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This XPS - good value?

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  • 28-11-2007 4:41pm
    #1
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭


    This was on the Dell outlet, im wondering what you computer boffins think of it:
    XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T7250 2.00GHz
    160gb 7200rpm
    2gb ram
    English - Vista Home Premium
    Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
    Hard Disk Drive: 160GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
    NoteBook Screen: 13.3 WXGA (1280x800) Display with TrueLife?
    CD Read-Write Drive: 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
    MISC: English/Irish Ship Accessories - Power Cord
    Tuxedo Black & 2.0 mega pixel Camera for CCFL Display
    Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
    Travel Remote Control Unit

    802 euro inc shipping and vat, using the 145euro-off offer.

    It doesnt say what the graphics card is, but im not a gamer so I don't really care. Also, I don't really know what the craic is with the display, CCFL isnt as good as LED or something? Its only got the 6-cell, but that's not really an issue for me.

    Seems like decent value?


Comments

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    #2
    TerrorFirmer
    Closed Accounts Posts: 29,930 ✭✭✭✭TerrorFirmer


    Looks pretty good to me for an m1330. Graphics card if not mentioned is probably Intel X3100. CCFL will make the casing a bit thicker.


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    #3
    auggie2k
    Closed Accounts Posts: 311 ✭✭auggie2k


    Can I suggest the 9-cell battery - seriously you wont regret it.


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    #4
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    I think you're right about the graphics card being the x3100. Doesnt bother me anyhow, so long as it plays DVDs and videos that'll do me grand.

    I probably should have looked for a LED one, they sound pretty nice, but it's 800 all-in for an XPS so i'm not going to complain. I've never used a LED so i don't think im going to notice that im using a 'worse' screen.

    I ran the specs on the normal dell site and it went to 1200 inc vat. Sounds good.
    Can I suggest the 9-cell battery - seriously you wont regret it.
    It's the outlet, so you take what you get, cant change the specs. I don't really need long battery life anyway.


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    #5
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,062 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    That's pretty cheap for the m1330. It's a nice spec too. The LED display will make the laptop a little lighter, a little thinner and will give better battery life. Nice to have but not worth losing any sleep over. The x3100 is fine for what you want it to fo.


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    #6
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    The x3100 is fine for what you want it to fo.
    I think so too. Actually, there's 10 on the outlet at the moment, and none of them have any mention of a graphics card - some of them must have the geforce, so we'll see what turns up...:confused:

    Anyways, cheers for the advice


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    #7
    sebastianlieken
    Registered Users Posts: 1,778 ✭✭✭sebastianlieken


    jus by the way, its "LCD" (liquid crystal display), not "LED" (light emitting diode).

    the latter was prob used on the VERY first ever computer that took up 3 stories, "lcd" is wat u mean.
    unless im really missin summit here anyway....

    and ya, lcd screens r fine. jus dont go pokin ur pen thru it, (number o gob****es i know who have put holes in their screens by pointin at the screen with a pen...jaysus...)


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    #8
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,062 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    sebastianlieken wrote: »
    jus by the way, its "LCD" (liquid crystal display), not "LED" (light emitting diode).

    the latter was prob used on the VERY first ever computer that took up 3 stories, "lcd" is wat u mean.
    unless im really missin summit here anyway....

    and ya, lcd screens r fine. jus dont go pokin ur pen thru it, (number o gob****es i know who have put holes in their screens by pointin at the screen with a pen...jaysus...)


    It's actually an LED backlit screen.


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    #9
    sebastianlieken
    Registered Users Posts: 1,778 ✭✭✭sebastianlieken


    guess i was missin sumthin then!, never heard of it. can ya throw me a link plz.

    ah, found it on google (why i didnt do that first is beyond me...u im that lazy)

    so it is still an lcd screen,backlit with led's


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    #10
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,062 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    sebastianlieken wrote: »
    guess i was missin sumthin then!, never heard of it. can ya throw me a link plz.
    i dont get wat it is

    Instead of having a lamp as a backlight it uses leds instead.

    http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9671130-1.html


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    #11
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Well, this arrived. So thats around 6 days delivery for anyone interested.

    It has the Geforce card rather than the x3100 (wasnt mentioned on the outlet page), so for the money it seems to be a pretty good spec.

    I can see where the criticisms of the build quality are coming from; panel fit isnt up to the standards i'm used to. The plastic cover for the drive bay sits about a mm proud of the aluminium above it. There's some rock even on a perfectly flat surface, though im sure i can sort that out. The area above the keyboard (with the media buttons) has too much play, it sinks a couple of mm when you press it. I presume that's why mine was returned to the outlet; otherwise I don't see any scuffs or scratches. I won't have any reservations buying from the outlet again, the machine looks untouched.

    The screen isnt particularly rigid either. I wouldnt call it flimsy, but there's definitely a lot of warpage available with even a very light touch. Mine is the CCFL model - I was afraid it was going to be a disappointment, but it's grand, plenty bright and not too thick. I would say its par for the course on laptops in this price range.

    Its not as light as I expected, possibly due to the CCFL screen? It must be twice as heavy as my current laptop, but thats a 12.1" with no optical drive so not a fair comparison. In any case, it's about as heavy as i'd want in a 'portable' laptop, so im not too fussed I got the 6 cell instead of 9 cell battery.

    Overall, a good machine, don't have any plans to send it back.


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    #12
    NUTZZ
    Registered Users Posts: 4,101 ✭✭✭NUTZZ


    MacBook Pro! may be more expensive, but totally worth it!


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    #13
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    I bought a similar system to this from the Outlet yesterday morning - an XPS 1330M (€830), listed on the outlet website as:
    Dell Outlet wrote:
    XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T7300 2.00GHz (4MB L2 Cache)
    English - Vista Home Premium
    2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
    Hard Drive 160GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM)
    13.3 WXGA (1280x800) Display with TrueLife for LED
    8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
    Travel Remote Control Unit
    Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)
    Tuxedo Black, 0.3 Camera for White LED Display
    Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion Battery
    English/Irish Ship Accessories - Power Cord
    European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module

    I got my e-mail confirmation this morning which contained the service tag number for the system. So I went onto the Dell support website to check the system configuration and found out that it's a system that was originally sold with a Swedish configuration. So I'm assuming since they're selling it on the Irish website, they'll be loading the English version of Vista and manuals, etc. But they also list the original system as having a Geforce 8400M and an optional 9 cell battery along with the 6 cell included battery.

    So I suppose my question is whether since they're going to the trouble of reinstalling Vista, replacing the documentation and changing the Finnish/Swedish keyboard to an Irish one, do you think they'll take out the optional battery (since it's technically an "accessory" on the original order) and maybe the graphics card too (although I'd imagine they'll have to leave this in unless they go chaning to whole motherboard?)?


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    #14
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,062 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    The graphics card I can't see them taking that out so that's a plus. The battery they will probably sell on separately though I may be wrong.


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    #15
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    AlmightyCushion wrote: »
    The graphics card I can't see them taking that out so that's a plus. The battery they will probably sell on separately though I may be wrong.

    Well I suppose the graphics card is an added €80 that I wasn't expecting, the battery would have been nice, but I'll probably be ok without it.

    voodoo_child, did you order via the website or on the phone? Last time I used the outlet I used the website but had massive problems and delays. This time I ordered by phone so hoping it'll be dispatched sometime this week.


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    #16
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    mcic wrote: »
    voodoo_child, did you order via the website or on the phone?

    It was via the web. Ordered last wednesday, got the confirmation letter this morning and the laptop this afternoon. I know there were some delays at some stage, but they seem to be back to the usual 5-7 days at the moment.

    If thats 830 including vat, that's a very nice spec for the money. I saw one or two for better value than my own over the last few days, and was half-tempted to cancel the order and try and nab one, but now that it's here, I couldnt be bothered.


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    #17
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    Yeah, it was €830 including VAT. I've been keeping an eye on the outlet for the past week or so, this one only appeared on Monday afternoon and I went and ordered it today. It should cost about €1350 when bought new from the website (assuming they include the graphics card), so it's a good discount.


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    #18
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    voodoo_child wrote: »
    If thats 830 including vat, that's a very nice spec for the money. I saw one or two for better value than my own over the last few days, and was half-tempted to cancel the order and try and nab one, but now that it's here, I couldnt be bothered.

    There's another XPS with a similar spec in the outlet now, comes in at €760 including VAT and with the €145 discount. The only (slight) downside is that it doesn't have a LED screen. The spec:
    INSPIRON XPS M1330 (System Identifier. Z2BPM990)
    Dell Outlet wrote:
    XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T7250 2.00GHz
    English - Vista Home Premium
    System Price EUR 761.51
    Operating System: English - Vista Home Premium
    Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
    Hard Disk Drive: 160GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
    NoteBook Screen: 13.3 WXGA (1280x800) Display with TrueLife?
    CD Read-Write Drive: 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
    MISC: English/Irish Ship Accessories - Power Cord
    Primary 9-cell 85WHr Li-Ion Battery
    Crimson Red , 2.0 Camera for CCFL Display
    Travel Remote Control Unit
    Uk/Irish Internal Keyboard (QWERTY)


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    #19
    woop
    Registered Users Posts: 809 ✭✭✭woop


    just got mine ordered the other day came with a discount too

    realll happy:D

    just wondering how long it takes to arrive after it gets to the dispatched stage?

    getting restless ....


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    #20
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    woop wrote: »
    just wondering how long it takes to arrive after it gets to the dispatched stage?

    getting restless ....

    From ordering off the outlet and the regular Dell website, things normally arrive the day after they're dispatched.

    Did you get an e-mail saying your order has been dispatched or can you check it online somehow? The only reference number I have is from the first e-mail confirming my order and spec, but it can't be used on the main websites status check page.

    I'm hoping it'll be less than the 5 working days quoted... but not expecting it. Even though all they really should (normally) have to do is stick a label on the box and load it on a truck...


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    #21
    woop
    Registered Users Posts: 809 ✭✭✭woop


    aww yeah!

    arriving tomorrow then
    I can check it from the website, but I got a seperate e-mail confirmation of my order from the first e mail that had a link straight to my order status..........even told me the weight of my package, 4Kg


    but you should be able to check it with just the order no. and youre email address


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