Sturio or XPS 1530

I've had an Inspiron 1520 for about 1.5 years or so. The machine is always warm, the silver paint is coming off, the hinge broke and cracked the lid in the process, the battery and the lid have been wobbly since day one, the wireless card has been acting up (I have a Ubuntu/XP dual boot and did enough reinstalls and updates to believe it is the hardware) and I am beginning to believe that the harddrive won't last much longer either.
So, since I am a computer programmer, and use my lap top about 14 hours per day, I decided that I don't want to deal with or look at that ugly thing any more. I want a new lappy. Should I get the studio or the XPS 1530 if I want to avoid the problems that I've had with the inspiron? Is the XPS 1530 painted the same way as the Inspiron 1520? Is the studio glossy? Also, I am plannig on getting my new laptop with a crappy screen and swapping my old screen since its 1650x1050, which I love. Same for the video card, which is 8600M GT. Do you think that there migtht be any compatibility issues? And btw, it's been 1.5 years and I can't find a dell with a better graphics card that the 8600? .

 

those notebooks i hated them i had a dell E1505, worst notebook i ever owned. Thank god dell has FINALLY done something aobut the quality in there notebook in the last year.

Anyway, the Dell studio has ATI GPU which are fine and wont be defective like the 8 series GPU from nvidia

Why not just pony up a couple of more bucks and go for the NEW Dell Studio XPS? It will be well worth it

 

It will be impossible to use that gpu in a new laptop.

 

Ah, I love the Sturio range. You checked out the Sturio XPF 1640 as well?

 

Heh. Won't let me fix it.

 

So, yeah, I can definitely throw in a few extra bucks for something nice, and I will, but I don't want to pay more than 1300 in any case.

From the pictures online I can't tell if the armrest of the XPS is made of the same horrible non-glossy silver plastic as my crappy Inspiron 1520 is, so if somebody wants to let me know, it would be really appreciated.



Man, a nice new Dell is definitely going to eat up all my camera and cell phone funds.

 

I personally think the overall build and design quality of the Studio 15 is significantly worse than that of the M1530, but both machines have definitely had their fair share of fans and detractors.

The Studio has a glossy chassis while the XPS is largely matte and aluminum. I don't know if you can switch your 1520 screen with the screen in either of the two machines. Like nizzy said, you won't be able to use that 1520 GPU in anything but a 1520.

Furthermore, it's not that you can't find a decent GPU in a Dell these days, it's that you can't find a decent GPU in a consumer Dell these days. They want you to buy an M1730 or an Alienware if you want a discrete GPU. You can find some reasonably powerful graphics solutions in the Precision workstations, but ultimately they're fewer and further apart than they used to be.

 

Thanks biri biri! So the arm rest of the XPS is aluminum? Really? I am so going for that. Awesome.

 

Yes, the palmrest of the M1530 is aluminum.

EDIT: You're in Stanford, Postery? Are you a student?

 

Yup, it's aluminum..and it's a fantastic palm rest. I relly enjoy the feel of it.
In fact, besides the overall design of the 1530...the palm rest is one of my fav's!


Cin

 

The palm rest is incredible! No signs of wear after one year!

 

Hey Stanford, here is another vote for the Studio 1537 over the XPS 1530.

The XPS 1530 will be discontinued shortly in favor of the new Studio XPS line.
Also the Studio is a better value than the XPS and does not have the major overheating issues with the Nvidia GPU.
Something to consider if you are a CS major... the Studio has a great keyboard and attractive palm rest...far superior to the Inspiron line.
Hope this information helps!

BTW - I'm Stanford class of '82...