The M1330 is the first portable notebook from Dell’s premier XPS gaming range. The 13.3in form factor is fast becoming popular: providing a great combination of usability, power and portability that we’ve previously praised Sony and Asus for.

The XPS badge suggests top-end internals and the M1330 (initially) doesn’t disappoint. There’s a very-fast 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo T7700 processor, 2GB of RAM and a whopping 160GB 7200rpm hard disk. It stormed to 1.10 in our benchmarks – one of the highest notebook scores we’ve seen – made all the more amazing because of its portability.

However, the side is let down by Nvidia’s 8400 GS graphics chip. Nvidia told us this chip isn’t designed for gaming but most notebook makers market it this way. There’s no option on Dell’s configurator to upgrade either. As such we recorded a pitiful average frame rate of 16fps in our low-settings, 1024 x 768 Call of Duty 2 test and only 5fps in our low-settings Call of Juarez DirectX 10 test. You’ll only be able to play very old games on this notebook – something that goes against the XPS brand.

But there’s still lots to like. The 1280 x 800 screen is bright and well-lit. Colours looked good in our test movies and lag was minimal. Even the speakers sounded better than usual but don’t expect any bass or loudness. The keyboard is very comfortable to type on and we had no problems with the trackpad. The touch-sensitive buttons under the screen are good: allowing you to eject the slot-loading DVD writer, play media files and adjust volume. We also like the fingerprint reader and 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi switch.

Other connectivity includes (only) two USB ports, an ExpressCard/54 slot, Bluetooth and mini-FireWire. Ethernet is only 10/100 but an HDMI port joins the VGA port, albeit at the expense of S-Video.

At 2kg it’s distinctly portable though battery life is mixed: lasting only 1hr 2mins under intensive use but 4hrs 7mins under light use with the supplied six-cell battery.

It’s main competiton comes from Sony’s super-plush SZ45. This costs $200 more, is 14% slower (in 2D applications) and can’t match Dell’s two-year on-site (with one-year complete cover) warranty. But other features and performance are similar, it’s a noticeable 300g lighter and its metal casing is more elegant than Dell’s, albeit stylish, plastic chassis. Both are good and choosing one will depend on personal preference. But, overall, despite offering good value, the failure to deliver gaming performance costs the M1330 an award.