XPS 1530 Pros and Cons

I am considering buying this laptop and justed wanted to see what people who own this laptop think about it.
Thinking about these specs:

T7500 2.2ghz (Anyone know when penryns are available - wouldn't mind T8300)
8600GT 256mb GDDR3
200gb 7200rpm hard drive
3gb memory DDR2 667mhz
Alpine white


I know that the xps 1530 is great for gaming but just wanted to know what other pros and what cons come with the laptop (eg, build quality, screen etc)

 

well u could read the reviews, and thats all we can tell u . It could come to ur house with a grainy screen, And u mite not like its speaker slot load or whatever. Read the reviews.

 

You will probably get a Samsung screen, which sucks. But, if you get it replaced with an LG, you will be in heaven. The computer is flippin sweet, and I was fortunate enough to get an LG, but a lot owners don't. Understand these issues before you buy one.

 

how about the build quality? Is it well built? Sturdy to carry around day to day?

 

Apparently there are sometimes a few manufacturing details. From something small like uneven hinge gaps (hardly noticeable) to something like the bottom of the laptop being very unstable (uneven).

 

Very solid if you ask me. I love mine, everything except for the Samsung screen. I'm still within my return period ... I'm unfortunately leaning towards returning.

EDIT: I have neight of the above two mentioned problems.

 

Besides the display grain possibility, it's a well built machine.

 

I have your exact machine, except in black. If you order a WXGA+ (1440x900) screen, you're more likely to get an LG screen. I have one and it's the best laptop screen I've had. The system has a great keyboard and gets decent battery life with the 9 cell battery. There are lots of reviews here, including the official one. I'm happy with my purchase.

 

Re: build quality

I have a problem (which will be fixed) with the housing around the camera popping out. The design is a little weird. It has no clasp to keep the lid down, so the hinge is pretty stiff. You have to kind of wedge your finger or thumb under the little silver slip to pry open the lid. You will inevitably end up putting your finger over the camera, but it is recessed a bit so there's only a small possibility for damage.

Overall, I think Sonys are MUCH more sturdy and better built. But that's always been the case, not just with the 1530.

 

Yea, i was looking at the Asus F8 laptops but the dell outperforms them by far! I've also heard that the F8 aren't that well built and are a budget range.

What happens if i order the 1680x1050 screen? More likely to be LG? Or just stick with the 1440x900?

 

And are there any coupons/discount codes that i can use with the M1530?

 

My pros and cons:

cons first:
I don't like the keyboard
I don't like the touchpad AND it malfunctions for a short period when you close and reopen the lid
if you get the Samsung screen, it is horrible. If you try to have it replaced with an LG it can be very trying and even impossible. customer support will in some cases even be rude to you.
battery life is not exemplary.
Could be thinner and smaller.
larger battery sticks out the bottom of the notebook
top magnetically connects to base, instead of a latch, which causes the aforementioned touchpad malfunction. (and possibly eventual hdd corruption?)

pros:
mine's really fast: 2.4ghz + 7200rpm
It looks pretty cool, and is reasonably thin
If you get the LG WSXGA, this is one of the best looking screens I've ever seen. It's better than the LED screen on the MacBook Pro 15.4in
no glowing alien eyes on raised alien head on cover

 

No complaints about mine at all and I'm extremely picky. Click the link in my sig if you want to see it from shipping box to being used.

 

Dell has discontinued the Samsung screen beginning of January .
Some one on youtube had the same thing with the camera , he could push it in and out , but he didnt seem to pissed with it

 

Just received mine and the Samsungs are being sent...2nd generation perhaps cuz mine is awesome ...don't get caught up in the LG/Samsung ...keep an open mind and look at it ..don't just chk the screen brand and say ohhh it sucks....smokin machine too....you will like it...especially after format and following flamenko's tips ..he is the guru around here..cheers!!!brr it's cold!!!!

 

And the silver keyboard sucks !
Wait for Latitude E series

 

Hey jack53, what 3dmark06 score did you get on you dell without overclocking? And is it worth it to upgrade to 7200rpm 200gb hard drive?

 

1530 is a great machine except for the screen. Dell ruined it by using poor screens. With a good screen I would say it's one of the best if not the best 15" laptop right now.

I say get it and if you don't like the screen return it. Dell is pretty good with return policy as long as you do it within the return period.

 

even that its XPS line, the build quality is still not top...its great but its still Dell///

 

what do you guys get for 3dmark06 overclocked and stock settings?

 

I got 3952 stock with the 169.28's if that helps.

 

I'm loving mine so far. I have the glossy white lid, which is a bit distinctive looking, the brushed aluminum front is really nice, seems so much nicer than cheap plastic on most laptops.

I have the T7800 and I am very pleased with performance. I am actually running vista inside vmware running on winxp with very good performance on both. I need access to both operating systems frequently.

I have the SSD and kept waffling back and forth before I bought it, now glad that I did. The silence is very welcome and even with the 2.6Ghz processor the laptop only gets warm not hot. I've used 1.5Ghz laptops in the past that were too hot to rest on my lap for very long.

There has been lots of talk about problems with screens, noise, and various flaws, mine has no problems at all. I thought I would hate the glossy screen but most of the time I don't even notice it is glossy. It does get dirty easier and requires cleaning more frequently, I recommend the gel type anti-static cleaning fluid with microfiber cloth.

I love the flexibility in networking. I have CDMA EVDO mobile broadband, WiFi N, bluetooth, and ethernet, and you can choose in bios which of these are turned off and on when you toggle the wirleless on switch.

Things I wish it had: DVI video and S/PDIF audio outputs instead of VGA and S-Video. I wish the audio jacks were not on the front. I wish the touch pad was optional so I could have just brushed aluminum front with no touchpad. I wish there was a way to have two SSD, also I wish the optical drive was removable and could be replaced with additional hard drive or secondary battery.

I also spent a lot of time trying to decide between 1330 and 1530, although it definitely isn't as portable, I think it was the right choice for me, especially since I want to run multiple OS in virtual windows etc, the 1330 screen would have been too small. I tried to wait for possible LED backlit screen but couldn't wait any longer, yet I am totally happy with the CCFL backlighting.