D630 vs. m1330

For the past week or two, I've been deciding between the D630 and D830. As it seems, especially now, that we need to sacrifice less and less performance for mobility, I have begun to switch my preferences to a smaller machine. I went from the D830, to the D630, and will now probably wait for the m1330, at least to see price specs.

I will not be doing much gaming on my machine, but do want top performance for engineering coursework (advanced statistical modeling, some programming, new product development, maybe a bit of graphic design, and plenty of excel). I also like the increased media features of the xps over the latitude, as I'm considering buying myself an LCD HDTV in the near future.

Here are the issues that are important to me:

- Screen: I think the LED screen on the m1330 takes the cake. Though I really didn't want to work on something as small as a 13.3", I do have an external 17" ultrasharp monitor that can work fine when docked. Which brings me to my next point...

- Docking: I know that the D630 will work with the D-port replicator that I have for my i8500. However, does anyone know if the xps will use the same type of dock or port replicator? I really hope it's not USB only, as I've already invested in the D-port.

- Keyboard: I really like the latitude keyboard, but by the few pics that have been released, it looks like the XPS keyboard will be great as well.

- Performance: For the reasons listed above, I would really like top performance out of my machine. Though I won't be gaming much, I'd still like to buy a discrete graphics card, 2gb of ram, and probably the T7300. In addition, I'd like a 7200 RPM hard drive, if it's not too costly on this tiny machine.

- Price: This may be the key differentiator. I'm not sure how much the XPS will cost, but the Latitude is pretty reasonable. Built to the way I like it, I can get it for about $1500. Compared to the $2100 I dropped on my original inspiron 4 years ago (my last purchase), this seems like a bargain.

- Audio: I listen to a ton of music. I'm really not sure if it will be a big difference here, as both machines probably only have integrated sound cards. I have a pretty nice external speaker system, but a machine with better audio is always a plus.

Any input on the above issues would really help me out. I'm not sure how important an LED screen is, but I like the prospect of having much increased brightness, thinner body, and increased battery life. That being said, the D630 still seems like a great machine, and if I will not be gaming, it may not be necessary to invest in the xps at the cost of less screen space. However, I'd like to have a gadget that will be current when new technologies come out, esp. if I'm about to invest in a HDTV....

 

I doubt it would use the Latitude D-port... but I'm not positive it won't.
They don't have as much room for ports on a 13", and since this isn't a business machine, I don't expect a docking port.

Looks can be deceiving with keyboards. The Toshiba Satellite keyboards look nice, but try typing on them! Still, I've never encountered a Dell keyboard I didn't like.

I've never heard of any laptop with a dedicated sound card built in.
If you're serious about audio, you could use an external sound device (PCMCIA card or USB DAC). Of course, it's cheaper to use the built-in audio.

Any input on the above issues would really help me out. I'm not sure how important an LED screen is, but I like the prospect of having much increased brightness, thinner body, and increased battery life. That being said, the D630 still seems like a great machine, and if I will not be gaming, it may not be necessary to invest in the xps at the cost of less screen space. However, I'd like to have a gadget that will be current when new technologies come out, esp. if I'm about to invest in a HDTV....[/QUOTE]

LED screens aren't inherently brighter; they just increase the brightness to battery life ratio. Also, the D630 isn't thick at all. (Maybe the M1330 is thinner, I don't know.)

Have you looked at other options, like Asus V2 or MBP? 'Cause they may offer more media features than the D630, while having a bigger screen than the M1330, and still having good build and design.

 

Thanks for the advice.

As far as the MBP's go, I would really like Windows O/S for compatibility issues with some academic software. I know I can run bootcamp, but still..

I'll check out the Asus now, thanks.

 

Question -- If the computer is USB-docking only, is there an easy solution to hook the machine up to an external monitor? If I need to plug and unplug the DVI cord into the back of the computer every time I take the computer with me, the decision may be made to go with the D630.

Also, can anyone comment to the screen brightness of the D630 vs. the D620?

 

(just jumping in on this thread...)

 

I have looked up info on some USB docking stations, but am really not sure how they work. Can I hook up 1 USB cord to my computer, and achieve DVI-out, Audio, etc.. all through USB? That doesn't really make sense to me

 

USB isn't enough bandwidth for video. The USB "video docks" pull tricks with compressing the video information. So it uses some CPU and you can't play games or watch video (I think) on it. For audio it's fine; they put an audio (DAC) chip in the dock and use that instead of the one in your computer.

 

M1330 has HDMI, you don't even need to dock.

I don't think either has SPDIF, but maybe you can use HDMI which is also audio?

 

what are the ports on the front of the body then? thought those were audio ports

 

I'm not sure if the external LCD I have is HDMI-compatible. It's a 17" Dell that's about 2-3 yrs old. Or, does the other end of the HDMI cord go to the same DVI port on the monitor?

 

You would probably need an HDMI to DVI adapter:
http://www.cables4computer.com/newproduct/Prod_Individual3.aspx?groupcode=I3516&program=PT

 

hmm, thanks. Still don't see how this solves the docking solution -- it'd be kind of a pain to undo the DVI cord every time I wanna grab my laptop and run to class...

 

Someone else here who has better knowledge/experience can probably offer much better advice on this than I could, but wouldn't you need to "plug" your laptop in regardless of the solution? Whether you connect it to a docking station - whatever form that takes, or just plug an HDMI cord into the laptop, it all seems rather easy. And maybe the HDMI is even prettier, haha. Just one thin cord running off your laptop rather than putting the whole thing on top of or inside a bulky dock.

I understand wanting to make use of tech you've already purchased, in the case of the docking port. But from my understanding, HDMI simplifies much of the audio/video connection issues you, or others, may have. I really hope to see HDMI and eSATA ports become much more commonplace in the notebook market. Though HDMI is no where near as universal as VGA is at this point (with computer monitors at least), it seems much more sensible on a notebook. The port itself takes up less room and does digital audio and video.

 

With the HDMI adapter, it may be easy just to unplug that from the unit real quick. You're right. In the past, I have loved just being able to press one button on the dock and pop my machine out, but I supposed I could adapt (I'm also using a USB mouse).

So, I could also go into my speaker system through the HDMI cord? Wouldn't that require another adapter?

Anybody know the going rate for these HDMI cords? I'm not too familiar with the market yet..

 

As for the speaker system, I hope others can chime in on this as well. What sort of connections can your system accept? - And your dock actually hooks up to your speaker system? I have a mini shelf system (fairly small) that has an AUX In port and I am wondering what sort of cable I would need to hook it up to a laptop's audio out port, if this can be done at all.

 

Thats what im wondering too, maybe you should change the thread subject.

I have digital optical inputs on my system, hope to connect via HDMI, but since those are audio only, I would also have to connect to the monitor.....

 

I was just about to start a thread with this topic until I found this one! Kewl

I have a 3.5 year old D400 which I have enjoyed but it is too slow now.

The key improvements I am going for are;

A. SSD (This is the best thing to hit laptops in many years)
B. Santa Rosa Processor with 800mhz FSB
C. Larger and brighter screen


1. When will the SSD be available on the 630??

2. Do both machines have the new Santa Rosa Processors?

3. What type of memory does the m1330 have. I'd go with the 4GB4 DDR2 shared3 667MHz, on the D630

4. Should I get the LED or CCFL if I get the m1330?

5. My D400 12" screen is fine but it would be nice if it displayed things a tiny bit larger or was a bit easier on the eyes. Should I get the 14.1" wide aspect: WXGA (1280x800) 220 nits or WXGA+ (1440x900) 220 nits?

6. Which graphics card is better/faster? Choice integrated Mobile Intel® GMA X3100 (Up to 256MB shared5) or NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 135M6 [and what does the m1330 come with?]

7. Which lappy has the better screen for me? The m1330 or D630? (I use it in the office 90% of the time.)

The Optional Intel® Turbo Memory 1GB card (uses 1 of 2 mini-card slots on the system) looks like an excellent way to increase the size of the SSD once we get larger capacity cards

Here is an interesting review on the details of CCFL screen visibility. Seems it's all about contrast and anti reflective coatings, not brightness. http://www.pencomputing.com/features/outdoor_readable_notebooks.htm


Thanks for reading

PS If this is a thread hijack, please let me know and I'll start another.

 

The more and more I think about this, I really think the D630 may be the most viable option. It is still light and portable, and with Vista Ultimate, can have all of the multimedia capacity of the XPS.

Granted, it will not have a TrueLife display, but the extra screen size may make up for that. Also, the built-in speakers are weak, but I'm sure the speakers on XPS are weak as well..... when hooking up to an external system, this may be irrelevant.

HDMI on the XPS is nice, I don't see any real pluses on the D630 that make up for no HDMI.

Keyboard on D630 looks like it may take the cake, based on initial pics.

Battery on D630 has gotten poor reviews, though I'm not sure the one on the XPS would be any better.

The D630 can be docked, which is a big plus!

The XPS has a Media Card reader, which is useful for digital camera photos, though a USB can just as easily connect my Canon SD camera up to the computer (may take an extra ~5 seconds).

Any more input on which system would be best for a non-business user? I am not a gamer, but am into media content....

I can configure a D630 to be around $1550 the way I like it... if the m1330 is significantly more, this decision may be made!

Another thought -- if specs on the Inspiron 1420 are really nice, that may be another option.... thoughts?

Either way, I'm gonna wait it out..

 

the 1420 will disappoint you if you're benching them against the Latitude D630 and XPS M1330.

 

No idea, but in either case, that's expensive!! You sure you need it?

Yes.

I have no doubt the m1330 will also be able to support that kind of memory. Again, it's expensive, and I'm not fully up-to-date on how well Vista supports the 4 gigs, but eventually it will.

I honestly don't know what a CCFL is.

WXGA will have things appear bigger then WXGA+. That said, you can always get WXGA+ and then change the resolution, but keep in mind things might be a bit blurry when the computer isn't in its native resolution.

Dedicated graphics (NVS 135M) will always be faster then integrated graphics (X3100). The m1330 will probably have an non-professional GPU, so expect something like the 8600GT? Someone else probably knows better. The m1330 will have a better card then the D630, for sure.

If you're in the office that much, hook it up to a bigger monitor! Then it won't really matter. I find 12" too small unless I really need to be everywhere with it. It's a judgment call; go to Staples and look at the different sizes they got.

Maybe one of the more educated users can fill in all the gaps Good luck!

 

CCFL is .. something.. compact flourescent light/lamp. ie, a standard Laptop backlight.

LED all the way-- it was mentioned earlier that it offers higher battery but the same lighting. This isn't entirely true. The lighting is different by offering higher contrast and purer white light. The difference probably won't be significant for most, however.

The m1330 is supposedly going to have an 8400. The x3100 sorta sucks, I'm sorry to say.



A warning about SSD.

SSD offers, at the moment, amazing access times-- meaning the computer -finds- the data faster.

It also offers high read rates-- because of that access time increase.

It has EXTREMELY slow -write- rates compared to standard magnetic drives. If you're going to, at any time, be putting a large clump of data on it (eg, copying music, or pictures from a camera), the SSD will be much slower. On the other hand, it will, in day to day tasks, appear to react faster.

That effect can also be duplicated through a Hybrid drive which, with the given technology, is ideal. It offers both the access time of a SSD and the write time of a HDD.

Shalom.

 

Oh and, SSD is also super durable compared to standard HDDs. If you look at toughbooks and a lot of the laptops that are supposed to be 'rugged' - you see SSD's offered.

My ambulance company uses those 'durable' notebooks but they were too cheap to put a SSD in it...

 

Yeah, better color reproduction possible with the LED backlight would just be prime. Too back they are typically quite expensive (at least on the desktop).

Read and write rates for SSDs are actually pretty good especially with ones announced more recently. Access times do almost nothing for actual read throughput - for random seeks/reads, it is definitely better, but for contiguous reads, they should not be improved much by the faster seeks compared to your regular magnetic drive.

Write speeds are not as poor as you state for most of the newer SSDs announced. Especially for the 1.8" and 2.5" form factors, write speeds of 32MB/s+ (announced by Samsung, Sandisk is saying 47MB/s) is nothing to sneeze at. High capacity 5400RPM drives are only around that or slightly higher. Then you have manufacturers like Mtron touting 80MB/s write speeds - that's higher than most desktop 3.5" 7200RPM drives as well.

 

Any input on just how much better the TrueLife LED screen will be than the 14.1 WXGA+?

Also, how does the keyboard on the XPS compare to the Latitude line? I use a latitude for work and really like the keyboard.

 

I guess I'm still a bit confused about the XPS line. Save for the M1210, isn't the XPS 1710 simply an upgraded Inspiron E1705? Such as different color scheme, some pretty flashy LEDs throughout and better GPU offerings?

And to Icculus - I can only assume that since the M1330 is an entirely new design for Dell, it would be hard for anyone to comment on the keyboard quality yet. Unless YoJr or any of the other Dell techs on here have played around with them already.

 

I thought the keyboard would be similar to the 1210, as it looks, but I could be wrong. Was just wondering as to the quality of XPS vs. Latitude keyboards...

 

Well never having used an XPS before, I'm not really sure. Again though, my understanding (or at least prior assumption) is that the XPS is a slightly higher spec'd offering than the Inspiron line - but I'm basing this on the E1705 vs XPS 1710. Does anyone else know?

 

Guess we must wait for the initial review...