New m1330 arrived... a few little problems...

So, my m1330 arrived on Thursday. Was away for the weekend so only got a chance to fire it up this morning. First thoughts...

a) Don't know if it's the "CPU Whine" issue (I've never knowingly heard it before) but I definitely hear a very, very high pitched noise every so often. It's not consistent, just comes on at irregular intervals. Could be the sort of thing that would get annoying quite quickly.

b) The arrow keys feel "looser" to the touch than the rest of the keyboard, with the Down and Right arrows bordering on noisy. Is this normal?

c) I'm not blown away by the screen; I was expecting it to be far sharper. Is there something that I should be tweaking in the settings to sharpen things up a bit? When I go into the settings it says that the part number is LCD2306.

d) Maybe it's just me, but the top edge of the touchpad feels very sharp to the touch...

Need to know if all this is normal, because I'm a little underwhelmed so far.

 

I'll most likely be getting my M1330 today, so I'll let you know if it's normal or not.

 

I'm waiting for my 1330 to arrive as well... Either today or on Friday. I'll share my opinion as well.

 

a) the only time I can only hear the whine is when i stick my ears to the keyboard. How bad is yours?

b) arrow keys feels solid on mine

c) i guess you have a toshiba screen, unless its not on native resolution already then it is as sharp as you can get.

d) erm, sharp? maybe but nothing major there.

 

My whine is just starting to power up too..but can only be heard if you sit really close and focus but still it is to the point where it bother me. Paying for what we pay for this machine we should be able to get a perfect one. My keyboard seem good not like any of the problem I heard on here. I got the same LCD2306 I expect it to be better than that too but that's the best you can get with it I guess.

 

a) I should say that I have got very good hearing - I'm one of those poor souls who can tell whether hifi equipment / computers / televisions are on or off just because of that ultra-high noise they all seem to emanate when even in standby mode. I can easily hear the high pitched noise from the m1330 without "trying" to, if you know what I mean. My instinct would say that the noise is being emitted from somewhere in the front-right of the machine (somewhere between home and first base, if home plate was the headphone socket and the screen was the outfield fence )

b) Hmmm.... the noise from Down arrow is very irritating when flicking down through web pages. Might be the sort of thing that can be fixed by a tech.

c) I checked the resolution and all seems as it should be. Text just isn't great to read on the screen. Photos, on the other hand, seem to be fine. But yes, it's similar, though not as bad, as when an LCD monitor is being used in a non-native resolution.

d) by sharp, I mean that it seems like a much sharper edge than I've ever encountered on a touchpad before. Nothing to really worry about though! Just a by-the-way comment...

 

This has nothing to do with the screen itself, but with Vista's cleartype settings!

 

Sorry to hear about your issues. I got mine last Monday. Was never gonna to buy another Dell laptop (had poor experience some 5-6 years ago) but decided to get the 1330 because it is in the form factor I need as well as all the discounts.

I fortunately do not have the whine and I use mine in a very quiet environment.

My keys are fine, even though I didn't think they would perform a well when I took a first look at the keybord. However, I am not sure how well the paint will hold up.

I have the CM LED and by most account it is inferior, I was worried when I saw the P/N before receiving the unit, but so far it is not bad at all, not grainy as some had indicated, though it has light leak at top. Resolution & brightness seem to be as good or better than my daughter's MBP, but we are comparing apples & organges

The cut-out for the touch pad is a bit rough as it is not tapered, doesn't give a quality feel IMHO.

So far the issues I have: One loose screw inside the base, was able to retrieve it, the bezel for the LED (bottom edge) is bowing outward slightly, also happes on the top right section.

Otherwise, the sample I have is acceptable, oh, BTW, it goes without saying, the speakers simply bite.

 

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

I noticed something else last night - when you pick up the back end of the laptop while closed, there is a bit of give between the battery (6-cell) and the rest of the body. Is this normal?

 

I had a whine with my previous Latitude D620.
Dont ask me why this worked but it almost eliminated the noise completely.
Basically I went into the BIOs and set the USB ports to 'Hi-Speed', which they were not on by default since apparently this is supposed to use more battery power. As soon as I done this the noise was gone.
Not sure if you have this option in your BIOs, but I'd check anyway.