***OFFICIAL XPS M1330 Anticipation thread!*** - Page 6

Ordered one yesterday with the following specs.
Processo:r T7300 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache),
O/S: Vista™ Home Premium Edition
System Color:Crimson Red Casing
Memory: 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Display: LED Display with VGA Webcam
Video Card:Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Hard Drive : 160GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell).
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g.

All for 1959 canadian. w/o tax.

I'm really curious about the LED display...the reviews so far just don't make it quite obvious how good it is. Had a hard time shelling out an extra CA 150.

This would be my first time dealing with a Vista-system. Just wondering how much trouble should I expect to run into if I decided to down-grade to XP for some reason...any driver issues with the hard-ware I should be weary of? I guess I won't know until I try. This is my first dell too...have heard mixed things. Hope the system won't disappoint.

I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on an M1330, but I've got a few questions.

• I don't do any kind of gaming on my laptop, ever, and I don't plan to. But I do watch movies, and I want Vista's UI stuff to look as good as it can. Should I get the laptop with the GeForce video card, or would integrated be just fine? Does adding the better graphics card in there hurt battery life?
• Further, does getting a 7200RPM hard drive instead of a 5400RPM hard drive hurt the battery life? If so, how badly does it hurt? I'd like a zippier hard drive, but not if it's gonna cost me a lot of juice.
• It's possible to put 4GB of RAM into an M1330 by purchasing the lowest option from Dell and buying RAM from Newegg, right?
• Does the 6-cell battery sit flush in the M1330 just like the 4-cell battery, or does it stick out the back too? If it sticks out in any dimension, is there a picture available that shows it? Is there a cheaper place to buy a second battery than from Dell?

I'm having a bit of a tough time justifying the cost of the M1330 over the current-gen entry level MacBook Pro. The MBP also packs LED backlighting and 2.2 GHz Core 2 Dua Santa Rosa, and it's only $1,799 with a student discount. I'm gonna be spending probably at least that if not more to get an equivalently-equipped M1330, and the MBP has the advantage of being able to run OSX as well as XP/Vista (though admittedly, I'd be spending the majority of my time in Windows even on a Mac).

These are the decisions that shape our lives!

the integrated graphics card should be enough if your only gonna watch movies. adding the nvidia card will drain more power and memmory.
as for the hard drive, i opted for the 5400 rpm. i have never experiance both to compare, but from what i hear the 7200 rpm hdd only really makes a difference when booting up or when opening a program otherwise it doesnt have any effect on running something you have already opened. It will also make things like virus scans faster. in terms of battery life im not sure. some say it wont because even though it needs to spin faster, it spends less time using the extra power.

I just saw a M1330 TV commercial for the 1st time an hour ago. It looks nice. I wonder when the blu-ray drive will be available.

kbar:I will second amm37 on most things...although I do not know how having a dedicated graphics card will drain more memory...it can most certainly drain more power.

RAM can usually fairly easily be upgraded by user...and I have come across people do opt for lower RAM upfront and buy it cheaper later. The manual certainly shows you how to add/replace RAM (http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...htm#wp1116017). You might want to make sure you can find cheaper, compatible RAM before you go down this road. Also, since I haven't come across anyone who has done this for the 1330 I don't know how easy/hard it actually is. But its definitely not something that can't be done with some TLC.

If you are inclining towards the Mac, just want to say that the 1330 would probably be lighter than the mac. Also the m1330 has the HDMI which will be an asset if you intend to watch movies on a HD LCD/Plasma etc...although I'm not sure when the blu-ray drive will be available to make full use of tthis option. ( And don't forget the remote!) (The mac comes with a DVI?)

Just some thoughts.

I'm thinking of buying one since they are so darn sexy.

Is it worth it? I need something small and good on battery life.

You don't seem like you are in a rush...might wanna wait until some first-hand user reviews start to trickle in (which should be soon enough)...we'll find out how long the batteries last with different types of usage...But it sure is small (in a good way), possibly light and sure as hell sexy.

I had to stop myself from pressing final order button, I just knew I had no need for it, but damn it! it's a sexy laptop!. Had 1.5 cpu/nvidia/LED with cam/finger print/120GB HD/wireless N/1GB ram/3yr CC at 1680+190 ish taxes + shipping which totalled to about 1870.

I just read on engadget that the M1330 has shipped (It may be the non-LEDs). Anyone expect their M1330 to arrive this week ?

Mine won't be here until Sep 3...still a long wait. It sucks! Over six weeks!

Yes. Mine should be here on Wednesday.
Regular LCD screen.

I just found out that the pearl white cover option was pulled because it's more difficult to paint (black is the easiest). I'm still not sure if I should get the crimson or black. The black looks more professional, but crimson is my favorite color.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/03/d...-white-models/

The MBP comes with a DVI, the MB doesn't. However, the MB uses a mini-vga or whatever port, so you need an extension to connect VGA/DVI/S-Video ports. Not sure if it can connect HDMI. Personally, I think a HDMI is useless right now especially on how new HD technology is in the consumer market, and you need a fortune to own these products. When prices go down, yeah, it'll be a critical part of our lives. But until then, I don't think its really considered a "needed" thing. Macs vs Windows, its a personal opinion. Asking other ppl which one is better and you'll find a specific answer leaning to their opinion (PC fans say PC, mac fans say Mac, etc.). Personally, I find both pretty useful. I spend all my day in OSX but I still have parallels running my boot camp in the background cause I need it for Office 2007 (Especially when all your friends keep making their files .docx instead of the regular .doc ) Plus occassional starcraft in Parallels since I don't have a mac version of the game. lol And, people need to actually USE the OS for more then 5 minutes before making a judgment. I can say Windows sucks and give tons of reasons but it doesn't mean I stop using it because I still need it for many different things. Since I got my mac, there are some programs that only run in OSX (Aperture for example). Of course, I still have some trouble with OSX sometimes and some complaints (like I have to manually eject an external hdd to unplug it or it gives an error on my screen). NO OS is perfect, its just based on how people use it and what people do on it. For family users who just use web surfing and email, I personally think a Mac would be better and safer (less prone to viruses and spyware). For business, it depends on the company. For gamers, a PC is the way to go. For school ppl.. mac or pc would be good for those kids.

They say even Red has been hard to do.

Base Unit:
XPS M1330, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.0GHz/800MhzFSB, 4M L2 Cache) (222-9695)
Processor:
Matte Black Casing XPS M1330 (310-9240)
Memory:
1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm, for XPS M1330 (311-7309)
Monitor:
Standard LCD with Matte Black Casing and Camera XPS M1330 (320-5597)
Video Card:
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, for XPS M1330 (320-5603)
Hard Drive:
120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for XPS M1330 (341-4938)
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition, English (420-6814)
Operating System:
Media Direct 3.3 (420-7098)
Operating System:
DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP (420-6995)
Operating System:
Internet Search and Portal (420-5769)
Operating System:
Icon Consolidation Application (420-5924)
Operating System:
Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp (420-6436)
Operating System:
Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access (463-2282)
Operating System:
DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP XPS-M1330 (420-7387)
Operating System:
Dell Travel ExpressCard Remote Control, IR (412-0946)
Operating System:
Creative Earbud EP630 (310-9246)
TBU:
Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0, for Inspiron (412-0917)
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Drive:
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPSM1330 (313-5361)
Sound Card:
Integrated High Definition Audio 2.0 (313-4783)
Processor Cable:
Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) Mini Card (430-2589)
Bundled Software:
No Productivity Software requested (412-1397)
Factory Installed Software:
No Virus Protection Requested (466-4789)
Feature
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1330 (312-0562)
Service:
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year (987-6388)
Service:
Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site Response, 2YR Extended (982-8922)
Service:
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year (987-6397)
Service:
Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site Response, Initial Year (983-3770)
Service:
Warranty Support,2 Year Extended (960-3652)
Service:
Warranty Support,Initial Year (960-8710)
Misc:
Fingerprint Reader (310-9273)
Misc:
No Internet Service Provider Requested (412-0148)

You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System (310-8628)

Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor (310-9348)

Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR) (430-2566)

Dell E228FP,Wide 22 Inch Flat Panel,22.0 Inch Viewable ImageSize,OptiPlex,Precision and Latitude,Customer Install (320-5205)1$260.00 $260.00

I just found out there is a 4-5 week wait on the WLED screens, which means I wont get mine before my next 6 week trip. Oh well, at least it should be waiting for me when I get back and Dell are going to give me a 6-cell battery [along with the 9-cell I ordered] for free.

No one has gotten one of these things yet?

According to the Dell website, mine shipped from the factory today. Unfortunately, I won't be back in the country for 5 weeks so it will just sit at the office. Bugger!