Ive got my top three, which will it be?

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thefewtheproud

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Oct 23, 2006
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Alright, so I am looking for a new laptop and am stuck between 3. They are the Dell m1330, the sony vaio TZ line, and the 15" macbook pro. Now some things I like about the Dell are the hdmi output, the thin size, the cool colors, slot loading optical, and the decent graphics cards. With the sony my favorite features are the ultra small size and the fact that it still runs hardware such as a core 2 duo. The only thing I dont particularly like about the sony is the fact that it is only integrated graphics. As for the Macbook pro, I love the styling, like the idea of having OSX to play around with, slot loading drive, nice graphics card, and dual link dvi (the only one of the three that can run a 30" at native rez). The one thing I dont like about the Mac is that it doesnt have a built in media card reader. Whats up with that? So please, any feedback on these 3 machines is welcome!
 
thefewtheproud said:
Alright, so I am looking for a new laptop and am stuck between 3. They are the Dell m1330, the sony vaio TZ line, and the 15" macbook pro. Now some things I like about the Dell are the hdmi output, the thin size, the cool colors, slot loading optical, and the decent graphics cards. With the sony my favorite features are the ultra small size and the fact that it still runs hardware such as a core 2 duo. The only thing I dont particularly like about the sony is the fact that it is only integrated graphics. As for the Macbook pro, I love the styling, like the idea of having OSX to play around with, slot loading drive, nice graphics card, and dual link dvi (the only one of the three that can run a 30" at native rez). The one thing I dont like about the Mac is that it doesnt have a built in media card reader. Whats up with that? So please, any feedback on these 3 machines is welcome!
Click to expand...
I love my MacBook Pro! Buy a little USB card reader for like $10 from eBay.
 
easily, i've personally used all three for extended periods of time.....

and the XPS is an amazing value for the money. one thing though: the integrated intel graphics really should be your choice. it really greatly enhances your battery life, and the 8400gs in the 1330 SUCKS. like really, you can't play any modern game with it, and isnt that the whole point?

the SZ is way too expensive, you'll spend the whole time treating it like a piece of expensive jewelry.

the macbook pro is just too heavy for a daily lug around, and sure you get OSX with it, but you can get OSX on the m1330 also :)
 
I may be biased as I have never used the macbook pro but I was very impressed with a dell vostro i ordered. not quite the same thing i know...

my buddy got a viao desktop and i was not so impressed by his machine. again, apples to oranges though...GL!
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
easily, i've personally used all three for extended periods of time.....

and the XPS is an amazing value for the money. one thing though: the integrated intel graphics really should be your choice. it really greatly enhances your battery life, and the 8400gs in the 1330 SUCKS. like really, you can't play any modern game with it, and isnt that the whole point?

the SZ is way too expensive, you'll spend the whole time treating it like a piece of expensive jewelry.

the macbook pro is just too heavy for a daily lug around, and sure you get OSX with it, but you can get OSX on the m1330 also :)
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integrated graphics, really?
 
you'll get better battery life and it is true that the 8400M GS is not a good card for recent games...i have one in my laptop and it's fine for older games but that's about it
 
The MBP weighs just over 5 pounds which is hardly too heavy for daily use. I carry mine everywhere.
 
i'm actually selling an 8400gs equipped M1330 on ebay. I got it expecting decent TF2 performance but even that game didn't run well enough for my tastes on it......

so yea, if you can, wait for mobile 9 series, the 8 series just isnt that great, and yes, I'm including the 8600s in that statement too.......

like I said before, the newest Intel integrated gfx cards are decent enough.... and they net u great battery life/weight
 
thefewtheproud said:
over the Vaio and macbook?
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Enough for me to put my money where my mouth is

XPS M1330, Intel Core 2 Duo T9300(2.5GHz, 800Mhz, 6M L2 Cache)
Matte Black Casing XPS M1330
2GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm,
13.3 Inch Wide Screen WXGA TL WLED Backlit LCD with Camera, XPS M1330
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS,
160GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery,
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery,
3 Year Limited Warranty
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Extended Year(s)
Type 15- Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, 3 Year
CompleteCare Accidental DamageProtection, Inspiron, 3 Year
Bundle LoJack Theft Recovery Service - 3 Year
Fingerprint Reader
Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR)

eta 2/29 :D
 
dude, are you gonna game with that laptop? because that 8400 is really going to stun you with its ineffectiveness at anything newer than an early-mid 2005 game
 
Are you guys running these games on the highest settings or just playable? I play TF2 on my dell inspiron 6000 which has a radeon x300, it looks crappy but I get around 30 fps and it is very playable. I can even snipe effectively on it.
 
Well, I tried a SONY TZ today, teeny tiny, and the keyboard is so small that my fingers get cramped if I type more than a few sentences. The M1330 would compare better to the SONY SZ. The Macbook Pro is so much larger than both others, that you might as well consider a Lenovo Thinkpad T series 14.1" Widescreen.

My problem with any of the Apple laptops is that I want to run Windows on them, and although they will now all do it, there is no real right trackpad button, and doing a right-click requires a combination of key+click or a software solution. Just not the same as having two mouse buttons. Of course, you can plug a USB mouse in, but that defeats the purpose of a true laptop.

The Thinkpad overall has the best build quality, and the best keyboard at a better price.
The SONY's have the best screens, but much worse keyboards.
The Dell is a decent price if you catch a great sale. They just had one for $799 off that ended. Not as good a keyboard as a Thinkpad.

I am in the same boat trying to make a decision, but the SONY TZ is just too cramped, except for firing off a quick 2 line email.

The new Thinkpad X300 will be a perfect 13.3" notebook when if/when it is released, but will be $2500+

Andrew
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
dude, are you gonna game with that laptop? because that 8400 is really going to stun you with its ineffectiveness at anything newer than an early-mid 2005 game
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The 8400 isn't nearly as bad as you're claiming. The only way that statement could even be remotely close is if you only play games on max settings and high resolutions and only accept FPS higher than 60.

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4223
 
i fired up TF2 on an m1330 w/nvidia and it just chugged when there was a major firefight with many characters on screen.

and no, it definitely wasn't all on max quality settings, it was 1280x1024 resolution and a mix of mediums and highs with no AA and no AF.

another game I tried was Supreme Commander... and well, lets just say that anything more than a small-mid sized battle made the card cry... it became a slideshow *very, very quickly*

last serious game I played was Call of Duty 4.... it was actually playable, but still not as smooth as I'd hoped, and that is taking into account massive IQ tradeoffs I made to get it running well.

i also attempted to run the crysis demo, just to humor myself and averaged what seemed like 2fps, lol...


so yea.... my advice was simply to get an x3100 (or w/e the # is).... however, I think the above poster was right... I was being a bit too harsh....

as even I've admitted, the 8400 can play some games, even some modern ones... and well, the low cost, low weight, and excellent design of this laptop still makes it a good ono the go computer, and with the small amount of firepower in the 8400, it is still a viable system to provide some great fun on the road....

so yea, I retract my earlier statement.... there *are* some people out there that would be well served by the 8400 in a M1330.

Just want to confirm, that the M1330 is by *far* the best laptop out of the 3 listed :)
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
as even I've admitted, the 8400 can play some games, even some modern ones... and well, the low cost, low weight, and excellent design of this laptop still makes it a good ono the go computer, and with the small amount of firepower in the 8400, it is still a viable system to provide some great fun on the road....
Click to expand...

Plus it can play Deus Ex and MOHAA with the best of them :D
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I have been looking at ultraportables and I think I like the Dell d430. Any thoughts on this? The one thing that isnt so great is that it does not have a built in optical drive.
 
The Dell D430 looks to be a very decent portable notebook. If you are just doing basic work, or some light Dev work it will be fine. It uses ULV Core Solo and Core Duo models around 1.0-1.2GHZ in speed and it also packs a 1.8 inch based HD. But it is very small, have good battery life. I also have the 1330 and love this little guy. I got mine back in the sale a few weeks back. With a T7500, 3GB ram, 320GB HD and 8400GS, my Vista score was 4.4 and my HD subscore was a 5.3. I have never seen a laptop notebook drive score such a good score. Also the 8400GS is not meant for gaming, but it does help alot with video playback and having the ability to play some older games on the road. It handles HL2 just fine, UT 2004, WoW, games of this nature play fine. the 1330 was never meant to be a power house, but all around solid portable notebook. With the 9 cell I can pull 5 hours of battery life on Vista.
 
Does anyone know if the m1330's gfx card is changeable or is it soldered onto the board? Because if it is changeable could'nt I put in the 8600m GT or something and get better performance?
 
with 99.9% if laptops, the video card is part of the motherboard, so you'd have to change the entire motherboard to change the video card
 
thefewtheproud said:
Does anyone know if the m1330's gfx card is changeable or is it soldered onto the board? Because if it is changeable could'nt I put in the 8600m GT or something and get better performance?
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I can confirm, the 8400GS is built into the motherboard with 2 GDDR3 chips:)
 
oh well. So I guess I have to choose between latitude and the xps. I really like the battery capabilities of the latitude and I dont think it can be matched by the xps. If I choose the d430 I get an ultraportable but dont have a built in dvd. If I choose the d630 I get teh dvd but it is bigger than the xps, so I just cant decide. If any one has either of those or there older counterparts please post some pictures so I can get a feel for their size. Any further opinions are welcomed!
 
I'm expecting my 1330 today, it's out for delivery. I will try and post some pics later on :)
 
thefewtheproud said:
Any other opinions?
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Yes.
I can't see why your total notebook choices would come down to a Dell or another Dell?
Are you totally set on a Dell?
If so, I am not here to talk you out of it, but I did mention earlier a Thinkpad of some sort, before you said that you wanted an ultraportable. And, if you do want an ultraportable, you certainly don't want a D630 which is bulkier and heavier than a Thinkpad T61.
Is price the only consideration? If so, I understand.

I think the M1330 is the nicest of the Dell models, and, although more money I think it is in a class above any of the Inspirons or Latitudes. The Vostros that I have seen look just like Inspirons with a different paint job.

I would go for a M1330 if it had a better keyboard, I would also go (and may go) for a SONY SZ if it had a better keyboard. Both the M1330 and the SONY SZ have better screens than the T61, although they are glossy vs matte for the Thinkpad.

It is all just a series of trade-offs to get what you want, from huge notebooks with RAID and 512MB video cards down to the lightest ultraportable with nothing built in.

I have considered the pros and cons of every make and model. Let me know if I can be of any help.

Andrew
 
the Vostros are the guts of an Inspiron (basically) but in a magnesium alloy chassis

these Vostros are crazy big and heavy, (I have the 1700) and not portable at all

but they are great laptops besides that imho
 
aamsel said:
Yes.
I can't see why your total notebook choices would come down to a Dell or another Dell?
Are you totally set on a Dell?
If so, I am not here to talk you out of it, but I did mention earlier a Thinkpad of some sort, before you said that you wanted an ultraportable. And, if you do want an ultraportable, you certainly don't want a D630 which is bulkier and heavier than a Thinkpad T61.
Is price the only consideration? If so, I understand.

I think the M1330 is the nicest of the Dell models, and, although more money I think it is in a class above any of the Inspirons or Latitudes. The Vostros that I have seen look just like Inspirons with a different paint job.

I would go for a M1330 if it had a better keyboard, I would also go (and may go) for a SONY SZ if it had a better keyboard. Both the M1330 and the SONY SZ have better screens than the T61, although they are glossy vs matte for the Thinkpad.

It is all just a series of trade-offs to get what you want, from huge notebooks with RAID and 512MB video cards down to the lightest ultraportable with nothing built in.

I have considered the pros and cons of every make and model. Let me know if I can be of any help.

Andrew
Click to expand...

thanks alot, i had forgotten about the t61, yes i would like an ultraportable but I really dont want to sacrifice things such as a built in optical. My big thing is battery life. The d630 with the extra battery can achieve up to 15 hours.
 
thefewtheproud said:
thanks alot, i had forgotten about the t61, yes i would like an ultraportable but I really dont want to sacrifice things such as a built in optical. My big thing is battery life. The d630 with the extra battery can achieve up to 15 hours.
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I have never heard of 15 hours with two batteries on ANY notebook using any sort of legitimate run-down testing. A total of 8 hours is considered huge, and is equated to "all day" running and is very rare in real world testing.

Andrew
 
aamsel said:
I have never heard of 15 hours with two batteries on ANY notebook using any sort of legitimate run-down testing. A total of 8 hours is considered huge, and is equated to "all day" running and is very rare in real world testing.

Andrew
Click to expand...

It is listed on the dell site when you use the normal nine cell and a second battery in the dvd bay. They say 12-15 hours. Also I went over to thinkpad and configured a t61 side by side with the d630 and the thinkpad came out about $120 more. The dimensions of both were almost dead on and I think the dell has a nicer looking case. Now my big deciding factor with purchasing a new notebook is battery life. What is the best I can get with the m1330? also will the integrated graphics drastically improve batttery life with the m1330? I would like to have a decent card for use with my 20" lcd. I know the d630 is bigger but its battery life is the big attraction for me. Currently I am runninng a 15.4" HP dv6000 series notebook with Core 2 Duo and its is pretty nicely specked notebook I just have decided I want something smaller. The d430 is tiny but it has no optical, the m1330 is pretty small and has fancy features like my current notebook but its battery life isnt much better than what I have, the d630 has great battery life but is bigger than the m1330 and the d430. Any thoughts?
 
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