Dell XPS M1330 First Look Review (Video)

[RyanHurtt]

Too much complaining and not enough praise. At 4lbs (6-cell) this notebook is in a class of its own already with the multimedia options. It even offers SSD for those willing to pay for it. The battery life may be shorter than the x60, but as a multimedia machine the x60 is nowhere near it.

There may be some minor shortcomings, but I'd sure as heck rather have an HDMI port than an extra USB port. I'd also rather have a thinner/lighter notebook than have a 2MP webcam.

Again, just my opinion, but I've been looking for a good month for a laptop that suits my needs and Dell has convinced me it's theirs on the very day of its release.

[mralex]

Does the LED backlit version has a thinner lid?
By looking at the pictures in the review, the lid isn't any thinner than a MBP and the new LED MBP has the same thickness and a 1.3MP camera.
So unless they make a thinner lid on the LED version, it should not be an excuse for the 0.3MP camera.

Plus, the Sony SZ has always had a ultra thin lid (even when LED was not available) and a 1.3MP camera.

So, I don't think the thickness of the lid has anything to do with the camera.

[klas]

FYI that 1.3MP camera in SZ is idential to what's used in cellphones that are 1.3MP.

[Rowen]

Well according to the Mac OS X forum here on NBR, the new LED MBP has only a VGA (0.3MP) camera.

[kimnicho]

Andrew- Nice review and nice shirt too !!!

As for the heat, that's too bad as it is actually going to be used on laps being 13" - at least I would want to if I bought an ultra portable....

[queshy]

First off, kudos to notebookreview and staff...these first looks are not only super informative but they are also up to date...there really is no other website that even comes close to offering the same level of coverage as NBR does...so nice job!!!! The videos are amazing and give so much depth to the reviews. Seriously, nbr bests engadget and CNET in terms of laptops.

Ok, now the machine. This thread is moving so fast that my comments probably won't get read, lol.

I think this is an insane machine...and it will cause a lot of people to take a good look at it over the apple macbook. Apple needs to step it up - I'm in the market for a laptop (still debating w/ tablet vs. nontablet), and there is no compelling reason, besides OS X, to buy a macbook over the dell. The dell gives you a much lighter, thinner package, an LED screen, santa rosa, etc. I'm really in awe how they got a 13.3" machine, with an optical drive, to fit in that small of a footprint. I was looking at the x61 tablet, and the only feature the lenovo has over the dell is perhaps the durability of the case and the tablet functionality (which I'm still thinking about). Good job dell! Also, I find it great how they've added the option for different colors. I wish they offered the flash hard drive in 64 GB capacities...then I would be sold. I don't need music/video stored on the machine. But 32 GB seems kind of smallish...and it's expensive.

So to recap: NBR is a fantastic site, and the XPS M1330 is a fantastic laptop! I can't wait for the full review!!

[Andrew Baxter]

Bump from two pages ago in hope for data from Andrew

WPrime won't load on the M1330 for whatever reason, just gives error of "object not found". I ran Super Pi to 32M digits and 3DMark05 at the same time to stress it out and the processor only got to 62C at the max. It's the graphics card that causes the fan to kick in, the processor doesn't seem to contribute much.

Also, for the record, I've been talking about heat on the palm rests as a con, but the VAIO SZ does get hotter in that area than this machine. Neither are great on that front. The M1330 gets hottest on the bottom at the front area.

[teknerd122]

First off, kudos to notebookreview and staff...these first looks are not only super informative but they are also up to date...there really is no other website that even comes close to offering the same level of coverage as NBR does...so nice job!!!! The videos are amazing and give so much depth to the reviews. Seriously, nbr bests engadget and CNET in terms of laptops.

Ok, now the machine. This thread is moving so fast that my comments probably won't get read, lol.

I think this is an insane machine...and it will cause a lot of people to take a good look at it over the apple macbook. Apple needs to step it up - I'm in the market for a laptop (still debating w/ tablet vs. nontablet), and there is no compelling reason, besides OS X, to buy a macbook over the dell. The dell gives you a much lighter, thinner package, an LED screen, santa rosa, etc. I'm really in awe how they got a 13.3" machine, with an optical drive, to fit in that small of a footprint. I was looking at the x61 tablet, and the only feature the lenovo has over the dell is perhaps the durability of the case and the tablet functionality (which I'm still thinking about). Good job dell! Also, I find it great how they've added the option for different colors. I wish they offered the flash hard drive in 64 GB capacities...then I would be sold. I don't need music/video stored on the machine. But 32 GB seems kind of smallish...and it's expensive.

So to recap: NBR is a fantastic site, and the XPS M1330 is a fantastic laptop! I can't wait for the full review!!

The m1330 is NOT thinner than a macbook. It tapers to a finer point, but it's thicker. The macbook is a uniform 1.08" all around. The dell is 1.3" tall at the back...and when you're stuffing a bookbag, the ultimate thickness is all that matters.

[ejl]

WPrime won't load on the M1330 for whatever reason, just gives error of "object not found". I ran Super Pi to 32M digits and 3DMark05 at the same time to stress it out and the processor only got to 62C at the max. It's the graphics card that causes the fan to kick in, the processor doesn't seem to contribute much.

Also, for the record, I've been talking about heat on the palm rests as a con, but the VAIO SZ does get hotter in that area than this machine. Neither are great on that front. The M1330 gets hottest on the bottom at the front area.

your problem might be due to uac.

Measure your Dual/Multi Core Notebook CPU Speed - Bye Bye to SuperPI

for some comparison benchmarks and for some tips.

[bravefire]

I wondering and curious about whether the OS and drivers are affecting the graphic performance as well, like will running windows xp os with its updated drivers, increase its graphical performance and produce better benchmarks. I know xp is a DX9 os and will not use DX10, but i just want to know, as i use lightwave and max.. which only uses DX9 , and currently the games i am still playing are still DX9.

So just wondering should i stick to xp or move to vista once my m1330 arrives.