Solid-state drives?

[KenB]

I'm shopping for a new laptop and leaning toward the Dell XPS 1330 or the XPS 1530. The 1530 has a 15" monitor and the option of a dedicated 256MB video card. The 1330 is limited to a 128MB card (not integrated) but it has the ($800) option of a 64GB solid-state drive which is really appealing.

Solid-state drives are the wave of the future for laptops, and probably desktops too some day. Samsung claims the respective read and write performance on the SSD drive have been increased by 20 and 60 percent: the 64 GB unit can read 64 MB/S, write 45 MB/s, and consumes just half a watt when operating -- and merely one tenth of a watt when idle. In comparison, a mechanical 80 GB 1.8-inch hard drive reads at 15 MB/s, writes at 7 MB/s, and eats 1.5 watts either operating or when idle. You boot up faster, you shut down faster, and launching applications feels instantaneous. On top of all that, it uses almost no power and produces virtually zero noise or heat.

So I'm torn. The 1530's larger display and better video card are appealing. It weighs about 2 pounds more than the 1330 which doesn't bother me. But the 1330's SSD drive is the nuts. I can easily live with 64GB.

Thoughts and opinions?

[Firestrife]

Thing is what do you want to do with it?
If you want to game go with the bigger one with video card.
If your gonna use it for internet and portability go with the smaller one.

Also another thing to think about is that its the first gen of Solid State Drives and there could be some issues with it.

[KenB]

It'll be mostly a work machine with some travel -- email, browsing, Cygwin, MS Office apps, etc. I am a gamer, have never gamed on a laptop, and it would be nice to be able to if I wanted. But I know that neither a 13 or a 15 inch screen in optimal for gaming. Dedicated video gives me the ability though.

As for the SSD, I'm not sure if it's 1st or 2nd gen. When they first hit, they were putting 32GB drives in and now nearly a year later it's 64GB. Either way though, Dell covers it for 3 years which is as long as I'll have this unit.

[Izzy]

The 1330 is the perfect size laptop for me. I'd personally get the LED screen and wait on the SSD. Hopefully they'll drop in price a bit, because that's just very expensive for a drive. I've put my Inspiron 6000 through some shoddy abuse, but the HD is still fine..

If you can get the SSD though, why not? "Flash drive" boot up speed FTMFW!

[Firestrife]

Originally Posted by Izzy

The 1330 is the perfect size laptop for me. I'd personally get the LED screen and wait on the SSD. Hopefully they'll drop in price a bit, because that's just very expensive for a drive. I've put my Inspiron 6000 through some shoddy abuse, but the HD is still fine..

If you can get the SSD though, why not? "Flash drive" boot up speed FTMFW!

wait i thought Flash Drive = SSD?

[Izzy]

Originally Posted by Firestrife

wait i thought Flash Drive = SSD?

That's what I meant.

[Shark Tek]

Right now isn't worth it. They are too expensive to justify the benefits.

Choose the 1330 if you want a more portable notebook easy to go around with it.

Chose the 1530 if you want a bigger screen with more working space (resolution) and a more powerful video card (8600) to play a few game in your friend's lan parties or for your own entertainment.

Don't for get to add the most important thing of Dell, the warranty. Spend the money wisely instead of getting the SSD Drive it would be a more intelligent decision getting the warranty with all the goodies from Dell.

Believe me is worth it.

[KenB]

Originally Posted by Shark Tek

Right now isn't worth it. They are too expensive to justify the benefits.

Choose the 1330 if you want a more portable notebook easy to go around with it.

Chose the 1530 if you want a bigger screen with more working space (resolution) and a more powerful video card (8600) to play a few game in your friend's lan parties or for your own entertainment.

Don't for get to add the most important thing of Dell, the warranty. Spend the money instead of the SSD Drive is a more intelligent decision.

Thanks for the dose of reality. I've been crunching ROI numbers and that extra $800 hit is pretty tough to overcome. That 1530 is a sweet machine and we develop software with thousands of photographic images so the larger screen and better video makes sense. Thanks!

[KenB]

Hemmed and hawed about a solid-state hard drive and decided that would be a requirement on my next machine. $800 for 64GB is a tough nut to swallow. Dell will offer it on the 1530 but you have to ask via the phone.

So here's the spec and the price of my order. I feel this is a great bang for the buck:

XPS M1530
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.2GHz/800MhzFSB, 4M L2 Cache)
Tuxedo Black Casing XPS M1530
3GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm, for XPS M1530
15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ TrueLife LCD with 2.0 MO Camera
Camera Software XPS M1530 2.0MP
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
120G 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor
Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition, English
Media Direct 3.3
DELL SUPPORT 3.4,DIM/INSP
Vista, PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
Dell Owners Manual installed on your system
DELL RESOURCE DVD
Dell Travel ExpressCard Remote Control, IR
ADOBE ACROBAT READER 8.1 DIM/INSP
8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive for XPSM1530
Roxio Creator Basic
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Intel 3945 WLAN (802.11a/g) Mini Card, for XPS M1530
Trend Micro PC-cillin InternetSecurity, English, 15-Month Subscription
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery, for XPS M1530
Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business Edition
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
Dell Wirless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR)
Price: $1,759

[FunkPnut]

Originally Posted by Shark Tek

Right now isn't worth it. They are too expensive to justify the benefits.

Choose the 1330 if you want a more portable notebook easy to go around with it.

Chose the 1530 if you want a bigger screen with more working space (resolution) and a more powerful video card (8600) to play a few game in your friend's lan parties or for your own entertainment.

Don't for get to add the most important thing of Dell, the warranty. Spend the money instead of the SSD Drive is a more intelligent decision.

I'll second that, especially Dell's support!

[KenB]

I'm not a big believer in extended warranties. And I've never had a catastrophic failure in any of the dozens of Dell laptops I've bought over years. One year is good enough for me. Generally speaking, if a failure is going to occur, it will be in the first year of service.

[.jrmyrmx]

this company L Computers started usin them years ago, they basically made the most expencive computers ever with like 80gb of ram, solid state drives and phase change cooling (keeps it at -30*celsius) and quad sli laptops L - Welcome

[Izzy]

Holy crap .jrmyrmx! Those Athena and other cinema displays = shmexy!

[.jrmyrmx]

Originally Posted by Izzy

Holy crap .jrmyrmx! Those Athena and other cinema displays = shmexy!

yeh i know, when i used to be all techy i wanted those soo much


they came out with a laptop with 4gig processor, solid state drives and sli graphics cards in 2004...a bit ahead of the pack...they went out o buisness because they made more money than their bank would allow them and somehow they had to close