As a new visitor to the group, it was nice to see some recent activity
about this Dell model...
It seems that people's experience is really hit and miss...I don't
mind the issues with the small screen, I use a ThinkPad X41s when on
the road now...but it's time to upgrade.
Dell has suffered from ALOT of bad word-of-mouth as of late...But the
prices on the XPS M1330 are too good not to at least look at. It
seems dumping 1K$ into this model is a bit of a gamble.
I'd like to know what people's experience is like converting to XP ?
As soon as I get it out of the box I would begin the conversion to XP
including a full HD wipe before installation. How do I get XP
drivers ? Should I assume the Vista drivers will do the trick ? What
if they don't ? Where do I go to get 'em ?
If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
(configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ? Everyone even remotely
knowledgeable with computers tells me I'm an idiot to even consider
this.
> Dell has suffered from ALOT of bad word-of-mouth as of
> late...
I'll start by saying that I have been absolutely thrilled with my Dell
Latitude D800 laptop.
I own "a few" other Dell machines--a Dimension L550r, Dimension
L566cx, Dimension 2400 and a Dimension 8300. There's an OptiPlex
somewhere too. And the only one of these that has been disappointing
is the 8300. (It's better now that I dumped the P4 "Pres-hott" CPU for
a Northwoods variant.) All the others are excellent systems.
> I'd like to know what people's experience is like converting to
> XP ?
Make your life easier and go into the Vista Device Manager to get the
names of all the major hardware devices first. You could try the
drivers Dell provides for Vista, but I'd go straight to the device/
chip manufacturer's web site and use their drivers. They may say
"these are generic drivers, go see your OEM" but that typically
doesn't mean much.
> If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
> (configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ?
I'm familiar with the XPS as a gaming laptop. As sharp as it happens
to look when open, it's probably a compromise between the "laptop" and
"gaming machine" extremes. As such it probably won't have the highest
performance or the greatest battery life.
If you want a good quality machine with a decent warranty, good
battery life, decent build quality and respectable performance look at
the Latitude line. Those are good solid systems and the prices are not
bad. Specifically, I would look at the Latitude 630 and 830 series
machines.
On Tue, 3 Jun 2008 11:03:03 -0700 (PDT), Yabahoobs
<chendrikson@gmail.com> wrote:
>If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
>(configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ? Everyone even remotely
>knowledgeable with computers tells me I'm an idiot to even consider
>this.
I looked at the XPS M1330's on the outlet yesterday and there are some
good prices. I was helping a friend with a M1210 that I had sold him
and was curious if they were still there, but they aren't. That's why
I saw the 1330 price points and there were some in the $700+ range
with 2GB of RAM.
The screen should be an improvement from your X41's 1024 x 768 to the
1330's 1280 x 800, although I prefer a standard resolution that has
more vertical resolution.
Anyway, my suggestion is to check the outlet (outlet.dell.com).
You've had a ThinkPad before so should have a good idea of whether
you'd like to get a computer like the M1330 vs. a Lenovo ThinkPad T61
14" with standard-aspect resolution of 1400 x 1050. IMO the extra
vertical resolution makes a big difference.
On Tue, 3 Jun 2008 14:27:12 -0700 (PDT), "William R. Walsh"
<wm_walsh@hotmail.com> wrote:
>If you want a good quality machine with a decent warranty, good
>battery life, decent build quality and respectable performance look at
>the Latitude line. Those are good solid systems and the prices are not
>bad. Specifically, I would look at the Latitude 630 and 830 series
>machines.
>
>William
I second the suggestion to look at the Latitude line. If you want a
light one, the D630 is excellent. If you want one that is very well
built with a 15" standard-aspect screen (great screen) I recommend the
D530. Both can accept a modular bay battery. The D530 is fairly
bulky for travel (but sturdy), but the 15" screen is great for using
the laptop around the house.
I don't know much about the D830 that William mentions. I think the
630 and 830 might offer some more options such as a fingerprint
reader.
> I don't know much about the D830 that William mentions. I think
> the 630 and 830 might offer some more options such as a
> fingerprint reader.
The D830 is nothing more than a later model in the D8xx lineup. There
were D820s, D810s and of course the D800.
When I bought it, I knew that I wanted a modular bay, a floppy drive
(very important--and to this day, that's what spends 95% of the time
installed), and some legacy ports. (The D800 has both serial and
parallel ports. It gains PS/2 ports when in the docking unit.)
I suspect that a Latitude D630 might be just the thing for the
original poster.
>
> If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
> (configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ? Everyone even remotely
> knowledgeable with computers tells me I'm an idiot to even consider
> this.
>
> Thanks guys !
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Geoff [mailto:nospam@nospamformeplease.invalid]
> Posted At: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:36 AM
> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> Conversation: Advise re: XPS M1330
> Subject: Re: Advise re: XPS M1330
>
>
> >
> > If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
> > (configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ? Everyone even remotely
> > knowledgeable with computers tells me I'm an idiot to even consider
> > this.
> >
> > Thanks guys !
> >
>
> they are right
> listen to them
I don't agree. Lots of M1330s have been sold. If they were inherently
flawed, we would see LOTS of complaints here.
We don't. One anecdote of a problem system in the year or so they've been
out.
On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:53:00 GMT, "Tom Scales" <tjscales@gmail.com>
wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Geoff [mailto:nospam@nospamformeplease.invalid]
>> Posted At: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:36 AM
>> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
>> Conversation: Advise re: XPS M1330
>> Subject: Re: Advise re: XPS M1330
>>
>>
>> >
>> > If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
>> > (configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ? Everyone even remotely
>> > knowledgeable with computers tells me I'm an idiot to even consider
>> > this.
>> >
>> > Thanks guys !
>> >
>>
>> they are right
>> listen to them
>
>
>I don't agree. Lots of M1330s have been sold. If they were inherently
>flawed, we would see LOTS of complaints here.
>
>We don't. One anecdote of a problem system in the year or so they've been
>out.
That's right -- the only problem that I've heard with the M1330 was
the one reported here which turned out to be the external power
supply. Otherwise, nothing bad.
Does Dell still have the kiosks? If so, the OP could look at one
there.
I have recommended the Latitudes, but the OP would need to look for
differences such as whether a Truelife (glossy) screen is important --
it might not be available on a Latitude.
Also, I will try to remember when I recommend standard-orientation
screens that people who like to watch movies on their laptops may like
wide better.
On Jun 4, 12:07 pm, journey <jour...@merr.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:53:00 GMT, "Tom Scales" <tjsca...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Geoff [mailto:nos...@nospamformeplease.invalid]
> >> Posted At: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 9:36 AM
> >> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
> >> Conversation: Advise re: XPS M1330
> >> Subject: Re: Advise re: XPS M1330
>
> >> > If I have about 1200 bucks to spend, do you think a top-end
> >> > (configured) XPS M1330 is worth the gamble ? Everyone even remotely
> >> > knowledgeable with computers tells me I'm an idiot to even consider
> >> > this.
>
> >> > Thanks guys !
>
> >> they are right
> >> listen to them
>
> >I don't agree. Lots of M1330s have been sold. If they were inherently
> >flawed, we would see LOTS of complaints here.
>
> >We don't. One anecdote of a problem system in the year or so they've been
> >out.
>
> That's right -- the only problem that I've heard with the M1330 was
> the one reported here which turned out to be the external power
> supply. Otherwise, nothing bad.
>
> Does Dell still have the kiosks? If so, the OP could look at one
> there.
>
> I have recommended the Latitudes, but the OP would need to look for
> differences such as whether a Truelife (glossy) screen is important --
> it might not be available on a Latitude.
>
> Also, I will try to remember when I recommend standard-orientation
> screens that people who like to watch movies on their laptops may like
> wide better.
The purpose of this will be for work / business. My old Inspiron
E1405 is my home computer and is a reliable workhorse. Just FYI I
went to the Dell outlet site and got a loaded XPS M1210
On Wed, 4 Jun 2008 16:32:27 -0700 (PDT), Yabahoobs
<chendrikson@gmail.com> wrote:
>The purpose of this will be for work / business. My old Inspiron
>E1405 is my home computer and is a reliable workhorse. Just FYI I
>went to the Dell outlet site and got a loaded XPS M1210
Oh, cool. I looked for the XPS M1210 a few days ago and none came up.
I probably entered something wrong. I hope you got what you wanted --
the M1210's a great computer, very solid. I also like how quiet the
keyboard is.
Advise re: XPS M1330 
Linear Mode
