Question to owners of a Dell XPS M1330

I am considering the purchase of an M1330 and need some advice from
owners.

1. Is there a noticable improvement in display quality with the LED backlit display? I know that it is lighter, thinner and more energy efficient. Just not sure if its worth the extra $250
2. Did any of you go with the 7200rpm hard drives. Where would you notice the performance improvement vs. a 5400rpm drive.
3. How is the 9 cell primary battery. I read reviews where the 9 cell keeps the unit from sitting correctly on a table.
Is it annoying in anyway (like in the T61 where its way too obtrusive).
4. Where can I find discounts or promotional offers for Dell XPS laptops. I didn't find any on the ones listed for Dell on this website.
5. I have a choice between the 1.8 and 2.2GHZ processor. I am not sure if I am going to see much of a performance difference.
I definitely plan on getting 2GB of RAM.
6. Are there any encryption tools built into the hardware to support data encryption in the event that my laptop is lost or stolen and I want to protect my data? Windows Vista has the bitlocker feature but requires specific hardware to support it.
7. Regarding the CompleteCare Accidental Damager Service, has anyone been successfull with a claim?
This service is supposed to cover accidental spillage etc. I just want to make sure its worth the extra money.

 

1. Yes...much brighter and not yellowy at all.
2. Not much under normal circumstances
3. No, it sits flat and even in all but a few with defects.
4. Look at my Purchase thread below 'How to'
5. If its free get the 2.2 of course
6. No. Bitlocker on Ultimate works great in 32bit mode. You can encrypt everything very well. You can get Lojack if you wish.
7. Complete care is well worth it and XPS support doesn not try and screw you. Somehting happens its replaced.

 

IMO, I don't know if the LED screen is worth the extra $$. I've got the CCFL screen and have absolutely no complaints about it at all......there's nothing wrong with it.

If you're watching your budget, spend the money on other extras/upgrades. If money isn't an object, then go nuts.

 

It's worth it IMO also. Not to mention more values when you sell it.

 

I've owned 13 different laptops and currently have 4. When I first turned on my M1330, I thought the LED looked dim and ordinary. Then I put my BenQ (200 nits) beside it and realized the M1330 was actually far brighther and the "white" that I've been looking at for the last 2 years was actually "yellowish-white". LOL!

That said, I wasn't completely happy with the M1330 especially with the build quality. There were gaps all over, an uneven base and a creaking left-side palmrest. I hope that Dell have improved the quality since.

 

definitly get the LED screen, its hands down the best screen i have ever seen in my life.

 

You could feasibly upgrade the RAM, Bluetooth, WWAN, WLAN and HDD's yourself... but the screen, you're stuck with.

From this perspective your purchase decision is made for you. Spend extra on the screen and factor this excess cost elsewhere, on parts that you could upgrade yourself at a later date.

 

I took my M1330 with the LED screen outside in the sun over he weekend. I was impressed with how good it looked. I was in bright sun and the screen was clear, sharp looking and easy to see. That was much better than any of my CCFL laptops. I'd say it is worth it.

 

I heard Bitlocker can work using a USB stick but I think it is recommended to use a TPM module with it and as far as I know the TPM features of the fingerprint coprocessor don't add up to a full TPM module - so I haven't considered turning on Bitlocker.