Lap Top Buying Help!!! Dell Xps M1530 Or Hp Dv5???
September 9th, 2009
So I am off to college this fall and need to get a computer. I am between these 2.
1) Dell XPS M1530
My Components
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1
LCD AND CAMERA High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LED LCD (1440×900) & 2.0 M
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
HARD DRIVE Size: 250GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drivw
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD /-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
WIRELESS CARDS Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card
BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0
FINGERPRINT SCANNER Finger Print Reader XPS M1530
My Software & Accessories
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE McAfee SecurityCenter 15-months
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE No Microsoft Office
PHOTO, VIDEO & BURN SOFTWARE Adobe Photoshop Premiere Elements
My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 3Yr Ltd HW WRTY, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis, 24×7 Phone Support
ACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTION Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 3Yr Warr.
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
BLUETOOTH AND WIRELESS USB Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 Enhanced Data Rate)
Dell Printer Driver Windows Vista™ Premium
Software – Adobe Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Processor Branding Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Doms Camera and Color High Res, Black glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LED LCD (1440×900) & 2MP Camera
2) HP – Pavilion Model: dv5-1015nr
Product Features
Intel® Core™2 Duo mobile processor P7350 with 2 processing cores, 1066MHz frontside bus, 3MB L2 cache and 2.0GHz processor speed
4GB DDR2 memory for multitasking power, expandable to 8GB
Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with Blu-ray Disc support; records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible double-layer media; also supports DVD-RAM
From our expanded online assortment; not available in all Best Buy stores
15.4″ WXGA high-definition widescreen display with BrightView Infinity technology and 1280 x 800 resolution
320GB SATA hard drive (5400 rpm); HP ProtectSmart hard drive protection
NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS NB9M-GE graphics with 256MB dedicated memory; up to 2047MB total graphics memory; HDMI output
QuickPlay touch-sensitive music and DVD controls; HP mobile remote and ear bud headphones included
Built-in HP webcam and integrated microphone make it easy to chat with family and friends
5-in-1 digital media reader supports Secure Digital, MutliMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card
IEEE 1394 port and 4 high-speed USB 2.0 ports for fast digital video, audio and data transfer; 1 eSATA/USB combo port
Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g/n); 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector; 56 Kbps high-speed modem
Weighs only 5.8 and measures 1.7″ thin for easy portability; lithium-ion battery and AC adapter
HP Imprint 2 finish in onyx and chrome with a mesh imprint pattern
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system with Service Pack 1 (SP1) preinstalled; software package included with Photosmart Essentials and more; 60-day trial version of Microsoft Office 2007 Student and Teacher edition included
I know there are pros and cons for both systems, but which do you think is the better one overall and why? The Dell is $1299 and the HP is $1,249.99.
Thanks!
Posted in 
Tags: 7 Responses to “Lap Top Buying Help!!! Dell Xps M1530 Or Hp Dv5???”
Leave a Reply
From the above two configurations DELL has the better graphics card (for gaming this will be far better than dv5t with a 9200M ) But you have not configured the dv5t wisely.
I came up with the following spec for $1098 directly from HP website :
* Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz, 3MB L2, 1066MHz FSB)
* 2GB RAM (you can configure 4GB for extra $150, but not worth it, if you want 4Gb then buy with 2GB then upgrade it yourself later, you can buy a 4GB off new egg for around $80. Upgrading RAM is pretty easy and WILL NOT void the warranty = perfectly safe)
* 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (Much better than a 9200M and even better than 8600M GT of DELL XPS)
* 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive (I know this is a little less than your original configuration, but I think 250GB is more than enough, if yiou really want 320Gb you can upgrade for $100 more)
* Rest are same.
* Windows Vista Home Premium (64bit) with SP1
Microsoft office 2007 Office Home and Student (NOT Trial like your original config)
Link : (Start with the $898.99 base config and customize) http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shoppi…
I Can Tell You That I Am On The XPS M1530 Now!
And Was Faced With The Same Choices. It Is A Real Performer, I Have It Loaded. And It Is Also The Best Looking Book I Have Seen! I Would Buy Another Anyday!
The Dell is a superior system by far. Its hard to go wrong with an XPS anything.
The Dell XPS. Hands down.
Dell XPS M1530
The Dell is more of a casual-gamer laptop. It’s not as powerful, limited to the T9XXX series and 8600M as highest graphics card. The dv5t can be configured for some mean power at a price. It has the Montevina chip, but a weaker 9200M(given configuration). I’d prefer a 8600M GT, based on Nvidia’s numbering system.
I’d prefer the LED screen any day over a somewhat faster laptop. And 3 years of warranty to cover any mishaps. That XPS configuration can be brought down to around $1050 with a coupon.
Phoenix provided a cheaper alternative to the HP laptop, so it’s a personal choice then.
i would rather tell you to buy a ThinkPad, theres one on sale for 1.5k, pretty godly.
my friend got one, it has everything including a HDD active protection (if you tilt ur laptop too much, HDD will stop to protect the Data)
but i would go with the Dell, doesnt matter the price, HP isnt a very reliable brand, they ARE cheaper, but quality sucks. (im using it right now)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2) 1
Operating system: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 1
Operating system Language: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium – English 1
Display type: 15.4 WSXGA+ TFT 1
System graphics: NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M 128MB 1
Total memory: 2 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 (1 DIMM) 1
Keyboard Language: US English Keyboard 1
Fingerprint : Integrated fingerprint reader 1
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) 1
Hard drive: 250GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm 1
Optical device: CD-RW/DVD-ROM, Ultrabay Slim 1
System expansion slots: PC Card & Express Card Slots 1
Card Reader: 4 in 1 Media Card Reader 1
WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (US/CAN/LA/AP) 1
Bluetooth: Integrated Bluetooth PAN 1
Wireless USB Adapter: None 1
Wireless WAN accessories: None 1
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery 1
Power cord: 90W AC Adapter; NA, LA, (2pin) 1
Publication Language: English US Publication for Vista
this is 1.3k. 1.5k will get u a god
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/webca/LenovoPortal/en_CA/systemconfig.runtime.workflow:LoadRuntimeTree?sb=:00000025:000019A6: