Dell XPS m1330 - AWESOME is the word!!!

[gopz]

How does this look?

Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 - 3MB L2, 800FSB, 45nm Penryn
4GB DDR2 RAM
320GB SATA HDD
13.3" Slim & Light WLED screen with 0.3MP webcam; Tuxedo black
nVIDIA 8400m GS with 128MB DDR3
9 Cell battery
DVD writer
Intel Wireless N Card, Bluetooth
Bluetooth Travel Mouse
Bluetooth Wireless Headphones
Fingerprint reader
Card reader
HDMI Port
USB modem
Creative EP-630
Notebook sleeve

3yr complete cover with accidental damage protection (Worldwide)
Windows Vista Home Premium

I chose the highest available component in all the sections.

The only thing I did not configure higher was the processor but I did not waste my money because I know that:

(a) there would be less than 1% difference in performance, unless I do some Graphics or Video editing;
(b) T8300 comes with 90W brick instead of 65W lightweight adapter
(c) and as for the processor models with 6MB cache, price difference is TOO TOO high for a 2% increase in performance (and moreover, the 6MB L2 cache will drain more battery as well, negating the advantage of Penryn over Santa Rosa)

so I chose T8100

I did not opt for the m1530 because I do not play Crysis or similar games which require 8600m GT and to me portability is more important than screen size. I would be taking this abroad and frequently carrying it around.

Got it within 5 days after placing the order. Its an absolute beauty, has stunned me with the performance and looks. I am glad I bought it here through EPP which is the cheapest in the world and comes with worldwide warranty too (I initially had plans to buy it abroad)

The price quoted on the Dell site is Rs. 1,06,961 even today.

Could anything beat that?

[napster007]

First of all congrats on ur new equipment!! But the 4gb ram is an overkill and also that 32 bit OS's wont support more than 3.2gb of ram and Dell does not give you 64 bit drivers!

[gopz]

Originally Posted by napster007

First of all congrats on ur new equipment!! But the 4gb ram is an overkill and also that 32 bit OS's wont support more than 3.2gb of ram and Dell does not give you 64 bit drivers!

The system is able to see and use 3.5GB of RAM because I chose the nVIDIA graphics, probably with the Intel X3100 it would have seen 3.2GB only.

But I wanted dual channel functionality so I chose 2 x 2GB RAM (after all, only 0.5GB RAM is lying unused, I dont mind, because the price difference between 3GB and 4GB was too less)

Dell does provide drivers for 64Bit Vista, on their website. I tried installing 64bit OS and confirm that all of the hardware works.

http://supportapj.dell.com/support/d...WLH&hidlang=en

[napster007]

when u were already willing to spend about 60k dont u think the XPS 1530 would be a better option...its performance is better

[gopz]

Originally Posted by napster007

when u were already willing to spend about 60k dont u think the XPS 1530 would be a better option...its performance is better

1. I am not a gamer
2. It wont make any difference in performance for my usage
3. FYI the XPS 1330 is more expensive than the XPS 1530
4. Portability is what I look for, in a laptop
5. I wanted atleast 5 hours backup (the XPS 1530 with 9cell would be a pain to carry around) so I chose XPS 1330 with 9cell which is still portable and light weight.
6. I personally feel that we should buy a desktop for performance, and laptop for portability

[napster007]

1.) Doesn't hurt to have extra performance even if ur not into gaming
2.) i doubt that since it has a 8600gt GPU and ur has a 8400
3.) Mac book air costs abt 70k and can't do Shi* for a laptop.
4.) OK..i agree but dude seriously it won't make much of a difference
5.) As i said abt the wieght....u'll get used to it.....it won't make much diff
6.) Doesn't hurt when ur getting both for the same price

And dude i'm only giving u unbiased advise. If u have already bought it then Kudos!! but if u haven't then u might still consider this

[gopz]

Originally Posted by napster007

1.) Doesn't hurt to have extra performance even if ur not into gaming
2.) i doubt that since it has a 8600gt GPU and ur has a 8400
3.) Mac book air costs abt 70k and can't do Shi* for a laptop.
4.) OK..i agree but dude seriously it won't make much of a difference
5.) As i said abt the wieght....u'll get used to it.....it won't make much diff
6.) Doesn't hurt when ur getting both for the same price

And dude i'm only giving u unbiased advise. If u have already bought it then Kudos!! but if u haven't then u might still consider this

Dude, I really appreciate your attitude to advise and help people. I have done a lot of research and I do have lot of experience in this domain...I have been into computers since the 386 days
I grew up using DOS, Win 3.11 (many wouldnt know what this is!), Win 95, Win 98 ... .... and now Vista.

This is not my first laptop....I have used Acer, Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, Macbook, Powerbook & Sony VAIO SZ laptops and I know what I want

Not to start an argument here, but to help clarify things to others who might get influenced on their purchase decision by our posts :

1. I wouldnt want to buy a 15.4" heavy laptop when I am not going to utilize the power. And wouldnt want to invest money even on a 13.3" laptop if I wouldnt utilize its potential
2. Again, I said that it wont make any difference for "my usage" - I am not going to play Crysis on this
3. I agree about the MacBook Air, but its for a totally different segment, definitely not for me and you.
4. It DEFINITELY makes a difference...ask the people who have used both the laptops and you will know what I mean.
5. Have you tried carrying around a 1530 with 9 cell battery, do you own one? If you did, you will know what I mean
6. I would agree if you are comparing other 15.4 laptops with XPS 1530. But here the comparison is totally different. And a desktop with the latest hardware will surely make the XPS look outdated, anyways!

[napster007]

if u have made up ur descision then i don think anyone can change ur mind.....i just hope u don regret ur choise later.

[gopz]

Originally Posted by napster007

if u have made up ur descision then i don think anyone can change ur mind.....i just hope u don regret ur choise later.

Dude, laptops should be based on one's needs and requirements. I will regret if I purchase a heavy 15.4" with a 9 cell battery for power which I will never use.

[dOm1naTOr]

congo for ur purchase dude
btw, does it really shows 1k+ for that config on Dell website? wow can u just calculate the % of discount u got?[accurate]
also, what bout the actual backup u are getting? Ive heard that a 9 cell battery gives far better backup on M1330 than on M1530.

[Pathik]

Great buy. How did you get it under 60k? Super EPP? Or contacts with Michael Dell?
BTW, cache size has a next to zero effect on battery life FYI. Its just the clock speed and fab that matters most. Congrats again.

[gopz]

Originally Posted by dOm1naTOr

congo for ur purchase dude
btw, does it really shows 1k+ for that config on Dell website? wow can u just calculate the % of discount u got?[accurate]
also, what bout the actual backup u are getting? Ive heard that a 9 cell battery gives far better backup on M1330 than on M1530.

Yeah its around 1.06lacs after adding taxes, so my effective discount is around 45% Configure it on the Dell website and see for yourself !!!

I get atleast 4 hr 30mins with 100% Wifi on and 80% display brightness. Might get around 5.30 hrs if Wifi is turned on and display brightness reduced to 50% (Dell claims 7 hours on a 9cell battery)

Originally Posted by Pathik

Great buy. How did you get it under 60k? Super EPP? Or contacts with Michael Dell?

Yeah I got a super price

The price would have been just 51K if I had not opted for extended warranty. But I wanted the 3yr warranty and hence paid 7k extra for it.

[Pathik]

^ The million dollar question is how? If you can share.

[k6153r]

Please tell us how did you manage to get THIS discount?

[gopz]

Friends, I got this discount through a close acquaintance of mine who works at Dell. I just told my config and they gave me this price. He has been in Dell for a pretty long time now and has got a great discount for me.

There is no secret or anything illegal. Probably the discount depends on the Employee's level in the company and tenure? He is at a high level & has been in the company for many years... But lucky me, isnt it

[dOm1naTOr]

Yup, the discount rate for EPP seems to be related with the service period of the employee.
But how Dell manages to sell at these price???????? I think they ll have to sell underprice for such EPPs

Nyway this EPP works gr8 in India the employee special tickets works in US.

[gopz]

Aravind, how much discount did you get when you bought yours? I guess you didnt opt for the 3yr CompleteCover?

[dOm1naTOr]

Mine was bout 72k total and i got it for 51k.
Yeah, i choose only 1 yr thinkin of extending later. And ive heard Dell gives seperate gr8 discounts on extended warranty price.

but i got somethin i didnt pay for
* the nylon sleeve bag
* another EP 630[total 2]

btw edit that webcam to 2mp. its not .3mp

[gopz]

Originally Posted by dOm1naTOr

but i got somethin i didnt pay for
* the nylon sleeve bag
* another EP 630[total 2]

btw edit that webcam to 2mp. its not .3mp

I too got the sleeve bag
2 creative EP630's
Leather CD case
Microfiber cloth and other stuff

The webcam is 0.3MP because I chose the slim & light LED screen (it is not available with 1530)

The regular screen comes with a 2MP webcam

[Pat]

Brilliant purchase and I totally agree with what you say. I would opt for Portability over Performance anyday as far as notebooks are concerned. And carrying a 15.4" would definitely have been a PITA

[gopz]

Thank you Pat!

Now the Dell Studio laptops are out...similar config to XPS 1530 but the video card is ATI 3450 which is less powerful than the nVIDIA 8600M GT

But I am really happy with my purchase, will post some pics later in the day.

[VD17]

Nice!
Dell has been going around making loads of people smile, it seems. I got my M1530 and still can't stop staring at it, while this feelings takes new dimensions as I open it and start working on "my personal computer" (this is my first laptop). The only dampener for me (which i have endlessly whined about in the review thread... lol) is the sound. But screw that, i'll buy a creative X-fi card as soon as I can save enough for it.
But, yes.. i'm totally awestruck my this machine. I got mine for 58K as well and man is this worth the money. I compared it with the typical HP/Lenovo options and this kills everyone's!

[dOm1naTOr]

Its a gr8 overclocker too. The GPU can easily touch 650/1600/1300. wow even some desktop 8600GT wont touch that clocks.

[gopz]

Here are some pics of the beauty:

[napster007]

looks good

[gopz]

Installed XP on this machine and it rocks...bye bye Vista for now

[dOm1naTOr]

u removed vista?

btw, black looks too good.

[gopz]

Yeah formatted it and got rid of Vista. Updated to the latest BIOS A12.

I have been asking Dell for spare battery and the lead time is 3 months!! Who the hell can wait 3 months for a damn battery! They say that they dont have stock (6 cell or 9 cell)

OT: I still havent sent you the 64bit Vista DVD...I will do so by this weekend, sorry I had been busy

[JaX]

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! I just ordered my M1330 with:

2 GB RAM
250 GB HDD
WXGA LCD Display
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250
6 Cell battery

For 59K total!!!!!!!!

I feel so ripped off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gopz]

Originally Posted by JaX

AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! I just ordered my M1330 with:

2 GB RAM
250 GB HDD
WXGA LCD Display
Intel Core 2 Duo T7250
6 Cell battery

For 59K total!!!!!!!!

I feel so ripped off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buddy I got it through EPP and the employee has been in Dell from almost when it started here in Bangalore, so I got a great discount.

Do not feel ripped off, because you have purchased it through the retail channel and also the prices have gone up in the last 2 weeks. My config costs 1.1 lac now!