles from new screens
4) Brighter screens compared to my old CCFL
5) Paint job done better (silver paint does not overlap into the black area of the lid
6) DVD-WRITER has gotten quiter. When it boots up instead of making this long whining noise, the duration of the noise has been reduced and noticbly less disturbing
7) Gaps near the hinges have been reduced slightly
8) CPU Whine issue fixed

Although M1330 has improved to a point where we can ALMOST say "that's what we really deserve" there are a few problems that they weren't able to fix (at least on my replacement) which arrived around 3 days ago.

Issues still not fixed:
1) teeth marks on the LCD screen is still showing (not as major now, but it still is)
2) When M1330 is placed on an angle, pressing the arrow keys will make a weird noise seeming as if an internal component is wobbling. ( Youtube video here)
3) M1330 wobbling issue has been reduced but it still wobbles under certain conditions. If you place M1330 on a completely flat table, M1330 will not wobble. However, when it is placed on a tiled type material where it is not completely flat it will wobble. What I mean by "not completely flat" is the tiles are seperated into even squares but there's gaps in between these tiles. It seems that a slight imbalance in the surface that you're placing your laptop on will cause M1330 to wobble.

 

updates: I've called tech support to talk to them about the keyboard issue and 2 things happened

1) He told me it wasn't a big deal (in other words: live with it)
2) Offered me a shipment to the depot for keyboard replacement which may take from 1- 7 days. (But I can't really do that cause I need it for university).

I was only offered these 2 choices.

Not long after he hung up I decided to play a bit of CS to see its performance and this is what happened



I'm not putting up with this anymore and so I'm going to file a return now

 

Wow! Considering this is Dell's one of the flagship xps system, and also one of the most popular, defects and problems like that are unacceptable. When I get a replacement, I am mentally prepared to return that as well. Not get it replaced, but return it for full refund. Do you know any other alternatives similar to M1330? Before the M1330 came out, I was looking into T61, but the 14.1in screen size turned me off. Sony Vaio SZ seems good, but I don't the specs like graphics card, etc.

 

how did that key come off??

 

no.. I'm quite lost at the moment actually...

Nothing can offer the same amount of power for battery life. I guess Viao SZ is good... but I'm looking at Apple as well... They still have the free ipod nano promotion until the 16th (tomorrow). The issue is I can't call customer service because it's closed during the weekends.... I prolly won't make it in time for that offer. I don't want it so that they only do a "credit" return cause that's what it says from the looks of my previous emails with dell.
I have to make sure i get a full refund before I can order another notebook...

Power wise, there's a lot of new notebooks out there that can perform simular to Macbook Pro such as Asus V2S-A1 which comes with a ton of stuff when yo umake your purcahse and LG R500. However, their size is bigger (14" for Asus and 15.4 for LG). I don't mind 14" actually, but the weight is a huge trade off. Asus' laptop is 14" but weighs 5.4 pounds =S (might as well as get an MBP then). At a premium price of 1900 something dollars, it offers spill proof keyboard but not LED backlit. Not to mention the battery life would significantly reduce due to Geforce 8600GT video card. I'm really lost at the moment too...

 

I was doing a weapon change on CS pressing #2 key for my hand gun and then suddenly poof it just poped out... when I took that picture the #2 key is in my hand.

 

Gotta hate dell! This was my first time getting a Dell, and if I don't get a decent replacement, which is set to arrive on Thursday, I think I am just going to opt out for Mac Book Pro. Only if Steve Jobs introduced 13.3 in MBP! Forget Dell than! I will look into ASUS.

Thanks for replying!

 

well it depends if you really want go game... if you don't mind gaming then get macbook 13.3"

 

just started noticing the cpu whine in my replacement tho my original system didn't have it

 

I'm a little hooped right now, considering my M1330 just CRACKED on the screen.

I was trying to open the unit when it was stuck on a 45 Degree angle and won't open or close.

After shaking it, lightly tapping and gently wrestling for a good 5 minutes, I ran out of patience and tried to pry the laptop open, only to be greeted by a cracking nose; the left chuck of the spine flew right off, and there's a visible crack on both ends of my laptop on the outer layer of the chassis.

Surprisingly, my laptop still worked with no problem. I'm waiting on the replacement that Dell has promised me, but also worried that they may charge me again for the replacement laptop.

Can anyone offer me any insight on whether or not they'd do this?

 

Cracked?! If it's within 30 days (or 21, I think?), they don't charge for replacement. They send you a new laptop (hopefully), and you decide which one you want to keep, and then mail one of them back to Dell.

 

Yeah, they shouldn't give you a problem, but you did break it. If you have complete care than don't worry, if not you may need to do some haggling to get it replaced (usually damage isn't covered but Dell doesn't care most of the time).....

 

wow sounds about the same luck ive had with the 1500/1520 systems ive had so far.. dell's overall quality has been crap.. this is the last chance they have with me.. this will be number 5 they granted have compensated me VERY VERY WELL.. i cant complain there but who cares if the system ends up free if all it has are problems, i know i would rather pay more for something i will not have to constantly be worried about or that has to be repaired all the time

 

They won't charge you extra for the replacement laptop as long as you return 1 complete laptop to them within 14 days. It is safe to order a replacement. However, you're looking at 2 - 4 weeks of wait time.

 

I got my 2nd replacement on Friday. After 3 M1330's, I can say that none of them have been perfect. The latest one doesn't sit even on a flat surface; it wobbles as many others have noted. The battery is loose, which may contribute to some of the wobble. With A05 bios, the fan behavior is very erratic. The laptop gets hot before the fan turns on, then it runs and runs even when the notebook is cool again. This was not a problem I had on any of my previous M1330's with A02 bios. All of my M1330's have had the Toshiba display. My 1st replacement has an exceptionally bright display, much more so than any of the other M1330's

 

They will send you a laptop regardless of the 30 days or not if the technical team says it is necessary. The 30 day however, has 2 rules 1) They can't send you a refurbed machine within those 30 days 2) You can do a full refund in those 30 days.

After those 30 days you will be charged 15% restock fee off the price of your current M1330 and they don't have to send you a NEW M1330.

 

yep.. that's why I'm now opting for a 13.3" Macbook. I know the specs sucks and all but hey! It's an Apple =)

Plus, I've been reading around the forums and people are telling me how busy life at university gets and that you really don't have much time to go play games by the time you reach year 2ish 3. So might as well as opt for a machine that do my work and leave it at that. Since I'll be watching more dramas and movies, most likely an intel G950 will do the job just fine.

 

Last week, my M1330 began to make an annoying low pitch fan noise. So I called Dell for a replacement. Though my request was not in the first 30 days, the rep didn't mentioned any restocking fee. The rep even didn't ask why I want to exchange the system. Also, the production seems really quick, the estimated date is September 24.

 

well, for the restocking fee it won't apply unless you're asking for a refund. I bet those reps have heard enough that's why they just exchanged it for you but when I asked for a replacement they did ask for what problems were noticed. On my new replacement I did hear the low pitch whine that you were talking about but only audible when I held my ear close to it so to me it wouldn't have caused me to return my dell. What caused me to return my dell was mainly the keyboard on my replacement that #1) was not assmebled well #2) keys fell off.

This created a sense of insecurity in me. Right now it's just a key falling off and a slightly wobbling keyboard, what would happen if there are other parts that are also not well assmebled? I don't want my 1 yr warranty to expire and then noticing that my bluetooth malfunctions and my optical drive falls out.

I was not pleased at all when their technical rep told me "the keyboard is wobbling only at an angle and it's highly unliked that you'll use the keyboard at an angle like that". In fact I was angry because it sounded like he was saying "it's such a little problem, how can you be bothered by it?" It's a 2k investment and seriously if you think 2k is nothing, then you can gimme 2k right now.

I had a cpu whine last time and now a good replacement with a messed up keyboard. All I have to say is I'm through with dell's award losing technical support and their "quality testing"