[Review] Dell XPS M1530

Y'always hear from the complainers, and never from the satisfied customers.. so here goes.

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Anyway, My old Toshiba L10 Satellite started to die, and it needed to be replaced. I'd basically been using this thing daily for three years, lugging it to college and back in my backpack, spilling stuff on it, and generally using and abusing it. And the grand old thing took everything in it's stride..

But it was showing it's age...

So basically, I needed a laptop that was robust enough to be daily portable. Powerful enough to last for at least three years and still be relevant. I wasn't too bothered with style, or anything like that. I also wanted something that was more than capable of doing anything I needed it to... from work presentations, to DvD's to a spot of Gaming. I also had a budget of €1500 or thereabouts.

I wanted the best of all worlds.

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What I bought:
Basic Specs
Dell XPS M1530
Intel T9300 2.5GHz, 6mb L2 cache @ 800MHz
4Gb of RAM @ 667MHz
320GB HDD @ 5400 RPM
Nvidia Geforce Go-8600M GT 256MB GDDR3
Windows Vista Home Premium
8x DvDrw drive

Features:
15 inch 1440x900 screen
Fingerprint reader
Remote Control
2MP Webcam
Bluetooth
Intel Wireless (Draft spec... I can't find)
McAfee internet security preinstalled

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So, I hate ordering things off the web, but Dells own website made it pretty painless. They acknowledged the order and processed it within 2 hours. The laptop was built on the next working day and shipped. After Three working days, it was on my doorstep and in one piece. That really impressed me.

Some might say that if you drop 1440 Euro on a laptop, you're going to kid yourself into being impressed with it anyway, but...
The XPS itself feels like a premium product. In the box, there's a number of reinstall disks, not just a recovery partition on the HDD like some other manufacturers. Everything from the OS, to drivers to utilities. The laptop itself is well buttoned together. Nothing feels loose or plasticky, and there's little or no flex in the chassis or keyboard, it's clearly built on top of a sturdy metal chassis.

The brushed aluminium palmrest is nice, and media buttons above the keyboard are a nice touch. The plastic-suede like finish on the lid is interesting without being gaudy, It's very grown up. The lid doesn't flex too much, nothing rattles inside, and in two months of use nothing has dropped off.

Style wise, it looks classy. It's not as obvious about trying stylish and arty as a Mac... it just looks nice. Its understated enough that you can open it anywere, and it doesn't look out of place. Not the plasticky bargain basement Dells of old. It's a bit like a Ford Mondeo Zetec, or a Volkswagen Phaeton.

Performance. It's got grunt. What else can be said? It runs Vista quite happily. With XPS, you get what you pay for alright, and if you spec it up you can get som serious power. This laptop is more powerful than the year old desktop we have at home. I use simulation software in the job, and it runs it nearly twice as fast as the P4 Optiplexes we have, even though the software is single thread based and only uses the one core.

Gaming wise... it'll play most things modern at decent settings. DDR3 memory in the Geforce gives it some poke. Good God it runs hot as hell though. It actually runs hot enough to warp pieces of the trim if you're loading the graphics card, especially in the area directly above the fan. It's not cooked itself, and seems to be normal for the model, but it is noticeable. It doesn't help that the fan is pretty loud.

Sound. It's okay. Clear and crisp, if a bit tinny. Touch sensitive volume buttons are effective, if a little slow. It can output 5.1 sound from the 2 headphones and 1 microphone Jack, but this needs to be configured in software.

Screen. A higher resolution than my LCD TV, but goddamn that glossy finish is annoying sometimes. If there's a light behind you, it reflects of the screen, and you really have to use the highest brightness setting, even indoors. It marks easily, and the marks are made even more obvious by the gloss. It streaks when you try wipe it. It's just irritating.

Connections:
HDMI
VGA
3xUSB2.0
i394
S-video
Ethernet

A good selection, even if two of the USB ports are stacked close enough to interfere with each other with certain hardware. The XPS has no modem connection or serial port, which was annoying, as some equipment in the job needs it. It's an entertainment laptop, not a work machine.


Windows Vista: It's Windows Vista... but throw enough memory at it and it behaves. It runs fine. Dell will give you a rebate if you uninstall, as you are entitled to legally.

Linux:
Dell do provide Linux support, but don't offer Linux in Ireland. The drivers for everything exist, and nearly everything worked first time. Except for the touchpad. Being an Alps touchpad, the Synaptics driver just caused it to go haywire. Eventually I found a fix, but it was annoying as hell. but it's prett y common hardware otherwise, and gives me no problems,


The DvD drive. It's a slot loading drive, with no manual release. If something gets stuck in it, there's no way to manually open it. Also, it can't take the small form CD's and DvD's that some manufacturers love to send their drivers on. It's not even replaceable. There is a blu-ray option, but it's so expensive it's not worth it.

The pwer cord is annoyingly short, and just has a tendancy to stretch tight and try drag the laptop off the table when anybody or anything trips over it... which is pretty much guaranteed. For such a pricy laptop, the least they can do is give us a decent power cord.

What I really hate though... and it's such a minor thing, it's stupid that it's even frustrating.... What I really hate is how goddamned difficult this thing is to keep clean. The screen, the palmrest, the lid, the trim.. even the speaker grills and touchbuttons show the slightest dirt and fingerprints. It marks so easily and is such a pain to keep clean.

My old IBM is battered and manky, but looks fine... the XPS looks like **** with just fingerprints on it.

And finally, it's a Dell. For some people that will be the killer. There's a lot of Dell haters out there.. and I've been asked 'Why didn't you buy an Alienware/HP/Mac/Lenovo for that money? (Actually, why didn't I buy a Lenovo?) The fact is, the XPS is a bit like the Volkswagon Phaeton... A good top-spec luxury car... but still just a Volkswagen.

But, am I happy?
Do I think I got something good for my 1500 Euro?

On the whole, Yes.

Would I recommend one?
If it's what you're looking for, definitely. It's a good laptop. For me, it strikes just the right balance between power, price, useability and portability. And it's 800 quid cheaper than a similar Mac

Some pictures:
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m57/Dartz_IRL/15072008.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m57/Dartz_IRL/15072008005.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m57/Dartz_IRL/15072008004.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m57/Dartz_IRL/15072008003.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m57/Dartz_IRL/15072008002.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m57/Dartz_IRL/15072008001.jpg