Purchasing new Dell Laptop. Confusion

jcgolov · 16th December 2008, 8:15 AM

Hi everybody

I apologise straight on because this is my first ever post.

I was strucked last week with a massive blow. I have a Dell 9400 which I keep in the house for general house stuff and I had a macbookpro for work. ( I am a PhD student final year by the way so I am struggling with time and work). The macbook was dual boot. Mac for my writing etc and XP for my programming (No vista!). I got the mac 13 months ago.... and yes the mac packed up 1 month after the end of warranty and I lost so much work and stuff which I did not backup (my fault, too busy) that I decided I will mend the mac in due time when I can afford it but swear I would not work with it again as I do not like machine that just stop working with no obvious reasons...
So I have been looking at getting a Dell again. In short I am after a machine that is powerfull, snappy, has good workability and dependable. I have had many dells in the past and they never let me down. The 9400 is not powerfull enough for what I do.
I am confused. I have looked at the Dell Precision M4400, The Latitude E6500 and finally the XPS M1530. They all comes around at £1400 in Scotland so the price is not really what matters. What I need to know is the pros and cons from people who actually used them. I cannot afford another mistake again !. I have read a lot of reviews but they all seem biased.
I would be so grateful to hear your feedback so I can make up my mind.
Thanks

Deltoid · 16th December 2008, 8:29 AM

I have a XPS 1530 so I will give you my overall thoughts.

I got one with a 2Ghz cpu, 3Gb ram, 200Gb 7200rpm drive and 8600M GT.

I'm happy with the unit, if I were to buy again I'd seriously look at a 1330 though as they are a bit more portable, however that said you can't get the 8600M GT video card in them.
I get about 2.5 hours battery life out of it which highly depends on what I'm doing with it at the time.
The palm rest can get hot, especially over the battery. It isn't so hot that it will burn you but on a hot day it can be a little uncomfortable but that is about it.
It has 2 headphone ports but they are both at the front of the laptop which is kind of a stupid spot because if like me you want to plug it into speakers you have to plug the cord in the front of the machine which can get in the way.
The speakers on the laptop itself are nothing flash. They are OK but the ones I've heard on friend's macbooks are much better. This isn't really a big problem but thought I'd mention it.

Those are all I can think of for now, there is a big XPS 1530 thread here: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...highlight=1530 if you browse to the end of the thread you should find a lot of peoples comments on it.

If I were buying again I'd be looking at the Dell Studio line or a XPS1330. I think the studio line has a WLED screen which would be a good improvement on battery life. I also hear that they will be releasing the new XPS line early in the new year so if you can wait it might be worth it.

EDIT: Just remembered, there was/is a big problem with the video cards nvidia supplied to a lot of Dell laptops this year. Some kind of manufacturing issue which was causing the video cards to die. It is something to look into. Hopefully if you were to buy one now you would get one which wouldn't have the issue anymore but I'd research into it to make sure of that. That said my notebook hasn't missed a beat in the 8 or so months I've had it.

terrastrife · 16th December 2008, 8:31 AM

just different target markets really. get the one you like the sounds of. all pretty much the same in regards to quality etc. buy the extended warranty

make sure to have offsite backups

jcgolov · 16th December 2008, 9:18 AM

I went for those Dells because of the 1920x1200 screen size. I have always worked for the last 10 years with screens that size. I can see a lot more code lines and if I do not use an external screen, I can have more than one app without having to switch. ( I often those days code Java, C++ and Lisp together in the same project). This is the limiting factor really.
the XPS 1530 provides that but I think the other does not. To tell you I did stop quite a while on the 1530. The only thing that stops me is the connectivity is all on the sides of the machine.... with my setup, I am going to have cables all over the place and I hate that. I like things tucked at the back.

jcgolov · 16th December 2008, 10:20 PM

thanks Deltoid for the thread link. That was an eye opener. The M1530 is out. Reminded me of the issues when the 9100 / 9200 came out years ago. The 9100 was riddled with problems sorted with the arrival of the 9200. I got the latter. THe M1530 seems to be a little to young to be dependable. With my luck those days, I will definitively end up on the phone to Dell speak to some guy in India called Roy.

Deltoid · 16th December 2008, 11:04 PM

No worries. As I said mine hasn't missed a beat but there are issues with the video card which is nvidias fault and affects a lot of laptops (not just dells but macbooks and other brands).

There was also an issue some people had with their screens early this year but the problem appeared to be sorted out by the time I bought mine (they swapped suppliers for the screen and the problem stopped happening)

16th December 2008, 8:15 AM	#1
jcgolov New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Scotland Posts: 3	Purchasing new Dell Laptop. Confusion Hi everybody I apologise straight on because this is my first ever post. I was strucked last week with a massive blow. I have a Dell 9400 which I keep in the house for general house stuff and I had a macbookpro for work. ( I am a PhD student final year by the way so I am struggling with time and work). The macbook was dual boot. Mac for my writing etc and XP for my programming (No vista!). I got the mac 13 months ago.... and yes the mac packed up 1 month after the end of warranty and I lost so much work and stuff which I did not backup (my fault, too busy) that I decided I will mend the mac in due time when I can afford it but swear I would not work with it again as I do not like machine that just stop working with no obvious reasons... So I have been looking at getting a Dell again. In short I am after a machine that is powerfull, snappy, has good workability and dependable. I have had many dells in the past and they never let me down. The 9400 is not powerfull enough for what I do. I am confused. I have looked at the Dell Precision M4400, The Latitude E6500 and finally the XPS M1530. They all comes around at £1400 in Scotland so the price is not really what matters. What I need to know is the pros and cons from people who actually used them. I cannot afford another mistake again !. I have read a lot of reviews but they all seem biased. I would be so grateful to hear your feedback so I can make up my mind. Thanks

16th December 2008, 8:29 AM	#2
Deltoid Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Brisbane Posts: 8,467	I have a XPS 1530 so I will give you my overall thoughts. I got one with a 2Ghz cpu, 3Gb ram, 200Gb 7200rpm drive and 8600M GT. I'm happy with the unit, if I were to buy again I'd seriously look at a 1330 though as they are a bit more portable, however that said you can't get the 8600M GT video card in them. I get about 2.5 hours battery life out of it which highly depends on what I'm doing with it at the time. The palm rest can get hot, especially over the battery. It isn't so hot that it will burn you but on a hot day it can be a little uncomfortable but that is about it. It has 2 headphone ports but they are both at the front of the laptop which is kind of a stupid spot because if like me you want to plug it into speakers you have to plug the cord in the front of the machine which can get in the way. The speakers on the laptop itself are nothing flash. They are OK but the ones I've heard on friend's macbooks are much better. This isn't really a big problem but thought I'd mention it. Those are all I can think of for now, there is a big XPS 1530 thread here: http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...highlight=1530 if you browse to the end of the thread you should find a lot of peoples comments on it. If I were buying again I'd be looking at the Dell Studio line or a XPS1330. I think the studio line has a WLED screen which would be a good improvement on battery life. I also hear that they will be releasing the new XPS line early in the new year so if you can wait it might be worth it. EDIT: Just remembered, there was/is a big problem with the video cards nvidia supplied to a lot of Dell laptops this year. Some kind of manufacturing issue which was causing the video cards to die. It is something to look into. Hopefully if you were to buy one now you would get one which wouldn't have the issue anymore but I'd research into it to make sure of that. That said my notebook hasn't missed a beat in the 8 or so months I've had it. __________________ Over 50 trades on OCAU. Last edited by Deltoid; 16th December 2008 at 8:33 AM.

16th December 2008, 11:04 PM	#6
Deltoid Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Brisbane Posts: 8,467	No worries. As I said mine hasn't missed a beat but there are issues with the video card which is nvidias fault and affects a lot of laptops (not just dells but macbooks and other brands). There was also an issue some people had with their screens early this year but the problem appeared to be sorted out by the time I bought mine (they swapped suppliers for the screen and the problem stopped happening) __________________ Over 50 trades on OCAU.

16th December 2008, 8:31 AM	#3
terrastrife Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ADL/SA The Monopoly State Posts: 9,802	just different target markets really. get the one you like the sounds of. all pretty much the same in regards to quality etc. buy the extended warranty make sure to have offsite backups

16th December 2008, 9:18 AM	#4
jcgolov New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Scotland Posts: 3	I went for those Dells because of the 1920x1200 screen size. I have always worked for the last 10 years with screens that size. I can see a lot more code lines and if I do not use an external screen, I can have more than one app without having to switch. ( I often those days code Java, C++ and Lisp together in the same project). This is the limiting factor really. the XPS 1530 provides that but I think the other does not. To tell you I did stop quite a while on the 1530. The only thing that stops me is the connectivity is all on the sides of the machine.... with my setup, I am going to have cables all over the place and I hate that. I like things tucked at the back.

16th December 2008, 10:20 PM	#5
jcgolov New Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Scotland Posts: 3	thanks Deltoid for the thread link. That was an eye opener. The M1530 is out. Reminded me of the issues when the 9100 / 9200 came out years ago. The 9100 was riddled with problems sorted with the arrival of the 9200. I got the latter. THe M1530 seems to be a little to young to be dependable. With my luck those days, I will definitively end up on the phone to Dell speak to some guy in India called Roy.