The refund cheque for my Dell XPS M1530 arrived yesterday. Yes, that’s right, I returned the Dell. The deciding factor was that the chassis seemed to have warped. It would wobble on a flat surface. I tried multiple surfaces and tested a few other laptops to make sure. The front left corner wobbled as I typed. I could slide at least three sheets of paper underneath the rubber "foot" / bumper with no resistance.
I miss the fingerprint scanner and the dedicated volume controls. Otherwise I am thrilled with what I replaced it with… a 15" MacBook Pro (2.4GHz, 200GB hard drive). The XPS M1530 still has a lot of pros but a few things pushed me over the edge:
- 15" MBP is smaller and thinner (the M1530 is just a bit too thick)
- The small trackpad on the XPS was really bugging me
- Battery life on the M1530 was awful
- I missed the Apple magnetic power adapter
- The headphone jack in front turned out to be a pain
- The backlit keyboard on the MBP is sooooo sweet
- And, of course, the XPS warped!
I *love* my MBP and was so disappointed when you bought a Dell. Ian has been using them exclusively for years though and had good luck for the most part. He’s *almost* convinced to switch, but always has a crash at the most inconvenient moment and has to replace a laptop quickly with no research. He’s on his um, probably 4th or 5th Dell now (in about 10 years). I’m never going back.
Haha i just ordered the dell xps m1530, i would get a macbook pro instead but its pretty expensive. I had to chose between the 1530 and Macbook, but the screen is too small and the graphics suck. However i don’t think the dell is such a bad computer like people make it to be. Its interesting, i have read a lot of reviews and different people say completely different things about the dell. Anyways i’m pretty happy with my choice and hopefully i would be one of the people who are happy with it.
Hi Derek
I am really agonizing about my next laptop purchase. I like you am considering either the MBP or the XPS. One thing I wanted to ask you, how did u find the 1680 x 1050 resolution on XPS? It wasn’t too small?? Dell now offers a 1920 x 1200 resolution, however that is way too much for a 15.4 inch screen. Any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated.
1920×1200 is a bit much for a 15.4″ screen in my opinion. 1680×1050 is the highest I would go on that size screen. Personally I’m finding the 1440×900 on the MBP to be much easier to use day-to-day. I have a very slight eye prescription — enough that I have glasses but not enough that I need to, you know, wear them…
Get the MacBook Pro and install Vista on it.
thats a waste of money. you’re actually buying a macbook pro and running vista on in? macbooks are not designed to run vista and by the way, no they don’t run vista better than pc’s the people who tested it used some crappy pc for 200 bucks and a extremely upgraded mac pro just for the irony the vista runs faster on a mac but everyone knows that its impossible that a machine that is built ONLY for windows, runs it less efficient than a machine designed for Macintosh. If you got the money to get a macbook pro then spend it on an alienware computer and keep the change to buy an ipod or something.
Personally I have little use for OS X. I definitely prefer Windows and I really like Vista (despite a few hiccups). I actually had an Alienware laptop for a couple months last year. I hated it.
(And before anyone asks, it’s not because I know Windows better. I have been using Macs on and off for about ten years. I spent 6-8 weeks this year using OS X full-time. And once upon a time I was a pretty big UNIX geek.)
Vista runs great on Intel-based Macs. It’s all standard hardware and Apple provides Vista drivers for everything. The only major difference is EFI instead of BIOS, which is why you need Bootcamp (for BIOS emulation). And now that Vista SP1 supports UEFI 2, you apparently don’t even need Bootcamp for the latest Macs.
Hey guys. I just ordered a 2.5 Ghz Dell 1530. My friend has one and I love it. Its all preference btw the two. And to Nir, 3 reputable computer magazines ( CPU, Consumer Electronics, and PC Gamer) all had articles running benchmarks on many computers, and the MPB won them all. Sry buddy. They even beat XPS’s and Sony Vaio T’s and Thinkpads. But the XPS has gaming baby!
Look Philip, all i am saying is that unless you’re a designer, a musician or an artist, a macbook pro would be a waste of money. Let me put it that way; for an average consumer, having a macbook pro is like having a Ferrari on a road with a speed limit of 20 miles/ph. Its a great machine and good for show off but its irrelevant to about 85% of the market, you just don’t need that much power.
Hey Derek, I’ve also bought a Dell XPS M1530 shortly after you did and am not completely satisfied, I was wondering how you returned your XPS (by phone etc.. and what reasons). Yes the battery life was not all that good and my latop makes a snapping noise when attempting to lift, the front earphone position is annoying as I mostly use my laptop resting on my chest while lying down resulting in me being in pain after a short while. I kept my warranty with the basic 1 year. Oh yeah and was the refund check a full refund? I spent 1,139 and bought it on 29th of Feb. Thanks
I called and went through the return process with someone on the phone. It was surprisingly painless. It was a full refund although it took several weeks to show up. But I don’t think you’re going to have any luck returning a laptop bought almost 3 months ago unless you happened to buy it from Costco.
APPLE SUCKS! steve jobs just copied bill gates ideas and took about 40% credit. macs are powerfull but apple is money hungry. they offer no support what so ever. dell laptops come standard with 1 yr warrnty. apples come standard with what… is it 60 or 90? either way dell offers 4 times the support and their designs are always interesting! also dell IS THE ONLY computer maker out there that allows you to CUSTOMIZE your computers! face it, apples are a rip off!
It is interesting to hear from both sides of the camp. Mac users are Mac users and for that apple has built a great fan base. I have both Macbook Pro and XPS M1530 2.6Mhz running 64Bit Vista.
I have owned the MBP for over 5 months and the XPS for over 2 months. I do not know what you are talking about in regards to the “SNAP or BEND” in your laptop but llift a laptop like it should be lifted and you won’t get the problems.
I do not run Vista on Mac and no OS-X on PC. What is the point? Why pay more money for a MBP to run Vista when a DELL can run it cheaper and faster.
I have ran tests with the MBP and my XPS and they are about equal. I actually feel the XPS is faster in startup time with the Adobe Graphics Suite and faster in render. I have the 256MB graphics card as well. I have tweaked my memory settings and it helped out a lot. Yes you can tweak a lot of things on Vista! Remember if you are running 32Bit you are not running equal to OS-X’s 64 Bit processing! I hate it when they compare 32Bit to 64Bit computing especially when the software ran on the MBP is OPTIMIZED for 64Bit. If you load a program into the XPS 64Bit Vista that is not optimized GUESS WHAT? It runs at 32Bit!! DING DING DING! I hate BIASED testing.
I like both companies and I go for what I like and forgo any marketing hype. To be honest I use the XPS more and more daily. I like the 85W battey that helps it tilt up a little while typing. I also have the smaller battery for use as well.
As far as headphone jacks being in the front – HELLO – didn’t you see that it was in the front before you purchased? And if you are typing with your laptop on your chest you are not typing but getting a closer look at something else besides your keyboard.
Apple does not SUCK. They help with innovation. You have it backwards- BILL GATES has taken ideas and moved them to the next level at times as well as Steve JOBS has a great creative mind.
BTW – Apple has less bugs( it does have them) because if you notice which HARDLY anyone ever talks about how controlling APPLE is with their drivers and new Hardware releases. DING DING DING! You get only a couple of options for your MBP! That limits the amountof buggy drivers that are available. Shop for a graphics card for the MAC PRO G5 and see what options are there? Maybe “ONE” – shop for a PC and you get 10 of the same from different vendors. Guess what? BAD DRIVERS = BAD EXPERIENCE but they all BLAME VISTA!!
MY VISTA has not crashed, blue screened, hiccuped at all. Why not? Because I do not install stuff because I can. Be smart and sensible about what you install and make sure its certified and from a respected name and you will be fine.
As I said both are great but for the money Handsdown the XPS M1530 over the MBP. I run 1900×1200 and love it.
Buy what you want but don’t impress on to others your own personal choice. Try to be really UNBIASED!
Here’s what happend to me: I ordered an m1530, and whilst I was awaitng arrival I strolled the net a little and found a few posts like this one I’m answering right now which really scared me. At the end I was terrified, beeing sure that my M1530 would be a piece of garbage with bad keyboard, crazy trackpad, wobblly case, crappy display etc.
Well I have gotten it and let me tell you how it is. Display is perfect. It’s the first thing that stands out, its simply perfect, from viewing angles which are huge, to brightness and simple prettiness of image. Vista Basic was already installed I just tweaked it for like 30 minutes. Works great, boots in 35 seconds, shuts down in about 15 ( I know I was shocked too) . Keyboard is great, track pad is great (and btw, it doesn’t go crazy, it’s very responsive and scroll sides work just as intended). I have a 9 cell battery which makes the back side stand up a little, and that’s great cause it sits great on the table when you work on it, and i have between 3 and 4 hours authonmy, with wireless on and display brightness almost max (cause absolute max is just too bright!).
And regarding the weight and size, with a 4 cell battery (which I also bought), they are: 2.7 kilos and approx 3 cm average thickness. And it’s nice and brick like red.
So here’s the scoop: if you want to have 200 grams (thats how much a chocolate bar is) and half a centimeter less, then spend an extra 500 usd/euros on a mac. Also don’t forget to fork up the extra money for windows cd because let’s face it, if you actually use your mbp for something else besides showing off, you will need it.
Oh and another thing: why exactlly do i need a backlit keyboard when my display is bright enought to light up a room? Seriouslly I could use it as a reading lamp. Maybe if I wanted to type in the dark, with the display turned off?
1920×1200 at 15.4″ is now the minimum resolution i’ll accept at that size. It is extremely comfortable to work with. I also have a 15.4″ MBP and an M1530, and I sadly can no longer stand to use the MBP because the resolution is just not acceptable.
I don’t understand why every time someone mentions 1920×1200 theres a flurry of “thats too small” posts. Those people have clearly never seen it, or have poor eyesight. 1920×1200 at 15 inches is great. So great, in fact, that I could never use anything inferior again.
I also really like OSX. So, I had to reconcile things by installing OSX on my M1530 (see insanelymac if you really want to do this), and now I have a machine which is much better than the MBP. I wish apple would just offer decent resolutions, though.
i have been reading all the reviews on multiple websites concerning dell xps 1530, i have been looking at 15.4 screen,2.4ghz processor, 4g memory,320 gb sata hardrive (7200rpm),256 invidia card,wireless,6 cell battery.
its been two weeks and the more i read the scarier i feel.
i have an inspiron 15.4 screen from dell for about 2yrs. it works great. i love it. but, i gave it to my daughter and now
i wanted to get a new one for me. they no longer have inspiron 9300 otherwise i would have gotten another one.
the problem is with all these negative information on xps
i am scared to purchase one…………i need real info on this product not info that has grudges attached. i would appreciate it. the sale ends jan 8. i do not have much time.
thanks
Angie, It all depends on what you want a laptop for and your budget. For portability, design and toxic chemical free, go with the Macbook.
After almost buying a Macbook, I got a refurb XPS1530 3 weeks ago for just $829 shipped even though I don’t game and find the glossy 1440×900 LED screen is great. The 9 cell battery tilts the keyboard nicely. However, the Dell does NOT have gigabit ethernet in the US models and Apple Store service is much better. I should have bought a refurb Dell E6500/P9500 for even less with a 3 yr business warantee included.
The only issue I fear is if the 8600GT card will have heat issues. So far even when just web browsing, the fan comes on occasionally at 120 F, reduces the temp to 110 F, then turns off.
My work T60 laptop T2400/X1400 2gb runs much hotter at 170 F but is quieter.
The XPS is getting hot under the front left which seems to be the 5400 rpm hard drive. I plan on replacing it with an SSD by next summer which should reduce the heat.
Haven’t had any problems with Vista, or build quality and as Momo says, it really depends on if you know how to use the tool properly.
However, nothing comes close to the Macbook for *portability* and beauty of design plus environmental friendliness.
Also, OS X Snowleopard should really show great improvement in memory usage vs Windows.
I now feel I should have got the Macbook and 24″ LED monitor.
Hey. I just read your message about sending your XPS M1530 back. I was wondering how long after you bought it that you sent it back and got your refund cheque. I am very unhappy with it and have been to Dell multiple times in the last 6 months of owning it and they will not refund me. Did you send it back within 21 days of receiving it or later then that?
Thanks for your time.
Veronica
Veronica, it was within 3 weeks of receiving it. I suggest selling it on Kijiji. I replaced the M1530 with a MacBook Pro and then replaced the MacBook Pro with a Latitude E6400. The E6400 is a fantastic machine that I highly recommend.
Thanks for such a quick response. I’m going to call them yet again and make more of a fuse and then if nothing happens Kijiji might be the way to go. Thanks again.
I’m looking at buying an xps M1530 but the only thing that puts me off is the glossy display. How glossy is it? Is it about the same amount of glossiness as that of the MBP or more? can you use it outside? My dad had a inspiron 1501 with trulife and he could use it in 2 areas of the house otherwise he couldnt see anything. is this the same with the xps?
if you want to game you should get the xps but if all you do is go on the internet than you should get mbp. i like both i have the xps and i love it and ive seen everything my friend can do on his mbp and it is amaizing to but in my opinion mac is a big rip off. you can customize the dell for anything and the odds are it will end up just as much as the mbp so if you have money to spend go ahead but if you’re cutting back i suggest the mbp, its just as good.
hi. im thinking about buying a laptop for college. i want to know if the xps would be a good choice or not and does the glossy screen affect the visibility outdoors? can someone help me please. im not an expert in laptops or anything and this will be my second purchase of a computer…. so i really need an unbiased advisor. thank you.
Hi Curlz,
Even if you’re not, I cannot recommend enough this xps m1530- mine I’ve had for 2 years now though, so there are probably other options available from dell and other companies out there now that can provide decent competition (many people on engadget a few days ago recommended an ASUS G50 for this kind of thing… see here
I’ll try to be as unbiased as I can, but most points have already been made above about the benefits of both camps… for college I’m not sure you’ll be dabbling much in gaming but who knows, maybe you’re a WoW fan or sth?
http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/26/ask-engadget-best-gaming-laptop-for-under-1-500/
otherwise if all you need to do is type and surf the net there is a huge range of netbooks out there for half as much. don’t need to be an expert to save money and get more power nowdays, good luck