M1330 User Review

NOTE: BEFORE YOU START READING THIS REVIEW, I APOLOGISE ABOUT ME NOT HAVING A CAMERA AVALIBLE , ( CURRENTLY MINE IS BEING FIXED), AS SOON AS I HAVE ACCESS TO MY CAMERA AGAIN I WILL SWAP THE GOOGLE IMAGED PICTURES WITH PICTURES OF MY SPECIFIC LAPTOP , THANKS.

M1330 Review

Introduction

The M1330 is one of Dells best selling laptops and was the best selling laptop until it’s bigger cousin the M1530 came around. However when they first started shipping there seemed to be a number of problems and dell even admitted that they were struggling to get the colours for the lids right. So 6 months on, is the situation any better?

System Specifications

Crimson Red Lid - (Looks amazing!)
T7500 2.2Ghz 4mb Cache L2
2GB RAM
250gb 5400rpm HD
128mb 8400M GS Nvidea Graphics Card
LED Backlit Screen - TOSHIBA! - (LCD2306)
Fingerprint Reader
6 Cell 56Whr Battery
Wireless N Mini Card



I bought the M1330 because I needed a portable laptop for work (Kindly paid for by my work J ) that would have good battery good specification and portability. I also wanted an array of ports to link to monitors and sometimes projectors. I also already have an M1530 and I deemed it wasn’t portable enough for work so the M1330 is absolutely perfect for my needs.

I had read of various complaints about the M1330, In fact I made a brief list:

CPU Whine
Uneven Hinge Gaps
Grainy Screens / Dead pixels
Broken Fingerprint Readers
Intolerable Start up noises from the DVD drive
Uneven Base
Dislodged Hard drive/Battery
Loose screws
Dent in the corner

Luckily I have a very good system , I cannot hear a CPU whine, the fingerprint reader works, the screen is fantastic, the DVD noise isn’t that bad, the base isn’t uneven, the hard disc is in properly, there are no dents and the screws are all in. The only slight build quality defect is the left hinge gap which is sticking out a little bit more then my liking. The DVD slot load does make a noise but I would say it’s tolerable.



Overview of my specs

Crimson red - Believe me it looks HOT! - It looks professional and has style at the same time, I’m very glad my work gave me this colour

T7500 2.2ghz L4 Cache - Fortunately my work gave me the best proccessor avalible , I don’t really game on this as I have an M1530 as well but the extra “power under the bonnet” is nice to have.

2GB RAM

I knew for vista I should have 2gb + and that dell overcharge on notebook RAM, 2gb should be fine but if I have some spare money then I’ll buy 4gb

250gb 5400rpm HD

It has a high storage capacity even though I would have preferred to have had the 160gb 7200rpm, however you can't win everything in life and so I'm stuck with it. I’ve never really heard it and it seems find for it’s purpose.

128mb Nvidea 8400M GS

This is the highest configurable graphics option for the M1330, probably because a higher graphics card would overheat the system and maybe melt the nice casing? Who am I to know! It’s nice to have a graphics punch and I’m sure it helps vista.

LED Backlit Screen

What can I say, Brighter, Lighter , Thinner and more power efficient. It helps keep the weight down and makes it more streamlined, on highest settings it’s what I’d call “blinding”. I’m writing this review on the lowest settings for brightness and it seems absolutely fine. I got an “LCD2306”, The Toshiba and it’s absolutely perfect, no grain, and perfect for viewing.

6 cell battery

The 6 cell battery doesn’t stick out and has good battery life, I think the 9 cell would ruin the style of the laptop for me.

Features

The Mini Express Card Remote Control

A very nifty remote control which handily fits into the express card slot, Has Up, Down , Left and Right buttons , Sound controls and the standard, Play, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind and Pause



Multi Media Capacitive Buttons

The multi media capacitive buttons are the blue touch lit buttons at the front of the laptop when you put your finger on them they light up with blue LED’s , It has Eject, Rewind, Stop, Pause, Play , Fast forward, Mute , Volume up and Volume down. They are very effective and look very nice. Whoever thought of the idea was on to a winner, except I can’t help thinking the consequences if it ever came in contact with water.



Dual Headphone Jacks And Memory Card Reader

The dual headphone jacks are a very nice addition to the laptop, However if you were with a friend watching a movie , wouldn’t it be easier to have the sound on instead of “hugging” each other to get close enough to the laptop to have both headphones in. I still like the idea though, Maybe they could be on either end instead of next to each other.. I think I’m right in saying the memory card reader is 8 in one which is a good addition to all those media fans even though it would lack compatibility with a number of memory cards. Printed in white ink on the laptop it says, “SD/MMC Ms/Pro”.

Dell Media direct

I love the idea of having a button which takes you to all your applications and media without having to boot windows, it also has a number of settings to tweak to your needs including passwords and screen orientation.



Fingerprint reader

The fingerprint reader adds a feel of security but to be honest I don’t see it’s use. It takes me longer to scan my finger than type my password, that’s not time “saving” as advertised. It didn’t take me long to grasp it after a couple of tries I got the hang of how you were meant to scan your finger. It’s also meant to “add security”, I’m quite confused how this would help security as without it you have a password to enter and with it you could logon with a fingerprint reader or a password. Doesn’t that just open another door for attack?

Integrated Webcam

The webcam on my model is 0.3MP because I have the LED screen but it’s still okay for recording. What really is good about it is the software which is pre installed. The dell webcam suite is something to be praised. On Msn Instant Messenger if you go on webcam it has a number of fun effects like mirror, snowflakes etc which really are clever with face recognition. The webcam software also has numerous other features which really are at the peak of cleverness. As well as the normal picture taking and video recording, the software also can be set to send you an email if it detects motion and can also “remote monitor”. This allows you to your home using your webcam via your web-browser. Overall the webcam is a very effective feature which dell took full advantage of.

Wifi Catcher

The Wifi catcher enables you to find wireless hotspots without powering up, the blue LED lights up if there’s a wireless hotspot and it works effectively. I did have a couple of wireless driver issues bit I sorted them.

Ports




Note: There are no ports at the back of the laptop, Only the battery and fan.

The Added Extra’s


Laptop Case

Dell are very generous to throw in such a nice case, It shuts by magnets, a clever invention but magnets near screens? Hmm.. It also needs a strap so it can be carried around. Other then that it’s a very nice cushioned case and thumbs up to dell for including it in the price.



Leather Case for Instructions and CD’s

The leather case is also an added extra to the laptop. It is intended to be used for the instructions and the recovery discs and has a premium feel to it. Embroided into the front is the XPS logo.


Creative ear phones

The ear phones are more goodies that dell have decided to include are an added feature, with them they include ends for different ears which is also nice. However some people are commenting that you can hear static through them, luckily on my system I don’t hear any static. As dell included dual headphone jacks it might have been nice for them to include two sets of earphones.

Dell reinstall discs

Vista Home Premium
Media direct
Webcam manager
Microsoft Works 8.5
Dell Drivers And Utilities
Roxio DE Creator

Design

The design is well… WOW, Dell were given an image of making very dull machines with black all round but this laptop totally demolishes the stereotype but does make you wonder why they didn’t take this approach at the start of there career. It’s hinge design is also very clever, even if they have been using “clever” advertising to try to say it’s a 1.94cm laptop. In a sense that’s true but only at it’s slimmest point, at it’s thickest it’s around 3cm. What makes the design of the laptop so amazing is the detail and features put into it. The blue multi media capacitive buttons for example, they make it so much more appealing then basic quick start buttons.





LED Display

The LED display is another tick in the box for dell. Featuring better colour reprocation , thinner, lower power consumption , brighter and lighter it really is worth the extra money. Dell uses two companies for their LED displays, Chi Mei and Toshiba, I personally have a Toshiba and it’s great, no backlight bleed, no dead/stuck pixels, no defects what so ever! The display is 1200x800 ( WXGA) and is perfect for what I want. I never use on full brightness because it’s blinding with it on full, believe me!


One thing I’m not so fond of is the truelife coating , on lower brightness settings it really is too reflective for my liking. Here’s another user that feels the same way about it, http://www.matbennett.com/tech/dell-truelife-screen.php

Size Comparison

[ Will post pictures comparing the size of the M1330 once camera is fixed,]

Benchmarks and performance

3dmark06 = 1477
3dmark05 = 3702



Pro’s

Looks very sexy
Lots of features
Thin and light

Cons
2 Usb ports
Only Vista available to be pre installed
Slot load DVD player is noisy



Many thanks for reading, This will be updated once I receive my camera back from Sony to include better pictures and info.

I like constructive criticism too

 

thanks a lot for your review.
+1

for the constructive criticism...

would be nice to hear a little more about temps of the xps 1330, as well as some detailed information about the battery.

how long does it provide power for watching a dvd, normal office use with and without wlan enabled.... and how about heavy load, such as encoding or rendering ??

do you feel any flex in the case / palmrests / screen ?

 

Hey Schoko, I don't feel flex on the palm rests but I can flex the screen, Probably because it's LED back lit so it's quite thin. I have only had time to do one battery test. I left the laptop on watching a film on mid brightness with my 6 cell battery in and managed to get it to play for 2 hours 20 minutes.I Will try to do more battery tests as i'l go through updating this as soon as sony sends back my digital camera.

Thanks for the comments

 

First thanks for your review and I think the review is about perfect.

I was quite surprised to know Dell uses Toshiba LED.

BTW,what is your digital camera ?

 

Nice review, what driver did you use to get your 3dmark05 so high?

 

Also I'm wondering if you feel any hum or vibaration at all, when
your wrists are on the hand rests? Vibrations?
I'm typing on my 1210 now and feel no vibrations at all.
Thanks, great review

 

Also interested in what drivers you used for that benchmark. My 1330 arrives in 3 days and I want to maximize what it can handle, I'm keeping my expectations reasonable as gaming was not a major reason I chose it. That said, I saw a review by someone who played Crysis on their 1330 on mod settings. That would incredible to play Crysis even on low-mod settings on a notebook under 4lbs.

Thanks,

XPS M1330 (PRODUCT) RED
CPU- Intel C2D T9300 (2.5GHz, 800Mhz, 6M L2 Cache)
RAM- 3GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA LED Backlit LCD with VGA Camera
200GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Windows Vista Premium

 

great review +1

 

Firstly, Lappyforphotoshop I have a sony digital camera which got water damaged and which I sent to sony to repair. Worx, I used a driver off www.laptopvideo2go.com , I think it's 169.09. I also just did the 3DMark06 test again and got 1551, See screenshot below:



msjaneoly, If i'm being picky I can feel a slight vibration on the palm rests but not much. No humming though.

bed1rock, I have played the crysis demo on this M1330 with mostly low settings but a few medium.

Rnewman612, Thanks for the comments


EDIT: Just did 3D Mark 05 again and got 3538



Hmm, How odd 3D Mark 05 went lower , Mark06 higher.

 

Nice, well rounded review

+1 REP

 

anyone know if we can install Window XP on this?

 

Yes. Search the forums.

 

just found 'em

thanks

 

No problem

 

Craig, Thanks for the Rep. And Yes Windows XP can easily be installed, There are alot of drivers on dell but other sites also have drivers ,

 

would it be any hassle if I buy this XPS from Dell Outlet?

 

Hassle? No. But the machine probably won't be in mint condition.

 

Expect cosmetic blunders, Dents/scratchs but it will be working

 

Isn't 169.09 a desktop driver? ie. no power management?

 

I do not have any problems with the memory card reader. What cards did you find incompatible with the reader? You might also be interested in this review.

 

Praneeth, I'm not the most knowledgable on drivers but yes I am using 169.09, if anyone knows if this is desktop and could advise me on a better one i'd love to know. Sinstoic, I was actually wrong in my review in saying 6 in one, Its actually 8 in one , I was just saying it lacks compatibility with some cards as there are around 50 different types, E.g heres a 33 in one memory card reader http://www.amazon.co.uk/GZ-33-Memory-Card-Reader/dp/B000FIMNBG Thanks for your review link too.

 

Quote from LaptopVideo2go:

16x.xx series
169 series (v169.xx): NVIDIA's driver branch optimized for desktop GPUs.
167 series (v167.xx): NVIDIA's driver branch optimized for mobile GPUs.


Quote taken from here:

http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showforum=66

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=209066

Its a link to a page of an M1530 review with ingame pictures, He uses 169.28 drivers...

 

how long did you get for the battery life? Would it be more if it only comes with Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3000?

 

You'll get 45 min to 1.5 hrs more battery life with the integrated graphics than with the dedicated card based on posts I've seen here.

 

You could use the hacked 169 series desktop focused drivers on a notebook (specially one like the M1530 with a gaming focus) but you will need to watch your temps and also your battery life might be slightly affected. You will get better performance (likely) but there will be some battery life loss, and maybe heating.

 

so, it'll be 4-4.5 hours with intergrated graphics?

 

when i got my m1330, i was actually shocked at the weight because my friend has a toshiba portege and it weighs only about 2 pounds!

my m1330 with the 6 volt battery weighs 4.4 pounds. i like my m1330 but in a perfect world, it would weigh only 2 pounds!

 

If you underclock the graphics card then battery life would probably only last 15 minutes longer with intergrated.