So, XPS 1330 owners...was it worth it?

Hi, all. My XPS 1330 just entered the boxing phase. After all this anticipation, and now that I'm staring that price tag in the face - is this machine worth the money and the wait? I'd love to hear your thoughts about your first few weeks with this laptop...


Thanks,

GRPCV

 

I'm curious too, so if you please, speak up 1330 owners.

 

It was definitely worth it. This is imo THE perfect laptop for me. The first few days I used it I was pretty annoyed by the cpu whine, but now I'm used to it and have to remember to be annoyed. It's pretty quiet on mine anyway, nothing like the shrill squealing in the youtube videos.
I seriously love this laptop's combination of portability and power. If I want to play Oblivion under my ping pong table, I will. Sometimes I'm reduced to just staring at the laptop and appreciating how beautiful it is. It's always fun to see my friends fighting to use the laptop and then calming down, deciding to just stare at it.
You'll love it.

 

I will be completely honest, it was not worth it for me. You may get a notebook that has no defects, but product quality is spotty whether you see it right away or not. I love the M1330, but with more testing this could have been an outstanding notebook. This is one of those products, that with more time will become better. If Dell keeps the same design around and builds on it, it will be much, much better in the future than it is now. If Dell completely redesigns it next time around, you'll see similar flaws and defects all over again.

 

I think the most annoying thing about mine is how spaced out the keys are. If a hair falls out while I'm at the laptop, chances are it's going to go under the keys. I saw a bug crawl in there once and it took a while to get it out..

 

It was absolutely worth it and I am speaking strictly from the quality of the laptop. Presently, thank you to Trebuin, I am just finishing fine tuning my Vista Ultimate 64 bit. Can you imagine starting your system in 18 seconds? I havent done any indepth tests yet but the 64bit OS with the SSD is wonderful.

 

To be honest, for the price I paid I had higher expectations than what I got, but I'm starting to learn that there is no perfect laptop and every brand has its own set of issues. I like the system alot, but I'm pretty disappointed in the screen. Mine is grainy (almost looks like it's dirty, but it's not) and has a funky light leakage issue. I ordered a replacement yesterday so I'm hoping it's at least not grainy. I guess I can learn to live with the light leakage. I went to best buy yesterday and checked out some sonys and HPs and their glossy screens looked a whole lot clearer than mine. I hope I just got a bad screen and this isn't an issue with all DELLs. I was expecting the keyboard to be a bit better too, but I can live with it. Not sure if I can live with a grainy screen though.

 

Hey flamenko.....would love to hear about ur detailed experience about Vista Ultimate 64 bit on m1330. After u r done with playing around with it, it would really be gr8 if u can create a step by step guide for 64-bit install the way u did but Clean install.

 

Definitely worth the wait.

 

I only waited 2 weeks, and it's a handsome and fast laptop.

I wasn't expecting it to make my life more meaningful; I just needed a laptop.

Minor problems (built-in microphone is weak, dvd drive failed and is being replaced) but no general fit and finish issues at all.

 

Trebuin is responsible for the step by step I used although I dont know if he will be available much anymore. It is very good.

His thread is here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=158277

If for some reason he cannot complete his quest, I will assist by keeping up on it; he retains the credit however.

He is responsible for the simplicity of my installation.

EDIT: And yes, I will probably come out with a post explaining any differences.

 

Best laptop I've ever owned/used!! It's portable, decent horsepower all around, looks good, and for me is everything I wanted in a laptop!

 

In a nutshell; yes. For the money though, I could've gotten a 1420 and saved ~500$ for the same config. You really gotta ask yourself if you need a premium notebook. But I love Dell's first iteration of the M1330, and barring any long-term issues over the next 2 weeks or so, I'll be keeping this notebook.

 

Yes, I think it is worth it. I found a pretty good deal, although I didn't get the LED, because I bought it off of ebay. But I have been happy with the performance.

 

For me it wasn't - I've got the keyboard bulge/uneven base and am not that impressed with the overall build quality - personally think my 4 year old inspirion 8600 is better built!

I waited almost 8 weeks for it and was expecting a premium product (price to match) with above average build quality. Instead I received something which has, in my opinion, major build problems and annoying software issues. I was also not expecting to be asked by xps support to take it apart myself to diagnose construction issues with incomplete instructions.

I hope once these issues are sorted my opnion will improve but currently I'm not sure I made the right choice.