Compact Gaming by Dell. Dell's XPS logo indicates highest performance and first-class design by Dell. Regardless, whether you look at 17 inch DTR gaming notebooks or at the compact Dell XPS M1530, you can be sure that XPS notebooks by Dell are always equipped with up-to-date hardware and, so, provide first-class performance. So, it's not surprising that the Dell XPS M1530 is also a very powerful multimedia notebook, which sets a high standard for competitors. Core 2 duo CPU and Geforce 8600M GT with GDDR3 memory in a high-quality and compact 2.6 kg aluminum case: Is there anything left to be desired?

Regardless of the chosen color (the lid can be black or red without extra charge), a 2.0 megapixel web cam is provided in the upper display frame. The reviewed notebook was also equipped with a fingerprint reader, which makes it possible to scan the fingerprint instead of typing a password.

The Dell XPS M1530 also comes with a lot of accessories. E.g., there is a wrapper, which make it possible to easily transport the notebook. However, it's can only take the notebook itself. There isn't even enough space left for the power adapter.
Besides some tools and driver software, also an operating system (Windows Home Premium on a DVD) is included. But this still is not all. In order to provide a special incentive for XPS buyers, an elegant briefcase for the provided CDs and the comprehensive user manual is included.  A remote control of ExpressCard size, headphones by Creative, and also a micro fibre cloth for cleaning the notebook are also amongst the accessories.

Almost all multimedia notebooks provide hot keys nowadays. And so does the Dell XPS M1530. They are located above the keyboard, have imprinted icons, and  are touch-sensitive. Compared to touch-sensitive keys by competitors, you need to apply quite a lot of force in order for the keys to react. Reaction is signaled by a blue LED on each of the hot-keys.
The hot-keys have the following functions: Ejecting the disk of the Slot-in DVD drive, Mediaplayer functions, and volume control.

Left beside the power switch, there is another hot-key, which can be used to launch the Dell Media Direct Center, a software designed to handle multimedia elements, e.g., audio files, pictures, and videos, which can also be run without starting Windows Vista.

Finally, there is also a hardware switch for controlling wireless communication and a hot key for displaying all available wireless networks. Both are located at the right edge near the front.

Because the Dell XPS M1530 is considered a beginner's gaming notebook, there are of course a number of configuration options available. Regarding processor, Dell offers 4 versions.  First of all, there is low-cost version, an Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 CPU with 1.5 GHz, a good configuration for beginners. If you focus on powerful gaming and application performance, you should, however, at least choose a T7250 CPU with 2.0 GHz. The price/performance ratio of the later is ideal. The T7500 and the T7700 with 2.2 respectively 2.4 GHz are even more powerful, but, also even more costly, e.g., the T7700 costs about 339,- EUR more than the T5250. Nonetheless, these Core 2 Duo processors guarantee first-class performance in any case.

Regarding graphics the user can also choose between two versions. The first one, the nVIDIA Geforce 8400M GS graphics adapter with 128 MB dedicated video memory, is alright for multimedia and office applications. For those who like computer games - the actual target group of the Dell XPS M1530 - , the second versions, a nVIDIA Geforce 8600M GT  with 256 MB GDDR3 memory, will be the graphics adapter of choice.

Already the 3DMark 2005/2006 benchmark test proves the performance of the reviewed video solution (driver version 7.15.11.5663) and  makes reserve capacities obvious. The Geforce 8600M GT with GDDR3 memory clearly outperforms the identical video card , but, with GDDR2 memory of the Asus V1S. In the  3DMark 2005 and in the 3DMark 2006 benchmarks the performance of the built-in Geforce graphics adapter is already very close to the performance of the Geforce 8700M GT video card of the Toshiba Satego X200.

The results of the Doom3 and F.E.A.R. benchmark test were also convincing. The Dell XPS M1530 is third, behind the two SLI solutions (8600M GT SLI, 8700M GT SLI). It even clearly outperforms the 8700 M GT video card of the Toshiba Satego.

The results of the DirectX9 Ego Shooter FEAR are similar. The Samsung X65 and the Dell XPS M1730 perform marginally better. The XPS M1530 is once again third, whereas the good performance with medium CPU and GPU settings attract special attention.

Of course the DirectX10 performance of the Dell XPS M1530 is also of great interest. The results of the Crysis benchmark test allows two conclusions: First of all that the 8600M GT is not especially designed for DirectX10. Secondly, that video cards with GDDR3 have first-class performance. The Zepto 6224 W with 8600M GT graphic, but, 512 MB DDR2 VRAM is clearly second. The ATI HD 2600 in the Asus G2K is clearly outperformed by the XPS M1530.

Following we tried two current games, Need for Speed pro Street and another ego shooter: Call of Duty 4- Modern Warefare. During a race with a BMW M3 E92 through the deserts of Nevada at a resolution of 1280x800 and with low details, and anti-aliasing turned off, we measured an average of about 50 Fps. Increasing the details to medium or high, led to a performance loss. Only 30 Fps were possible with these settings, so, it got difficult to play the game.

When playing a scene of "Call of Duty 4", a fight in the streets of a besieged Russian town, we  measured 30-40 Fps on average, whereas the resolution was 1280x800, details standard, and AA off. Overall, the game is therewith playable.

Summarizing it, the gaming performance of the Dell XPS M1530 is good, so, it is  a good choice when you are looking for a 15 inch gaming notebook. This is especially proved by the direct comparison of the built-in graphics adapter to other solutions.  A further positive aspect is, that most of the games (expect of DirectX10 games) can be run at the native resolution of its display (i.e., 1280x800), so, the quality of the images are not affected by interpolations.

According to the PCMark 05 result, the application performance of this notebook is average. Comparing its Cinebench results to other notebooks, it is also average, which is the same level of, e.g.,  the Lenovo T61. Furthermore, this indicates that the performance of the reviewed XPS M1530 (T7250 CPU, 8600M GT graphic, 2 GB of RAM, 160 GB/5400 HDD) is more than sufficient for office and multimedia applications.

The reviewed XPS M1530 was equipped with a hard disk with a revolution speed of 5400 revs/min by Seagate. Its transfer rates are good compared to competitors of the same class. The low access time of only 16.5 ms, is nearly comparable to that of 7200 revs/min hard disks.

The on-line configuration tool makes it possible to choose out of a number of alternatives.  Thereby hard disks up to a capacity of 250GB with either 5400 or 7200 revs/min are available. The 64 GB Solid State Disk, whose transfer rates are outstanding and whose access time is nearly incredible, (see also 32 GB SSD reviewed in an Alienware Area-51 M9750 Notebook) is a very interesting model. Further pros of the SSD solution are low power consumption, low noise emissions, and data security, because it is absolutely insensitive to shocks. However, SSD solutions are still rather expensive. The extra charge for this up-to-date technology is about 1.280.- ...