XPS 1330 or Vostro 1310

I need a new laptop for college - sold my Thinkpad T60 and I don't like carrying around my 1520 to classes.

I have decided that 13.1 or 14.1'' is optimal. Infact, I had a 14.1'' T60 ordered through my college, but decided that it would be better to get my own Laptop that isn't IBM. My T60 had problems towards the end of the two years I had it and I've grown quite comfortable with Dell.

So ... I'm not looking for a great performer on-the-go, but if I get bored in a class I might want to fire up a game.

Would COD4 play on an 8400m GS?

Is the 1310 smaller?

I can't decide whether or not to get the 1330 or 1310 or x3100 or 8400m GS...

A friend of mine has an XPS M1330 and I liked it.


help?

 

vostro is more businessy while xps is more stylish

though vostro has the anti-glare option

8400m gs can do COD4
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=204426&page=2

m1330 + 8400M GS might run into some overheating problems, just cautioning you

another thread w/ ur dilemma
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=260838


thing is that i can get M1330 with Dell's EPP for $1400 loaded n 4 yr warranty+accidental daamge, no vosotro in dell epp for college students

 

Just checking dell's outlet, I think the 1330 just earned some extra points. No 1310 in outlet.

I didn't know about the 8400 overheating and popping the motherboard ... that's probably not a good thing.

XPS: Styling, Outlet, LED display, been out for a while
Vostro: Cheaper, No frying problems, Matte Screen, 4usb ports

Looks like I'm leaning with a 1310 with 8400 and base celeron (that I will upgrade with my spare 1.5 core2), base 80gb hard dive (will be upgraded with an extra 120 I have) and 1gb memory (upgrade with a 2gb chip from newegg)

I do a lot with virtual PC and VMware - does video memory play a part in this?

 

Do we know the Vostro has no "frying problems?"
Is the heat sink actually designed better than the one in the M1330?

 

CPU and RAM plays a more imprt role in virtual machines than video memory, unless u play to run some graphics-intensive games on VM...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=204772
m1330 graphics problem

the thing with m1330 is design problems..... the copper connecting the CPU and GPU to the heatsink/fan.... theres only a thermal pad between the copper and GPU,

whereas springs push the copper to the GPU for m1530(no heat issues for m1530)

to relieve this situation, some peopel in this forum use artic silver/copper pieces to replace the thermal pad, leading to a better cooling solution...

 

to actually play CoD4 on ur laptop, i would consider the m1530 even if don't rly like the size. it can actually play the game. the cod on the 8400m gs is horrible. i don't think that u want to play it so laggy n stuff.

 

What about the 1310? Does it have a spring like the M1530 or a fat thermal pad like the M1330?

 

dunno about that, haven't looked at the 1310 seriously, though i havent seen issues of 1310 on this board

 

I have a 1310 and can say it runs cooler than any laptop I've ever used. The review be notebook review also backs this statement. Nowhere on it broke 100 degrees during their stress tests.

I can't say which one you should get, but I can say the Vostro 1310 is of good quality. I got tipped toward the 1310 because there was a really good deal when I bought mine:

$1200
T8100
Vista Business
3Gb Ram
160Gb hard drive at 7200rpm
8400M GTS
9 cell battery
3 year extended warrenty

Same configuration now is about $1500

 

I run Multiple virtual machines at the same time, on multiple displays. For a class this past semester, I was running one VM on a Projector and one VM on the regular screen (of my t60). On my 1520, there was a heatpad for something (chipset maybe?) and I got rid of that and used arctic silver ceramique. So maybe it wouldn't be an issue on a

I already have a 15.4'' laptop with the 8600. I was just wondering if I could do this with the 8400 ... if I can't, no biggie.

That's more high end that I would need - I mainly want something that can go to classes with me (like my old T60 did). I'd be going for the 1.8 core 2, 1gb of ram and smallest hard drive. The only options that I would really go for is the 8400 and Wireless N - it is a requirement.

Grog, how do the hinges wear on the 1310? I'm going to be opening this 4-5 times a day during the week. What do you get for battery life on the 9 cell?

 

Can you post actual idle temps and load temps ?

Vostro 1310 is relatively new, it wasn’t out there for long enough for us to see any potential design problems (i.e thermal or otherwise). Knowing DELL (how they re-use components) there is a pretty good chance that v1310’s internal parts are identical to m1310 (hence same problems) , just a guess though....

I haven’t had any major cooling problems with my m1330, maybe because I don’t play games that much... but idle temps (no load on GPU) temps are bit higher than what I would like to see (~63C).

 

I certainly hope they took the time to re-tool and re-design the cooling system in the V1310 compared to the M1330.

 

I've seen my Vostro 1310 GPU go up to 91degC playing games,I pulled the heatsink off and it has a thermal pad between the GPU and heatsink,but it wasn't contacting properly,so a bit of a bend and a tiny smear of as5 brought the max temps down to 84 C........the heatsink design isn't the best,but the notebook is very cool to use on the lap.

The fan is very noisy on mine,far surpassing the noise levels of the three fans on my M1730 when gaming.

The screen viewing angles,contrast,colours are very poor,its an LG truelife screen.

I don't like power jacks on the side.

I would prefer the XPS because of the screen options,looks and materials,but the vostro was really cheap at the time,could get it with XP without buying another unused vista licence and it performs excellently as a powerful portable.

if I can help with any other questions....let me know

 

I haven't taken a serious look at the hinges so I can't say much. They seem like they will last, but they aren't stiff either. 9-cell life isn't record setting but I can pull 5 hours out of it on balanced and half screen brightness doing light stuff.

 

So the GPU and heatsync assy. is the same on the 1310 as it is on the 1330? Interesting ... If that is the case, I may just go for a 1330 from the outlet and save a few. I am now looking at the outlet 1330s again.

First thing I would do, if possible, is loosen them up more so they last.

Well ... I was browsing the outlet and came across a 1330 with a 1.5 core 2, Wireless N, Nvidia Card and 250gb drive (not really needed) for a good price. So ... looks like I have the XPS on the way.