General feeback of the XPS m1530

Greetings everyone,

Im semi new to this dell board. I switched over from the alienware one when I realized that getting an m15x was the wrong way to go lol. Anyways, I have read lots of professional reviews of the XPS m1530 and they all seem to be positive. However, I was wondering how all of you guys on here like the m1530. What are the pros and cons? Whats your 3dmark06 score? How would you rate the machine on a scale of 1-10?

I know that theres an official m1530 thread, but it has a huge amount of pages and its hard to sift through it to find actual user opinions. What I'm hopeing you guys can tell me is if the m1530 is generally a good semi- gaming/college laptop.

Thanks!

 

They're prob gonna tell you to use the search thread lol.

I just got my 1530 tonight ordered on 3/20/08. So far I have to say i'm loving it, will probably do some 3dmark06 scores once I reinstall Vista tom. But so far I can say it's a really beautiful laptop esp if you get the LG screen (i got the KR515). I even like Vista so far, I'll be sure to post some updates in here.

 

I'm more than pleased with my purchase (Vista Ultimate, 3GB RAM, 320GB 5400RPM HDD, T7700, 1680 x whatever, 8600M GT). It's fast, pretty, and overall pretty great. With the 9-cell battery it's a little heavier, but the typing angle's also better, and I'm getting around 4 hours of battery life.

My main uses for it are web browsing, typing, and a little bit of gaming (like I imagine you will). I haven't benchmarked it, but I can run FEAR and UT3 on max settings. The only problems I've had are some trouble upgrading the graphics drivers (although they don't need it) and a lack of AVRCP in the default Bluetooth stack. I'd give the computer an 8-9 overall, closer to an 8 for me because I'm picky, but probably more like a 9 for less neurotic people.

 

oh damn, i just saw the m1530 poll thread... now i feel like a total forum noob. Mods: feel free to close this if u want to, i understand =P

 

Just did a 3dmark06 test and to my surprise everything stock with the dell drivers I'm assuming I got a 4333. I plan to do a clean reinstall of Vista, get rid of the bloatware, get better drivers, and OC a bit Im sure that number will rise

I have T9300, 8600m GT DDR3, with 4 GB ram (shows up as 3.5 in Vista)

 

wow nice 3Dmark score....is there anyway to tell dell to not install any junkware on your system?

 

Nope it all comes preinstalled there is a sticky in this forum though to reinstall clean copy of windows with no bloatware.

Just played to COD4 demo didnt get too much into what level it was but i was constant 70+ fps inside and 30+ outside.

 

Got mine Tuesday and I love it. My first laptop and my first Dell and I am very pleased with what I got.

 

My personal " hands-on" review will tell you what I think of mine.
http://corvettec3.com/dellXPSm1530review.htm
My 3DMark06 & PCMark05 scores are in my review. Better than expected.
I'm picky and I give it a 10.

 

3Dmark scores for a laptop are kind of moot, imo.

This is a great laptop and I think one of Dell's best models to come out in many years. Overall I give my particular laptop (in sig) a 9.5/10. I deducted half a point for not being able to spec 64-bit Vista with it but it's not a real biggie in my book.

 

I LOVE it. It's absolutely one of the best things I have ever purchased.

 

Most versatile for a laptop..you can game on it...work on it..play dvd's ....HDMI....1st one for me as well and love it...not sure if I will ever get another desktop when my 1 yr old 9200 dimension gets older...who knows....addictive..it is...I have it running downstairs while watching tv...soon it shall be mated to the 50" flatty ..I may need some time off after playing HL2 on that...

 

You mean like this?

 

Mines been great so far, after a little tweaking it rocks, play's games better than I thought it would

 

What led you to make that conclusion?

 

I love everything about mine except the screen. It's fast, looks fine, good features, not too heavy, games great etc... Just the screen is sucky but I am dealing with it and have a LG coming

 

Jack ..you rock....all you need is the beer on the table...man I will never go outside again...

 

I am building a house and cuz of that thing I have to put wireless and audio throughout lol...but if you ever need a place to park the vette I will have a spot for you...once the snow is gone!!!LOL!!

 

I personaly think the M1530 is a good machine I almost bought one but I wanted a more rugged laptop so I went with the T61p.

But anyways getting a M1530 seems to be a bit hit and miss people either fall in love with them instantly or they get a Lemon and have bad luck with replacments. So if it is what you want best of luck seems like a great machine.

 

Well to get a m15x with an 8800m GT in it, the price would be about $3000. Without the 8800m GT, its not really better then an m1530. So i realized that if I bought a cheaper laptop, a xps m1530, I could build a pretty nice desktop that would game much better then the m15x ever would. This way, I'd have a nice laptop, AND a kickass desktop all for the same price of a m15x. Plus the m15x has quite a few bugs and problems right now. Its also a little bigger then I would like..... So here I am, planning on getting an XPS m1530

Also Jack, I loved your review, thanks!


edit- another question: Is it possible to order the m1530 in red anymore? I see that u can pay more and get the (PRODUCT) RED version, but that costs more and i am against that whole stupid campaign, so i dont want it on my laptop lol.

 

If you have a T61p, why are you over here in Dell area? Think you made a mistake do you?

 

LOL....the ole buyer's remorse...

 

This way, I'd have a nice laptop, AND a kickass desktop all for the same price of a m15x. Plus the m15x has quite a few bugs and problems right now. Its also a little bigger then I would like..... So here I am, planning on getting an XPS m1530
SMART move... I like the way you think!

Also Jack, I loved your review, thanks!
Why THANK YOU!

edit- another question: Is it possible to order the m1530 in red anymore? I see that u can pay more and get the (PRODUCT) RED version, but that costs more and i am against that whole stupid campaign, so i dont want it on my laptop lol.
Do like I did, paint it! See in my sig.

 

Solid reasoning,was curious because I already have an M1530 and just placed an order for the Alienware,also have a Lenovo T61 for everyday tasks/business(which I love by the way) was going to sell the XPS to ease the pain of paying for the M15X,now am having 2nd thoughts...

 

oh dont get me wrong, the m15x is suppose to be an amazing laptop, especially for gaming. its average 3dmark06 score is 10,000 which is AMAZING for a laptop. The main thing that turned me off of it was when i realized that i wont be doing much hardcore gaming when im out and about. sure i might play some WoW or something, but I cant see myself sitting down in starbucks playing a game a crysis lol. If i had the money, i'd deffinitly go for a m15x, but Im paying my way through college so moneys tight.

 

Why?

If it's the PRODUCT (RED) wallpapers and stuff you don't want you can simply delete them or just change back to the Vista stock ones. LOL!

 

One of the most balanced and honest posts around here. Let's not be blind of faults here people! By being a laptop forum, one expects to receive truthful and accurate information.

He has as much right as any member of this forum to post in any section of this forum. As long as he's following the rules, he can post whatever he wants, wherever he wants to.

Anyway, there are still a lot of quality questions with the 1530 [which is probably why this thread exists in the first place], but complaints seem to be lower than it was a few weeks ago so I guess it's safe to assume that if you do go for the 1530, you'll probably be receiving a high quality product, being a high-end laptop and all.

 

Maybe he doesn't want to support "PRODUCT (RED).

 

Keep your panties on... I was making a joke. You DO know what this means don't you?

 

exactly. I dont support the campaign because its totally inefficient. They have spent 100 million on advertising and have only raised 18 million. So basically its become a stupid fashion statement.

But anyways, the product red one doesnt have anything different on the outside of the case? even if i only had to change the wallpaper, id still rather go for black because of the price.

 

Well at least they've done that much so far (if your facts are correct) instead of making $17999950 if I were to not have contributed.

Afaik, there is nothing cosmetically different on the exterior of the notebook save the red color. On the inside aluminium handrest there is a (DELL) logo etched to the far left of the touchpad. Other than that, the (red) wallpapers, one (red) gadget, and one (red) dreamscene there is nothing to it other than the donation to a good cause/fashion statement.