Ordered a New Laptop
I've had the 17" MacBook Pro provided by work for about 18 months now. It was an excellent machine when it was my primary dev workstation, but now that I've moved onto a new job, they've given me a monster desktop machine. The MBP's inability to have > 2GB of RAM has really stopped me from using it to its maximum value, and its 17" size also means there are places it doesn't go well. I'm basically not bringing it to work every day, because I don't need it every day, and it weighs ~ 8lbs with the power brick. I wanted something small and fast that would suit well for meetings, travel, and presentations.
So I ordered a Dell XPS M1330.
I dithered and debated this internally for about a week. It was hard to resist, when you combine the $799 rebate going on, plus the discount I get on Dell machines through work. The machine I built would normally cost almost $3100, but ended up being just $2005 after all the discounts (including a 3 year warranty).
I equipped it with 3GB of RAM (will bump it up to 4GB after it arrives), a 64GB SSD hard drive, dedicated 128MB nVidia 8400M GS video card, and the thin LED-backlit screen with webcam. Yes, I got it in blue. :)
I went back and forth on the possibilities for an Apple laptop and in the end decided that this $1k discount was just too much to ignore. I compared it to the possibility of a MacBook Air (which was roughly the same price, before discount anyway). The Dell is nowhere near as sexy as the Air, although the M1330 is not exactly a visual slouch. I also considered a MacBook, but it lacked the 64GB SSD option (but would've been slightly less expensive at ~ $1750 after self-upgrades).
In the end, I couldn't quite put together exactly the Apple laptop I wanted. 4GB was important. 64GB SSD was important. Dedicated video card was important. Tiny and light (4lbs) was important. And the Dell was extremely reasonably priced given the decent power that's packed inside its tiny frame. Had the MacBook been available with 64GB SSD for reasonable prices (~+$600), I probably would've foregone dedicated video for a Mac.
Maybe 2-3 years from now, Son of MacBook Air will be my next choice. :)
Wow, pretty! :D
Posted by: Jasra | January 30, 2008 at 09:47
I was a little confused when you said the MBP topped out at 2GB. "Hey wait, mine has 4! How'd I do that?" Turns out it's only the first generation that had that ceiling; the Core2 Duo-based model has a ceiling of 3GB, and the current Santa Rosa-based ones can be maxed to 4GB.
Anyway, good luck with the new machine.
Posted by: Quine Mondrian | January 30, 2008 at 10:21
Yep, the curse of early adoption. :) The Core Duo maxed out at 2GB. We had MBPs of all three generations on my team, and mine was the first.
Posted by: Brad Wilson | January 30, 2008 at 10:29
I bought a MBP 17" just a couple of months ago to replace my 15" and I was concerned about the size.
The reality for me is that it with a good backpack it really isn't a problem. I've shoved external drives, projectors, books, paperwork etc. in it (not at the same time) and it's never been too heavy or unwieldy.
My laptop goes with me to work, and follows me round my home depending on where I want to be and of course when I travel. Haven taken it to France on holiday where it proved to be invaluable for watching DVD's too.
[)amien
Posted by: Damien Guard | January 30, 2008 at 11:57
I have an excellent backpack: http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/100/TB0104
You're right that it makes a big difference. But it doesn't help make the laptop smaller so that it's usable on a plane or your lap. :)
Posted by: Brad Wilson | January 30, 2008 at 12:55
I've had the m1330 for 4 months now, and am loving it. Small and light, but powerful and fast. Vista x64 runs like a dream with 4GB RAM.
Posted by: Chris Hynes | January 31, 2008 at 06:02
Did you consider the Dell Latitude 630 at all? I'm going to buy something that is a bit more portable than my Dell XPS M1710, but I can't decide if I want to go to a 15inch MBP at the next refresh or plump for a smaller Dell. I would have thought the D630 would have a better build quality than the M1710. It's also hard to get an idea of the screen - the D630 doesn't appear to have a wide design.
Posted by: Brian Lyttle | February 05, 2008 at 08:25
Brian, the D630 is a decent laptop, but for the money, the M1330 is a better choice. The dedicated graphics card on the D630 isn't good for gaming, the screen is not LED backlit, the 8-in-1 card reader, the HDMI port, smaller & lighter... it's a lot more fully featured.
Without the special pricing making it $800 cheaper, it would've been a different story. :)
Posted by: Brad Wilson | February 05, 2008 at 13:31
If you want to go with a MacBook Pro, just be aware that the drive replacement procedure is not "user servicable" (unlike the MacBook). It's tedious and time consuming, but most importantly, it invalidates your warranty. If you're looking for a Mac that you could drop an SSD drive into, the MacBook is a better choice. If you don't care about running games, the X3100 video card should be plenty fine, too (more than capable of running Vista Glass).
Posted by: Brad Wilson | February 05, 2008 at 13:33
why is the ssd important? I've heard performance on those drives is terrible.
Posted by: John Morales | March 11, 2008 at 09:07
John Morales,
You heard incorrectly, sir.
http://bradwilson.typepad.com/blog/2008/02/dell-xps-m1330.html
Posted by: Brad Wilson | March 11, 2008 at 11:44