Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)[See end of my review for an update after nearly 1 year of ownership]
After reading lots of good reviews for the Dell XPS M1330 (e.g., cnet and pcmag websites among others), I purchased two of them, one for my wife, one for me. The configuration of our laptops is a bit different than the one on this page, and I urge you to custom-configure yours at dell's website rather than buying a pre-configured one (unless you're in too much of a hurry to wait an extra week to get it custom-built to your specs).
We both love the laptops. First, I'll list all the good things, then a few negatives about the laptop, then some negatives about dealing with Dell.
We both got the optional LED display (extra $150). Compared to the standard LCD display, the LED display is brighter, more energy efficient (meaning longer battery life), and makes the computer a couple tenths of an inch thinner and a couple ounces lighter. The LED display is noticeably nicer than the LCD display (which isn't bad, but is certainly not better than the average glossy laptop display). The only negative about the display is that the viewing angle isn't as wide as I had expected, and isn't as wide as the viewing angle on some other laptops with glossy displays.
We both got large hard drives, hers at 5400rpm and mine at 7200rpm. The 5400rpm one should be fine for 90% of users. I got the faster one because I do a lot of number crunching.
Hers has the integrated graphics, mine has the optional 128mb dedicated graphic card - neither of us have really pushed the graphics to the edge, but for everyday applications the (less-expensive) integrated graphics seems every bit as good as the extra-cost dedicated graphics card.
We both got core 2 duo intel processors - hers is 2.0 ghz, mine is 2.4 ghz. I consider a core 2 duo running at 2.0 ghz or better a necessity for anyone buying a laptop these days. I also suggest getting a large hard drive. It's better to pay extra for these things now, than to find out next year that your needs have outgrown your processor and hard drive. (RAM, however, is something you can upgrade later at relatively low cost as your needs grow.)
The keyboard has an excellent feel; typing on it is very pleasant, and the keys are not especially noisy. I've had 8 laptops from various companies (gateway, dell, toshiba, and 4 thinkpads from ibm or lenovo). Everyone says that thinkpads have the best keyboards. I think that USED to be true. But the keyboard on my most recent thinkpad - built after lenovo bought thinkpad from ibm - isn't quite as good as the keyboards on the three ibm-branded thinkpads I owned. Compared to most laptops, I like the keyboard on the Dell xps m1330 very much. This is subjective, though, and you should visit your local Best Buy (most locations stock Dell XPS laptops) and try the keyboard yourself.
We also like the slot-loading CD/DVD reader/burner better than the more common tray-loading ones. It is noisier than the tray when accepting or ejecting a disc, but the noise is only for a second or two and it is very tolerable, not annoying at all.
The bottom of the laptop does not get as hot as most other laptops I've used. However, some folks who bought this laptop say that theirs run pretty hot. A good thing to do is make sure you get the option to return your unit for a full refund, in case this (or anything else) turns out to be a problem.
We both get excellent battery life from the standard 6-cell battery. When running on battery power on a cross-country flight, I turned down the brightness of the display two notches from maximum, and got a bit over 3 hours of battery life. (This wasn't watching a DVD, though, which would use up the battery a bit faster.)
The build quality of these things seems very good. I fully expect them to hold up well over the long haul.
I realize this is subjective, but we both really like the looks of the XPS laptops. They are sleek and attractive. I encourage you to visit your local best buy and see one in person and judge for yourself. (This will also give you a chance to type on its keyboard to see whether you like the feel of it).
The Dell XPS laptops come with some nice extras, including:
a) all of the drivers, software, and operating system files on backup CDs or DVDs. This is unusual: most other laptops have these on their hard drives, and the buyer is required to create his or her own backup discs - most people don't bother doing this, which is bad news if a disaster happens and you have to reinstall everything from scratch.
b) a nice leatherette folder that holds all of these discs and the manual (yes, it comes with a printed manual, too!)
c) a soft sleeve to protect the laptop in case you put it in a briefcase, large handbag or backpack not specifically designed for laptops.
d) a small, thin wireless IR remote, which you can use when watching DVDs or listening to music or enjoying other media. This is a very cool but not incredibly useful extra, because you probably won't be sitting very far from the 13.3" display when watching your movies.
Now for the negatives.
There are only 2 USB ports. You can get around this with a USB hub, but some devices need to be plugged directly into a USB port in the computer. You can also get around this to a limited extent by opting for built-in bluetooth, then using wireless bluetooth devices instead of USB devices where possible. Still, it's inconvenient having only 2 usb ports.
That's really the only negative about the laptop, itself. The laptop doesn't have a few other luxuries that some other laptops now have - such as a little light built in to the top of the monitor that you can turn on when you're typing in a dark environment (red-eye flight) and it dimly lights up your keyboard. But just about everything else you'd need is here.
The big negative was dealing with Dell.
After configuring and pricing my systems online at dell's site, I ordered over the phone, because I'd read that you can bargain a bit with the phone sales reps. In fact, I did save about $200 on each of the laptops this way. However, the sales rep entered the order incorrectly for one of the laptops, never sent me a confirmation email, and gave me an incorrect customer number. Then, he took 5 or 6 days off, and it was very hard for me to get any information about my orders from anyone else at dell. When I finally did, I saw that one of the computers was not configured the way I ordered it, and it was quite a lot of trouble to get that changed back to how I originally wanted it.
After that was all straightened out, the laptops were built and shipped to me a few days before the estimated ship and delivery dates, which was a nice bonus.
But one of the laptops came with a nice, small 65-watt power supply adapter, while the other came with a big bulky and heavy 90-watt adapter. I thought there must be a mistake, they are both the same laptop, after all. It took me a while (and several calls) to learn that either adapter could be used safely with either laptop, but that the the 90-watt adapter would be better for the laptop with the faster processor.
I've made a couple calls to Dell technical support. Each time, I got through to a real human in only about 5-10 minutes. (These days, that's really quite good.) I believe this is because XPS laptops get access to "express" customer service/support, while regular Dell laptops (e.g. inspiron) have the regular (i.e. slow) tech support with long wait times.
The tech support person was located in the Philippines. He was very patient and helpful.
One other negative about Dell: they shipped both laptops with Windows Vista, the original edition NOT service pack 1 - even though SP1 was available to Dell for 2 months before I placed my order!!! That meant I had to install SP1 on both laptops. This installation did not go as smoothly as it should have (e.g., after installation, computer froze once, and later didn't wake from sleep correctly, or woke up but didn't recognize attached usb devices, etc).
In fact, I have a few issues with Vista, but I'm reviewing the laptop, not Vista, and you unfortunately will likely be forced to get Vista with almost any new laptop you are considering buying.
But it was incredibly disappointing that Dell put the old Vista on these machines when SP1 was already available. Perhaps they hadn't yet gotten around to testing SP1 on their laptops.
** *
Would I do it all over again? Yes, even if I had to go through the same hassles dealing with Dell, because I really love these XPS laptops.
** *
UPDATE - MARCH 2008 - AFTER NEARLY 1 YEAR OF OWNERSHIP
We have now owned and used both M1330s for nearly a year.
Mine started making a funny noise, which turned out to be a defective fan. Called Dell tech support, got to a human almost immediately, they overnighted some parts to a local technician, who came to my house 2 days after the call and installed the new parts. All of this was covered by my basic 2-year included warranty.
My wife's had a problem with the display. I called Dell tech support, got a human almost immediately, they told me how to figure out whether the problem was the actual display or the video card. Once we determined it was the display, they overnighted a new display to a local technician, who came to our house and installed it. Unfortunately, the new display is slightly grainy looking, so we will call Dell and request a replacement...Read more›
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