Dell m1330 - Painful being on the bleeding edge of technology [updated]

After using this new laptop for 12-hours per day for about 30-days I have decided to point out some observations to help the people thinking of buying one.

I had to finally replace my 4-year old Dell D400 ultra-light laptop. The D400 has a 12" screen and I wanted a brighter and larger screen that was more comfortable to use all day.

I went with the 6cell battery and the dedicated video card. Also decided to roll the dice and go with Vista Business. And I ordered it with only 1GB RAM because I got the 4GB of DDR2 667MHz from a reseller for $200 less.

I am very impressed with the speed of the 4GB memory with the 2.0Ghz processor. I can run a bit hot sometimes but not bad overall.

SCREEN
The m1330 13.3" wide screen is almost exactly the same size as the 12" D400 screen except you get an extra inch of viewing space to use as a side bar. Windows Vista makes use of this nicely with the new sidebar feature which can come in handy, however, in comparing the screen sizes I would say they are the same for actual text and screen size in the normal (Non wide-screen) portion. **Fujitsu just came out with a 14" screen on a 13.3" platform that looks nice.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/02/fujitsu-launches-the-slimedge-lifebook-s6510/


The m1330 is a lot brighter with the NEW LED screen. It is crisp, clear, vivid and a real pleasure to view. Watching a DVD is great but the sound can really distort the speakers if you put the volume on high. Same thing with music MP3s. Using headphones is excellent.

The slot-load DVD is nice too. No doors to play with or wait for but hopefully you don't get something stuck in there. I heard you can't use the smaller size CD ROMs which have gotten stuck inside.

I do find myself using the [ctrl] command in Firefox to increase the font size a bit. So I guess once again I got half of what I was shooting for but I knew this going in.

SSD Storage (Solid State Drive) *NEW TECHNOLOGY*
I love the SSD and plan to upgrade it from the 32GB size to 64GB when available. I have been waiting for about a year for this technology to hit the market and I jumped on it with one of the first offerings.

[Windows Vista is a hog for storage space. It is currently using 8GB plus another 5GB partition for a total of 13GB. After installing a few essential programs like Office 2007 (4GB) etc. I was left with 7GB of free space.]

The SSD is faster with an access time of .2 milliseconds (see stats below), however, people looking for a better write speed which I think is fast anyway and will get even faster as the technology improves.

The SSD is suppose to use less power and is much more robust for protecting data. Normal spinning hard drives can be easily damaged from the shock of dropping the laptop etc.

The SSD is silent. It takes some getting used to, using a silent laptop. Except for the occasional whoosh when the fan kicks in for a minute or so this thing is Silent. At least it's suppose to be. That said, mine has a problem noise coming from the inside. It's an annoying high pitched whine and there have been many complaints logged on notebook forums. I had Dell send out a tech who replaced the motherboard but the noise was still there. It seems to be a bit lower than the old motherboard but it's still there.

I love the little slot for my SD Card where I can do quick swaps of camera pictures and other stuff. Very handy to have.

WINDOWS VISTA
I have been having some challenges with Windows Vista for Business. It won't come out of SLEEP or HIBERNATE modes. That's a big deal because you can never shut your computer to save the battery using sleep mode. I have started working on this but I am thinking that I may end up re-installing the OS but this time to Windows XP Pro. Which would be a shame because I do like this OS.

RUNTIME
All of this computing power does not make for very long battery run-times. I get about 2.5hrs when using it on the 6-cell battery with balanced power options using medium bright screen levels. They do afer a bigger 9-cell battery IIRC.

I thought that the lack of a spinning hard drive and the new LED screen would have helped and they probably do but I think that using the powerful new 2.0Ghz dual core processor still a hungry battery user.

CONCLUSION
Overall I like this laptop mostly because of the bright clear screen and the light weight. I like the fast powerful processor but wish I had better battery life. The SSD is the future of storage for laptops and the technology will get better with size and speed and cheaper with demand (current $500 add!).

The intermittent high-pitched whine" and the "not coming out of SLEEP mode" is a serious issue which makes it hard for me to recommend the m1330 until they are fixed. I would also not recommend the 32 GB SSD because of the small storage space but definitely 64GB or higher. I'll keep you posted as I find out more on these two issues.

Have a look at
http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4

******* UPDATED *******
I just spent a few hours with Dell tech support and have some detailed updates to add. I got lucky on my third CS rep and ended up with a 12yr DELL CS rep veteran who knew his stuff and took the time to trouble shoot logically.

RE: CPU WHINE
They told me that the whine is coming from the ceramic capacitors which vibrate at a certain frequency to cause the noise. They also stated that this noise was within tolerance and therefore not a problem, however, they are working on it to improve the product.

It is not happening with all system configurations but is pronounced with more powerful system configurations. I personally have the upgraded graphics card and the 2.0Ghz CPUs with 4MB L2 Cache.

RE: SLEEP MODE
Tech support states the issue is with Vista because the OS is allowing the CPU to run in C3 or low power mode which will not allow you to get out of sleep mode. The fix is to make sure all Vista controls are set to not allow it to go into this mode by unchecking the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" box, within the Power Management of devices found in the 'Device Manager' Such as the Bluetooth device etc.

Though this did seem to quiet down some of the whine it did not solve the inherent capacitor issue or the SLEEP issue for me. however...

Upon further inspection we found that the system did come out of sleep mode but the screen did not turn on or remained blank. This was due to the NVIDIA Driver update I got from the NVIDIA website, using forum links. Dell Tech support said that I need to stick with Dell drivers to ensure compatibility with my m1330 system. We removed the drivers and re-installed the correct video driver from the Dell website and this did correct my 'SLEEP ISSUE'.

We did a bit more inspection of my system and enabled a few start-up services which I turned off and and disabled a few other items which I didn't need. My system is running better now. The final issue, my system seems to hang for about 1-minute during times when it doesn't seem like it should and this might be my McAfee Total Protection (beta) for business so I am currently in contact with them to figure out more.

The capacitor issue and the still unknown hang and others' sleep issues make me stay with the 3 Star rating at the moment.
**************

---------------------------------------------
My Dell m1330 SPECS and HD Tune stats comparing two different computers access speed.

*** DELL XPS M1330 ***
Intel Santa Rosa Centrino Core 2 Duo
Processor T7300 (2.0GHz/800MhzFSB, 4M L2 Cache)
Memory 4GB DDR2, 667MHz
Graphics Card 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA TL WLED Backlit LCD with Camera
SanDisk SSD 32GB Solid State Drive, SSDR, Serial ATA, 2.5, 9.5MM, SANDI
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
8X DVD /-RW Slot Load Drive

Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition (Premium)
Property Value
Windows System Assessment
CPU Score 4.90 (Calculations per second)
Memory Score 4.80 (Memory operations per second)
Graphics Score 4.00 (Desktop performance for Windows Aero)
D3D Score 4.60 (3D business and gaming graphics performance)
Disk Score 5.80 (Disk data transfer rate)
Windows Experience Index 4.00 (Base score)

HD Tune: SanDisk SSD SATA 500 Benchmark (Dell m1330 with SSD)

Transfer Rate Minimum : 49.4 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Maximum : 59.9 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Average : 56.1 MB/sec
Access Time : 0.2 ms
Burst Rate : 49.5 MB/sec
CPU Usage : 6.9%


HD Tune: WDC WD1600JB-22GVA0 Benchmark (Fast Desktop with Fast Hard Drive)

Transfer Rate Minimum : 25.1 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Maximum : 55.1 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Average : 47.4 MB/sec
Access Time : 13.5 ms
Burst Rate : 79.0 MB/sec
CPU Usage : 14.0%
5:55 PM me: wow! 79 MB/sec burst!


--Specs with Dell codes--

1 222-9695 XPS M1330, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.0GHz/800MhzFSB, 4M L2 Cache)
1 310-9240 Matte Black Casing XPS M1330
1 311-7309 1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm, for XPS M1330
1 320-5591 Slim and Light LCD with Matte Black Casing and Camera XPS M1330
1 320-5603 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, for XPS M1330
1 341-5107 32GB Solid State Drive
1 420-6814 Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition, English
1 420-7098 Media Direct 3.3
1 420-6995 DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP
1 420-5769 Internet Search and Portal
1 420-5924 Icon Consolidation Application
1 420-6436 Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
1 420-7387 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP XPS-M1330
1 412-0946 Dell Travel ExpressCard Remote Control, IR
1 310-9246 Creative Earbud EP630
1 412-0917 Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0, for Inspiron
1 313-5361 8X DVD /-RW Slot Load Drive for XPSM1330
1 313-5014 Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
1 430-2577 Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
1 420-6914 Network Associates McAfee 8.0 English, 15-Month Subscription
1 312-0561 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1330
1 412-0148 No Internet Service Provider Requested
1 412-0915 MS WORKS 8.5
1 987-6377 Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
1 983-3740 Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor On-Site Response, Initial Year
1 986-4238 Thank you for choosing a Limited Warranty and Service Contract
1 970-5597 No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
1 412-0359 Soft Contracts - Qualxserve
1 960-8710 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System
1 310-9348 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
1 310-9272 No Fingerprint Reader Selected
1 430-2566 Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0 EDR)
1 310-9348 Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
1 310-8628 You have chosen a Windows Vista Premium System
1 310-8977 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forBSD Systems Boxes
1 320-5583 13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA TL WLED Backlit LCD with Camera, XPS M1330
1 600-0001 State Environmental Fee for display less than 15 inches
1 600-0001 State Environmental Fee for display less than 15 inches
1 986-9257 LoJack Theft Recovery Service - 1 Year