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Dell XPS M1330

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Comments

  • #32
    Ouijaboard
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 241 ✭✭Ouijaboard


    yeah got the empty box aswell in two m1330's ordered, was kinda perplexed for a bit looking into both of them but soon got over it.

    Nice machine but it's delicate, I just keep on having the feeling that it has to be handled with extreme care. I flipped it over to open mem slot as the fan assembly was making an annoying ticking noise when it ran, was thinking it was touching something, well it wasnt and when I replaced the back and flipped it back over and turned it on I notice several small scratches on the lovely LED LCD which werent there before, then noticed that the keyboard had scratched it as tiny parts of the gloss were still on the keys So needless to say I was delighted then that even owing to my careful handling i still managed to cause a minor mishap. Moral of the story be bloody careful with that high gloss screen as it can scratch against the keyboard if any even slight pressure is applied to back of lcd.

    Anyone notice the clicking fan or did i just get a lemon?, the fan seems to come on slow at 40deg which is a bit overkill, used i8kfangui to set it to only come on when cpu reaches 55deg as for a tiny laptop it was beginning to sound a hell of a lot louder than my 15.4 toshiba and inspiron 6400......everything else seems ok tho :)


  • #33
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    It definitely needs a lot of care - even when you carry it in the pouch it feels like you need to be very, very gentle with it. The LED screen especially, it seems to have a lot of flex in it (I don't know if it's intended to be a bit flexible or now). It's a great system, small, light, fast and a great screen, but I'm going to have to buy some extra padding for carrying it around.

    I have noticed it's a bit noisier than I expected it to be, but not as noisy as my old Inspiron 6400 was. The fan isn't that loud, but it does come on more than in the 6400 - smaller heat sinks and all that maybe? Plus I have the non-integrated graphics card, which would add to the heat/noise.


  • #34
    machalla
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,523 ✭✭✭machalla


    I got one of these a couple of months ago. I can't fault it apart from only being able to get it with Vista installed. I'm not a fan after having to use it for the last couple of months. On the other hand Ubuntu 7.10 installed on this machine without a bother and everything from sound to wireless appeared to work out of the box.

    Its grand for gaming overall. I tried Unreal 2007 on it and the game was zipping along fine playwise but the graphics themselves were not good for this game. On the other hand Dawn of War, Company of Heroes, Half Life 2 all look great on this machine. Since I can't see anyone buying it as an out and out gaming machine its all more than adequate.

    So far the only downside has been the operating system. Good tip about the screen and keyboard, I must watch out for that.


  • #35
    SemperFidelis
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 266 ✭✭SemperFidelis


    Try this,

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

    I was able to use this to remove all the bloatware and speed up my m1330. Works a treat.


  • #36
    Bass Cadet
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 719 ✭✭✭Bass Cadet


    mcic wrote: »
    It definitely needs a lot of care - even when you carry it in the pouch it feels like you need to be very, very gentle with it. The LED screen especially, it seems to have a lot of flex in it (I don't know if it's intended to be a bit flexible or now). It's a great system, small, light, fast and a great screen, but I'm going to have to buy some extra padding for carrying it around.

    Agree with this. Like most lightweight laptops, when closed and if there is any pressure at all on the lid, it will push into the keyboard which may mark the LED screen. Hold onto the foam insert that came with the packaging or otherwise buy something like this...

    154_main.png

    From www.lappymats.com

    Some people reckon it's a design flaw but it makes sense that any laptop pushed into a laptop case will at some stage be bundled in with other documents/magazines which can push the lid into the keyboard causing scratches.


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  • #37
    lukej
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27 ✭lukej


    Has the nvidia 8400M graphics card, that comes as an option for this laptop,
    have a hdmi output or has it just got a vga output?


  • #38
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    lukej wrote: »
    Has the nvidia 8400M graphics card, that comes as an option for this laptop,
    have a hdmi output or has it just got a vga output?

    The 8400 has a HDMI output, but I think the onboard graphics has HDMI output too. It seems to be a standard feature of the M1330, unless I misinterpreted it.

    I have the 8400, so it definitely does have HDMI and I'm fairly sure the onboard graphics does too.


  • #39
    mcic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 73 ✭✭mcic


    Bass Cadet wrote: »
    Agree with this. Like most lightweight laptops, when closed and if there is any pressure at all on the lid, it will push into the keyboard which may mark the LED screen. Hold onto the foam insert that came with the packaging or otherwise buy something like this...

    I got a XPS branded cloth with mine, looks similar to what's in that pic. I thought it was for cleaning the screen and for cleaning fingerprints off of the matte part of the shell, but it's probably supposed to be used to protect the screen when closed too?


  • #40
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Bass Cadet wrote: »
    Agree with this. Like most lightweight laptops, when closed and if there is any pressure at all on the lid, it will push into the keyboard which may mark the LED screen. ....

    Some people reckon it's a design flaw but it makes sense that any laptop pushed into a laptop case will at some stage be bundled in with other documents/magazines which can push the lid into the keyboard causing scratches.

    That is a design flaw IMO.


  • #41
    Bass Cadet
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 719 ✭✭✭Bass Cadet


    BostonB wrote: »
    That is a design flaw IMO.

    Well, if it is a design flaw then what's the alternative? Make the shell out of solid, hard, heavy, unforgiving plastic? With a bit of care with the product as is, it should'nt be a problem. No matter how much of a distance there is between the screen and keyboard when closed, if you apply enough pressure, it will cause scratches if there is no padding between it


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  • #42
    Voodu Child
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,706 ✭✭✭Voodu Child


    Bass Cadet wrote: »
    Well, if it is a design flaw then what's the alternative? Make the shell out of solid, hard, heavy, unforgiving plastic? With a bit of care with the product as is, it should'nt be a problem. No matter how much of a distance there is between the screen and keyboard when closed, if you apply enough pressure, it will cause scratches if there is no padding between it

    Ah, there's no problem IMO. There's a small amount of flex in the screen, but only a torsional type of flex (a twist from one side to another - you can pull the left side up a few mm and the right side down).

    There's very little flex available in the middle of the screen - it's actually more rigid in this aspect than some bigger bulkier laptops i've used. I don't see any problem tbh, certainly no design flaw.


  • #43
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Bass Cadet wrote: »
    Well, if it is a design flaw then what's the alternative? Make the shell out of solid, hard, heavy, unforgiving plastic? With a bit of care with the product as is, it should'nt be a problem. No matter how much of a distance there is between the screen and keyboard when closed, if you apply enough pressure, it will cause scratches if there is no padding between it

    I've never had a laptop that caused the keyboard to leave marks on the screen. I've only heard of this before with MacBooks.
    http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=124 Mind my experience is with regular sized laptops not ultra thin ones.

    IMO the solution its to put dimples that raise the screen off the keyboards. If you put enough pressure to bend a screen that far, your in danger of cracking the LCD or the backlight.


  • #44
    pokermonkey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 239 ✭✭pokermonkey


    hmm. saw this on the dell website today.

    currently have an 8600 inspiron.

    do i need to spend €1500 on this nice piece of kit?

    i see some people are happy with it. any update?


  • #45
    vote4pedro
    Closed Accounts Posts: 359 ✭✭vote4pedro


    I'm also about to order one of these but could do with some advice. I won't be needing it for any high spec gaming, just want it to run things like Football Manager quick as possible.

    With that in mind I was thinking of just getting the €1,169 package which has Components
    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7250 (2.00 GHz, 2 MB L2 cache, 800 MHz FSB)
    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
    Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)
    Tuxedo Black & 2.0 mega pixel Camera for CCFL Display
    13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) CCFL Display (220nits) with TrueLife™
    Biometric Fingerprint Reader
    2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
    160GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
    128MB nVidia® GeForce® 8400M GS
    Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, including SW
    Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
    No Modem


    or would it be worth paying more for the €1,279 deal which comes with

    Components
    Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 4 MB L2-cache)
    Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium - English
    Base Warranty - 1 Year XPS Premium Hardware Support (incl. Gaming and On-Site Support)
    Tuxedo Black & 0.3 mega pixel Camera for White-LED Display
    13.3" UltraSharp™ WXGA (1280x800) White-LED Display (300 nits) with TrueLife™
    Biometric Fingerprint Reader
    2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
    250GB (5400RPM) SATA Hard Drive
    128MB nVidia® GeForce® 8400M GS
    Fixed 8x DVD+/-RW Slim Slot Load Drive, including SW
    Primary 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (56 WHr)
    No Modem


    I don't mind paying the extra if it will make a noticeable difference, the bigger hard drive is certainly a plus, but would the better screen really make much of a difference, and all in all would it be better value to pay the extra €110 and get the second deal?

    Cheers!


  • #46
    nice1franko
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,300 ✭✭✭nice1franko


    I thought I was after getting a bargain when I got this from the outlet just before Christmas. Had to act fast because I'd to go somewhere so didn;t research it but was still sure it was a bargain. I bought 2gig ram seperately from that place in kildare for €50 and replaced one of the 512mb modules. Probably wasn't as good a bargain as I thought then was it, considering it's only 1.5GHz?

    SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
    INSPIRON XPS M1330
    XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T5250 1.50GHz, 667
    Operating System: English - Vista Home Premium
    Memory: 1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x512)
    Hard Disk Drive: Hard Drive 120GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM)
    NoteBook Screen: 13.3 WXGA (1280x800) Display with TrueLife?
    CD Read-Write Drive: 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
    Software: English - Microsoft Works 8
    MISC: Tuxedo Black & 2.0 mega pixel Camera for CCFL Display
    Biometric Fingerprint Reader
    Primary 4-cell 37WHr Li-Ion Battery
    Travel Remote Control Unit
    English/Irish Ship Accessories - Power Cord
    European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module
    TOTAL EUR 591.07


  • #47
    AlmightyCushion
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,229 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    nice1franko wrote: »
    I thought I was after getting a bargain when I got this from the outlet just before Christmas. Had to act fast because I'd to go somewhere so didn;t research it but was still sure it was a bargain. I bought 2gig ram seperately from that place in kildare for €50 and replaced one of the 512mb modules. Probably wasn't as good a bargain as I thought then was it, considering it's only 1.5GHz?

    SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
    INSPIRON XPS M1330
    XPS M1330 CORE 2 DUO T5250 1.50GHz, 667
    Operating System: English - Vista Home Premium
    Memory: 1024MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2x512)
    Hard Disk Drive: Hard Drive 120GB Serial ATA (5400 RPM)
    NoteBook Screen: 13.3 WXGA (1280x800) Display with TrueLife?
    CD Read-Write Drive: 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive
    Software: English - Microsoft Works 8
    MISC: Tuxedo Black & 2.0 mega pixel Camera for CCFL Display
    Biometric Fingerprint Reader
    Primary 4-cell 37WHr Li-Ion Battery
    Travel Remote Control Unit
    English/Irish Ship Accessories - Power Cord
    European Dell TrueMobile 355 internal Bluetooth Module
    TOTAL EUR 591.07

    You got a 13" laptop for under €600? That's a bargain.


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