Some questions about the XPS 1530

Fremen

Hi,

I'm looking into buying new laptop fairly soon, and the XPS 1530 seems about right for me. I just had a few questions about it, if anyone here uses one.

How loud is it? I've heard some bad reports about the hard-drive and DVD drive noise. I don't think that would bother me, but fan noise would be an issue since I often leave the computer running overnight in my room, say if I have a big download coming through.

Are there any driver compatibility issues with linux? I would be dual-booting with ubuntu.
I'm sure a bit of googling would tell me, but I'd prefer to hear first-hand.

Does anyone know if dell will add more options for the screen at a later date? Ideally, I'd like to run at a higher resolution than 1280X800.

Does the boards discount work for dell UK? I'm living in london at the moment, the laptop would be delivered here.

Do dell laptops come with an actual Vista disc? The first thing I'd like to do is a clean install to get rid of all their crapware.

Any other issues you think would be helpful to know about?

Cheers for your help.

AlmightyCushion

I don't have one but I doubt the fan would come on much if all you are doing is downloading. That wouldn't use much cpu or graphics card so they won't need to be running at full whack and therefore wouldn't generate much heat.

As far as I know the boards discount is over although there are a couple of money off vouchers kicking about over on bargain alerts so you might want to check that out.

Voodu Child

To answer your questions in roughly the right order:

There's a couple of reviews on the internet, i've seen one mention higher than preferable hard-drive noise levels you mentioned, but some other reviews havent mentioned it at all, or stated the opposite.

They only really started shipping the M1530s in late December - so keep an eye on owners forums etc to get the best idea about what the general consensus is.

Same goes for Ubuntu, you'll start to see guides and reports as more people get their hands on their computers. FWIW, I had zero problems getting an Ubuntu/Vista dual boot setup on the M1330. I can't see the 1530 being any different. One area to pay attention to though, is the media-direct partition and button. Google that and you'll see what im on about.

The 1440x900 screen size is available in the Irish market now, I ordered mine the other day (currently about 2 weeks build time). I'd presume the UK Dell site has it too. Afaik, the options will include LED backlit screens and higher-res in the near future.

Again, speaking about the M1330 (and assuming the 1530 is the same), the Vista install disc was included. Actually, there was surprisingly little bloatware in any case.

Last time I checked, there was a great deal on the EPP site - e350 off a model with Blu-Ray. Seeing as the blu-ray option costs around e350 anyway, it was effectively a free add-on. I posted the details in the bargain alerts forum if you're interested. It may have expired by now, if not, i expect it will very shortly.

hamster

Just to add to the M1530 model. I ordered that on the 19th dec and expect delivery tomorrow (9th January). The final price after tax,shipping etc etc for me is 1175.10 - no changes were made from the default selections - I applied the 10% discount on the 19th - at the moment its €1,399 - may worth your while to see what's going to change again.

hamster

Right here's some feedback on the XPS M1530

I got it delivered yesterday and opened it up.

The box came with Vista premium CD, drivers/diagnostics CD, Works 8.5 CD and restore cd.
The laptop itself came in a nice compact soft lined folder and a booklet with the manual.

It weighed 2.7Kg with the battery compared to my old 15" P4 1.8Ghz which came in at 3.4Kg. However when I flipped back the screen lid and had a look at the black media panel behind the function keys - I saw obvious deep scratch marks going backwards across the play buttons. I rang support and they said they would send out a replacement part. It's really just a cheap plastic section - no biggie - but it really made the thing look used.

The keys were perfect and responded nicely with a slight click feedback. The touchpad was fine and the mouse buttons didn't offer much resistance but were firm. On my old laptop clicking the button felt like pressing levers.

The Harddrive isn't as loud as some would make out - you would hear a soft whickering noise when loading something heavy. The DVD drive is excellent - not too long finding the disc and ejects or sucks in the CD with no nonsense.

The laptop came with 3 usb ports - 2 on the left and 1 on the right. The 2 on the left were very *tight*. I mean when I plugged in my slim lined usb key for my mouse - it was a struggle - I need to push it in quite hard - where as on the right side the usb slot was fine. I think the reason its tight is because the slot is close to the top edge of the laptop case. The power cable isn't in the way - plugs in the back of the left side and away from you.
The speaker plugs are in the front - not ideal - but shouldn't be a problem. I tried out the bluetooth with my mobile and it was excellent - worked perfectly - picked up my mobile - and I was able to send photos both ways. In Windows explorer I was able to browse the folders on the mobile. Nice.

The sound was fine - but you would want to use headphones anyway. I didn't try the 8-1 card media reader but I'm sure that was fine. Also, I didn't try the media remote control - but it looks pretty small and compact.
Going back to the black media controls - I was not impressed by them - the buttons were not responsive and to mute or turn up/down the sound required a fair amount of pressure on the plastic which I would like to do on a regular basis - I'm guessing that is the contacts under the plastic were not that sensitive.
The media button also boots up when pressed and goes into a dedicated cutdown version for playing media files like video, music etc. Again, I was not keen on that and would prefer it if was not there at all - and save myself that separate partition it uses.
The finger biometric reader worked fine! Only thing is that it is yet another program running on the taskbar to operate. However it did a great job - once you get used to it. You need to place your finger on it (from the middle of the finger) and slowly swipe your finger down across the reader until it reached the tip - so it scans the length of your finger for a good read. Just pressing your finger won't work. It's handy for logging in - but don't be in a rush - still - it is faster than logging in by the keyboard. Also will work for other things like banking etc.

The GT 8600M is an *excellent* card - I tried World of Warcraft and got 40-60fps with all the settings set to high (with x2 sampling) and it still was fast - I was running around in Elwynn Forest - I'm sure Stormwind or any other city would slow it slightly. But yes - the full screen was utilised and the game made the most of the game whether in windowed mode or fullscreen (the game detected 1280x800 automatically).

The fan was fine it came on quite regular since Vista is 3D accelerated anyway - i did notice 3 settings - 2D perf, 3D light perf and 3D heavy perf settings. At the loudest setting - it was still quite.

Finally...
Let's talk about the resolution - that was the breaker for me - after the scratched panel - the resolution (outside of gaming) is simply too low!

1. Open up firefox or IE. The length of the viewing windows is just waaay too short - I know this is wide screen but 800 pixels down is not going to cut it for browsing.
Especially if you use the navigation bar, Bookmarks Toolbar (dead handy) and the tabs bars for your multiple pages - that's a lot gone already - and sheesh - god help you if you use the google bar as well (which I don't).
The favorites don't even fit properly down the page.
I didn try using small fonts and icons on the browser - but it's a boxed in feeling - many pages don't use the widescreen real estate. That's fine - but at least have a higher vertical resolution.

2. Many icons in Vista are large (more detail) - you can resize these down but you get the impression that vista is more concerned with 1440x and higher and it's windows properties fill the screen like those 640x480 days of old.

Dell, would not consider changing the screen - So I sent it back much relived and will consider another purchase in the future but with a much higher resolution. - With White Led technology coming on stream I think it would be worth the wait. Having said that - the laptop was nice but a few flaws - the unnecessary media controls and low resolution.

That Nvidia 8600M card should still handle well at 900x1440 and slightly above. So definitely worth waiting for a better res. That res is fine probably on the M1330 (13") but 15" is suited to hold more.

I would like to hear what folks think of the 1440x900 when they get it.

I have a more detailed Everest Diagnostics zipped doc on request.

legs11

I love the resolution on the M1710........!:D

I am surprised to hear of the resoluton you get on that model to be honest, id expect more from an xps brand.

dloob

There is a 1680x1050 screen option available on the 1530 now for 130 extra.
I ordered one yesterday with the 1400x900 screen hopefully I won't find it too small. My desktop PC is 1400x900 so I'm used to it.

Voodu Child

legs11 wrote: »

I am surprised to hear of the resoluton you get on that model to be honest, id expect more from an xps brand.

It was initially available in 1280x800 due to supply reasons. They've only been shipping a few weeks and the 1440x900 is available already. A 1650x1050 is around the corner. This was all mentioned already in my post above.

Personally I agree that 1280x800 is too low for a 15.4" screen, but this is down to personal preference more than anything else. As the choice is there now, it's not really an issue.

Thanks for the review. It's a shame you didn't like it, but that's what the return policy is for! The only thing I can think of with the media direct buttons is that they seem to be heat sensitive rather than touch sensitive, only the very lightest touch is needed on my M1330. Because of how sensitive they are, I think they're calibrated to have a fairly long 'repeat' when held down - this may be why you found them unresponsive.

foobar

hamster wrote: »

I would like to hear what folks think of the 1440x900 when they get it.

I ordered mine on Monday @ 1440x900 as 1650x1050 wasn’t available ... in reality will there be much of a difference between 1280x800 vs 1440x900 ?
BTW if im not happy with the laptop for any reason, will dell take it back?

SemperFidelis

Try this for removing all the bloatware,

I used this on my M1330 and the performace gain is noticable. Much quicker starting and shutting down and more disk space.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157838

hamster

That's a good linkie SemperFidelis muchas gracias.

SemperFidelis wrote: »

Try this for removing all the bloatware,

I used this on my M1330 and the performace gain is noticable. Much quicker starting and shutting down and more disk space.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157838

Oh one other thing I noticed when I first looked at underneath the laptop - the harddrive panel cover was slightly warped - maybe possibly it was tightly screwed into place further down the panel. Maybe just needed to be reseated into position but looks a bit rushed put into place at the factory. Either way - I left it alone and now it is safely packed away awaiting return to Dell via courier.

Fremen

Cheers for the review hamster, that was very helpful.

The spec on the higher-end M1530 is pretty much ideal for me, so I think I'll wait about a month and grab one once the higher screen resolution is available from Dell UK.

I currently use a vaio FS115z, which has a native 1280x800, so I'm used to it.
I hear intel released some new penryn chips the other day, so maybe the price on the processors will fall a bit too, if I'm lucky.

AlmightyCushion

Fremen wrote: »

I hear intel released some new penryn chips the other day, so maybe the price on the processors will fall a bit too, if I'm lucky.

Unlikely, I think they've only released desktop parts for penryn. It could be a while before they start releasing mobile chips.

foobar

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Unlikely, I think they've only released desktop parts for penryn. It could be a while before they start releasing mobile chips.

Intel unveils first Penryn mobile processors
http://www.macworld.com/article/131452/2008/01/penryn.html

AlmightyCushion

foobar wrote: »

Intel unveils first Penryn mobile processors
http://www.macworld.com/article/131452/2008/01/penryn.html

Sweet! It mentions nothing about mobile quads unfortunately. Hopefully they'll be just around the corner.

Fremen

Well, I took the plunge and ordered a 1530 last night. Estimated delivery is on the 31st: I can pretty much guarantee I'll be checking the damn order status five times a day for the next two weeks.

I'll give my impressions when it arrives.

Voodu Child

I've had this a few days now (2.2Ghz, 8600M, 1440x900).
Quick review and a few pointers for anyone thinking of getting one:

The screen is great, no problems or graininess. The standard 1440x900 is 250nits, which is a good bit brighter than the 1680x1050 option (only 200nits). It's also brighter than the 1280x800 model (220nits). So I reckon it's a good choice. Very nice screen.

Noise - well, the hard-drive isn't 'noisy' in the sense that the maximum noise is produces is never that loud. HOWEVER, mine seems to be ticking over constantly. In a quiet room, it's almost like a ticking clock in terms of annoyingness - it's just constantly going 'click....click....click' about every two seconds. The DVD drive is fine, no noisier than average. The fan is pretty noisy at full whack, but that only every seems to happen when doing something very intensive. Any other time, it's fine, nothing different than the usual.

Build - everything is alright, panel fit is good, all very sturdy etc, EXCEPT - theres the edge of what looks like ribbon cable protruding into the battery compartment. It's coming out from the main body of the laptop, and seems to have gotten trapped in there when the chassis was being screwed together. The battery is only 99% flush with the laptop because of this. This might be something to ring Dell about, i havent decided yet.

Static shocks :eek: The PSU supplied connects to the laptop with a 2-pin (ie ungrounded) cable. This seems like a pretty stupid idea with an aluminium bodied laptop, and sure enough, the whole machine builds a slight static charge the whole time. I've not gotten a shock off it yet, but I can clearly feel the charge, similarly to how you could feel the charge on the screen of old CRT televisions. A faint 'buzzing' sensation when you rub your finger on the aluminium. This is definitely grounds to get on to Dell, i'll be ringing them asap to request a replacement grounded PSU.

Another minor niggle is that the power socket is octagonal, but the supplied PSU has a regular circular male connector. It fits, but it's not particularly snug, it pulls out pretty easily.

Graphics card - as mentioned by the first reviewer, the 8600M is a great card, and the M1530 ships with the DDR3 version, which is even better. I checked it with 3DMark05 and it got around 8200 out with recent drivers. Shouldnt have any problem running most games fairly well.

Software - had plenty of bloatware, a bit dissapointing for a XPS system. All sorts of google toolbars etc. I ended up reformating it.

All in all, it's a great laptop. A few niggles, but nothing major, wouldnt put me off recommending it.

foobar

voodoo_child wrote: »

Noise - well, the hard-drive isn't 'noisy' in the sense that the maximum noise is produces is never that loud.
.

First off, great review.I agree totally about the 1440x900 screen - its really is bright. BTW I had the same clicking issues as you .... to be honest it got me worried as my work laptop (thinkpad T43) starting making that noise right before the harddrive failed. I rang Dell and got the hd replaced this friday. It seemed to have fixed the issue but will need to spend more time with the machine to be sure.

I also installed ubuntu on the machine and beside from two issue i need to sort out (hibernation and the biometric reader ) it installed and runs great.

AlmightyCushion

voodoo_child wrote: »

IStatic shocks :eek: The PSU supplied connects to the laptop with a 2-pin (ie ungrounded) cable. This seems like a pretty stupid idea with an aluminium bodied laptop, and sure enough, the whole machine builds a slight static charge the whole time. I've not gotten a shock off it yet, but I can clearly feel the charge, similarly to how you could feel the charge on the screen of old CRT televisions. A faint 'buzzing' sensation when you rub your finger on the aluminium. This is definitely grounds to get on to Dell, i'll be ringing them asap to request a replacement grounded PSU.

Just thought I'd let you know, it' not just you. It seems to be quite a problem.

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/laptops/0,39029450,49295100,00.htm

We've discovered a worrying new feature in some Dell laptops: if you touch them, you may get an electric shock. This discharge can vary in strength from a gentle tingle to a sudden jolt. Disturbingly, you could also be shocked when connecting printers, PDAs and other peripherals to the offending laptops.

We know this because several CNET staff were hit with an electrical charge while using Dell's new XPS M1530 -- and we're not the only ones. Dell's forums are littered with user complaints about the shocking experiences they've had with some systems.

The problem only seems to occur in Dell laptops that have a brushed-aluminium finish. These include the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530. It's caused by the two-pronged connection between the mains lead and the power adaptor, which isn't earthed properly because of its lack of a third pin.

The laptop therefore exhibits an electrical potential (voltage) between its exposed metal parts (the brushed aluminium wrist pad) and earth ground. Since there is no earth, the human body basically acts as a wire that can conduct electric current, hence the tingling, jolting sensation.

This can be exacerbated depending on the conditions of a person's skin -- whether it's oily or dry -- and the surrounding environment. Humidity levels, flooring types or desk material all play a role here.

Dell had not responded to a request for comment at time of publication -- we'll update if they ever get back to us. When our colleagues rang Dell to complain, they were told Dell is willing to replace all affected two-pin power supplies with a three-pin connection. But the company doesn't seem to publicly acknowledge there's a serious problem. According to a Dell Knowledge Base article:

"The electric current on all Dell products have been measured and proven to be well within the safety limits per safety standards -- IEC950, EN60950, UL1950, etc, even with an input voltage of 240 Volts. The voltage (tingling sensation) does NOT present any risk of injury to the user. It is recommended to unplug the AC adaptor from the parent device before attaching any cables or accessories, as this reduces the possibility of experiencing the tingling sensation."

While this may reassure some users, we're still slightly concerned. Back in 2004, the company recalled 4.4 million laptop power adaptors because of a fear they could overheat, creating a risk of fire or electric shock. The problem affected some Latitude, Precision and Inspirons between 1998 and 2002.

It seems to affect the m1330 as well. At least they are replacing them with 3 pin connectors. I would recommend everyone requests a 3 pin connector even if you haven't had any problems just to be on the safe side.

Voodu Child

I haven't gotten a 'shock' off it yet, but yeah, like I said, there's a definite 'sensation' that there's a (small) charge on the aluminium surfaces.

It's quite bizarre that they didn't ship with a grounded AC adaptor, i'd have nearly thought that was an Irish requirement. I had a M1330 for a while, off the top of my head, im pretty sure it did have a grounded adaptor. And I never noticed any static build-up.

Anyways, yeah, for any other M1530 owners out there, it's definitely worth getting on to Dell whether you notice the problem or not. It should be quite obvious whether the power brick has a two-pin or three-pin connection to the laptop.

far2gud

Great thread, cheers guys

BostonB

by the two-pronged connection between the mains lead and the power adaptor, which isn't earthed properly because of its lack of a third pin.

voodoo_child wrote: »

....Static shocks :eek: The PSU supplied connects to the laptop with a 2-pin (ie ungrounded) cable. ..

I'm confused. Are you talking about the lead from the PSU to the laptop or the PSU to the wall socket. I got a 1330 the other day and it looks like a 3 pin from the wall socket to the PSU. I dunno about the PSU to the laptop.

BostonB

voodoo_child wrote: »

...
Another minor niggle is that the power socket is octagonal, but the supplied PSU has a regular circular male connector. It fits, but it's not particularly snug, it pulls out pretty easily....

The supplied PSU got with the 1330 has a octagonal male connector.

Voodu Child

BostonB wrote: »

I'm confused. Are you talking about the lead from the PSU to the laptop or the PSU to the wall socket. I got a 1330 the other day and it looks like a 3 pin from the wall socket to the PSU. I dunno about the PSU to the laptop.

This thread is in relation to the M1530 and not 1330.

I had a 1330 previously and it did indeed have a grounded (3-pin) PSU with octagonal connector.

My M1530 however came with a PSU with round connector (laptop has octagonal hole - it works fine, but isn't as snug as i'd like), and the cord from the PSU brick to the laptop is only 2-pin. It has a 3-pin plug to the wall socket, but it's effectively a dummy ground pin.

BostonB

voodoo_child wrote: »

This thread is in relation to the M1530 and not 1330.

The problem only seems to occur in Dell laptops that have a brushed-aluminium finish. These include the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530. It's caused by the two-pronged connection between the mains lead and the power adaptor, which isn't earthed properly because of its lack of a third pin.

The the same issues effect both. Its almost the same design just bigger. So I don't get your point tbh.

voodoo_child wrote: »

I had a 1330 previously and it did indeed have a grounded (3-pin) PSU with octagonal connector.

My M1530 however came with a PSU with round connector (laptop has octagonal hole - it works fine, but isn't as snug as i'd like), and the cord from the PSU brick to the laptop is only 2-pin. It has a 3-pin plug to the wall socket, but it's effectively a dummy ground pin.

Everywhere I've read about this issue it only talks about the the 2 and 3 prongs. Which suggests it the power cable to the socket. How you recognise the difference (earthed or not) in the octagonal or round connector?

Voodu Child

BostonB wrote: »

How you recognise the difference (earthed or not) in the octagonal or round connector?

You can recognize whether it's round or octagonal simply by looking at it.

You can recognize whether it's grounded/earthed or not by the power-brick; a proper grounded PSU has a clover shaped ('mickey mouse') socket, whereas the ungrounded PSUs that are causing the problem here just have simple side-by-side 2-pin socket.

Getting back on topic and talking about the M1530, I just have to re-iterate what an excellent graphics card the DDR3 version of the 8600M is. It gets around 4300 3DMark06 with everything stock. Probably mid 5000's if you were inclined to o/c it. Pretty decent for a 15" lappy

BostonB

voodoo_child wrote: »

You can recognize whether it's round or octagonal simply by looking at it.

I'm sure thats useful, but I didn't ask that.

voodoo_child wrote: »

You can recognize whether it's grounded/earthed or not by the power-brick; a proper grounded PSU has a clover shaped ('mickey mouse') socket, whereas the ungrounded PSUs that are causing the problem here just have simple side-by-side 2-pin socket.

Thanks. I guess that and the shock and the user with their hair standing on end.:D

voodoo_child wrote: »

Getting back on topic and talking about the M1530...

Why are you ragging on me? You mentioned the M1330 twice in your first post in this thread, and others have already mentioned it.

BostonB

I got my 1330 on the outlet. Arrived in a week. Theres 1530's up there aswell. Prices aren't that great though. This is the best one at the moment.

Price incl. VAT excl. del: EUR 835.71
Price excl. VAT & del: EUR 690.67

INSPIRON XPS M1530 (System Identifier. Z2RX2DE0)
XPS M1530 CORE 2 DUO T5250 1.50GHz
Operating System: English - Vista Home Premium
Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x1024)
Hard Disk Drive: Hard Drive 250GB Serial ATA (5400RPM)
Video: ASSY, BASE 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT
NoteBook Screen: 15.4 WXGA (1280x800) with Truelife
CCFL backcover black & 2.0mp camera
Battery XPS Primary 9-cell 85WHr Li-Ion

far2gud

voodoo_child wrote: »

This thread is in relation to the M1530 and not 1330.

I had a 1330 previously and it did indeed have a grounded (3-pin) PSU with octagonal connector.

I was looking at the 1330 but the screen looks abit small, in your opinion how does the 1530 compare?

Voodu Child

far2gud wrote: »

I was looking at the 1330 but the screen looks abit small, in your opinion how does the 1530 compare?

There's a decent enough difference in screen size, but it works both ways - the M1330 is much more portable than the M1530. There's a video on youtube of both machines side by side, see if you can track it down, i'll link it if you can't.

So one of the factors i'd use to decide which to go for is just how much time you spend on the move.

BostonB

The screen size is one thing theres also the resolution to think about. I wouldn't use the 1330 as a main machine. Light email, wp etc. The 1530 with a higher res I probably could. That said my mine machine is a 17" laptop with 1920x1200.

rc28

My sister is looking to buy an xps 1530 for use with photoshop and possibly some architecture programmes like CAD. I have seen that it can be configured with 4gb ram for only 100euro more or a better processor from the standard for about the same price too. So what I want to know is what is better to have; the better 2.0/2.2 ghz core 2 duo or 4GB ram? For programmes like photoshop what would you recommend? Will she need the more expensive graphics card?

Her absolute max budget is 1200 but she doesn't need a big hard drive in it. She also wants a very good screen for photography- it must display colours very well, for this should be thinking about buying a dell 22" ultrasharp monitor?
Any help is much appreciated.

Voodu Child

rc28 wrote: »

My sister is looking to buy an xps 1530 for use with photoshop and possibly some architecture programmes like CAD. I have seen that it can be configured with 4gb ram for only 100euro more or a better processor from the standard for about the same price too. So what I want to know is what is better to have; the better 2.0/2.2 ghz core 2 duo or 4GB ram? For programmes like photoshop what would you recommend? Will she need the more expensive graphics card?

Her absolute max budget is 1200 but she doesn't need a big hard drive in it. She also wants a very good screen for photography- it must display colours very well, for this should be thinking about buying a dell 22" ultrasharp monitor?
Any help is much appreciated.

The more expensive graphics card (8600M) has much better 3D performance (than the 8400M), but you wouldn't notice any difference in photoshop. You wouldn't notice a difference in typical (2D) autocad usage either.

The new Intel Penryn chips are expected to roll out on most models in the very near future, so it might be worth waiting to see if there's any reshuffle of prices/specs before buying.

My favourite screen on the M1530 at the moment is the 1440x900 - it's brighter than the current other choices. You might want a higher res for photoshop (1680x1050), but bear in mind these screens have a pretty poor brightness level.

rc28

voodoo_child wrote: »

The more expensive graphics card (8600M) has much better 3D performance (than the 8400M), but you wouldn't notice any difference in photoshop. You wouldn't notice a difference in typical (2D) autocad usage either.

The new Intel Penryn chips are expected to roll out on most models in the very near future, so it might be worth waiting to see if there's any reshuffle of prices/specs before buying.

My favourite screen on the M1530 at the moment is the 1440x900 - it's brighter than the current other choices. You might want a higher res for photoshop (1680x1050), but bear in mind these screens have a pretty poor brightness level.

Thanks for that. Does anyone have an opinion of which is more important; Ram(4GB) or Better processor(2.2ghz core 2 duo)?

BostonB

It would depend on the work. If you are handling massive files, then RAM. If not the CPU as you can always upgrade the RAM later if you needed to.

rc28

Just to update the thread, my sister decided to buy the m1530 last saturday and it arrived today- it's brilliant so far. The quality of the screen and good materials used is really impressive. It's the best looking laptop I've come across (even better than the macbook/pro) let alone the best looking dell ever.
Everything is working perfectly too- even the biometric reader works surprisingly well(in my experience they are annoying and often cant read your finger).

She got the 2.2ghz core2duo (but the sticker on the outside says centrino??) and 4gb ram with the better graphics card- it's very quick at opening programs and I think vista's pretty good too.
The only bad thing so far seems to be that when you reduce the brightness on the screen it makes and odd dim noise until you put it back to max brightness.

Gazza22

rc28 wrote: »

She got the 2.2ghz core2duo (but the sticker on the outside says centrino??)

It is a core 2 duo don't worry. The centrino sticker indicates that Dell have used the Intel core 2 duo processor, Intel chipset and Intel pro wireless network adapter.

The 3 of these need to be Intel to qualify for the "Centrino" standard, the technology used by Intel to make the battery run longer, keep the system cooler and also makes it lighter!

That's good to hear about the system anyway, i placed an order for a 2.2ghz 1530 last night myself!

rc28

Ok we've noticed one very annoying problem with this laptop. When playing music (saved on hard drive) it stutters at random times, even when the laptop is idle. I googled it and came across some other people with same problem but didn't see a solution, what should we do?

This is when using windows media player, i'll see if it's the same for other players later.

BostonB

Have you tried different apps?

Voodu Child

There's some issues with Vista and wireless cards interfering with audio playback. Don't ask me why , i don't have the problem so I havent looked into it.

I've heard of a fix that involves altering a wireless setting (disabling the 'a' band).

That's something i'd try:
Control panel - System - Device Manager - select wireless card and hit properties - Advanced - Disable Bands - Disable 802.11 a

BostonB

Does turning it off in the bios fix the problem?

hamster

BostonB wrote: »

Have you tried different apps?

Worth a go too.. try a simple mp3 file or long .wav file in basic winamp (or similarly basic).

rc28

Thanks for the advice but it seems to have stopped doing it now

Fremen

One thing about this laptop that nearly drove me bat**** insane is that under Vista, it emits a REALLY loud, high-pitched whining sound.

It took me three weeks to work out how to get it to stop (you change the bluetooth settings so that vista can't power the bluetooth device off).

Voodu Child

Fremen wrote: »

One thing about this laptop that nearly drove me bat**** insane is that under Vista, it emits a REALLY loud, high-pitched whining sound.

It took me three weeks to work out how to get it to stop (you change the bluetooth settings so that vista can't power the bluetooth device off).

I never read up on it because i didn't have the problem myself, but there was some CPU related whine problem with some of the Dell laptops recently (and other brands). Might be worth looking into. It was definitely CPU related if I recall.

Fremen

Yeah, it happens when the CPU enters a power-saving state. Bluetooth is a "bus-mastering device" (whatever that is) so apparently turning it on all the time stops the whine.

rc28

rc28 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice but it seems to have stopped doing it now

To update the thread, it started again but I fixed it permanently by disabling all enhancements under the sigmatel sound card properties. This fixed the skipping issue but now tracks change much quicker too (there used to be an annoying lag when changing tracks). I'd recommend everone with this laptop to do this as there was no deterioration in sound quality either.