Sleek, small(ish) new laptop needed: Advice?

King Ian

Hi- Technophobe here, and my 4 year old HP laptop is on its last legs, so I'm in need of a new one. I wouldn't be using it for much more than:

- Your average Word, Adobe, Internet Explorer, etc for work stuff
- ITunes
- MSN etc.

As in, no high-tech gadgetry or programming of any kind. I'm looking for something that is

- Small(ish), sleek, light and portable.
- Smaller than average screen (13-14" approx)
- QUIET. No loud fan. (4 years with my loud HP will make me insist on this)
- Resonable battery life, not looking for miracles
- Webcam and Wi-fi, which seem to be pretty standard now anyway

With all this in mind, I had planned to get the Dell XPS 1330 - that is until I read the apalling reviews of its reliability on this site, and other sites. I was then considering the XPS 1530, but it seems a bit too big, almost as bad as the humongous Inspirons.

Can anyone recommend another make/model which accords roughly in size to the XPS 1330, has much better reliability, ticks all of the above boxes, and comes within a reasonable budget range?

The smaller size, light weight and portability are chiefly what I am looking for,

Can anyone make any suggestions? Thanks!

Voodu Child

King Ian wrote: »

With all this in mind, I had planned to get the Dell XPS 1330 - that is until I read the apalling reviews of its reliability on this site, and other sites. I was then considering the XPS 1530, but it seems a bit too big, almost as bad as the humongous Inspirons.

FWIW, most of the 'appalling reviews' on this site are coming from just a couple of people posting again and again in a large number of threads. I had a M1330 for some time and had zero problems with it.

Of course, there have been some failures, there always are with any computer. And because of problems with the 8400M GS card, the failure rate may be higher than average, its impossible to know without numbers. But remember that the laptop has sold in huge numbers when trying to get a handle on just how prevalent reliability problems are. Regardless, you're covered by warranty in any case.

FWIW, I wouldn't buy one now either, but only because i'd be expecting a Centrino 2 replacement sooner rather than later, and also I expect Dell to move on to the Nvidia 9x series cards asap, and also of course Ati models.

Thirdfox

You can get 4-6 hours on a Asus 1000h I hear...

I'm in the market for a small/light/good batt netbook that I can take college notes on that won't break the bank.

The 1000h costs E442, but I'm heading to the US in 2 weeks (for college there) and it only costs E350 there...should I wait? (things will be hectic once I go over!)

No optical drive and screen is only 10" - something to keep in mind. (80gb hard drive though!)

King Ian

voodoo_child wrote: »

FWIW, I wouldn't buy one now either, but only because i'd be expecting a Centrino 2 replacement sooner rather than later, and also I expect Dell to move on to the Nvidia 9x series cards asap, and also of course Ati models.

Thanks for the advice. Does the 1330 have a very loud fan though? That would be a major factor in my decision......because the one I have is very loud at this stage

Umiq88

the dell vostro 1310 is pretty much the same as the 1330 xps i just purchased one and haveto say am very happy with it.

Voodu Child

King Ian wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. Does the 1330 have a very loud fan though? That would be a major factor in my decision......because the one I have is very loud at this stage

No, looking at your typical useage, the fan will run at a slow speed (or not at all) most of the time. Should be near silent.

Also, in relation to reliability of M1330, bear in mind that the integrated graphics card (Intel X3100) will run cooler and consume less power than the Nvidia 8400M GS, and there has been no reports of M1330 problems related to the X3100.

The current Dell discount voucher is
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10% off Inspiron and XPS computers of value e899 or over. Expires 06/08/08

King Ian

voodoo_child wrote: »

Also, in relation to reliability of M1330, bear in mind that the integrated graphics card (Intel X3100) will run cooler and consume less power than the Nvidia 8400M GS, and there has been no reports of M1330 problems related to the X3100.

Do you mean that the 1330 no longer contain the Nvidia 8400M GS, and are instead built to include the Intel X3100 ?

justbringit89

Save a bit of money and go for the Dell studio 15, great spec for lower money!!

Voodu Child

King Ian wrote: »

Do you mean that the 1330 no longer contain the Nvidia 8400M GS, and are instead built to include the Intel X3100 ?

No, the M1330 is currently available with two graphics options:

The less powerful (integrated) Intel X3100, and the more powerful (discrete) Nvidia 8400M GS.

They've both been available from day one. Although they don't give you the option of the X3100 on the higher-end models because they assume you wouldn't want it. But its there on the base and mid-level systems.

Overheal

if you get the 8400 youll get fan-noise for sure. its a neat little card if youre on a budget but it has issues - long story short the fan on it will run a lot more than the intel chip would.

lyencoli

just got an xps 1330 and very happy with it - couple of points:

researched it a lot before i got it and there was a number of people who had problems with it and seemed to go to every site they could and post about it - as they are intitled to do but some of it was copied and pasted over and over. i saw the same post on five different sites.

you tend to only hear about problems.

fan noise is low

graphics card will potentially go after a while - get an extended warranty

the 1330 is a nice size, good layout, no problem typing, the 1530 is a good bit bigger