gliew_87, u r one late nite creeper.. haha.. asking dell fans to choose acer is like persuading them to join the dark side of the force..

well, for the most part, i think majority of 1520 owners are passive, and that's because 1520 is targeted at the wrong audience. enthusiast like us are more likely to purchase xps m1530 because that product is higher priced, therefore higher involvement. 1520 on the other hand, is being marketed as low end, value for money, "cheap and affordable" laptop that any average users can own. as we can all expect, most average users just want a computer that's good enough for simple entertainment, and are not bothered to improve or build upon what they thought is a "cheap" computer. in other words, most 1520 owners are not pc enthusiasts. they just own 1520 for the sake of affordability. this might explain the relatively low involvement and participation here.

are u sure? last 2 weeks i can still configure up to T9300 for 1520.

update: im correcting myself. i cant even find 1520 in dell's website anymore! 1520 is officially extinct in malaysia!!!!

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jul 22 2008, 08:32 PM

it's a day for all of us to mourn and be grateful that we are the last proud owners of 1520..

Announcement:
Sadly, the all rounder Inspiron 1520 has been discontinued permanently in Malaysia on the 22nd July 2008 marking it's one year presence and end of product life cycle. We had seen this coming since the debut of XPS M1530, Inspiron 1525, and the sudden disappearance from UK and USA Dell sites several months ago, and now the inevitable has reached our shores. Although 1520 is short lived and didn't earn the respect it should have in the first place, the 1520 will always be remembered as the laptop that achieves more than its designers could ever imagine by proud owners who truly appreciates the power and beauty of this machine. Here's a last tribute to the laptop that brought gaming to the budget conscious consumers, entertainment and high performance productivity for the masses and finally the driving force behind this very thread where all proud owners could find refuge in. Huzzah Inspiron 1520! This one is for you!

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jul 23 2008, 03:38 AM

lol.. it's not a matter of being serious or what.. it's just a passion for a great product that has sadly being discontinued

well, look on the bright side, at least we get to own one now. let's savour the moment and hope dell will design another winner laptop in two years time when our 1520 will need to be replaced with a new multimedia powerhorse. i've actually set my eyes on new 15" lappies with built in 8800M GTX and 9800M GTX cards, but sadly no $$$. better start saving money now.

im not sure if there's any 1720 fan club thread, but if there isnt, sure you can join us. when this thread reaches 2500 posts, there will be a V2 thread and i will gladly include 1720 owners. seeing that 1520 is now extinct and 1720 is still selling, this might be the logical thing to do, and besides, both platforms are almost the same, difference being 1720 is more spacious.

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Added on July 24, 2008, 6:06 pmlooks like we have a new proud owner! congrates. state your lid colour and u will be in the 1520 fan list

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jul 24 2008, 06:06 PM

you are club member now!

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Added on July 24, 2008, 7:55 pmno worries andy, if you feel more comfortable in this thread, you are always welcome to contribute and share.

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jul 24 2008, 07:55 PM

i dont see why not. though 1525 is a whole different laptop built on the same santa rosa platform, it is still derived from inspiron product line. you are defiantely welcome to join us for thoughts sharing and discussion.

i actually did thought about combining all inspirons series thread, but like hihihehe suggested, 1420's thread is quite strong too. well, maybe (by popular demand) V2 can include 1720 and 1525 users too. meanwhile, this thread is open to all who would like to participate in discussions.

welcome. i've added you to the new 1720 member list on the first page. there's nothing much going on for now because this thread is meant for 1520, but if we can get more members in, i can have the drivers section setup including 3DMark06 scores list just for 1720 (most probably in V2). it'll be great if you can encourage more members to join here.

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Added on July 25, 2008, 8:38 pmif 1720 ran benchmarks in the same controlled environment as 1520, the results will be identical because of the same santa rosa platform and 8600MGT GC

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Added on July 25, 2008, 8:39 pmi'll take your suggestion into consideration. thanks

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Added on July 25, 2008, 8:40 pmmerging threads seems to be the way for 1520 thread to "survive" after the discontinuation of this model.. haha.. not sure if already 1420 members will be happy if we hijack their thread.

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Added on July 25, 2008, 8:44 pmyou can right click your desktop, then click nvidia control panel, then click on system information on the bottom left of the window. there you'll see the driver version of your GC. by the way, since you have a 8600M GT too, the latest vista driver i posted on the first page if suitable for you too. check the version before updating.

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Added on July 25, 2008, 8:47 pmif im not mistaken, 1720 is more than 4kg right? you must have a strong back carrying it. hehe.. but heck, it's the trade off for that extra viewing commodity. what's the resolution of your LCD anyway?

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jul 25 2008, 08:47 PM

3.88kg only? that's not too shabby at all. 1520 alone weights more than 3kg and it's freakin' heavy with all those magnesium alloy armor.

hihihehe is right, dell is relatively cheaper and definately a lot better in aftersales service. but if you are looking high end stuff, asus will offer you more choices. on quality issues, i think asus is better too. all that comes at a price $$

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Added on July 26, 2008, 6:30 pmwelcome to the club!

yes, u can buy an intel wifilink card to replace that 1505 card. since 1520 can support 802.11n, you have a choice of either intel 3945ABG or 4965AGN wifi wireless card. but before you do anything, try to open up the back cover and check if all the wireless cables are plugged into the dell 1505 card. i suspect that might be the problem of your poor signal issue. but intel wificards are generally better in reception.

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Added on July 26, 2008, 6:36 pmAnnoucement

dell has finally given a proper explaination on the nvidia GPU failing issue, here it is quoted directly from dell.

Earlier this month, sites like Ars Technica and ZDNet blogged about NVIDIA’s statement regarding a potential issue with some of NVIDIA's Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) used in notebooks. According to NVIDIA, these affected GPUs are experiencing higher than expected failure rates causing video problems. Though this issue is not unique to Dell, some of these affected GPUs are used in certain Dell laptops. That's why I wanted to take a few minutes here to explain the issue and to let customers know what to do next.

The issue is a weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations. If your GPU fails, you may see intermittent symptoms during early stages of failure that include:

Multiple images
Random characters on the screen
Lines on the screen
No video

Dell recommends that you flash your system BIOS (see links in the table below). Each of these BIOS updates listed in the table below modifies the fan profile to help regulate GPU temperature fluctuations. Note: if you are already experiencing video-related issues like the bullet points above, updating the BIOS will not correct them. Dell will provide support for customers who have experienced GPU failure according to the terms of the system warranty.

These BIOS updates will help reduce the likelihood of GPU issues. New systems are being shipped with the updated BIOS revisions. Here's the list of the latest BIOS versions. Click on the links below to download them.


Inspiron 1420
A09, 7/14/08
1420_A09.EXE

Latitude D630
A12, 6/22/08
D630_A12.EXE

Latitude D630c
A06, 7/11/08
D630CA06.EXE

Precision M2300
A07, 7/11/08
M2300A07.EXE

Vostro Notebook 1310
A10
7/10/08
V1310-A10.EXE

Vostro Notebook 1400
A09
7/10/08
1400_A09.EXE

Vostro Notebook 1510
A10, 7/10/08
V1510A10.EXE

Vostro Notebook 1710
A07, 7/10/08
V1710A07.EXE

XPS M1330
A12, 7/9/08
M1330A12.EXE

XPS M1530
BIOS will be available before the end of July

If you need help flashing your system BIOS or experience any of the video-related issues listed above, please contact Dell Technical Support. Our teams are committed to working with affected customers to resolve issues on a case-by-case basis.


same question. WHY arent 1520 and 1720 included???

This post has been edited by alexnvidia: Jul 26 2008, 06:36 PM

that's not likely. 1520 can be configured with 8400M too, and not forgetting M1530 has 8600M GT too. by the way, A09 BIOS for M1530 has been released today.

the only explaination now is the more efficient cooling system.

i have just raised the bar for 3DMark06 8600MGT score! check out my latest result! 4900 marks!!!


Attached thumbnail(s)

just download the trial version from futuremark. to *cough* it, you need to *cough* have the proper *cough* key

lol.. yeah... u can tell from my coughs..

yes, but unfortunately not sold in malaysia. inspiron 1521 is amd, studio 1536 is amd also

another proud inspiron owner. congrates!