A Computer that Fell Short of its Potential
I bought one of these because they were on sale at the end of 2008, and seemed like quite the bargain for a high-performance system. At first, it worked great and did everything I needed it to do for productivity, gaming, and web browsing purposes, but after I had had it for about a year, more and more problems started popping up with it. Ease of Use The computer, while it stll worked, was fairly easy to use, as easy to use as any other Windows Vista is. Battery Life When the batteries were new, they lasted for a very long time. However, they wore out and lost their ability to hold a charge fairly quickly, and I experienced the same issue with replacement batteries. Support & Service Support was ok, if not great while it was still under warranty, but once the warranty expired, you were on your own as far as taking care of any problems. Speed/Performance When brand-new, this computer had excellent performance, but it quickly fell off as the computer got older and started to wear, and none of the usual methods to recover performance, or even a fresh re-install of Windows seemed to make any difference. Design The XPS M1530 was a good-looking computer, with the controls nicely laid out, for the most part, although a lack of USB ports was somewhat of a problem. Durability Long-term durability was where this computer really fell short. There was a recall on the system early on after a class-action lawsuit, due to defective video cards (both the standard and optional upgraded cards were effected.) Furthermore, in the course of normal use, several keys on the keyboard stopped working properly, the screen started developing dark spots, the wireless adapter became sluggish and ineffective requiring the use of an external antenna, the computer stared running hot, even with an external computer pad, and eventually the system died after about 3 and a half years of use, once it was out of warranty. Given the cost of getting a replacement motherboard and the lack of warranties on those, it just made more sense to get another computer.
aaa627
USA