Get a FREE fully-working copy of Steganos Security Suite 7 (worth £49.99) when you sign up to the Practical PC Newsletter. Review: Dell XPS M1530 Laptop
Iain Laskey finds Dell's M1530 just the thing for all your mobile computing needs...
| Product | XPS M1530 |
|---|---|
| Company | Dell |
| Web | www.dell.co.uk |
| Price | Around £1000 for this configuration including 3yr warranty. |
| We like | Great feature set, fast, GFX card, HDMI out |
| We don't like | keyboard/touchpad could be better |
| Rating | 9/10 |
| Requirements |
I recently had a motherboard failure on my existing Dell Inspiron laptop and given its age, repair looked a bad move as one could buy a new laptop for less. However, once I decided to see what was available and given my two main criteria - a higher than usual resolution screen and three year warranty, I suddenly found the price spiraling upwards.
After much searching I settled on an XPS M1530. The price on the Dell web site was around £1000 but a phone call to Dell resulted in quite a dramatic price cut to reflect my loyalty as a customer and that it was a replacement for a failed (nearly four year old) unit. They probably won't thank me for saying what I paid but it was a done deal and a few days later it arrived.
Features
An Intel Core 2 Duo CPU running at 2Ghz and 2Gb of RAM, 250Gb SATA hard drive plus a 1680x1050 screen and DVD writer make up the core specification. The XPS M1530 comes with quite a few extras though. The graphics card is a reasonably sprightly NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT and outputs consist of VGA, s-video and rather usefully, HDMI. 3 x USB2 and 1 X 1394 connectors along with wired and wireless networking plus Bluetooth. The front edge sports a card reader and the right hand side has a media remote control tucked away in the Express Card slot. There is also a button that fires up a piece of software to look for local wireless access points and another that starts the laptop in a cut down version of Windows if you just want to play MP3s or watch a DVD. Finally, the lid contains a webcam and pair of noise cancelling microphones.
Impressions
The screen has no catches but is held in place by the fairly stiff hinges. When opened, the laptop powers up and a nice little display of pulsing blue lights under the media control buttons above the keyboard lets you know it's starting up. Vista Home Premium is installed and boots quickly. Mercifully the laptop is reasonably free of pre-installed clutter except for a trial version of McAfee which you can continue with or swap for something else once it's expired.
General impressions are good. This particular XPS came with a dark blue lid and nice chromed Dell logo and the body looks smart but not overly flashy with its brushed aluminium and black plastic plus blue lights. The grill over the speaker does seem to attract bits of dust and dirt and needs a quick brush now and then to avoid it looking like you've just eaten your lunch on it but apart from that the M1530 looks the part.
The XPS M1530 comes with a fingerprint reader which seems to work well in daylight but not at all well once it gets a bit darker or under artificial light. The reader software is flexible and can be used to populate logon screens in various programs and web sites by running your finger over it when asked to logon to something. I did end up switching it off though as the constant 'do you want to store these details?' on new web sites got rather onerous.
An external bluetooth mouse was supplied along with a 2Gb USB key (specified as extras) and both worked well. The keyboard and touchpad are good enough but the ones on my older Inspiron were better. The M1530 needs a slightly more positive hit to register a key which doesn't suit my rather lightweight typing style although I've now learned to compensate for that. The touchpad is a little smaller than I'd have liked but did have a nice feature whereby running your finger along the right hand side or bottom edge instigates scrolling within whatever document you're viewing.
This particular laptop had a higher capacity battery fitted which is a bit bulkier and heavier but typically gives threee and a half to four and a half hours usage which is excellent given the performance. Temperature wise it seems fine with the fan usually running at a fairly low speed and rarely audible above the usual background noise.
Performance
Given the specification, it's no surprise that the M1530 does most things with aplomb. Games work remarkably well with newer titles like BioShock working quit happily with high detail and resolutions. Some software did seem a little lumpy compared to my previous 3Ghz XP based laptop but they're in the minority and I suspect more being influenced by Vista's foibles than any lack of power in the laptop itself. Most applications ran quite happily though. With the HDMI connected to a TV it managed to play HD material with only the odd judder so for that, it's borderline. Things did improve slightly with Vista SP1 though.
Conclusion
The Dell XPS 1530 series can be had from around £499+VAT upwards depending on options. For this you get a great chassis packed with features that really set it apart from the budget offerings that litter the supermarket shelves at £300 or so. Yes it costs more but you certainly get what you pay for and after a month of use, I'm very happy with the Dell XPS M1530. The HDMI output and screen are the personal highlights and looks wise it impresses - I've had people come up and ask about it because it looks so good. The little touches like the compact media remote control and HDMI output make it a joy to work with so I have no hesitation in recommending the XPS M1530.
