Smallest 'full power' dell laptop? (currently have a new rev. m1330)

To make this brief - I believe I received one of the newer m1330's - There are no paint overspray problems on the cover and the hinge alignment is much better. However, the cover (where the power/home/audio buttons are located) is still VERY flimsy on the left side and it creaks/complains when you pick it up or move the lcd. In general the build quality is disappointing compared to any latitude or my old m1210. I wish dell still sold the m1210..

I decided to send it back and get a D430 and just deal with a slow cpu (ulv).. but I just realized that the D630 is 'barely' larger than the m1330 - and I can get a high res lcd to boot!

Why are people still buying the m1330's? The D630 is actually a little bit smaller 'depth-wise', and only 1/2" wider..


Do the D630's have any issues like the m1330's?

 

The latitude line is usually built very solid for business users. And they have excellent support, so the D630 is a fine choice.

 

Any idea if the D630 9 cell battery sticks out or is larger than the 6 cell?

Also - has anyone used the d/view notebook stand? Impressions? I use an lcd as a secondary monitor so it looks like it'd bring the laptop up next to the lcd

 

dont know if it sticks out, but of course its going to be larger! it has 3 more cells in it...

 

the 9 cell on the 630 actually sticks out of the front of the machine - kind of like a wrist rest. I like that better than the way to do the extended battery on the 1330.

Even better, though, is the media bay battery. Pull out the optical drive and put in th e media bay battery and you get tons of extra battery life with no change in exterior dimensions. With the 6 cell and the media bay battery, I can get close to 7 hours unplugged doing normal work stuff. I imagine I'd get close to 10 hours with the 9 cell + media bay.

On 1330 vs. D630 - the biggest trade-off with the 630 is lack of color options and lack of media card reader. Pluses are higher screen res options, wider processor choice, docking capabilities and OS options. On build quality, I can't do a direct compare as i don't have my 1330 yet - but the 630 is pretty solid. I think pretty much any laptop is going to creak when you pick it up by a corner, though - at least I've never seen one that didn't and I've owned Toshiba, Acer, Apple, IBM and Dell laptops over the years.

 

That doesn't automatically mean it sticks out... my m1330 has three battery options - a 4 cell, 6 cell, and 9 cell. The 6 cell doesn't stick out at all.

 

I've ordered and setup literally 100's of dell laptops and the latitudes are almost always built better than the inspirons. The xps line is supposed to be the 'top of the line' dell - my m1210 was built like a latitude/precision but the m1330 is built like an inspiron. The creaking noise is excessive on my m1330 - I thought people were overreacting with all of the complaints - but imo, most of the complaints are legitimate. I don't wanna junk up this thread since plenty have complained...

I also (incorrectly) assumed that the m1330 would be smaller than the d630... the m1330 has to much plastic surrounding the screen that it's the same size - the main difference is thickness since the d630 doesn't have an led backlit screen:

d430 - 11.6 x 8.25 x 1
d630 - 13.27 x 9.37 x 1.26
m1330- 12.5 x 9.4 x .87

 

The D630 is an excellent choice if you don't care about HDMI, LED screen, and the nice design...

The 630 is a really well made laptop with excellent battery life (weaker graphics card though) and a standard 3 year warranty... some very good deals from the employee purchase program right now too...

I personally need the looks, the HDMI port and the weight of the M1330..

Although physically about the same dimensions the 630 is significantly heavier ... with the 9 cell.. something to think about...

 

Well - this is for work - I don't care about a gaming graphics card. While the D630 doesn't have hdmi it does support docking stations which would give me dvi - which is more useful anyhow. I do agree that the m1330 looks a lot better (except for the huge bezel surrounding the lcd..)

 

My co-worker got a D630 and loves it.. his initial reaction was "it's pretty heavy" though... that's with the 9 cell that sticks out in front...

 

I use my M1330 primarily for work, but you can't beat rendering and burning a home movie in a few minutes in a machine under 4 lbs (I use the 4 cell battery when I travel with the power cord).

Plus, I use the HDMI to DVI for my monitor at my home desk.

 

I think the D630 actually looks better than the M1330. Of course, I'm boring, so I hate to stand out in a crowd