I know this has been commented on a lot but it is a fact that the NVidia cards in the M1330 have a fatal flaw and it will likely affect all notebooks at some point depending on use. Here is what Dell has done:
1) Acknowledged there is a big flaw and have extended the warranty by 12 months (this is good BUT...)
2) From everything I can learn the replacement parts are the SAME and a similar issue is bound to come back over time.
3) Dell has released a BIOS update (A12) that effectively makes the fan run all the time to DELAY the problem that WILL come back (hopefully beyond the extended warranty period)
It appears that the issue is heat related so the more you use your laptop for gaming and video (the reason you bought an XPS) the faster the problem will occur.
As an example of how I've experienced the issue:
We purchased 3 M1330s at work with the identical configuration. One is used as a floater and is only turned on once per week so hasn't been affected yet, but the other two:
M1330 #1:
- video problems started after 6 weeks of daily use - Dell sent tech to replay motherboard (video card is soldered on the mobo) and screen
- worked for 3 more months then it blew again
- dell replaced motherboard again
- new motherboard stopped recognizing battery (unrelated to the video issue here)
- Dell decided to ship us a brand new replacement laptop (WITH THE SAME BUM Nvidia GPU)
- Now 2 months later the new laptop blew
- Dell tech just came and replaced mobo/GPU again - who knows how long this one will last
M1330#2
- now been through 2 motherboard/video cards
Dell should be either recalling these pieces of junk or putting in new motherboards/GPUs with an ATI or FIXED GPU - instead they are just continuing to slap in the defective parts that they have piled up and having the BIOS run the fan constantly to delay the notebooks from blowing up until its beyond even the extended warranty.
This is a disgrace - I understand why as a business decision they think it's more profitable to just sweep it under the rug until they get off their warranty liabilities but they should keep in mind that XPS customers are their most profitable customers because they pay more for the higher margin, higher performance machines.
IS IT SO MUCH TO ASK THAT IF YOU REPLACE A FAULTY PART THAT YOU DON'T USE THE SAME DESIGN-FLAWED PRODUCT AS A REPLACEMENT???