Review: Dell XPS 1330 notebook

Lap dancing with Dell

Dell XPS 1330: includes a Wi-Fi catcher.

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Dell's XPS 1330 has to be one of the best performing notebooks I've had the pleasure of sitting on my lap all year.

The XPS line is Dell's gaming line, starting with the 1330, moving to the 1530 and up to the 1730 which comes with an Ageia physics card if you want. Prices for the 1330 start from $1699, with the test model priced about $2099. So, it's serious kit.

Here's the tech stuff of the test 1330: an Intel Core Duo 2 2.2Ghz processor, 2Gb dual channel RAM, a 160Gb hard drive, a 13.3-inch LCD monitor with integrated two megapixel webcam, an nVidia Geforce Go 8400M GS graphics card, a slot-loading DVD reader/ writer and Windows Vista Ultimate.

The 1330 weighs in at less than 2kg and it passed my backpack test -- where I lug the notebook in my backpack during the bicycle ride into work -- with flying colours.

The XPS has only two USB connections, but it does come with an HDMI (high definition multimedia interface) connection, which is handy. It also has what Dell calls a Wi-Fi catcher and hotspot indicator, which let you know whether there's a Wi-Fi network nearby. There's also an eight-in-one card reader and a fingerprint reader.

How did it go with gaming? Very well, actually. I tested the 1330 with Gears of War and Crysis, two games that make use of Microsoft's new Direct X 10 graphics language. I was especially keen to see how the Geforce 8400M would handle Crysis, a game that cripples supercomputers with its graphical goodness.

The 1330 handled Gears of War extremely well, letting me set the graphics quality settings to a mixture of medium and high. Apart from the occasional frame rate drop, the 8400M GS handled Gears of War extremely well.

Crysis was a different story -- although, to be honest, I've yet to find a graphics card on the face of the planet that can actually play Crysis without some chugging. The 8400M handled medium graphic settings pretty good but choked once settings were ramped up to maximum.

I'm impressed with the XPS 1330: it's lightweight, a good looker and -- importantly for a gamer -- offers solid gaming performance. --Gerard Campbell

- © Fairfax NZ News