d630 vs. m1330 vs. inspiron 1420

I've gone back and forth over the past few weeks, and the time has come to make a decision. I am a graduate student for 1 more semester who does some advanced statistical modeling and much work within excel. However, outside of office apps, the majority of the time I use my computer for web browsing, listening to music (nice external speaker system), and media content. Here are the pros and cons I see on the various systems:

(FYI, I would try to spec out the various sytems with 2GB Ram, T7300, a 7200 RPM HD, Dedicated Graphics, 9-cell battery, highest-res screen possible. Also, I can get Vista Ultimate for $20 through my school, and Office 2007 for $50, so keep that in mind...)

d630 Pros:
- Larger screen real-estate on 14.1" WXGA+
- Sturdier build
- Lighter/thinner than 1420
- Dockable (I already own a port replicator from my old inspiron)
- Cheaper (<$1500)
- More USB ports, and DVI-out
- Better keyboard?
- Includes 3-year warranty

d630 Cons:
- I would already have another business laptop for my job next year
- Not as many home multimedia features
- No media card reader (for SD camera)

m1330 Pros:
- LED, TrueLife screen
- Thinner, lighter, more portable
- Better sound than d630?
- HDMI out (I may buy a HDTV within the next year)
- Battery life
- Technology will stay more relevant for years to come
- Media card reader

m1330 Cons:
- Less screen real-estate on a 13.3" WXGA (I really like high-res screens)
- Cost is ~$2000 with my student discount
- Not dockable
- Fewer USB ports
- Speaker cable in front

Inspiron 1420 Pros:
- Best screen of the 3 options (WXGA+ TrueLife)
- Same keyboard as m1330 (I still prefer latitude keyboard)
- Many similar features as m1330 for a lesser price (~$1500)
- Better sound than latitude?
- Media card reader

Inspiron 1420 Cons:
- Not dockable
- No DVI or HDMI out
- Heaviest/bulkiest
- Lower-end consumer line, for essentially same price as latitude


Given my situation, which of these options would y'all recommend?

 

D630 only has DVI out through a dock.

 

D630 for sure. Larger screen, good build quality, durable, conservative but nice styling.

 

But man, it's tough to ignore the "cool" factor of the XPS. That 300-nit LED screen blows away the matte latitude screen (but not in terms of resolution).

Do you think the sound on xps w/ audigy would be much better than the integrated sound on the latitude. I would be using headphones or exernal speakers most of the time anyway, so built-in speakers aren't MUCH of an issue...

 

Be aware that the Audigy thing you can upgrade on the DELL laptops is not an actual physical Audigy chip, it's a software patch that adds features on Sigmatel Audio chip. Here is a quote from Direct2Dell blog :

"To clarify some issues raised, SoundBlaster Audigy Advanced MB is a software application from Creative Labs. It provides additional functionality to the integrated Sigmatel hardware and drivers that comes standard on our Inspiron and XPS notebooks and some Dimension desktops."

From what I've seen so far, I think that the D630 also uses the Sigmatel chip for integrated audio. The big difference is that D630 has only 1 speaker, so if you are using headphones or external speaker, I don't think you will see a big difference in sound.

 

Thanks for that clarification. Perhaps I can purchase the Audigy software separately, since it is not offered for the d630.

I went to my school's site, and priced out a pretty sweet m1330 for less than $200 more than the d630, which is making this decision even tougher. Plus, it has a 160GB 7200 RPM HD vs. a 120, which could help me fit my tunes on the actual computer rather than an external.

Still, I really do like using my Dock, and this may be the deal-breaker here. Do you see the HDMI out on the xps being a widely-used feature in the future? I'm trying to determine if I would ever hook it up to a TV....

 

Isnt there some kensington dock (maybe its usb?) that dell offers for the m1330?

 

I havn't ordered my xps yet but based on my first experience with the D630 and D830 I will be very shortly. (dont get teh 1420 in the UK atm)

The D630 has very good battery life...best of the bunch actually. You can push it to around 8 hours.

That is where the good features stop for me. The screen is rubbish for colour reproduction..even having fiddled with the settings etc..no joy.

I'd stick to True Life with dells.

 

Yes but it doesn't offer a lot of the useful features that most require from a dock

 

I think the resolution on the M1330 might not be sufficient for your Excel or statistical modeling work. But if you don't see that as a problem I'd go with the M1330 personally. The form factor and portability really make it stand out from the other 2 imo.

 

Is the screen on the D630 really that lousy? I thought 220 Nits, and a WXGA+ res would be pretty nice.

Also, as far as the USB docks go, I don't believe I can hook up an external monitor through that.

This would really be easier if the latitude line offered TrueLife, or if the m1330 had a higher-res & docking.

 

It's ok for basic use but i wouldn't want to do any media stuff on it. It's the worst screen i've come across for quite some time to be honest..and i've setup about 15 different ones recently. It's a great laptop otherwise though and i'm sure they will have no trouble shifting them.

 

can you go into more depth on what makes the screen so poor? Were you working with the WXGA+?

 

I would get the m1330 if the price difference does not affect you. I just got the d630 and would love the lighter weight and smaller sizes of the 1330 but alas cannot afford the 1330.

 

Just got a great deal on the d630, so I decided on that. It really came down to the docking options, the screen, and the price. Thanks everyone for your help!

 

You won't be sorry -- I love mine.

 

In the Pros for XPS 1330: it's sexier than Jessica Alba!!! Come on, it's important!

 

I'd pick the 1420 for price to performance value. I can justify a poorer screen res and $500 extra for the M1330.

 

Icculus23,

D630 has better battery life then the others, not the m1330.

I would go for the D630, simply because its a way better over-all deal for the price you will pay. And it is sturdier.

 

Dell M1330 D630 DV2500
Screen size 13.3 14.1 14.1
Resolution 1280 x 800 1440 x 900 1280x800
DPI 113.5 121.4 107
Size:H 1.33-1.43 1.26 1.02-1.54
Size:L 9.37 9.37 9.33
Size:W 12.5 13.27 13.15
Poids 4lbs 5.04 5.29


to sum up... D630 has only one inch wider, better screen, slimmer (not with led i.e. 0.87 - 0.97i), cheaper, more solid, comes basic with 3 years warranty...

D630 wins in my opinion

 

I am happy with the Latitude line. The customer service is excellent. The times I have called the support was coming somewhere from North America.

The XPS is attractive and it is more of an entertainment outfit.

The D630 is excellent given the 3 year warranty, you get dual pointing capabilities, and the case is durable. Except for when it crashes to the ground onto a steel chair (small dent, now). That would have been a big crack on anything else.

 

More like the nerd factor... :laugh:

 

nerd IS the new cool

 

It depends on the nerd!

 

I opted to order the 1420, it has what im looking for

My mom has the D620 and its a very durable laptop, it feels very sturdy and doesnt run hot.

 

I was debating between these very laptops too. I went with the m1330. The preliminary reviews suggest that the build quality of the XPS and Inspiron lines have improved though they may not be as tough as the Latitudes. All other things being mostly equal, the deciding factors were size/weight, built-in webcam, thickness, MediaDirect availability, and lack of ExpressCard slot in the D630. The number of USB ports in the m1330 is not an issue for me because I will use a bluetooth mouse. I have long wondered why anyone would choose to have a USB dongle protruding out of a laptop for a mouse when they could use built-in bluetooth instead.

 

I think the dongle is easier to use. Just plug it in and let it do the work.

 

the slot loading dvd rom on the xps won me over, i know, its a very shallow thing to say, but its soo cool!

 

im still debating between the 1330x1420x1520 ><
the 1330 is so sexi
but the 1420 is cheaper, while the 1520 has 8600gt..

 

I wasn't talking about personality but the overall trend

 

I had my 3 year old Inspiron 9200 side by side with a D630 and the screen of the Inspiron was far better! I wouldn't buy a D630 because of the screen, but the Latitudes are still a great value. They're well built and have good styling. I'd try a D830!

 

Yeah, I wish they didn't do that with the D630 screen... Would have been a killer combo otherwise...

I guess business users don't care about the screen and they probably got more battery life because of it.

 

Go with the D630. The D600 series is the only laptop we buy at work. We've bought 20 in the past three years and we only had to replace one hard drive. The Latitude have a great build quality, better wifi antenna than the other Dell models, and as hokey as this sounds, the Latitude components have been thoroughly tested by Dell, so you know what you're getting is a end product that works well and is reliable. This also means you have to deal with less driver issues and such.

But if you want to be on the bleeding edge of technology, get the XPS. Keep in mind that the XPS is still part of their consumer line and this is a first gen first gen laptop. Generally speaking though the XPS seris has a premium over other Dell models. For instance, I spec'd out similar machines (excluding LED monitor, webcam, and video card) between a D630 and M1330. The latter came out to be about $400 more through my vendor versus the D630. The Dell sales rep couldn't explain the stark price difference. Except that they encouraged me to buy the M1330 with the base processor.

If you're buying this laptop through your University, the support is negligible because when you call for support, you'll be going through their "Education" support. I highly encourage you to get the Complete care on whichever laptop you purchase.

 

For the Dell D630 I need DVI but dont want a freaking docking solution. Are there any other options?

 

You could use a vga to DVI converter? I believe most of the Dell business laptops have VGA only.