Dell Studio XPS 13 (1340) Laptop

#1: Dell Studio XPS 13 (1340) Laptop Reviews!

>>>>See More Details & Check Price Now!<<<<<

After reading reviews about heat issues, and nightmares from recent hard disk crashes, I splurged on the following configuration:
P9600 2.67GHz (lower wattage, less heat)
256GB SSD (Samsung's beast is really lightning fast!)
4 GB ram 1067MHz DDR3 SDRAM
64-bit Vista
Additional 9 cell battery

Paid about 00 in June 2009.
10 months on, here's the summary:
It's LIGHTNING fast! It takes ~10 minutes to perform some intensive pattern classification of brain imaging data, compared to 19 minutes on my iMac desktop (2.8GHz, 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM, 320GB 7200rpm). the SSD hard disk is probably what makes the difference. Well, the fan does make more noise, but it's slightly cooler than the iMac.

Sure there are still issues, but this has to do with Vista and Dell software more than anything else. Multi-tasking is smoother on the iMac. The eSata failed recently, but not sure if the problem lies with the Noontec GigaSave casing or the laptop. The USB connection still works though.
I'm not gentle with my laptop, carrying it to and fro every day. The rubber protectors by the side of the keyboard are gone now. The hinge covers are slightly loose. But none of this affects the functionality.
Even though it's installed with a 64-bit Vista, ram usage never seems to exceed 75% (3GB), even when I'm running some pretty intensive processing...
If it actually uses the full 4GB...
I can get about 5 hours on the 9 cell, with very low usage.

Overall, this is still the best laptop I've ever used!

Dell Studio XPS 13 (1340) Laptop Features

• Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (3MB cache/2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM
• 500GB Sata Hard Drive, 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
• 13.3 inch HD WXGA Edge-to-Edge Laptop screen with 2.0 Megapixel Camera, Dell Wireless 1515 802.11a/g/n WLAN half Mini Card
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M G, Obsidian Black with Leather Accent, 6 Cell Primary Battery, 125V Power Cord, 65W AC Adapter
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium, Microsoft Works 9.0