Dell XPS M1210 with Core 2 Duo Review (pics, specs)

Dell XPS M1210 with Core 2 Duo Review

Dell XPS M1210 with Core 2 Duo (view large image)

Introduction

The Dell XPS M1210 has been a rather pleasant surprise to many ever since rumors of its existence leaked out earlier this year. By combining a portable 12.1" widescreen form factor, 2-spindle design (HDD + Optical drive), A/V capabilities with 3G WWAN ready antenna, high quality Logitech webcam, and the option of a dedicated nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics chip, the M1210 packs a lot of punch in such a small size, rivaling many larger 15.4" or 17" models.

Dell wasted no time in offering the latest from Intel to boost the performance of this model even further -- in the form of a 64-bit dual-core processor known as Core 2 Duo (codename Merom), after only 4 months of launching it with the original Core Duo. Today we'll take a look at how the updated model performs in the age of 64-bit dual-core computing.

Pre-Purchase Decisions

Ever since Dell launched the XPS M1210, I've been drooling over it as my possible replacement for the Toshiba Tecra S2, but I was holding back on the first generation Core Duo processors, seeing as it is 32-bit only (not as future proof). Once the Core 2 Duo was launched and made available, the Toshiba (along with its relative large size and completely unsatisfactory 2 hour real-life battery endurance) was promptly sold and an order with Dell was placed.

Since I've been traveling a lot for the past year or so, my mobile computing need has changed. I found myself often not needing the latest and greatest mobile GPU power, but rather wanting something much lighter and portable, with a 4 hour or more real-life battery endurance. However, I still want the option of a capable discrete graphics subsystem for the occasional gaming needs (mainly CS:Source, C&C Generals, various MMORPGs or the classic game of Doom II). This narrowed down my choices to:

• Dell XPS M1210
• Sony SZ/SZ2 series
• ASUS W7J series

The Sony was way too overpriced compared to the Dell (not to mention I have had first hand experience with one and the webcam was just marginal at best in terms of quality, and it wasn't as spectacular as Sony has marketed it to be), and I have no luck in trying to find a place which sells the ASUS with the Core 2 Duo at the time of my purchase.

The next decision for me was to order it from which Dell region -- Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand or the USA, as I was originally from HK, moved and lived in NZ ever since but I've been living in Canada (Calgary) from the start of this year and frequently travel down to the States. But as you can see from the following section, I ended up getting it via Dell Hong Kong.

Specifications, Ordering and Shipping

The specifications of this particular model is as follows:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz/4MB L2 Cache/667MHz FSB)
• 1GB (2x512MB) Dual Channel DDR2-667 Memory
• 60GB 5400rpm SATA HDD
• 8x DVD+/-RW DL Writer
• nVidia GeForce Go 7400 TurboCache 256MB (64MB Dedicated/192MB Shared)
• 12.1" WXGA with TrueLife (1280x800)
• SigmaTel HD Audio Codec
• Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini Card
• Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR Module
• A/V Communications Package (1.3MP Logitech Webcam + 3G WWAN ready antenna)
• 9-cell Lithium Ion Extended Primary Battery (85 WHr, Made by SamsungSDI)

I have also configured it with the following:

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 (Traditional Chinese)
• S-Video to TV component and SPDIF connector
• 3 Years Next Business Day Warranty Onsite Response
• 3 Years 24x7 Telephone Support
• (International support for the above)
• 3 Years CompleteCover accidental coverage
• (Asia/Pacific region only for CompleteCover)
• Dell Slim Nylon Carry Case/Messenger Bag

Total price including shipping comes to HK$ 12,729 / US$ 1,635

I've also purchased the following items to be upgraded once they arrived in my hands:

• 2GB (2 x 1GB) Kingston DDR2-667 Memory (From local HK shops - HK$ 1900 / US$ 244 including shipping)
• 100GB HGST 7K100 7200rpm SATA HDD (From ZipZoomFly -- US$ 168 / HK$ 1303 including taxes/shipping)

One thing I have always done when ordering a system from Dell, is to pick the most basic memory/HDD configuration possible, and upgrade them myself, since Dell always overcharges for upgrades over the baseline configuration. Using my order as an example, they would have wanted:

• HK$ 3100 / US$ 398 extra for 2x512MB to 2x1GB DDR2-667 memory upgrade
• HK$ 1500 / US$ 192 extra for 60GB 5400rpm to 100GB 7200rpm HDD upgrade

Not to mention you wouldn't get the extra memory and HDD as spares you can reuse/resell somewhere else!

Also for those of you who worry about the original warranty, Dell will honor it 100% on the rest of the machine as memory and HDD are end-user replacable/upgradable (this is speaking from personal experience with my previous Dells).

Therefore, my total purchases are:

• Notebook package from Dell -- HK$ 12729 / US$ 1635
• 2GB memory upgrade -- HK$ 1900 / US$ 244
• 100GB 7200rpm HDD upgrade -- HK$ 1303 / US$ 168
• EMS International Courier from HK to Calgary, Canada -- HK$ 479 / US$ 62

Total: US$ 2108 / HK$ 16411

As of the time of writing up this review (23<SUP>rd</SUP> September, 2006), if I were to purchase the same system configuration and warranty period (along with the memory/HDD upgrades) in Dell USA or Canada, it would've set me back approximately:

• Dell USA: US$ 2,440 (excluding taxes as it varies from State to State)
• Dell Canada: US$ 2,456 / CAD$ 2746 (including 6% GST and shipping)

Therefore, even after all the hassle of ordering it in a region half a globe away, and including International Courier shipping, I still saved over US$ 300.

I placed my order on the 6<SUP>th</SUP> Sept., payment was confirmed and cleared from VISA on 7<SUP>th</SUP> Sept., and only after 2 days, it showed as finished building/testing/shipped out from Dell's Xiamen factory in China on 9<SUP>th</SUP> Sept., talk about efficiency! Final delivery to HK was handled by DHL (Ground) and arrived in my relative's hands 5 days later on14<SUP>th</SUP> Sept.. It was then forwarded to me using EMS International Courier on 15<SUP>th</SUP> Sept. and arrived at my doorsteps on 19<SUP>th</SUP> Sept, just a little under 2 weeks / 13 days from when I originally placed the order.

Build and Design

Closed lid top view (view large image)

Although not as slick and clean looking as Apple's MacBook / MacBook Pro, I found the XPS M1210 quite attractive and in my opinion, just as well designed as the Apples. The whole case structure and LCD screen lid is made from aluminium/magnesium alloy metal, making it feel very solid, and well built. The screen hinge is robust and there are minimal flex (there are no LCD ripple effect when you push it from the back). One of my concerns was the fit for the extended battery, and I am happy to say that fits perfectly well with no loose/wobbly feel whatsoever. The colour scheme of black on silver makes it look more professional (mimicking the business Latitude line) than the white trim on silver of the consumer Inspiron line. The use of LCD back lighting is subtle on the front media buttons, and not as over-the-top as its bigger brother, the M1710 (with the lighted exhaust vents and glowing XPS/Dell logo on the back).

Even though some people say it is rather thick for a 12.1" form factor notebook, I actually don't "feel" the thickness, compare to my roommate's Dell Inspiron E1505/6400 or my previous Toshiba Tecra S2. Below are some comparative shots with the E1505/6400.

Side by side top view (view large image)	Side profile view (view large image)
Screen open front view (view large image)	Screen open rear view (view large image)

At just slightly over 2kg/4.4lbs for the notebook itself with the 9-cell extended battery, and under 2.5kg/5.5lbs travel weight including my Logitech G5 mouse and AC adapter, in my opinion it is very portable. I can comfortably open it up and use on a standard airline economy seat tray table, which cannot be said with any 15"/15.4" sized notebooks (my old 15" Toshiba Tecra S2 barely opens up in the United Economy Plus section, and that is assuming the person sitting in front of you don't recline his/her seat back).

Input and Output Ports

The XPS M1210 is armed with a myriad of input and output connections on all 4 sides

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Front view: Multimedia buttons on the top, with 2 headphone out and 1 microphone in 3.5mm audio jacks in the lower center

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Left view (left to right): RJ-11 Modem, 2x USB 2.0, S-Video out, Heatsink exhaust (top), WiFi catcher/switch (bottom), ExpressCard 54 slot (top), SATA HDD bay (bottom)

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Right view (left to right): DVD+/-RW DL Optical drive (top), 5-in-1 Flash Media card reader (bottom), IEEE1394 Firewire, 2 x USB 2.0, VGA Analog Monitor out

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Rear view (left to right): RJ-45 Network, Battery (Extended battery shown), DC Power input, Kensington lock slot

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Bottom view: Battery bay (extended battery shown) (top), Communications Mini Card slots (left), Memory slot (center)

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Bottom view (slot covers open)

Screen

Having been using a 15" normal aspect matte (non-glossy) LCD screen for the past 4 years on various notebooks (SXGA+ 1400x1050 on the Toshiba Tecra S2, and UXGA 1600x1200 on the Dell Inspiron 8200), it was certainly a big change moving down to a 12.1" Widescreen XGA (1280x800) glossy screen. It took me a day or two to adjust to the smaller desktop space, but the widescreen aspect helped as I "feel" I have not lost too much desktop real-estate space despite the lower resolution.

The 12.1" WXGA widescreen with TrueLife (notice the reflection the keyboard from the glossy coating) (view large image)

The glossy coating of the screen (which Dell advertises as TrueLife) made video/movie watching a more enjoyable experience compared to matte (non-glossy) screened notebooks I had, as colours are more vivid. However, the fact that I can see my own reflection with a dark/black background will need some getting used to.

Ready for some Truthiness from Colbert? (view large image)

There are no visible defects (bright/dark pixels) on the screen, and it is evenly lit with minimal light leakage. Response time is also very good after playing some FPS (such as Half-Life 2) on it, as I didn't notice any image lag or ghosting.

Audio and Speakers

I stayed with the base SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC as the Sound Blaster Audigy HD upgrade is a gimmick in my opinion (seeing it's only a software emulated layer and costs quite a bit of spare change just for a driver CD). The speakers are located below the LCD panel, and I found them surprisingly well made despite their size, and the fact that they are laptop speakers. I can certainly rely on them when using it at home to play any video/DVDs. Dell also very nicely put a total of 3 audio jacks on the front, 2 headphone out and 1 microphone in, which makes sharing the screen with a buddy when watching a movie, say, during a flight, that much easier as each of you will have your own set of headphone jacks to plug your headphones in.

Built-in Webcam

The built in Logitech webcam as part of the "A/V Communications Package" is well worth its price. It is rated to take still pictures at 1.3MP and movie clips at 640x480 and has a very clear image quality. In fact, after seeing the many webcams on various ASUS notebooks and the one on the Sony SZ series, the one on the M1210 beats them hands-down. The camera can rotate 180 degrees and the software will even automatically flip the image for you so you'll always be the "right side up".

The included microphone is also of notable mention. It is of "hypercardioid" design, meaning it can pick up the audio source placed in front of it very clearly while filtering out surrounding background noises.

During the many MSN/Skype sessions I have with my family and friends, they all tell me that the webcam quality is excellent and can hear my voice quite clearly.

Wireless Communications

Equipped with the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g WiFi Mini Card and Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module supporting v2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate, your bases are pretty much covered in terms of wireless connectivity. The wireless reception is excellent, and I'm able to pick up much more access points/routers in my apartment than my desktop's USB WiFi card in the same location.

Communications PCI Express Mini Card slots (view large image)

Opening it up the cover on the bottom of the notebook reveals something interesting. Dell has included a total of 5 antenna cable connectors, 3 for the WiFi Mini Card, and 2 for the WWAN Mini Card. The 3 connectors for WiFi are no doubt to take advantage of the coming 802.11n standard (you can even opt for the Dell 1500 Draft-n card right now).

Under the battery bay: SIM card holder for 3G WWAN service, and Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth module (view large image)

Since I purchased my M1210 from Hong Kong (as all the mobile operators there uses the 900/1800MHz GSM/EDGE and 2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA band), there's a slot where you can put your 3G SIM card in for some UMTS/HSDPA connectivity goodness under the battery bay (of course you'll also need to purchase the accompanying 3G WWAN Mini Card). The antenna will also work for the North American 850/1900MHz bands as well.

Keyboard, Lights and Various Buttons

The full-sized keyboard with Traditional Chinese characters (view large image)

Despite the fact that it's a 12.1" notebook, the keyboard is full-sized and very comfortable to use. Since I have chosen Windows XP Home Traditional Chinese edition, it came with a extra Traditional Chinese characters on the keyboard (not to mention it's cool to have a unique keyboard in the parts of the world I'm and make it feel more personalized).

MediaDirect, Power, Webcam buttons, and status LEDs (view large image)

There are 3 buttons above the keyboard -- MediaDirect button (which launches the MediaDirect software if you choose to have it installed), power button which glows blue, and a camera button to launch the Logitech webcam application. All the states LEDs are grouped on the top right hand corner, showing Power, HDD and Battery status on the top, and Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, WiFi and Bluetooth status on the bottom.

A full set of audio controls are on the center front edge of the case just below the touchpad, and the glow a soft blue when the machine is switched on (you can choose to have it disabled within the BIOS setting).

Performance Benchmarks

Now the moment you've all been waiting for.

Powered by the new Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (view large image)

This little machine is powered by the latest and greatest Intel Core 2 Duo processor, having a model number of T7200 and running at 2.0GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache on a 667MHz front side bus. Supporting MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4 and EM64T. In short, 64-bits of dual-core power-efficient processing goodness.

nVidia GeForce Go 7400 with TurboCache graphics processor (view large image)

The integrated nVidia GeForce Go 7400 graphics chipset is not the fastest chipset available for a notebook. However, it packs quite a punch for its size and power consumption, and certainly MUCH MUCH better than the Intel GMA950 integrated graphics. I'd highly recommend people to get it as an essential upgrade for this system.

Default clock speeds for the GPU (view large image)

The GPU runs at 450MHz, uses 64MB of dedicated 64-bit wide 900MHz local memory, and 192MB of shared main memory (I recommend configuring the main memory as dual-channel DDR2-667 to minimize any bottlenecks) using TurboCache technology to boost the overall total to 256MB.

The notebook is tested with the original 1GB (2x512MB) Dual Channel DDR2-667MHz memory, 60GB 5400rpm SATA HDD, a clean install of Windows XP Professional with SP2, and nVidia ForceWare driver v81.98 (patched to support nVidia mobile GPUs).

Super Pi

Notebook	Time to Calculate Pi to 2 Million Digits
Dell XPS M1210 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo T7200)	1m 02s
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16GHz Core Duo T2600)	1m 11s
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo T7600)	0m 56s
ASUS A8Ja (1.66GHz Core Duo T2300)	1m 27s
Dell Inspiron E1505 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo T7200)	1m 02s
HP Pavilion dv6000z (1.8GHz Turion X2 TL-56)	1m 54s
Lenovo T60 (1.83GHz Core Duo T2400)	1m 17s
Lenovo Z61t (2.00GHz Core Duo T2500)	1m 16s

3DMark05

Conducted with default program settings (1024x768, No AA, Optimal Filtering)

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Notebook	3D Mark 05 Results
Dell XPS M1210 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB)	2,048
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB)	2,090
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB)	3,542
ASUS A8Ja (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 512MB)	3,850
Dell Inspiron E1505 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 256MB)	1,958
Dell XPS M1710 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX 512MB)	8,524
Lenovo T60 (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 64MB)	1,045
Lenovo Z61t (2.00GHz Core Duo, Intel GMA950 Integrated)	582
Toshiba Satellite P100-222 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GS 512MB)	6,214

3DMark06

Conducted with default program settings (1280x800, No AA, Optimal Filtering)

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Notebook	3D Mark 06 Results
Dell XPS M1210 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB)	809
Apple MacBook Pro (2.00GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 128MB)	1,528
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB)	2,183
ASUS A8Ja (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 512MB)	1,973
Dell XPS M1710 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX 512MB)	4,744
HP Pavilion dv6000z (1.8GHz Turion X2 TL-56, nVidia GeForce Go 7200 256MB)	674
Sony SZ-110B in Speed Mode (1.83GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7400 256MB)	794
Toshiba Satellite P100-222 (2.16GHz Core Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GS 512MB)	3,534

CounterStrike : Source Video Stress Test

Video settings (view large image)

Result (view large image)

Setting of 1280x800, most detail settings to high (default settings)

Average Frame Rate of 53.82 fps

Half Life 2 : Lost Coast HDR (High Dynamic Range) Video Stress Test

Video settings (view large image)

Result (view large image)

Setting of 1280x800, most detail settings to high (default settings)

Average Frame Rate of 41.13 fps

Battery and Power

One of the main reasons that sway me towards the M1210 is the exceptional battery life it provides. Even though Dell advertises it with "up to 7 Hours of battery life", most of us have now learn to take any manufacturer's claim with a large grain of salt.

I went for the extended 9-cell battery providing 85 Watt-Hours as I know the dedicated nVidia graphics chip will use up a bit more power when compared to the Intel GMA950 integrated solution. The battery cells were made by SamsungSDI in Korea and therefore safe from the recent problems with Li-Ion cells catching fire everywhere (where the blame squarely lies with defective Sony cells).

Extended battery pack, worldwide AC adapter and various mains lead (view large image)

The power adapter is a standard Dell PA-12 65 Watt power supply, auto-switching worldwide (100V-240V, 50-60Hz), and features an integrated cable management system with a rubber strap. It is not as small as some power supplies that other ultra-portable comes with, but definitely much smaller than say, the 150W+ bricks that power-hungry 17"+ notebooks comes with these days, or the Xbox360's power supply for that matter. It came with a UK/HK style AC power lead, but luckily Dell uses a standard figure eight appliance connector, so getting a replacement AC lead is dead easy.

The PA-12 power supply is also compatible with virtually all other current Dell notebook range such as the Inspiron E1405/640m, E1505/6400, Latitude D series etc., therefore spares are plentiful and inexpensive (one of the good things of standardizing on common components).

I have conducted several real-life battery rundown tests instead of using a synthetic benchmark for a more accurate and real world usage pattern. One can also calculate the amount of power the system consumes by dividing the WHr rating of the battery with the runtime.

Worst Case scenario

Screen to maximum brightness (7/7), CPU and GPU at maximum speed, WiFi and Bluetooth turned on.

3DMark06 in looped demo mode

1 Hour 45 Minutes (105 Minutes)

System power usage: 48.5 Watts

Video watching via WiFi

Screen to medium brightness (3/7), CPU with SpeedStep management, GPU at minimum (PowerMizer set to max battery), WiFi on, Bluetooth off.

Streaming videos off WiFi network from media server continuously

3 Hours 40 Minutes (220 Minutes)

System power usage: 23 Watts

General web surfing and light workload

Screen to medium brightness (3/7), CPU with SpeedStep management, GPU at minimum (PowerMizer set to max battery), WiFi on, Bluetooth off.

Surfing the internet, chatting online, using MS Word/Excel etc.

4 Hours 30 Minutes (270 Minutes)

System power usage: 19 Watts

Over the past few days of using it on battery power, I find that I consistently get between 4 to 4 hours of battery life using it for general purpose work, watching videos off the media server, and surfing the internet. This is pretty good for a notebook of this size and weight. If you were to turn WiFi off and the screen down to minimum brightness, I would expect squeezing 5 to 5 hours out of a single battery charge. This will last you on a trans-continental flight between the East and West coast easily.

If you were to configure the M1210 with the Intel GMA950 integrated graphics option, I'd expect another hour worth of battery life on top of what I got (to about 6 hours under general light workload). However, I still think the nVidia dedicated graphics is well worth the trade off and a must have configuration.

Time to fully recharge the battery from 3% (this is the point when Windows kick in and goes into Stand-by mode), while the notebook is being used, is about 4 hours. If you were to recharge the battery only with the system off, it'll be much quicker and only takes about 1 hours.

Heat and Noise

The whole system is cooled by a single fan and a major exhaust vent on the left hand side of the system. Overall it is very quiet, and the fan rarely spins up at full speed even when running CPU/GPU intensive applications (such as 3DMark06 or when I am playing CS:Source).

Dell system monitoring utility (I8kfangui) showing vital system temperatures (view large image)

During idle, the CPU stays between 40C -- 50C, the GPU between 45C -- 55C. Under heavy load the CPU will go up to 70C and the GPU to about 65C. This is probably due to the relaxed thermal regulation in favor of a quieter running system (by not spinning up the fan as often and at high speed). It does get a little warm underneath, but never to a level where you will find discomfort when using it on your lap. The palm rest area stays relatively cool as well even when the HDD or Optical drive is engaged for extended periods of time. It does get a little warm, but again, never to a level of discomfort.

Overall, I find the system to be pleasantly quiet and does not have any heat dissipation issues.

Conclusion

"Battery Life, Performance, Size". It is often said that for a notebook computer, you can only take 2 and compromise on the last attribute. With the XPS M1210, Dell managed to find a nice harmony of all three. Great things do come in little packages, and this is certainly the case here. Armed with the dual-core 64-bit Core 2 Duo processor and a capable nVidia discrete graphics option, it is ready for Windows Vista. The "A/V Communications Package" is a definite winner here, Dell did not skimp on quality and implemented a Logitech unit, and the integration of the WWAN antenna means that it is ready for the road. The robust aluminium-magnesium alloy chassis construction shows that it is ready for you to take it anywhere.

Pros:

• The amount of power available in such a small package (Core 2 Duo processor and dedicated nVidia graphics option)
• Complete coverage of all wired/wireless communications (Modem/LAN/WiFi/BT/WWAN)
• Excellent quality Logitech webcam and microphone
• Nice long battery life (typically up to 4 -- 5 hours under normal workload)
• Robust build quality: Metal chassis and nice fit and finish overall
• Nice competitive pricing compared to similar configured machines from its rivals (Well, Dell is well known for its discount coupons and low prices)

Cons:

• Battery life could be even longer if a hot-swap device bay is implemented (so the Optical drive can swap out for a 2<SUP>nd</SUP> battery)
• Not exactly "ultra-portable" and as thin as other 12.1"/13.3" widescreen notebooks out there
• Could be even cheaper if coupons are offered for the XPS line (come on Dell! Extend the coupons beyond the Inspirons!)
• Pricey RAM and HDD upgrade options (not exactly a fault of the M1210 as Dell overcharges for upgrades on all their systems)

 

Nice review.

 

Thanks for a thoughtful, thorough, and literate review.

 

Nice! Anyone buying one?

 

Would you be so kind as to run one of those HL2 benchmarks with AA turned on? I have a severe allergy to jaggies, and I'm curious how much of a penalty AA puts on the framerate with the 7400. Great review!!

 

Great review, xps m1210 is great. i hope dell comes with a similar 15inch with 7700. XPS line is awesome, wish i even had the m1710

 

Great review.
Can you tell us a bit more about the sound card option? I need to know what inputs and outputs it has. ie does it only have one headphone/lineout and one microphone/line-in socket, or does it have a seperate headphone-out and line-out? (dj setup)

 

reform, it has two headphone/lineouts and one microphone/line-in socket.

Great review, nice machine. I was considering that machine myself, but for the price, as well as features, it wasn't what I am really needing at this time. For a portable movie/music/mixing machine though, that would be high on my list.

 

great review for such a small laptop
thanks

 

Thanks for the quick reply!
Ofcourse I came across that info soon after posting It leads on to my next question though, can you control the two headphone outs independently? ie use one as a line-out and the other as a cue/headphone out? (using ableton Live for example)

 

Oh my holy God what a great review! Superb!! Also a great notebook! A few cons in my opinion is that the DVD slot is very very big. I mean, why not make a slot loading DVD bay.

Charlie

 

great review, and still loving my "old" duo

 

can you tell more about kayboard? is it mushy/spongy at the corners or is it very loud/clicky...

 

I cannot speak for the m1210 directly, but I have the Vaio SZ with the same Geforce 7400 graphics card, and enabling anti-aliasing cripples the framerate. It may run better at resolutions lower than native but that's probably not what you want.

 

awesome review, makes me want to get one..

 

One of the most thorough reviews I've seen on NBR. Congrats! Enjoy your new notebook.

C.

 

Thank you for this exemplary review, for which you deserve reputation points.

 

Thank you for the nice review !

I spotted a typo at the end of the article, it says:

I find that I consistently get between 4 to 4 hours of battery life using it for general purpose work

Is that 4 to 5 hours of runtime ?

 

Thanks for all your replies guys. I've been a long time Notebookreview reader and forum lurker, but thought I'd contribute something back to the community by writing up a review of my new toy (and seeing no one has done one on the M1210 with the C2D yet).

To raygundan:

I'll be doing a more comprehensive review and upgrade guide/writeup after I received my 2GB of DDR2-667 RAM and 100GB 7200rpm HDD (should be by this coming weekend). But as someone else have pointed out before, the performance will be far from spectacular with AA turned on at the native resolution (1280x800), I'd predict at best hovering at 30fps or so.

Remember, the GeForce Go 7400 is not even a mainstrem level graphics chip. However, it still packs a mighty punch in a notebook of this small size, and definately leaps and bounds above the various integrated chipsets out there (Intel GMA, ATI Radeon Express 11xx and nVidia GeForce 61xx series) and seems to be better than the ATI Mobility Radeon X1300/X1400.

It would have been mighty nice if Dell manage to cram in a GeForce Go 7600/7700 with heavily reduced clock, seeing the 8/12 pixel pipes will more than make up for the loss in clockspeed, but, you can only squeeze in so much in such a small chassis (and I am sure the logical thinking would be that if you want more graphics/GPU performance you'd be wanting a larger 14" or 15.4" widescreen size for a better gaming experience).

To reform:

The 2 headphone/line-out plugs are indeed very nice and flexible when you want to share the screen with a buddy. However, I don't think they are/can be independently controlled with the standard Windows volume control (there's no separate options for the 2 jacks). You might be able to control them saperately with some other software or some hacks by talented individuals... but that's beyond my needs so I won't be looking into that myself.

To Hitman:

Well, its all a matter of perspective, seeing how this is only a 12.1" model, the optical drive will of course take up a larger percentage of the surface area avaliable on the side. But you are correct, a slot-loading drive will make this look even more polished and professional (like the MacBook/MB Pros). I do fully intend to explore the possibility to upgrade it to a HD-DVD or BluRay burner when they finally become affordable (like, less than US$100 or so)... but I won't be holding my breath on that one (maybe by the end of 2007 they'll settle their differences and come up with a universal format).

To martynas

I can only speak from my own personal perference (as different people have different perferences). From the week I've been using it, writing up the review, and replying to the forum right now, I find it to be quite uniform, the corners are not mushy or spongy. It does have a nice tactile feedback compared with the keyboards on the Toshiba Tecra S2 and Dell Inspiron 8200 notebooks that I owned previously, but, they are not overly loud or, "clicky". The only concerns I have is how the silver finish will hold up over the next few months/years, i.e. will the silver paint layer get worn off quickly.

To wipeout

When I submitted the review to Andrew, it was in Word format, and I have typed in "1 / 2" for 4.5. For some reason they got dropped after the formatting. So, it should read "I find that I consistently get between 4 to 4.5 hours of battery life using it for general purpose work"

I'll be doing a more comprehensive test on the battery performance under various different settings (Intel SpeedStep and nVidia PowerMizer settings) once I get my new RAM and HDD (I also want to know how much the battery life will be affected with the use of a 7200rpm drive compared with the standard 5400rpm I have right now)... but, these tests are very time consuming as you know (since I have to wait till its fully drained and then recharged again, let it rests for a while before starting on the next test).

 

could you mind telling me where you got that sweet desktop wallpaper of honk kong?

 

lizardtoad

Actually, that was a DIY photo taken with my Sony Cybershot W1 camera when I was back in Hong Kong during Christmas of 2004. It was such a nice clear night and I couldn't resist taking a photo of that beautiful and unique nighttime skyline.

For those of you interested to know, the settings were: F/2.8, Exposure 2 seconds, ISO-100, 0 EV, 5 Megapixel. (Then later touched up/edited in Photoshop).

I don't mind sharing it, in fact, here they are (one in 1280x960 standard, and one in 1280x800 widescreen format) enjoy!

 

Whats interesting is that the dell m70 pi test comes in at 97 seconds, but the core 2 duo clocks in at 71 seconds.... only a 36% speed increase for a machine that has 2 two faster cores. Is the pi test not representative of the raw cpu power of the machines, or is the core 2 duo less powerful clock-for-clock than the pentium-m ?

 

reform:

Having 2 CPU cores does not necessary mean it'll be twice as powerful as the equivalent single core processor at the same clock speed. Most of the software/programmes out there are not properly coded to take advantage of multi-threads/multi-cores. Therefore, it is incorrect to assume that if a Core 2 Duo runs Super Pi at say, 71 seconds, then with only one core it'll double that time.

Having multiple cores will enable the machine be much more responsive when multi-tasking. For example, if you were to say, run some encoding programme while doing the Super Pi benchmark, the machine with the Core 2 Duo will probabally end up having a similar score, while the one with the Pentium M will see a very noticable drop in performance as the OS has to juggle multiple tasks on one processor core.

The Core Duo or the Core 2 Duo, clock-for-clock, is definately much more powerful and provides a much better performance/watt ratio than the original Pentium M (Banias/Dothan).

 

thanks, bro. it's nice to have something that reminds me of home while i'm overseas at school here in the states

 

I was just thining the same thing ^, that's an awsome wallpaper, if you could either post it on here, or direct a URL that would be great.

 

OP did put up the wallpaper. its attached to the first post on page 3. there's two versions- standard and widescreen. im using the standard one, even though my lappy is widescreen. the widescreen one seems a bit grainy because of the light from the ifc tower. anymore great shots of beautiful HK?

 

An awesome piece of review you have here, mate . I just received it a week ago and found this tiny monster machine is bloody powerful for its size.
I will wait for your upgrade of your HD and RAM coz I am planning to do so.

 

Wow that picture kicks absolute ---. I don't want to sound too needy, but since you took it in 5 megapixels, can you post a 1600x1200 version? I'd really appreciate it!

 

I appreciate that, but the pi test obviously uses both cores for its tests.... whether both cores are maxed out to 100% is another matter. In 3dmax for example, double the cores, and you get near enough a doubling of render speed. I just wondered if this test was a true reflection of dual-core performance. It would be interesting to see what the single-core performance is like. At 2.16Ghz, I would expect single threaded processes to run faster than a 2Ghz pentium-m, but from this benchmark it isn't clear whether this would be the case. If the pi test does indeed cap the cores at 100%, then single threaded applications will run slower(ie 3d max viewport) than with a similarly clocked pentium-m.

I know the main advantage of dual-core is its multitasking abilities, but I would like to know how good the performance of the core-2 duo is in single threaded situations, as it does impact on general performance considerably.

I guess the main difference is that a 2Ghz pentium-m actually runs more like a ~3Ghz standard amd or intel processor, so perhaps the under-rating of the pentium-m (should it have been called the pentium-m-3000?) puts the core 2 duo in a bad light for single-thread applications. (it also explains the actual performance difference between the two processors, ie 4Ghz raw processing vs ~3ghz = ~30% difference in real performance).

Would the reviewer be so kind as to run the pi test with one core disabled (if possible)?

 

To johnny_1987:

Thanks! Glad you liked the photo, even though I only used a somewhat "lowly consumer Sony point-and-shoot" to take that. If I can dig back up the original photo I saved somewhere on my server, I don't see why I couldn't give you a 1600x1200, or even the original image. Problem is I am over here (in Canada), and my server is back home (in New Zealand)... so, you will have to wait until I can get access to my server.

To reform:

I understand your point. Well, under the BIOS, there is actually an option to disable "Dual-Core" (I assume that'd disable one of the cores). I don't mind running a test and see the difference, but you'll have to wait until my next reboot (seeing this is my main machine and I keep it on 24/7 and don't reboot until absolutely necessary). I might include that with my next writeup once my new RAM and HDD arrives.

 

Nice one! Sorry I didn't realise you WERE the reviewer

Thanks for your help!

 

Well, I just did a superPi test on my dual, dual-core opteron 265....
It looks like its just a single thread benchmark, I couldn't see any way to get superpi utilise more than one core(25% cpu utilisation in the task manager). So it looks like your initial benchmarks answer my question.... and more importantly it shows that the core2duo does indeed burn the pentium-m in single threaded applications!

My opteron 265 scored 108 seconds. (running at 1.8Ghz) extrapolates to 27 sec with all four cores.

XPS m1210 = 62 seconds (2Ghz) extrapolates to 31seconds for both cores. Which is a truly amazing performance.

Dell M70 = 99 seconds (2Ghz)

These differences are all assuming I'm right in saying the superPi calculations you did only use 50% of the core-2-duo processor in the task manager. I find it hard to believe the core-2-duo is THAT much faster!

Why does the slower clocked xps (core2duo) outperform the 2.16Ghz given that both superPi and the version of windows you were running don't support 64-bit?.... Interesting. Was there a memory difference, or different apps running in the background during the tests?

Can you do a quick check to see if superPi is running at 50 or 100% of cpu during its calculations?

 

Well, I just did 3 reboots in order to turn on/off the Multi-Core setting in the BIOS and quickly ran Super Pi again (to 2 million places).

When both cores are used, it gives me 1m02s (62 seconds), and under task manager, the loading is 50% on both cores.

When only one core is enabled, it gives me about 1m03s (63 seconds), which I'll just say is more or less the same, and under task manager, the loading is 100% on the single core.

I'm using Windows XP Professional (32-bit) with SP2.

Remember, Intel did a lot of tweaks going from the original Pentium M (Banias/Dothan) -> Core Duo (Yonah) -> Core 2 Duo (Merom). In fact if you look around the web:
- The Core Duo performs roughly the same, clock-for-clock, with an equivalent Athlon X2 (or Turion X2).
- The performance increase from Core Duo to Core 2 Duo is anywhere between 5%-15% depending on application.
- If you look around for reviews on the Core 2 Duo for desktops (Conroe), you can see that even a C2D E6600 (2.4GHz) equals or beats the Athlon FX-62 (2.8GHz) in most of the benchmarks.

It's not so hard to imagine the power of Intel's new Core microarchitecture. The bottom line is, the Core 2 Duo (Merom) is currently the undisputed king of performance and in performance/watt for the notebook market.

 

Thanks for confirming that....
well well well... that is quite an amazing performance. Who would have thought I'd be able to buy a thin laptop as powerful as the quad-core workstation I bought last year, for a fraction of the price! (ignoring gfx performance)

 

As I figured, but it was worth checking. Even this tiny little machine benchmarks higher than my 9800 Pro desktop--but once you start pushing the resolution and the AA, you run into the limits of the 7400. Tough call for me on whether to go ultraportable or step up to the 14" machines. Thanks for following up!

 

Hi folks. Been a lurker here for about half a year. Came across this site when I first was hunting for a ultra portable.

I also bought the XPS M1210. I wasn't as lucky as Angrymob when it came to shipping time. I ordered it on 08/29 and it didn't arrive until 09/11. I did luck out on pricing though. Maybe it was just the deal of the day, or a pricing error on their end, but I was able to get my XPS M1210 with a 1.86mhz C2D, an upgraded 8x burner and 80gb HD with a 4 year unlimited warranty (including accidental care!) for $1283 US. I chose not to upgrade the video card because I wanted to use this for work, not gaming.

There is no keyboard flexing, but the buttons do feel very stiff. The mousepad could have been a bit bigger. The case itself is very slick looking and I like the feel also. The blue LED lights that shine through the media buttons also gives it a nice look at night. The system has been very responsive to me, although the first thing I did when I received my system was wipe the HD and reload MCE without all the bloatware that comes with the system. In hindsight, I should've registered all my software (such as Mcafee) first before wiping, since you can't register some of the programs once you wipe the HD without going through DELL help. The screen is amazingly sharp and bright. Text is clear and easy to read, even at its small size on 1280x800.

Before settling in on purchasing this laptop, my other choices were the Toshiba U205-S5022 (similar setup to a XPS M1210) or the Dell Latitude D420. What sealed it for me was the killer price I got for my M1210, although I'm now glad I purchased this over the others. I would recommend this laptop to others also. 5 out of 5 stars.

 

Welcome. Strong props there for the M1210 with a 5/5 -- glad it worked out for you in terms of price performance.

 

Thank you very much AngryMob for your well written and extensive review.
(I was going to order an M1210 this week anyway; your review eased the final decision
Two questions:
- How well does the Dell Media Direct stuff work? From what I read, you can listen to your MP3 or watch slideshows/videos without fully booting into Windows, right? (BTW: when installing the new HDD, watch out for these hidden partitions containing the necessary software if you want to keep this...)
- Can you easily drive an external 1600x1200 screen using the VGA connector? (as Extended Desktop of course

Thanks again for an oustanding review!
-Tom

 

To tom2:

Actually, I have no personal experience of how well it'll work, as the first thing I normally do with all my new notebooks is to wipe the HDD clean and re-install Windows XP Professional from scratch (with my own copy and legit license key in this case, reason being that since Vista is coming soon, no point to pay extra for the MCE or Pro license, hence why I saved some money and went for XP Home), so I don't have to deal with manually uninstalling all the bloatware that comes with them these days.

In a nutshell, the Dell Media Direct software is a Linux kernal with a custom GUI which takes up a small partition on the HDD. You can see it in action here:
http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/dell-media-direct-video-demonstration
(The video shows a XPS M1710 but it'll be/work the same for all Dell notebooks)

I actually opted not to have it bundled/installed and it saved me HK$ 249/US$ 32 (I think it's another piece of bloatware anyways that I don't want to pay money for).

Unfortunately I don't have an external monitor that goes to 1600x1200, but I don't see any problems with the GeForce Go 7400 not able to drive that.
According to nVidia:
- Dual integrated 400MHz RAMDACs for display resolutions up to and including 2048x1536 at 85Hz
- Full NVIDIA® nView® multi-display technology capability


Thanks and enjoy your new M1210 when you get it as well!

 

Thanks For The Great Review ANGRYMOB-------------------------------------------------------i Just Bought One 2 Days Ago For Good Price And Its Relly Great Notebook But I Have Quistion About The Sim Card Placed Under Battary ------------------is It Ready To Use If I Have Sim Card Supported From Mobile Company For 3g Servise -----------------or I Still Need To Buy The 3g Adaptor Or Modem And From Where I Can Get The SoftwARE Neded Plz If You Can Help Send Me Email Or Answer Here Because I Need The 3g Service So Bad-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------thanks Alot

 

To MBAJ:

If you have ordered yours with the "A/V Communications Package" and the bottom of it looks like mine (with the SIM card slot under the battery bay, WWAN card slot empty with WWAN antenna connectors in place), then all you need is the Dell Wireless 5500 PCI Express Mini Card which can be directly purchased from Dell USA. Even though it says "For Dell Latitude D420, D620, D820", it'll work fine with the XPS M1210 (as long as the SIM card slot is in place). The software (bascially the drivers) will be included with the card.

Be warned, however, that since it's being sold in the States, it might only support the North American 1900MHz EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA band and not the 2100MHz band used in Asia/Europe/Rest of the world. You'll have to contact Dell technical support directly and make the inquiry.

 

---------------------------FIRST OF ALL TANKS ALOT FOR YOUR FAST REPLY AND ANSWER-------------MY LAPTOP LOOKS LIKE YOURS BUT I M NOT SURE ABOUT "A/V Communications Package" BECAUSE IN SAUDIA ARABIA WE BUY IT AS ONE PEICE IN ABOX SO WE CANT ASK FOR UP GREAD OR ANY ADDITION PIECES MINE IS 100 G H.D 1.83G 256GEFORCE V/C AND COST ME TOTAL OF 1300$ BUT THE DELAR DOESNOT KNOW ANY THNG ABOUT ITS FEATSHERS AND I WAS PLANING TO BUY 3G MODOM COST 300$ UNTIL I READ YOUR AERTECAL SO I DECIDE TO WITE I HAVE 3G SIM CARD AND I TESTED IT WITH THE 300$ MODEM ITS WORK PERFECT --BUT WHEN I PUT THE SIM CARD ON ITS PLACE UNDER BATT I DONT KNOW HOW TO OPERAT IT SO INEED TO KNOW IF THE M1210 SUPPORT 3G OR IF I ONLY NEED SOFTEARE TO OPRATED---I WILL ATTACHE ARTECAL FROM DELL SIGH R E L A T E D C O N T E N T
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Dell unveils 3G-enabled laptops
Dell's new widesceen laptops with dual-core Intel chips will support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G

Daniel Robinson, IT Week 29 Mar 2006

ADVERTISEMENT
Dell has announced new corporate laptops and mobile workstations with integrated 3G connectivity, enabling staff to access company email and other resources wherever they roam.

The new Latitude laptops and Precision workstations are available from early April with built-in Bluetooth and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capability. From May, Dell will also ship some models with integrated 3G "wireless broadband". Firms will need a data subscription to Vodafone's network to use this capability.

"We're sensing that corporate IT managers are now trying to offer workers a more flexible lifestyle, with the ability to access applications and data from anywhere," said UK Latitude brand manager Bob Bennett. He said 3G support was being delayed until May so that Dell could include the faster HSDPA technology.

The Latitude D620 and D820 are based on Intel's dual-core mobile platform and feature widescreen displays. The D620 has a 14.1in screen while the D820 has a 15.4in screen. Both display WXGA (1366x768) resolution and have 512MB memory. A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is standard, and biometric fingerprint sensors can be included for build-to-order customers.

Both models have no fewer than five built-in antennas to support Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G simultaneously, collectively labelled Hyperconnect by Dell. The 3G support is provided by a MiniCard PCI Express adapter, with the network identity SIM fitting into the laptop's battery compartment.

The new Precision M65 and M90 workstations are also widescreen models, but with high-performance graphics support. The M65 is based on the same chassis as the D820, but adds an Nvidia Quadro FX 350M adapter with 256MB dedicated video memory, while the M90 has a 17in widescreen display and features the Quadro FX2500M with 512MB of graphics memory.

These new dual-core models enable users to run full workstation applications from any location, according to Dell's European head of client products, James Griffiths. With up to 4GB of memory, users can also take full computer-aided design (CAD) models on the road, instead of a subset, he added.

The Latitude D620 and D820 prices start at £714 and £804, respectively. Pricing for the Precision workstations has yet to be announced.

Update: Dell has now announced the Precision M65 will cost £1,168 and the Precision M90 £1,497.



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T TELLING ABOUT 3G -----------------------------I HOP IT CAN HELP -------------------------------------------------------THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HELPPING ME--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

------------

First, my thanks for a well-done review and followup. A couple of questions, if I may trouble you, prefaced by my situation.

I currently own a 2 year old averatec with 512M RAM. It has a Pentium-M, and it's a 3250 I think. My uses are running a few programs at a time, an always-running Winboard ftp program (uses few CPU cycles) and more recently one or two CPU-intensive programs such as Photoshop, Neat Image and Canon DPP (raw image manipulation).

My laptop takes a long time to process these images, which can be 8-10 MP raw files and 75MP TIF files. And I do a bunch of them at a time.

So I look to the 1210. I wonder just how much faster it is than my current laptop. I ran Super Pi on it, with nothing else running, and it did 1M in 1:28. I note that the 1210 does it in around 1:05 or so.

Questions: 1:05 does not seem much faster than 1:28. Would this mean, for example, that if I ran two instances of Super Pi on 1210 it would yield 1:05 on one and maybe a bit longer on another, AT THE SAME TIME?

Whereas my Averatec would slow to something longer than, say, 3:00 for each instance (because of perhaps additional switching overhead) since it only has one processor?

Also, what happens with a Core 2 Duo if there are more than 2 programs multitasking? Does it apportion them equally to each of the processors? What happens?

Finally, as an overall decision, does it seem worthwhile to replace the Averatec with the 1210 given the above?

Thanks.

 

Yep, the superpi score is only for one of the cores, so you would potentially be able to do that calc in half the time if it utilised both cores. Whether your photograph application would take advantage of both cores is another issue. Is photoshop multithreaded?
Other than that, you would benefit from being able to work smoothly whilst resizing images in the background.

 

First time post to this forum, looks like a great forum and this is a particularly nice review of a computer I'm interested in. I noticed on Dell.com they have 10 pages of refurbished XPS M1210 notebook computers with 12 notebooks on each page for approximately 120 of these models offered at a discount.

XPS M1210 Notebook


This kind of sends up a red flag to me that there might be something wrong with these units? Does anyone have any information as to why Dell seemingly has this many refurbished units?

Was there a glitch in production or something? I worked at Hewlett-Packard at one time when we had to recall a line of LaserJet printers because the power supply units were bad. These units were manufactured by another manufacture for Hewlett-Packard and as such there was nothing wrong with the printer, just the power supply. Once the power supply was replaced the unit was in perfect working condition, however many people when contacted didn't want to keep the printer and thus these were taking in and then re-sold as refurbished. Completely understandable.

I'm looking at this unit as well as the Inspiron 640M and the Insprion 6400 and while all three appear to be great units I'm drawn towards the XPS M1210.

Thanks for the feedback...

Mike

 

Keep in mind..
I myself managed to get Dell to take back my 3 day old M1210 so I could buy the Merom version.

They didn't even give me a hard time, they just set up the return.

I am sure many many people did the same thing and those in the Outlet are just the returned laptops.

Perfect in every way except different processor.

I wouldn't worry.

 

Sorry, but what is the "Merom" version?

 

it's intel's latest processor for laptops

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Core_2

 

-----
Now I'm confused. Sounds like Merom is the Core 2 Duo, not the Core Duo. But the refurbs ARE core 2 duo's.

So what's different about them from the current crop?

 

My bad. Never mind. I can't read. These are Core duo's, not core 2 duos.