M1530 Blu-ray drive part no?? (will it maybe fit a 1330??)

A couple of questions.... Has anyone placed an order for an M1530 yet? If so, could I get you to look at the detail parts list and post the part number for the Blu-ray drive? I'm going to try and research and see if it'll fit in a M1330.

Also, a secondary question. Is the M1530 gigE? I configured one and nowhere that I could find did it mention the Ethernet speed of the built in NIC.

Thanks

 

Don't know about the BD stuff, but the ethernet is gigabit. I would imagine the BD slot-loader of the 1530 would work with the 1330 but there may be bios locks involved. Still worth a try IMO if you have the money.....

 

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Where did you find the GigE info?

I'm starting to get tempted.....

 

This is an excellent line of thought. Modding an M1330 with the Blu-ray drive and gigE from M1530 parts would be fantastic upgrades.

Five star thread.

 

Yea, I like the 4lbs and the size of the 1330.... don't game so vid card isn't a big issue to me

Now, if I could have my cake and eat it too.....

The NIC is 'imbedded' (on the mobo chipset) so I doubt that will upgrade.
I will do the Blu ray if I can.

Interesting note: I don't ever even plug an RJ45 in to my 1330, because of the 100Mb ethernet. I have a draft N AP (Linksys 655, which does have built in gigE), so with the draft N in the 1330, the speed is faster wirelessly than with the damn 100Mb ethernet.

 

I was thinking the same thing about the blueray drive, looking forward to hearing about your findings. Note, however, that the m1530 configuration page lists that the 8600M gt graphics card is required to select blueray, an option not available on the m1330.

 

We haven't been able to configure Draft-N here in England for some time on the M1330. I have no idea why.

Please keep us updated if you (or any member for that matter) decide to explore this mod furthur.

With Blu-ray often touted for the M1330's future would this not imply a GPU update for the smaller notebook inline with the M1530?

 

And that very well could be the case because blu-ray requires some pretty heavy processing that might even struggle somewhat with the 8600GT).

 

I think the 8400gs will work fine with blu-ray. Dell supposedly requires you to get the 8600m gt because it costs more. As long as you have at least a 2GHz Core 2 Duo, then it should play fine.

If the blu-ray is a super slim model that will fit the m1330, then I will buy it and give my results once someone posts the part number.

 

The optical drives on the XPS m1330 and m1530 are slot loading. You cannot take them out of the system. So even if they are the same drive, nothing can be done with it

 

I think the M1530 is 10/100 no gigabit.. similar to M1330. Or am I missing something?

 

Even though the m1330 has a slot loading drive, it doesn't mean it can't be replaced. You just have to go through the hassle of taking the system apart to swap the drives. I have a feeling it would work fine.

 

What the hell are you talking about? You can take whatever you want out of the system. We're not talking about quick swap or something, you'd obviously have to disassemble the computer partially, but that hardly means "nothing can be done."

 

lol...if it can be installed in the system, it can be taken out/swapped.

I've been taking apart Dell laptops for a good part of a decade, the M1330 is no different....and unlike other manufacturers, Dell desn't have the "if broken is Void" warranty sticker.

 

Yes, the DVD can be taken out of the 1330. I watched the tech replace the motherboard, and one of the items he had to remove was the DVD drive. I also wonder if the 1530 drive fits in the 1330..

 

Sounds like a good plan. I have tried the XBOX 360 HD-DVD drive and can output gogeous HD over the HDMI - it struggled a bit even with T7500, 4GB, GS but much better running under XP. Really only works well in single monitor mode.

The version of cyberlink (v6) that comes with the M1330 does not support HD-DVD - I had to get a copy of PowerDVD 7 Ultra to support High Def. Even so it is really flakey due to the digital rights bollox. Plays well on the built in monitor, about 40% of the time on my HD projector.

The killer is there is no digital sound output on the M1330 so I cannot feed it into my surround processor for 5.1 sound. I can get 5.1 out of the 3 front outputs, but not many DSPs have discrete 5.1 inputs. This is REALLY annoying. The audio card spec says it supports digital out through 3.5mm jack. I don't know if the HDMI contains audio or not (have heard both ways), but I run a projector, not a TV so cannot use it even if it is present. I suppose I could always get a new DSP that supports HDMI.

I have been at Dell support as the manual mentions a dongle to get digital audio out, they told me it was cut-and-paste-itis from a different manual.

 

Ok the laptop drives are standard just as if you had a standard desk top burner or rom drive and you replaced it with say Brand 10 and you had brand 2 to start off with.
Now the Notebook drives (Slim drives or Half Height Drives) as they are known come in two Standard sizes 12.7mm High and 9.5mm High all other dimensions are equal or near too.
The next factor to note is the rear of the se drives has a mini connector which sometimes have a Piggy back-board to suit the said manufactor of the Laptop for connection. These can be remove along with any other hardware support from the original to the New drive.
Needed will be codec or software player to support such funtions of the extra media BR. It may or may not play smooth (BR) but the drive will fit into the laptop..
End OFF

PS:
Cyberlink Powerdvd Ultra Deluxe V7.3.3516 is one said media player

 

Gefen makes a 'break out box' - HDMI in / DVI with TOSLINK Audio out
Model: EXT-HDMI-2-DVIAUD

Since my Dell 24" is DVI, I'm going to try this.

 

the bluray drive in my 1530 is a mat****a bd-e u250 or something like that. i can't quite remember the exact model number...

 

oh - they blanked out the name!

it's mats-hita (without the hyphen!)

 

Has anybody found some information about this matsu****a bd-e u250 drive?
(something like 2x bd write speed, 8x DVD write speed, and such)

 

The Blue-Ray mini Panasonic is a slim line slot-in Blu-Ray burner from Panasonic with 50GB (DL) data capacity. It is embedded in a silent box, which absorbs vibration and noises and ensures a very quiet operation. The will be dissipated with copper plates to the outer heatsinks of the case.

The Blue-Ray mini will be mounted with 2 transparent acrylic glasses and connected with the motherboard with IDE.

Features:
> very quiet and slim slot-in Blue-Ray burner
> anti-vibration and silence
> cooling with copper plates
> easy mounting

Specification:
Model: UJ-255-B
Capacity: SL 25GB / DL 50GB
2X Speed BD-R (SL) Writing/Reading
1X/1,6X Speed BD-R (DL) Writing/ Reading
2X Speed BD-RE (SL) Writing/Reading
1X/1,6X Speed BD-RE (DL) Writing/Reading
2X Speed BD-ROM (SL/DL) Reading
5X Speed DVD-RAM Writing/Reading
8X Speed DVD-R/+R (SL) Writing/Reading
2-2,4X/6X Speed DVD-R/+R (DL) Writing/Reading
4X/6X Speed DVD-RW/+RW Writing/Reading
8X Speed DVD-ROM (SL) Reading
6X Speed DVD-ROM (DL) Reading
8X/24X Speed CD-R Writing/ReadingConnector: IDE
Dimension: 16*14*2,2cm
Weight: 450g

Package contents:
1 Blu-Ray burner
1 Silence box with mounting material
1 cable connector for open-close button
1 IDE adapter


This is not the same model your asking bout but the 255 this will give you some idea...

 

Thank you BlackRussian.
How close do you think the drives will be?

One more thought: When I changed my order the sales rep stated that the BD drive is not a "write" BD drive. He said it would just read BD's.
How much can I trust this sales rep?

 

if it doesn't write, i'll be seeking a refund!

specs when i ordered:
Blu-ray Disc Drive (BD/DVD/CD burner w/double layer BD write capability)

having said that, i wouldn't even know how to test it - where can i buy blank bluray discs??!

 

To find out your drives spec download Nero info Tool or DVDinfo.

DVDInfo¬
# Blu-ray and HD-DVD support
# New System Information feature with accurate cpu speed calculation
# New Samsung PIPO parity scanning.
# New Benq fast PIPO scanning for 8x and 16x drives
# New PIPO data & graphical save formats (PNG, GIF, JPG, BMP>
# New Colour options for graphs and plotting via colour picker
# New DVD-RDL, DVD+RDL (Double Layer) support added
# LG, BENQ, NU, NEC, BTC, Liteon, Micro Advantage bitsetting added
# Access to new DVD-R/RW bitsetting functions added by Nu, BTC and Micro Advantage
# New Media revision field added to Media info
# CD/DVD Speed & Error Test functions
# Expanded Drive & Media Info sections.
# Recognition of DDCD, HD-BURN & Mt Rainier technologies
# Check for program update on web feature.
# Regular updates.
# And More...

 

i looked again last night - the bluray drive in the m1530 is a mats-hita bd-e uj225 drive

still no idea what read/write speeds it does, but i imagine it's similar to the one above...

 

One quick question, why do you need more than 100mbit ethernet? Unless you live in Korea or Sweden your internet connection won't even be getting near that.. or am I missing something else?

 

james_s,
you are missing two things:
a) this is not a thread about the LAN connection. You should have started a new one or picked one where it was already mentioned.
b) if you share a connection in your house with others and do like file sharing, video streaming over your in-house network, .... you might need a higher speed than 802.11g or a 100 MB/s connection can deliver.

 

I was going off the first (and some subsequent posts) that dealt with gigabit ethernet, e.g: "Also, a secondary question. Is the M1530 gigE? I configured one and nowhere that I could find did it mention the Ethernet speed of the built in NIC."
and "Interesting note: I don't ever even plug an RJ45 in to my 1330, because of the 100Mb ethernet. I have a draft N AP (Linksys 655, which does have built in gigE), so with the draft N in the 1330, the speed is faster wirelessly than with the damn 100Mb ethernet."... but that's neither here nor there really.

Thanks for the info.

 

I have bad news..... the bottom line is - nope.

I just attempted to do the swap, this evening.

But, the Panasonic Blu-Ray UJ-225 (DPN RX602) is ~11mm tall.
The stock drive is ~9mm tall.

First, I had to swap the 'rails' (mounting brackets) between the units because they had completely different mounting points. 3 out of the 4 rail mounting screw holes in the new drive lined up. I could have drilled out the rail to make the 4th one fit. So, that was not the deal breaker.

But, when I placed the new drive in the 1330, it was obvious the taller height of the new drive would be a problem. The loading slot in the frame of the machine didn't line up with the drive's slot. I tried to put a CD in and it because it wasn''t exactly lined up, the CD wouldn't go into the drive.

There are raised ribs molded into the bottom chassis that the stock driv rests on. These could possibly be "Dremmeled' a bit to make the new drive work.

But that is where I drew the line and just put my machine back together, with the stock drive back in it.

Darn - I gave it a good try...

 

Accidentally dremmeling through the bottom of your notebook is covered under Complete Care, I believe.

 

So what you're saying is that the drive of the 1530 does not fit to the 1330 or you tried a drive you bought from elsewhere?

Just wondering if I can buy a drive later and replace it in the laptop...

 

Sorry, I thought I was clear.... the answer is NO.

The Panasonic Blu-Ray UJ-225 (DPN RX602) **IS** the Blu-Ray drive that is an option in the 1530. I got it from Dell - (DPN = "Dell Part Number")

It is too 'tall' (~2mm) for the m1330's drive bay, unless you are brave enough to do some chassis modifications - and even this might not give you enough room for the 2mm 'taller' UJ-225 to precisely line up with the CD/DVD insertion slot on the side of the m1330. Which it has to to not only function properly, but to avoid scratching the crap out of your disks.

 

It has to be do-able somehow. It goes against logic for Dell to design two similar notebooks only to have to bulk order two entirely unique drives for a near identical chassis.

It wouldn't make financial sense for Dell not to eventually use the same components between the two.

Fantastic effort though, and thanks for reporting back with your findings.

 

When will we see an HD-DVD slot loader or combo slot-loader?

 

wrong. You will never see max speeds for your wireless. Hardwired will always be faster.

 

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=11072

Will this be the answer to our prayers?

 

Looks like tray type, not slot loading...

 

I easily get >150Mbps on my draft n. That sure seems faster than the 100Mbps limit imposed by the 10/100 NIC built into the 1330...

 

Well given that the laptop theme set by Steve Jobs this year is "compromise", I might give up the slot wow-factor to the ability of doing 25GB data backups in the field...

-=EDIT=- : sorry, but did not factor the chassis limitation factor. Oh well, there's always the possibility of an extranal drive :'(

-=EDIT #2=- Looks like Apple MacbookPro also requires a 9.5mm slot-loading drive, so who knows...

 

I can't wait till Q2 2008...

Panasonic will likely release a slot-in version as well like they did with the older drives.

 

Anything new with this idea?????