Dell XPS M1330 Review

[toto435]

To question 1:

6 Cell : 0,33kg 47,5mm Length
9 Cell : 0,48kg 67,5mm Length

You seem to know quite good the tall of the different kind of batteries. Do you know the height of the m1330 on the back with the 9cell ?
It is no more 3,4cm but how much more?

[cybernick]

What is the pixel response time of the LED screen?

[JabbaJabba]

First of all, nice review!

The laptop specs are nice, but I really can't understand what all the hype is about when it comes to the design. Taste is really a personal thing but having seen many stylish notebooks, the M1330 IMHO is not even close to being attractive, design wise. I actually think it looks a bit cheap due to the silver plasticy keyboard area, etc.

Once again, the specs and performance are really nice though.

[sesshomaru]

Do you know the height of the m1330 on the back with the 9cell ?
It is no more 3,4cm but how much more?

The manual says 2.66 inches.. And for the 6/4 cells, it says 1.87 inches..

[FREN]

I'm glad you sorted out the driver issues for 3DMark, Andrew. Those benchmarks, by the way, are exactly where they should be for the 8400M GS.

[toto435]

The manual says 2.66 inches.. And for the 6/4 cells, it says 1.87 inches..

Waw! It's quite huge no?
The Dell.be site (i'm Belgian) states:

Width : 31,8 cm
Height : 2,21 cm - 3,38 cm
Depth : 23,8 cm

And you said 1,87" or 4,75cm minimum. Huge difference...
And for the 9cell a thickness of 2,66" ? Are you sure?



I'd like to be sure to buy a sleeve case...

[link1313]

I'm starting to think you need to slightly change the way you review laptops from "The screen looks amazing!" to something more detailed like "The screen is very good with 500:1 contrast ratio & 250cd/m^2 brightness which is above average for notebooks...etc".

Anyhow nice review!

[Jerry Jackson]

Also, you say that the slot-loading DVD drive is quite loud. Do you mean the loading mechanism is loud or actual drive reading is loud?

Thanks again!

The loading/ejecting mechanism is the only thing that's loud about the drive. If you're used to the relatively quiet "pop" from a standard optical drive when it ejects then you'll find the motorized grinding noise of the slot-loading optical drive to be a little annoying.

The slot-loading drive is not any louder or quieter than a standard drive in terms of the actual reading of the disk.

So if you're in a quiet room with other people (like a library or open office space) expect to have everyone around you turn and look at you when you load or eject a disk from the slot-loading drive.

[Jerry Jackson]

I'm glad you sorted out the driver issues for 3DMark, Andrew. Those benchmarks, by the way, are exactly where they should be for the 8400M GS.

What? No love for me?

I was the guy who took the M1330 home over the weekend to install and uninstall various updates and drivers for several hours in order to get the benchmarks to run.

No respect, I tell ya.

[Charles P. Jefferies]

Great review Andrew - I know you're a fan of smaller laptops so I can imagine that you'll have a tough time sending this one back!

That is a really good-looking machine . . . and I mean really good-looking. I'd like to see how many orders Dell has to fulfill for this machine. I'd also like to see the average selling price.