XPS M1210 Review - Page 5

I haven't gotten to buying a case yet.. I plan to buy a sleeve soon..probably the one the person that started this thread suggested..looks really nice.

To be fair..about the thickness..after a day or two i dont even notice it anymore. Its small, lightweight, powerful..and it can game..I mean what more could you want :P

I think the AC adapter on my last notebook weighed 2 pounds.. it was a huge brick and heavy like one to.. The M1210 adapter is small compared to that one.. it doesn't feel like it weighs even a pound to me. Its pretty light..

I have the 6 cell..but I bought my set up from a really cool Dell reseller and it was already a packaged in with the unit. Other wise I would have went with the 9 cell for the 4.5 hours of battery life.. 6 cell gets about 2 hours 45 minutes if your just surfing and turn down the screen brightness a couple of clicks.

Funny you mention the Wifi catcher. I absolutely love it! Second day I owned it I drove around looking for hot spots. (Best buy really needs to secure their wifi :P) I went to my mothers and pulled it out and it jumped right onto someones unsecured connection...You can turn it off also so it doesn't search for hot spots but its really great. I changed out my router so that I had wireless access..and for 2 hours 45 minutes I can run all over my house to any room with my notebook and be wireless and power adapter free (this is why i'd rather have the 9 cell)..

By the way, I did install Everquest2 and it ran that game very nice at balanced settings.. I wasn't in a very traffic heavy zone though so i dont think it was pushing my memory and video card. But im once again impressed..

Your old notebook sounds close to the same weight as the one I got rid of. So I dont think your going to have much problems. Im very lazy if I have to make an effort to carry stuff..but this has been really moblem. To give an example..my last laptop i moved it from one room to another 3 times in the 18 months I owned it. This one..i've been to the mall..my mothers..down stairs, up stairs..outside...its really great to be portable! Trust me if it felt heavy to me it would sit like a brick on my desk and I wouldn't move it over much.

You didn't say what you plan to use it for? Are you a gamer or do graphic design or something that uses the card? It sounds like it will be good as your desktop depending on which ATI card you have. But I dont think you'll be disappointed. I actually have a laptop (not a desktop replacement) that can game if I want to and has decent battery life. Its the best of both worlds to me

Do you mean on media center itself or just xp in general? XP in general it looks the same as XP pro to me...

Here's the thread on the sleeve Im getting. http://www.notebookforums.com/thread159694.html

It all sounds great miss Syn
I'd use it for a variety of things. At first I just wanted a simple lightweight machine that would store my music, and bring the internet to me when I'm on vacation or away from home. As I got to researching though, I realized more and more that if I was going to spend this much money on a laptop, I might as well shoot a little more expensive and end up with something great for gaming as well, and that's when I found the 1210
When we're away from home my brother does like to game on it while I'm driving, and we do play games sometimes at my friends house, so why not spend a bit more and have it be good in pretty much every area lol.
As far as a case, my grip isn't the best, so I'll need a solid case with a handle and shoulder strap, so hopefully the one I've selected will be good.
If I have the balls tonight I'm going to check on a Dell credit increase and maybe it will be on it's way soon
Thanks for all your help!

Troy...I really think you'll like it... for on the go its really great. I tend to be addicted to the internet..*cries* so i like to drag it with me

Also when your home you can always hook it up to a monitor if you want a bigger gaming screen. It actually hasnt bothered me gaming on it though which is suprising since my desktop is a 20.1 widescreen. The big 20.1 is better..but when i just want to sit somewhere under the ac and be as cord free as possible, it works out really well.

That link I gave you is actually for a protective sleeve that you use to enclose it then put it in a laptop case..if you drop it..it absorbs the shock and protects your notebook..

Get complete care and it wont matter if you drop it ..

my $0.02:

the xps m1210 felt very gimmicky and not a solid build imho. I think the Asus W3J is a much better bang/buck if you don't mind the 13.3in (slightly larger) screen. At least it's optical drive is hot swappable for an extra battery. It seems like 7+ hours is doable this way w/ the W3J .

Don't forget the heat output the W3j is known for. No thanks..did that already... thats actually what made me pass on the auses..i can't deal with a hot notebook anymore..

Syn,
Thanks so much for all your help and advice. I ordered it tonight Can't wait to get it!
Thanks again,
Troy

Awesome. Will be waiting to hear some reviews from you. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Thats great Troy..let us know how you like it

Just a couple of corrections there....W3J is 14" NOT 13.3" and the extra bay battery gives you about an extra 1.5 hours from what I have read. Giving you a total of about 4.5, maybe 5 hours...NOT 7+. Nice thought though!!

How about the "noise"

I am currently considering buying this machine, or the ASUS W5F.

What I am most worried about is the noise. I would prefer a laptop that is as quiet as possible, as I will be using it for lectures etc.

So my question to you guys is, how is the noise with the m1210?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

- Palle

The cd drive can be a little noisey...but other then that..the unit is really quiet. I can't even hear the fan run...its great.

Oki :)

Thankyou very much.

Is there any real difference between choosing the SATA HD or the ordinary HD?

M1210 only uses SATA Hard drive.

Hmm

Not if u look at these choices...

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dells...pn_xps_m1210_2

Audio problem!
Just got my m1210 today and I couldn't be happier except for one thing. I am unable to record from the computer's output! IE: if you go into your computer's volume control and go to recording properties, you can usually select "Stereo Mix" or something similar to record what your computer is playing back.
This is extremely usefull for me for recording things off the internet (like flash movies they won't let you save" and for getting sound clips off of movies (I work in radio, and need those funny clips)

I only have 2 recording options, line-in and microphone. And this is the upgraded sound card! My dektop has on-board audio and a ton more options than this does. Am i totally screwed? Anything I can do?

Are you trying to get the sound recorder to work? If so its Start Button> Control Panel> Sounds and Audio Devices>Voice Tab>Voice Recording... Change the drop down box from quick cam to whatever is in there for your sound card...hit apply. The voice recorder should function after this.

Sound Card disapointment

OK here's what I mean. My cheap on-board audio on my Dell Dimension 4700 that was worth about $800 a year ago has these options for recording:

My xps with the upgraded sound card only has these options:


With the desktop I can use the program "fraps" and screen capture live video (with audio) from a dvd playback or game I'm playing or whatever, and the sound records just find using that last option "Stereo Mix"

My desktop however isn't fast enough to play a DVD and record it at the same time without significant jitter... same thing with most games. the m1210 is the first computer I've had that can capture video, without skipping a beat, but due to the abscence of recording options I can't capture it with sound
Not the end of the world but it is somethig I use alot, and would've been extremely neat to work with. it just astounded me that this "high quality" sound card comes in so lack-luster in options. it has all this fancy software to make everything sound wonderfull but you're on a laptop in the first place, so that stuff is mostly useless most of the time.

Other than the sound car, I will say i've been very happy with the xps m1210! I give it an 8 out of 10! I can tell I'm gonna love this for yars to come!

heh Im glad you like it... The stuff you describe i've never done.. we'll i've captured dvd's I own in the past and split the audio from the video , resampled the sound then put them back together again. But i've never did it in the way you described. Unless someone else here knows more then I do..(not hard :P ) you might want to get an external sound card.. I have a USB soundblaster audigy..course my sound fried in my desktop so guess where that external is.. If your at a desktop or stationary while your capturing your videos thats a good option..you can use your built in sound when your out on the road or around the house..

I'd give the M1210 an 8 too But for different reason..I think they could have used a better LCD..but other then that im really happy happy happy!