Gadgets and Gizmos

Dell XPS

The Dell XPS is a high-end line of gaming computers sold by Dell. The “Xtreme Performance System” or XPS. The Dell XPS M1530 laptop that had most of its details leaked early last month was made official this morning, delivering a 15-inch version of the popular XPS M1330 to the masses. It features an LED-backlit screen, a slot-loading DVD-RW drive, is available with a 64GB SSD and weighs in at a respectable 6 pounds or so. Prices start at $US999. It also keeps the same wedge shaped design and for a notebook of its size the M1530 is really quite slim, measuring 23.7mm at its thinnest point and 35.1mm at the back.

It is also very light. Dell quotes a “starting weight” of 2.6kg, but our sample is a no less impressive 2.74kg with the supplied six-cell battery. There are some notable differences other than size between the M1530 and M1330 however. The M1530 can be configured with a more powerful Nvidia 8600M GT graphics card for boosted gaming performance over the XPS M1330 that only offers up to the Nvidia 8400M GS.

The M1530 also offers up to a 2.80GHz Intel T7800 processor, whereas the XPS M1330 tops out at an Intel T7500 2.2GHz processor. Obviously if you’re all about the performance metrics and don’t carry a laptop around much, the XPS M1530 is a better fit for you. Overall the Dell XPS M1530 is a solid addition to the Dell notebook lineup.

The smaller XPS M1330 for having “a design that is second to none in its price range” but it didn’t feel quite as strong about the design of the larger M1530. While this is certainly the hottest 15.4″ notebook available from Dell, it’s hard to shake the feeling looking at a “fat” M1330 with a larger screen.

Specification

• Tuxedo Black
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB, 4MB Cache)
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
• Standard Display with 2.0 Mega pixel Webcam
• 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
• Size: 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
• CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW Drive)
• 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
• Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
• Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
• 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
• High Definition Audio 2.0
• Biometric Fingerprint Reader