Dell XPS M1330 First Look Review (Video)

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by Jerry Jackson

Dell recently announced the XPS M1330 a 13.3&quot; widescreen ultraportable and ultra sexy notebook that uses the Intel Santa Rosa platform. Equipped with an available dedicated Nvidia 8400m graphics, slot loading optical drive, LED backlit display with 300-nit brightness, and integrated web-camera, the M1330 is less than 1” thin at the front and weighs in at 4lbs. The following is a quick first take on the Dell M1330.

Dell XPS M1330 13.3&quot; screen ultraportable notebook (view large image)

Build and Design

The Dell XPS M1330 (starting at $1,299) features what can only be described as one of the “sexiest” designs we’ve seen on a Dell notebook. A sleek combination of aluminum and plastic with a colorful paintjob on the back of the screen, this notebook is an ultraportable with style. Measuring as thin as 0.87-inches and weighing 4 pounds, the M1330 is a little heavier than some competing ultrportables but is still remarkably thin and light for a Santa Rosa- equipped notebook.

Our pre-production XPS M1330 as equipped:

• 13.3-inch WXGA screen with LED backlight
• &quot;Crimson&quot; red paint (also available in &quot;Tuxedo&quot; black or &quot;Pearl&quot; white)
• 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, Santa Rosa chipset (up to 2.4GHz available)
• 2GB DDR2-667 SDRAM (up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM available)
• 160GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD (32GB SSD drive available)
• Slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive
• 128MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS
• WWAN option for Verizon
• Ethernet, 802.11a/g/n (Intel 4965), Bluetooth option
• Integrated VGA webcam
• HDMI, VGA, 1394, two USB 2.0 ports, integrated media reader (MS, SD, xD), fingerprint reader
• Media Center remote located in ExpressCard slot
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions 12.5&quot; x 9.4&quot; x 0.87&quot; - 1.33&quot;
• Weight starts at 4 pounds with 6-cell battery

The full sized keyboard of the M1330 (view large image)

The build of the case exterior is mostly strong plastic with no noticeable case flex. The interior/keyboard surface as well as the LCD sides and hinges are made of brushed aluminum which provides amazing rigidity. While the glossy widescreen 13.3” LCD is thin and somewhat flexible, there are no noticeable ripples even when pressing firmly or flexing the screen. There is minimal light leakage at the top and bottom of the screen and both horizontal and vertical viewing angles provide an excellent viewing experience. The glossy screen is quite reflective, but this isn't a problem if the LED backlight is on at higher settings. The M1330 doesn't use any type of latch to close the lid, just a firm hinge closing mechanism that works well.

The screen of the M1330 (left) compared to the M1210 (view large image)

The keyboard is full sized and very nice with cushioned keys and almost no flex. One surprise was a set of dedicated media keys directly above the keyboard, a nice feature not found on many ultraportable notebooks. What makes these media keys all the more impressive is the fact that they are LED backlit, flush-mount keys that are heat sensitive to touch. Press the keys with a pen and nothing happens … but glide your fingertip over a media key and the key will light up and respond to your touch. In a word, cool.

The media keys are a little close together, so people with large fingertips may find themselves pressing two buttons at once. (view large image)

The only thing remotely negative we can say about the pre-production M1330 keyboard is that the palmrests were noticeably warm even while the notebook was idle. The heat wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was certainly warm.

The touchpad provides excellent responsiveness and feels quite nice compared to the “cheap” touchpads found on many other ultrportable notebooks. The plastic touchpad buttons (made to look like brushed aluminum) are well cushioned with a near perfect amount of feedback. The fingerprint reader responds well with a firm, centered finger scan. In addition, the fingerprint reader is recessed so it won’t be accidentally triggered while you type.

The touchpad and mouse buttons (view large image)

The built-in speakers provided adequate sound performance. As with most built-in speakers, bass response was limited, clarity was good at lower volumes and there was some distortion at higher volumes.

The left speaker above the XPS M1330 logo (view large image)

Below is a video of the Dell XPS M1330 (hosted by Andrew) so you can see why the M1330 is so impressive:

 

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Ports and Features

While some ultraportable notebooks are thinner and lighter than the new M1330, most of these thinner notebooks lack a built-in optical drive. The M1330 comes equipped with an impressive slot-loading dual-layer DVD±RW drive which helps keep the notebook reasonably thin without sacrificing case strength. The loading and ejecting functions of the slot-loading drive were a little noisy, but the overall operation was silent.

Compared to the M1210 (right) the front of the M1330 (left) has dual headphone ports, microphone port, and multi-card reader. (view large image)

Compared to the M1210 (right) the front of the M1330 (left) the right side has an ExpressCard slot (Media Center remote), wireless on/off, slot-loading optical drive, USB port, and security lock slot. (view large image)

Again, compared to the M1210 (right) the left side of the M1330 has a power jack, VGA port, USB port, HDMI port, and Firewire port. (view large image)

The port selection of the M1330 is remarkably good for a notebook of this size. Above you can view a video that tours the ports on the notebook, and if you prefer to read here's a quick rundown of what you get:

• Two USB 2.0 ports (one on the left and one on the right)
• IEEE 1394 / FireWire port
• VGA monitor out port
• HDMI port
• Dual headphone / line-out ports
• Microphone in port
• ExpressCard slot
• Ethernet LAN port
• SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro/xD card slot reader
• Biometric security/finger print reader

In addition, the M1330 comes with a two-megapixel web camera built in directly above the LCD. Unlike almost every notebook webcam currently on the market, the webcam built into the M1330 is a remarkable performer. Brightness, color and contrast are all near perfect, and the face tracking feature lets you keep your face front and center during video conferences.

The top of the M1330 (left) with a sexy red paintjob trimmed in aluminum. The M1210 is on the right. (view large image)

 

The bottom of the M1330 with memory expansion access, vents, and battery. (view large image)

Performance

The Dell XPS M1330 comes in multiple build-to-order configurations based around the Intel Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo platform, base price starting at $1,299.

Since our sample M1330 was a pre-production unit our benchmarks should be taken with a grain of salt (your mileage may vary). That said, Dell was kind enough to allow us to publish the following benchmarks from our tests:

Super Pi comparison results:

Notebook	Time
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	0m 58s
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	1m 01s
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300)	0m 59s
HP dv2500t (1.80GHz Intel 7100)	1m 09s
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T7300)	0m 59s
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.00GHz Core 2 Duo T7200)	1m 03s
Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287 (1.73 GHz Core 2 Duo Intel T5300)	1m 24s
Toshiba Satellite A205 (1.66GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 34s
HP Compaq 6515b (1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52)	2m 05s
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T2400)	0m 59s
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo)	1m 02s

 

PCMark05 comparison results:

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,571 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	4,153 PCMarks
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,987 PCMarks
Lenovo T60 Widescreen (2.0GHz Intel T7200, ATI X1400 128MB)	4,189 PCMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	4,234 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony Vaio SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks

 

3DMark05 comparison results:

Notebook	3D Mark 05 Results
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	3,079 3DMarks
HP Compaq 6510b (2.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500, Intel X3100)	916 3DMarks
HP Compaq 6515b (1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52, ATI x1270)	871 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	2,013 3D Marks
Dell Inspiron e1705 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	1,791 3D Marks
Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 256MB)	4,236 3DMarks
Alienware Aurora M-7700(AMD Dual Core FX-60, ATI X1600 256MB)	7,078 3D Marks
Lenovo ThinkPad T60 (2.0GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB)	2,092 3D Marks
Asus V6Va (2.13 GHz Pentium M, ATI x700 128 MB)	2,530 3D Marks
Fujitsu n6410 (1.66 GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400 128MB)	2,273 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1210 (2.16 GHz Core Duo, nVidia Go 7400 256MB)	2,090 3D Marks

 

HDTune results:

(view large image)

Overall our first impressions of the sexy (I can’t stop calling it that) Dell XPS M1330 are overwhelmingly positive. If Dell would have put this design on the market two years ago (even with previous generation processors) fewer people would have purchased HP notebooks in 2006. While our complete review remains to be finished, the M1330 is shaping up to be a remarkably well built and full-featured ultraportable notebook.

 

Hows da heat?

 

If possible, I would like to get a review on:

- heat during idle, and heat during pcmark05
- how quiet/efficicent the fan(s) are.
- and battery life on medium-low settings



thanks!

 

"Below is a video of the Dell XPS M1330 tablet (hosted by Andrew) so you can see why the M1330 is so impressive:"

It would be a very nice looking and super thin tablet......we can only hope. I am sure this will be corrected, when noticed.

Very nice looking unit.

 

I thought only the LCD came with the 2.0MP webcam while the LED came with a standard VGA webcam....

 

woo being waiting so long!

Great review! thanks!

can't wait for the rest of it

 

Nice review!

 

Good review thanks.

I would also like to know more about heat / fans.. so waiting for the rest of review

 

OP: the LED comes with VGA camera and not the 2.0MP camera...

 

Nice review! You can see Dell has put some real effort into this laptop. Sure, it's not the best looking laptop, but certainly the best looking Dell laptop. Too bad they have to put the big XPS logo all over the case. They might have kept it a bit more clean with just the Dell logo. But the multimedia keys, slot loading, hdmi and click-out remote are all very impressive features.

Looking forward to a full review.

 

Great review - I want to buy one with the best configuration, speed and performance. What options should I choose? My budget is $2,500.

Thanks,

 

How, so much stuff in this little thing???

 

Awesome review! Waiting for the conclusions...

I think you could use some of the benchmarks results comparing them to the SZ4 series.

Sony has a serious competitor now...

If with the 9-cell battery this laptop is so amazing, I can't imagine it with the 6-cell one!!

 

A very helpful review.

I'm not convinced by the battery protruding below the bottom. It creates an awkward shape for packing. I presume that the 4 cell battery doesn't do this. What does the 9 cell battery do?

John

 

nice first look review! That laptop looks absolutely amazing.

Can you please include the following in the whole review:
- CPU/GPU temps at idle/load
- Is the hard drive on the left or right palmrest
- Screenshots of monitor viewing angles
- Measurement of distance between LED media keys

thanks

 

Is it amazing with the 9-cell? I am still waiting for battery time tests, and also photos of how much the 9-cell extends.

 

I was almost sold, then I saw the extended battery.

 

andrew, can you please let us know how many dimm slots there are for upgrading memory?

 

From what i have read and watched on video demos, only the 9 cell sticks out. The 4 cell and 6 cell batteries fit perfectly with the notebook.

the only inconvienience is ee with the 9cell is the packing, other then that I quite like its shape, and the good angle it gives to the notebook which helps cooling and is good for typing.

 

I would have liked to see battery life. Ah well.

 

im in ur new dell laptop looking at my reflekshun


I hate glossy screens. I'd order one right now if I could get it with a matte screen.

 

I actually really like the slope it gives with the extended battery, it makes typing really quite comfortable and helps with cooling too. I'd recommend the 9-cell for both of those reasons if you can deal with the extra weight. Longer battery life is always good too

 

any pics???

 

I've had it for less than 24 hours and had to run benchmarks with it plugged in, so working on it, simply haven't had time to fully charge and drain the battery yet. Just stay tuned to the thread and it'll get posted

You mean pictures and video posted in the review? All of them have the 9-cell. Watch the video bud.

 

The 6 cell sits flush, the 9 has a hump, there are reasons to use both.

 

while design is appealing, it's not groundbreaking... as it was mentioned many times it looks as if they heavily borrowed from Sony SZ design which is now over 1.5 years old. ($1500 well spent for 1st gen of SZ!)

I do however appreciate Dell's somewhat bold step to include HDMI output which is rarely seen in ultra portables. Other then that it doesn't offer anything new over aging SZ (it was also one of the first laptops to include LED panel display) in terms of design and features, let alone the price is comparable. Common Dell!

 

I don't know klas, they have Verizon and Sprint options, slot load, better keyboard, better material quality, lower price...I'd say it's compelling.

 

Andrew, did you manage to take some pictures with the 6-cell battery? (or only the 9-cell was provided to you)?

 

Guys, its fully configurable on the Dell website, I think I'll take the $1750 with a black body... Also, how long did it take for the xps m1210 to have a price drop?

 

slot load - nice, better keybord - ok, and if you are saying that they have better materials in comparison to previous gens Dells that might be true and I am not going to dispute that, but I cannot imagine it would use better materials then SZ, which has a rugged (or carbon fiber) lid and magnesium alloy body.

Base model of SZ currently $1,196 vs $1,299 for Dell, I guess if we use coupons it maybe cheaper.

Don't get me wrong, if I would be choosing a laptop now I would definitely pick 1330, but since I have perfectly functional SZ already I have no reason to upgrade.

 

Why is there only 2 USB ports though?

I wished Dell would have kept the 12.1" form factor, smaller the better for me, but many will like the larger screen.

Anyways, finally a laptop from Dell I'm impressed by!

 

Haha, sorry. I thought you'd had it for the past week or something. Yeah I'll keep my eye on this thread.

 

First impressions on heat and noise? Warm palmrest means that the system runs hot or am I reading too much into that?

 

It's under the left palmrest

Yes, the palmrests do get warm even when idle and can be called quite hot when the system is under stress and the fan does get quite loud when running benchmarks.

 

Klas, no reason to change, but side by side, especially on the higher end, the Dell is less expensive.

 

btw, i would be also interested to find out about battery life. (preferably with 6 cell)

 

I know the review is not complete.. but would love to see 3dmark06 in the next update, and hopefully some game testing too in the following updates. would really like to know how the 8400M GS really perform in both benchmark and RL.

 

well now, that pretty much solves my personal debate vs D630 and m1330

I was hoping the 1330 would run cool and quiet, but that doesnt seem to be the case with this multimedia notebook.

Thx Andrew!


As for the rest of the m1330, the build, the specs, the looks. I love it! If I had mroe money I would ahve gone with that model of notebook.

Nice to see Dell CAN make some nice looking stuff

 

Why use the 32 gb ssd, it seems a bit too small. Im not too sure about the benefits of the technology but could anyone please tell me if its worth it or not?

When are the 64 gb ssd ready? If not for awhile could you upgrade to the larger at a later date?

I also just wanted to get a general consensus on which color people prefer. I really cant decide.

Thanks.

 

We will certainly provide 3DMark06 benchmarks in the final review. We couldn't include those benchmarks in the first look because there was a driver problem.

Dell did provide us with 3DMark06 benchmarks of there own, but we don't feel comfortable publishing benchmarks we didn't run ourselves.

 

Yeah, i'm interested to see how well this thing can run oblivion. If its fluid enough(over 30fps at med. settings, no AA or AF) i might consider it over a fully spec'd out 1520... Esp. since it has digital video out, and gigabit ethernet(2 things that were not added to the new inspirons)

 

does integrated x3100 graphics includes HDMI output?

 

Gah, that thing is expensive!

I just configured the machine I'd want and it came out to be $4000!

 

Yeah, looks like a great notebook.

 

Yes, this laptop reminds me of the Sony SZ series especially the profile shots. But do keep in mind that this laptop also incorporates the SR platform and CPU while the SZ is still on the Napa. Great looking ultraportable from Dell though, they definitely did something switching or hiring on their design team.

 

That's disappointing. Sounds like even if you put in a SSD the heat and noise would still be considerable when the system is being stressed. It also is unlikely that the heat and noise would change significantly between your preproduction model and the retail models.

 

well, it is possible to adjust the sound of the noise by a bios update. that can possibly changed in the future....though i don't know if it will be possible, considering how thin the notebook is, and how high powered the components are.

edit: so when do these suckers actually start shipping out?

 

Why they would put a hitachi drive under the left palmrest is beyond me
(hears a small percentage of left-handers cheering from afar)

 

Now we just need a $500 off Dell coupon

I'm hoping the Dell kiosk at the local mall has one of these cuz I'd like to see one in person first. This could sway me from the MBP I am also thinking about. The whole Vista only thing bothers me. I suppose I could downgrade back to XP, but that seems to be a real PITA with the new laptops and needing a custom boot w/ nlite or whatever that is for the SATA drives MBP + bootcamp + XP still seems like a winning combo unless the price gets lower or a fat coupon/discount code is to be found

 

So that guy in the video is andrew... he looks young er than I thought