1420 vs XPS M1330

I was quite pumped about the M1330 coming out, I hadn't been paying attention, and did not realize that Dell was coming out with the 1420. I've been looking for a 14.1" notebook with a mid range dedicated graphics card for some time now, and the 1420 seems like a very good competitor to the M1330.

I configured both models today, and I can get a similarly equipped 1420 (8400GM, 2 gig ram, T7500, 3 year warranty) for a good $400-500 less than the M1330. The biggest draw to me is that the 1420 comes with a 1440x900 resolution vs 1200x800 for the M1330. If the M1330 had a WXGA+ resolution, it would make choosing between the two much harder. The M1330 has an LED backlight, HDMI, and a smaller form factor (but that that much smaller imo). The 1420 has WXGA+ resolution (big + for me). HDMI doesn't matter to much to me because there's no Blu-Ray drive on the M1330. I don't see myself hooking my 1420 to another monitor on a regular basis. Really dont know much about the LED backlight option, does it increase battery life and make the laptop lighter?

Potential M1330 buyers, are you considering the 1420 as well?

 

Thats exactly what it does. It saves battery life and makes the laptop much lighter and thinner.

 

Its brighter too.

 

I can see how the LED backlight makes it lighter and brighter, but it changes the form factor of the laptop as well? Anyone know the exact weight and size difference when choosing an LED backlight?

I'm a bit surprised that it's brighter, since there is no difference in the Macbook Pro LED vs non LED backlight.

 

The new MBP LED backlit model IS brighter than the standard CCFL model (at full brightness).

 

Not according to the link below.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/ru...ays-have-no-discernible-difference-266992.php

 

the XPS line has a reputation for better build quality than the inspirons, if that makes any difference to you

 

I'm debating between these 2 models as well. I'm just wondering if Dell has improved the quality of the components at all with the new Inspirons. If you search through this forum you'll find a lot of people complaining of the poor screen quality of the e1405, with excessive light leakage and poor viewing angles. I don't want to spend $1150 on a new 1420 and get a screen that I can't stand looking at.

 

I'm hoping that my next notebook will either be a 1420 or m1330. Both are beautiful machines.

To me though, the LED backlight, smaller form factor and the fact that it may have a better build quality (considering its XPS), are the main selling points for me.

The 2 USB ports don't really bother me, seeing as how I never need more then 2. I use a wireless mouse and an external harddrive. It suits my needs just fine.

 

From personal experience, I've never had any build quality issues with the Inspirons, although that is a concern of mine, my last one was an Inspiron 9400, which has been fine for me thus far. It seems that in the 14.1" form factor, there are not very many options. I'm not happy with the D630 design, the dv2500t is only 1200x800, and the T61 has it's own set of issues, seems to be mainly with Vista and poor drivers/software from Lenovo. I wish the Asus F8 or V1S was out so I could compare, I'm also looking at the HP 8510p, but of course that's 15.4" which I prefer not to get.

If the difference was say $200 between the two, I'd probably go with the m1330, but lack of WXGA+ is really bugging me, and might be a deal breaker to me at this point, in spite of the extras found in the m1330.

 

I'm debating between these 2 as well and since I have a camcorder with an HDMI port, I would prefer to have an HDMI port so that I can more easily transfer big HD videos to the laptop.

I guess my main concern is the 13.3" vs 14.1" dimensions of the laptop. Anybody know of a place that compares the 2 side by side (Dell or not Dell)? I have never used a 13.3" on a long basis and not sure if it will be too small for me.

If anyone knows if the 1420 is going to get HDMI later on, I might be liking to wait it out even more.

 

HDMI is a display output I believe, you can't transfer videos to your laptop via the HDMI slot. You would use Firewire or USB 2.0

 

Hmm according to the PCMag review, the chassis is magnesium alloy, and not plastic like the 1505. It runs a bit heavy though, at about 6 lbs with a 9 cell battery. Decisions, decisions!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2150869,00.asp

 

Wow, that's a very positive review of the 1420. Looks like they loved the m1330 too.

 

I don't know of any laptop that has HDMI input yet. All HDMI ports on laptops are output ports for connecting to a display of some sort.

 

Anyone who's looking for WXGA+ in a 13.3" laptop is asking for a bit much. I don't think there is a single laptop that offers it.

 

I'm in the same comparison boat... though throw the d630 in there too.

It looks like the 1420 uses the same keyboard as the m1330 too, which is a huge plus! But, priced out, the 1420 is about $1600, the 1330 is about $2000, and the d630 is about $1550, the way I like it. I'm really not sure if it's worth spending more on the 1420, especially since it can't be hooked up to the docking station I already own...

 

Does anyone know if you use a HDMI->DVI-D adapter it will be able to run the 30"LCD @ 2560x1600?

 

I don't think it's that big of a leap really, but 13.3" is not a popular form factor, so I'm not surprised that it's not available, but WXGA+ on a 13.3" is definitely readable, I bet we'll see it eventually. It's not really Dell's fault, since they aren't LCD manufacturers, but it's making it really hard to choose between the 1420 and the M1330 since the form factor difference is slight.

 

It should, according to the tech specs listed in the link below.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_8M_techspecs.html

 

I ordered the M1330 but I would really have liked a bigger screen. My D610 has 1440x1050 and that is real nice but you have to sacrifice something for portability.
I don't know why no-one is making WXGA+ 13.3" LCDs. I did a quick calculation on the dpi of different screens:
14.1" 1440x1050 124 dpi (like the D610)
13.3" 1280x 800 113 dpi (like the Sony SZ and Dell M1330)
11.1" 1366x 768 141 dpi (like the Sony TX)

A 13.3" 1440x1050 display would be 132 dpi so not be the finest pitch available but even with the 14.1" of the D610 I sometimes catch myself taking my glasses off and looking at the screen close-up to make out some detail so perhaps it is over the top.