Dell XPS M1530

Pros: Asthetics, Performance (as long as you get good components), Graphics, Gaming

Cons: Only a couple audiophile complaints

Summary: I have had my M1530 for a few days now and it has been incredible. I got mine with Intel Core2 Duo 2.2Ghz Processor, 2GB RAM, 256MB NVIDIA Graphics and it has performed beautifully. It has had no trouble with any tasks I have thrown at it. The processors give ample room for both multimedia multitasking and gaming. So far it can easily handle all but the most advanced games (ie. Crysis...). One interesting and very useful feature of Vista that I have used on this machine is ReadyBoost. It allows you to allocate space on a flash drive or SD type card and use it as a RAM cache. I have added almost another whole GB of RAM using a SD card with this feaure, and the difference is noticable. I would recommend using this with and SD card, as it fits into the slot without protruding from the side, as a flash drive would.

With all this power, any multimedia looks and sounds fantastic on this machine. The HD screen displays movies and videos extremely well. As far as music goes, it works very well. Using either Windows Media Center or Dell's Media Direct gives a great experience. There it no lag time between songs, pictures or anything else. The included remote (you get 2 by the way) works very well and fits nicley in the express slot. In addition, you can use Dell's Media Direct system without booting up the OS, simply by pressing the media button above the keyboard. It works pretty well, gving you access to all your media, contacts, documents, presentations and more.

Aside from the raw power, this system simply looks amazing. It is eye-catching in just about every way. This laptop will certainly draw the envy of everyone at the starbucks, lecture hall, hotel, or wherever you use it. The screen it beautiful and the colors pop out. When I ordered mine, there as only one choice for screen resolution, but now you can get it in higher resolutins and maybe they will have it with an LED backlit screen soon.

So far, the battery life has bee pretty good. I got the extended nine cell battery, and I have gotten well over 4 hours of battery life (not playing any hardcore games and not having the screen at it absolute brightness) and have been very impressed.

Build quality is excellent. Being XPS, Dell didn't skimp on anything here. The brushed metal surface on the inside looks great, while being scratch resistant and the elegantly simplistic design on the lid is durable and asthetically pleasing at the same time. The touchpad is average in size (about 4.5 x 7cm), and responsive. The mouse buttons are not to small and not loud either. Some notebooks have very loud clicks when you press the mouse buttons, but that is not present here. At the top of the keyboard is a touch strip with media and volume controls, all of which work very well and respond quickly. One of the most interesting features is the slot-load DVD drive. It takes some getting used to if you're used to the tray system, but trust me when I say it is so much better. I always felt like te trays seemed so fragile, but with the M1530, that is not a problem. To unload the disc, there is a touch button above the keyboard that does that for you. The only problem with the slot load drive is that is a bit noisier than a normal tray one. When you insert and unload a disc, it is significantly noisier, but once it is in, the noise is not a problem. It also makes a louder noise when you start up the computer, but it is not a problem.

The only problem I have found with my M1530 is that there is a noticeable hiss when you use the headphone jacks. With the volume turned down low, it can get a little annoying, but it is not that big of a deal. Only big time audiophiles would have a serious problem with this. With any luck, Dell might fix this with a later update.

All in all, this is an incredible machine, both in looks and power. With the ability to play all the latest games and use all the best software, while staying relatively lightwieght and looking slick while doing it, the Dell XPS M1530 is easily one one the best laptops on the market, if not the best.