***-->The Official Dell Adamo Thread<--***

From Dell's site? What discount did you use?

 

There might be no difference at all between the 2 model, other then the cpu speed difference. 200mhz increase from the newier model, you might not even feel it, other then see a tiny bit increase when you benchmark it. You won't see any heat difference or battery life difference between the 2.

 

The major difference, I'm willing to bet, is the 1.4 comes with the better SSD.

The original Adamo cam with a crappy 100/90 SSD read/write.

 

Only if dell uses different SSD. Could check if the part # for the new laptop is different from the old one.

 

Dell has always used samsung, but the original Adamo had a slower (and older) model.

Not sure which one's the MS store is selling.

 

So the more recent models come with a better SSD. Anyone know the read/write speeds of those?

It wont be a real deal breaker for me, just curious.

 

R/W of the new samsung are the same as any other current PB-22J

Google....

 

Hello since my Adamo is almost here i wanted some suggestions for some nice laptop bags for it.Im not looking for a backpack as find it a lil odd to carry it for meetings. Price anything under 100 - 120 $
any suggestions??

Thnx

 

Adamo user impressions:

1.4G, 4G, 256SSD Desire Model Pearl

So I've used this laptop for about 1.5 months and thought I'd give a non-techie review for others interested in.

The build quality on the laptop is very good; my only complaints would be a bit too much flex in the keyboard, but for the thinness it seems alright. It's a bit heavy for it's size, but I personally prefer the sturdy feel over lightweight plastic. The design is gorgeous except for the white plastic piece on the lid... they should have made it silver, or dark gray, or gone all metal. Over time I have gotten used to it, but at first glance it was a bit awkward. I was wishing I went with the Onyx at that point. However, the Pearl keyboard and and etching are nicer than the Onyx's. The laptop exudes a sense of quality and class. Looks much nicer than a MBP. The keyboard feels better than my Thinkpad, which is pretty good in it's own right.

Performance wise it's OK. Nothing spectacular and nothing terrible. I am running it on the original Vista Premium and haven't upgraded to W7. I use it mainly for MS Office, Quickbooks and occasional PS. Boot up and shutdown times are quick, while the rest of the performance is fine for a typical office user. The screen is great, and I have no problems playing HD video. Battery life is around 3-3.5 hours of real time use. Wireless web surfing and office files mainly. If the newer 2.1Ghz can get the same battery life, I'd recommend that version over this one.

My one complaint is the DVI port and driver. I hook my lappy up to a Philips LCD in the office and the display driver often crashes upon waking up or reboots when connected. Really a PITA. I've read people complaining about fan noise etc. The fans rarely come on, and they turn off quite quick. All in all it's a very quiet computer.

Overall I'd recommend this computer if you are a fan of good design and looks. Before people held back because of the price, but for $1800 it's quite affordable now.

 

Use Win7 and you'll notice MAJOR improvements

 

I've got another question. Does the Dell Adamo have the CPU whine/whistling sound that was present in other laptop models, like the m1330 models? Or any other annoying sound coming from the Adamo?

 

I did'nt have any whine on mine.

It was a really nice, whisper quite system.

 

same here. i was in love up until dell decided it was better to ship it back and reorder instead of give me the price difference.

by the time they get it back and credit my account the M11x will be out and ill decide whether or not to go sleek and sexy again or roll the dice with another alienware...

 

Can the ram be upgraded on the 2gb version?

 

you cannot change the ram or processor on ANY version. they are soldered to the board. the wan and HDD can be removed though.


enjoy

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Dell-Adamo/719/1

 

I'm trying to decipher some specs for the Adamo Desire model with the 2.1GHz processor. Dell doesn't seem to list the processor model in any part of their site that I can find, and the eBay auctions say the 2.1Ghz model is the SL9600. Both eBay and Dell say the FSB is 800MHz, but the intel site says it's 1066MHz. Any idea what's really in there?

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37262

Thanks in advance!

 

A few updates here. I just recieved my Microsoft Store Adamo and am about to send it back in favor of the 1.4GHz model. Prior to sending it back, I checked the laptop to see what SSD model it was shipping with, and its equipped with a PM800. This the old model you guys talking about?

It also seems like compared to the PB22-J, the PM800 uses less energy when active.

Edit - Went to device manager to double check, its PB22-JS3. My mistake.

Underneath the laptop, around the edges, it feels weak. Is this normal?

 

one more question, the models that do not come with the WWAN (3g) card ... Can the Broadcom Crystal HD decoder be added to those systems? I would assume that the HD decoder card would just fit the pci-e slot?

 

the dell site is wrong. its already been posted in this very thread. its 1066 with 6mb cache.

why? the 4500 already plays HD on its own.

 

just wondering since i have one sitting here )

 

fair enough. let us kow when you try it then

just re-ordered my desire w/ 3 year warranty. much cheaper between the price drop and the $50 EPP coupon they are giving out.

here's hoping this one is perfect like the last one. not interested in another crap shoot!

 

can you tell me how to get the EPP 50$ ?

 

Just ordered my second Dell Adamo this time around from the Dell website previous one i gave it to my bro... I was thinkin real hard between the Alienware Mx11 & the Adamo eventually picked up the Adamo thought the screen size is more appropriate for my use.. Not too much of a PC gamer thus avoided the temptation of the MX11 and awaiting the sweet Adamo... Hope i made the right decision...

 

if you log in the EPP site theres an ad right on the front showing the coupon.

http://app.subscription.dell.com/enroll/epp/signup.cfm?m=MEMBERID&/

 

Do the PB22-J SSD's have TRIM support?

 

If you are ordering a new adamo from Dell, yes you're SSD will have TRIM.

 

I was wondering if any of you have the problem that i'm having. Whenever I have the adamo's brightness to the lowest setting, I can see some flickering. like light to dark flickering.(think of light bulb not getting enough power, where it starts to flicker a tiny bit) It goes away if i go up one bar. Let me know if it isn't clear.

edit: oh yea it only happens when i'm on battery. When i plug the ac adapter in it goes away.

 

is it worth it to get the 2.1 GHZ version over the 1.4 ? I am having a hard time justifying the extra 700$ .... any advice? I am a power user but will not be converting video files or running VMs on this laptop.

Thanks

 

Technically it's $800 for a faster CPU + double the hard drive space (128 GB SSD -> 256 GB SSD).

 

Still in 2minds between the Alienware MX11 ppl im so confused tell me i made the right decision...

 

that alienware is DAMN HOT !

 

AND double the memory which is once again NON user upgradeable.

im personally going to give the M11x a whirl. why not.

 

I really wish I could see one in person before buying! Are the keyboard keys made of plastic or metal?

 

plastic, i'd assume. Esp considering it's price point. <tenchar></tenchar>

 

Yeah, I thought so too, but on the Adamo spec page it says "scalloped metallic key cap design"

However since they incorrectly state the FSB as 800MHz when it's really 1066, I don't have much faith in what's on that page. Can any owners chime in here?

SHARED FEATURES
Super-thin 13.4-inch 16:9 (High Definition; 720p) WLED display
Full-size keyboard with back-lighting and scalloped, metallic key cap design
Integrated 1.3 megapixel camera and integrated digital microphone
IO: Display Port, USBx3 (1 eSATA combination), Audio Out and integrated RJ-45 port
Communications: Gigabit LOM, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n (3x3)
5+ hr battery life using Li-Polymer cells; 40 Whr

 

I am pretty sure it was plastic for the reg Adamo. Still high quality, but plastic.

The Adamo XPS has metal capped keys.

 

anyone know what kind of screen adamo has? is it IPS? or the regular TN panel?

 

I am wondering if anyone has any info on the battery life of the new Desire with the 2.1GHz processor. I have read every post since page 60, and I didn't see anything posted on it. I just bought a brand new Onyx Desire for $1569 and it should be here in 10 days.

 

I got my Adamo 13 on Monday from the Microsoft store sale. Been enjoying it so far, although the SSD came with the older firmware that does not support TRIM. I will be keeping an eye on the benchmarks, because I believe the SSD still has background garbage collection even if TRIM is not supported.

I am impressed with the fit & finish, although not crazy about the glossy screen. Will take a little getting used to.

After a system wipe & manual install I loaded the latest Intel series 4 graphics driver using the December ZIP file. The graphics control panel has been completely redesigned. WindowsUpdate wants me to download the older October one again so I just hid the update.

Quicktime HD struggles, but WMV-HD and accelerated Flash 10.1beta2 are working great. WEI is still 3.2 even with the newest driver.

 

Can anyone tell me what the build quality of their Adamo is like?


When I received mines from the Microsoft Store, around the edges underneath, where the legs of the laptop were, were very weak and had a lot of flex (mostly on the right side). 3 of the 4 legs had flex, which made the laptop uneven when I placed it on a flat surface, and the keyboard also had some flex on the right side.

 

Sweet price. How did you get it that cheap? Dell EPP?

 

I thought I saw TRIM-enabled firmware available at the Samsung download site: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/products/flash/ssd/2008/business/business.html

 

Yes, Dell EPP has 10% off as well as $50 off.

 

Nice one joseyu i was planin to pick the same thing but after taxes it would still turn out to nearly 1800$ for me so i opted for the 1.4ghz with adamo dvd drive worked out for me for 1050$ with taxes... Dell EPP FTW

 

I too ordered the base (1.4 GHz) model. $1000 didn't seem terribly too much to pay for the "Adamo innovation" but another $800 just didn't seem worth it to me. Yes you get an upgraded CPU, disk and more memory (which arguably isn't really useful on a laptop like this with limited video processing power).

 

IMO, dell is recouping costs and making profit from Desire owners while Admire owners get the real deal.

 

Yes I tried that but it is not compatible with the Dell OEM SSDs.

There is a long thread here about the firmware on Dell models, some people got the Mushkin updater to work but only after moving the SSD to a desktop PC.

 

Im a lil confused regarding the Adamo SSD stuff here can someone care to explain whats the whole deal... im really sorry dont have patience to go thru 135 pages... Whats Trim?

a simple explanation would be really apprciated....

 

makatak, this should help:

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/white_paper_trim_command

 

Do new machines coming from Dell have TRIM-enabled SSD's or do we all have to go through this firmware upgrade process?