Behold II Smartphone with Android
Entered CNET Catalog: 03/16/2006
SKU: CNETDELLXPSM1710
Manufacturer: Dell, Inc.
Manufacturer description
The XPS M1710 is totally packed with the latest technology to help you handle any application, any game or any task with confidence. The NVIDIA graphics cards allow you to play any game with outstanding performance. The unique XPS M1710 design with brushed gunmetal LCD display back, configurable perimeter lighting and customizable personalization panel gives your notebook that individual touch.Product summary
The good: Best-in-class gaming performance; top-shelf processor and graphics engine; attractive illuminated case; solid multimedia features; full assortment of ports and connections.
The bad: Very expensive; display not remarkably bright.
The bottom line: If you're a hard-core gamer looking to play the newest games at the highest settings, this is the best system that (a lot of) money can buy.
Average user rating: from 85 users
3.5 stars
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 User Rating: 
5/10
Excellent, except it can have major hardware issues
Pros: Everything seems to be righ, a bit slow with Windows Vista.
Cons: It is a bit heavy, especially the power source.
Review: It died on me twice because of a problem with the video card. This is indicating a problem with the design or parts sourcing. The buyer should be aware.
User Rating: 
8/10
This notebook has withstood the test of time
Pros: Great gaming performance even 2+ years later, nice design, good keyboard.
Cons: LED lighting is a little cheesy, runs hot, LCD is below par.
Review: I got this mid-2006 and at first was leery of buying such an expensive laptop... But 2 years later I have no interest or need to get a new system because this one still runs the latest games just fine. Great Photoshop and 3D art system with 1920 resolution, too.
Only a few problems with this system. One is that it runs hot - do not let the GPU overheat. Keep the vents clear and clean. Not too many laptops purchased in 2006 can play Age of Conan like this one - and Warcraft is no problem at full settings.
Mine developed a flickering 'bling' LED in the front (usually when booting) and the LCD is rather unevenly lit and washed out. I use a second LCD for this system though, and you can bump the color saturation up using the nvidia control panel but you will lose some of the smoothness in certain color gradients.
Overall, this was a powerhouse at the time, though you could spec out an Inspiron to just about the same performance for less money.
Only a few problems with this system. One is that it runs hot - do not let the GPU overheat. Keep the vents clear and clean. Not too many laptops purchased in 2006 can play Age of Conan like this one - and Warcraft is no problem at full settings.
Mine developed a flickering 'bling' LED in the front (usually when booting) and the LCD is rather unevenly lit and washed out. I use a second LCD for this system though, and you can bump the color saturation up using the nvidia control panel but you will lose some of the smoothness in certain color gradients.
Overall, this was a powerhouse at the time, though you could spec out an Inspiron to just about the same performance for less money.
User Rating: 
3/10
Baking in its skin
Pros: Good graphics performance, good battery life, loads of peripheral connections
Cons: Runs very hot, customer service is tedious and difficult to understand
Review: This computer came out of the box a drastic improvement over our last laptop and ran some graphically intensive games without missing a beat. However, within a year and a half we already needed a tech out 3 times to service it. As an electrical engineer, I believe the problem is heat management. True to Dell's original ideas, they piece together a bunch of parts that play nice together and sell it a la carte to internet customers. However, having watched the tech take this unit apart there is no time spent on thermal management. The unit gets so hot, it must be used on a solid surface (not carpet, but wood or plastic). Even using it on a table, the heat coming out of this is intense and I rarely hear a fan kick on to get rid of high heat in gaming scenarios or mathematically intensive modeling situations. So far, the enter key flew off while I was typing prompting a keyboard replacement, the mother board lost its ability to communicate with peripherals, and now the screen just stopped working. Dell tech support said it sounds like a memory error but it could also be the display so a tech is coming to replace both. I am not convinced but hope they are correct. When I was working on the phone with tech support they had me moving around memory to test for bad DIMMs, and the whole compartment was very warm. For a system that is sold to Gamers, the typical high spenders and users who demand and expect performance, this is a poor showing with a high price tag. I am hoping this last call to tech is the last for a while, I think they will have replaced almost all of the computers guts save the GPU. The features make this a very attractive buy, but the lack of thermal management and reliability make this unit very support heavy.
User Rating: 
1/10
Enjoy it while it lasts.
Pros: Great monitor quality, Great machine for 11 months, Fast when new, looks cool, pretty colors on lid.
Cons: Many faulty parts, Dell support is worthless, Dell customer service is worthless, If you use the machine regularly it won't last you a year. (And no, the vents are not full of dust.)
Review: I loved this product when I first got it. It was fast, bright, and beautiful. Then there was the battery recall, which I said whatever things happen. Kind of a hassle with Dell to get it done but still. Then parts started failing, and Dell always blamed me, spyware, microsoft, or dust. One of the fans broke, they told me this was because of spyware (are you kiddin me) and made it nearly impossible to replace. I tried to keep this machine alive replacing various parts, including the mother board, fighting with Dell tech support all the way (their tech centers are in Malaysia or somewhere and they are barely English literate.)
If you want a kick ass machine for 1 year and then toss it and get a new one, this is the machine for you. If you think you will ever have to deal with tech support or plan on keeping this machine past year one, well, Dell is extremely unreliable. It's not supernatural they are losing market share, they are pushing junk notebooks like this one on their high end consumers. Look at the overall rating... 3 1/2 stars for a notebook that cost $3500 when it came out? There are many better options.
If you want a kick ass machine for 1 year and then toss it and get a new one, this is the machine for you. If you think you will ever have to deal with tech support or plan on keeping this machine past year one, well, Dell is extremely unreliable. It's not supernatural they are losing market share, they are pushing junk notebooks like this one on their high end consumers. Look at the overall rating... 3 1/2 stars for a notebook that cost $3500 when it came out? There are many better options.
User Rating: 
10/10
Great spacious workstation
Pros: nice large screem, keyboard feels nice to the touch, fast graphics, VGA and DVI ports present
Cons: a little bit on the heavy side
Review:
User Rating: 3/10
System ok if you remove Vista and add Media center
Pros: Depends on OS Pretty as in overexpensive! 3 of 10
Cons: XPS service sucks, they could not resolve even 1 of my 4 calls
Review: This was built for a desktop replacement and untimate gameing machine. Well that's a joke. Bottom line price 3 times what's worth. My experience with this machine and Dell support will keep me from buying another, and also will not be recommending it to anyone, Just not worth the price with small components and techs who have no clue. Too bad, it looks pretty, but that's where it all stops. I'll have to find a sucker do dump this juck on and maybe recover half the purchase price. LEMON!
User Rating: 
4/10
Started out great, but decayed faster than a cadaver
Pros: Excellent display, full keyboard
Cons: Lid is falling off, processor bogs down too easily without any major games installed
Review: I bought this computer in February of 2007 as I was preparing for graduation and impending college. It was very fast at first and stayed that way for about the first six months. The features that came on it were amazing- I made good use of Windows MediaCenter and the great control buttons on the front edge of the computer, and my wireless card was absolutely top-notch!
However, I noticed that my computer slowed down rapidly over the following months, without me even installing any games! I have the original Roller Coaster Tycoon, and that's it- isn't this a gaming computer?
Also, I noticed the lid was very wobbly about 8 months ago, and since I first noticed it, it's only gotten worse! It's to the point now that merely typing makes the lid lean forward or backward (whichever direction its weight is leaning) and the whole frame of the lid is coming apart.
Mind you, I have had computers around me since I was seven, so I know how to respect the machinery, and I have treated this computer as though it were made of crystal. I don't even let other people use it! I have to use duct tape to keep the lid held together!
I wouldn't recommend this computer if you ever intend to move it. If you're buying it strictly to place on a desk, go for it. It was a highly impractical purchase for me.
However, I noticed that my computer slowed down rapidly over the following months, without me even installing any games! I have the original Roller Coaster Tycoon, and that's it- isn't this a gaming computer?
Also, I noticed the lid was very wobbly about 8 months ago, and since I first noticed it, it's only gotten worse! It's to the point now that merely typing makes the lid lean forward or backward (whichever direction its weight is leaning) and the whole frame of the lid is coming apart.
Mind you, I have had computers around me since I was seven, so I know how to respect the machinery, and I have treated this computer as though it were made of crystal. I don't even let other people use it! I have to use duct tape to keep the lid held together!
I wouldn't recommend this computer if you ever intend to move it. If you're buying it strictly to place on a desk, go for it. It was a highly impractical purchase for me.
User Rating: 
7/10
Computer that is good for playing media on.
Pros: This computer runs programs very efficiently and also runs games at good speeds.
Cons: The video card cannot support some games that you may choose to play.
Review: Dell support was not able to fix the problem of the the video card going out. Dell had replaced the card four times. The fifth time the card went out they wanted to try to reinstall the OS saying that they had never tried that it before. That didn't work at all and they finally decided to replace my computer which I haven't even received yet. They sent the box for me to ship the computer to them to the correct address, but when they shipped the computer back to me they sent it to an old address. I called them about and they said they would have it corrected and sent to me within the week. I called them five days later and they told me it would take another five days to get the computer to me. It took two weeks for me to finally get my computer back from dell.
User Rating: 
2/10
My XPS M1719 needs a new battery...After 13 months
Pros: Handles switching between Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Illustrator CS3 pretty well, given its two hour charge (that's the average I experienced) and 10 minute warning before powering down the computer
Cons: The battery must be completely replaced after less than 13 months, and is $175 @ dell.com
Review: Review strictly regarding the battery, because batteries are important, and I learned the hard way to ask about battery life... I bought this laptop because the programs I'm learning in school need a really good computer to run them properly. But, had I known that I would need to shell out an additional $175 to replace the battery after 13 months, I definitely wouldn't have bought this laptop. I let it completely discharge before charging the battery again, but did NOT know that the battery only had an approximate lifespan of 300 charge/discharges. That's only using my laptop once a day for each charge (without the AC adapter) for LESS than a YEAR. And I paid about $3,000 for my laptop.
Bottom line: Look elsewhere for a laptop. Or at least be prepared to pull out another $200 (that's just for the battery, rounding up for tax and shipping; not even if the AC adapter goes out, that's extra) for each year or so you plan to use the XPS M1710.
Bottom line: Look elsewhere for a laptop. Or at least be prepared to pull out another $200 (that's just for the battery, rounding up for tax and shipping; not even if the AC adapter goes out, that's extra) for each year or so you plan to use the XPS M1710.
User Rating: 7/10
Functional and compact
Pros: Good quality product
Cons: Does have some interface issues
Review: DR PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN here
Overall very efficient and well-worth the price.
DR PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN
Sweden
Overall very efficient and well-worth the price.
DR PETER TEIMAN FRANKLIN
Sweden
User Rating: 3/10
I didnt like it sent it back
Pros: big screen, pretty neat design
Cons: everything except looks.
Review: I didnt like the overall components and ended up sending it back. I'll stick with toshiba laptops from now on !
User Rating: 5/10
its not better compared to other laptops
Pros: no power problems for it
Cons: It also gets very hot so you are not going to be able to put it in your lap. bad laptop for traveling.and a bit heavy
Review:
User Rating: 5/10
Worst Laptop, Gets very hot, keys broke, video card issues, dead pixel
Pros: Nice bright screen
Cons: incompatible driver, keys break off KB, gets v.v. hot
Review: i bought this laptop so i could have a nice computer to work with. turns out i made a bad purchase. i had to return the first laptop w/in a two weeks because they have incompatible drivers, keys (K, N and others)broke off. It was freezing up all the time. It also gets very hot so you are not going to be able to put it in your lap. bad laptop for traveling. So now with the replacement laptop i still have driver issues, there is a dead pixel and dell wont do anything about either of these. Also, its very slow since vista needs at least 2gigs of ram. I have bought dell laptops since 1997, owned 5 of them so far. However, this is the last time i will buy dell and will never recommend to anyone. i use IBM and HP at work and they work very nicely. HP has full keyboard unlike dell. it also has all pros of this dell in addition. i truly regret not getting and HP.
User Rating: 
9/10
I dig it - my favorite laptop ever
Pros: 7950 gtx graphics, nice screen
Cons: not as fast launching regular apps as i would like
Review: I like this rig. For a while i tried small laptops because of portability, but i always missed the power; with this one there is nothing to miss, but it is pretty hefty. If they made a 15" version i would give it a 10.
Only thing is, regular apps (Office, Firefox, etc.) just don't seem to launch as speedy as I would hope. I've tried some basic optimization techniques, but no change. Not really a problem, I just don't understand why it doesn't launch faster.
Only thing is, regular apps (Office, Firefox, etc.) just don't seem to launch as speedy as I would hope. I've tried some basic optimization techniques, but no change. Not really a problem, I just don't understand why it doesn't launch faster.
User Rating: 8/10
Best Laptop I have used
Pros: A very powerfull laptop
Cons: Its bit heavy
Review:
User Rating: 
6/10
Is it really a laptop.
Pros: Fast as a ferrari
Cons: Weighs as much
Review: Seriously can they make these friggin things any larger? I'm waiting for Dell to come out with the first 50 pound desktop replacement.
User Rating: 2/10
It doesn't last
Pros: Very nice screen
Cons: Structural dmage due to heating problems
Review: This so-called gaming laptop features some very impressive performance numbers BUT it is incapable of cooling sufficiently. The end result is fried memory on the great graphics board. Dell will without any questions replace it when still under warranty (you think they know its a huge problem?) but are not able to solve the issue (way too costly seeing how many units have been sold allready). So, its a great machine but it will break down when used for graphically taxing tasks. Do NOT buy.
User Rating: 4/10
Too Freakin Big
Pros: Its definately a fast machine, with killer graphics if you spec it out
Cons: For the same price you could get a cooler looking, smaller and more robustly built Alienware M9750
Review: I got one of these bad boys through work, and while I agree that its a pretty sweet machine, Its not a patch on my Alienware M9750. Side by side, the Alienware is slimmer and definitely feels more solid, and the two machines with the same specs are comparably priced.
User Rating: 4/10
DELL XPS M1710
Pros: LOOKED LIKE A REAL GOOD LAPTOP
Cons: READING THAT OTHER MEMBERS ISSUE'S
Review: What a shame for the top of the line labtop $2514+ uncle sams share? Then to read all the problems one can have?
That old saying you can"t always get what you want.think I'll pass on this one.and hope that member has some better luck with dell,
That old saying you can"t always get what you want.think I'll pass on this one.and hope that member has some better luck with dell,
User Rating: 10/10
Great product
Pros: Fast, Works like a charm. Great gaming.
Cons: slightly heavy, display could be brighter.
Review: Nearly all the games work perfectly on this little baby.. great product. (am surprised because its a dell you know).
User Rating: 3/10
Not Worth It
Pros: Good Graphics
Cons: To Much Money For a Computer Wich Will Not Last
Review: The XPS M1710 is a good computer. The graphics are great, but as with any other windows computer it slows down. My friend bought one a year ago. When he bought it, it was great. It recently crashed. It also has a slow processor for the price. You can buy this computer with a 2.0 GHz processor or a MacBook Pro with a 2.4 GHz processor for the same price. The computer is also very difficult to use. If you are a gammer I might be decent but for anyone else it's not worth it.
User Rating: 10/10
Best Gaming Laptop
Pros: LED Lights; Large Display; Awsome Look w/ Glossy Red; Large Keyboard; Media Control Bar On Front; Plenty Horsepower
Cons: Vista Only From Dell
Review: I have this baby with 150GB and 2GB RAM.
I have Company of Heroes, STALKER, FEAR, Call of Duty 2, Counter Strike Source, Battlefield 2 and 2142 on this laptop.
I can run all games but FEAR on MAXIMUM settings!!! Company of Heroes runs FLAWLESS on this laptop! This laptop is the ultimate gaming laptop out there! FEAR lags a bit but thats a graphic/performance demanding game which is suited for a desktop.
The lights on this thing accompanied by the glossy firetruck red plating on the top makes this thing look like something you would wear! It's awsome and fancy in a way! The screen is monster size too!
The only problem with it is (and this is not a downside to me because I personally like Vista) is that it's Vista ONLY. You can install XP seperatly but you can only get it Vista from off the Dell Line. I personally like Vista because it gives the laptop an even cooler look to it with Aero. Home Premium is the only way to go with this laptop.
Get this laptop if you have the money - it's not a let down I assure. I give it 10/10!! (Vista isn't a good enough reason to put it to 9.)
I have Company of Heroes, STALKER, FEAR, Call of Duty 2, Counter Strike Source, Battlefield 2 and 2142 on this laptop.
I can run all games but FEAR on MAXIMUM settings!!! Company of Heroes runs FLAWLESS on this laptop! This laptop is the ultimate gaming laptop out there! FEAR lags a bit but thats a graphic/performance demanding game which is suited for a desktop.
The lights on this thing accompanied by the glossy firetruck red plating on the top makes this thing look like something you would wear! It's awsome and fancy in a way! The screen is monster size too!
The only problem with it is (and this is not a downside to me because I personally like Vista) is that it's Vista ONLY. You can install XP seperatly but you can only get it Vista from off the Dell Line. I personally like Vista because it gives the laptop an even cooler look to it with Aero. Home Premium is the only way to go with this laptop.
Get this laptop if you have the money - it's not a let down I assure. I give it 10/10!! (Vista isn't a good enough reason to put it to 9.)
User Rating: 9/10
Awesome , Geat performance and looks
Pros: Blazing Fast , Great Benchmarks , Fantstic Gaming
Cons: Built in web cam would have been nice
Review: I made the mistake of buying a Velocity Micro l80 ultra and I was a horrible experiance.
My M1710 is awesome in every way , a perfect blend of form and function.
I know some people have a problem with Dell for thier India based tech support , but the XPS line has dedicated U.S. based tech support.
I have had laptops from compaq , hp and velocity micro , and Dell is the best as far as im concerned.
My M1710 is awesome in every way , a perfect blend of form and function.
I know some people have a problem with Dell for thier India based tech support , but the XPS line has dedicated U.S. based tech support.
I have had laptops from compaq , hp and velocity micro , and Dell is the best as far as im concerned.
User Rating: 9/10
Have issues with restart
Pros: very nice works better
Cons: Have issues with restart it crashes when i connected to network
Review: Very nice and happy
User Rating: 7/10
Good, but has downfalls
Pros: LED lights are cool, display is perfect, relatively fast
Cons: Isn't as fast as you'd think, slowed down by superfluous processes, obvious glitches with Vista (audio crackling, display drivers)
Review: I got the top of the line M1710 with Vista Ultimate from Dell. The audio crackles and no one can explain why. The LED effects are not nearly as exciting as you would think. And there are A LOT of little glitches (windows "vibrate" while opening, display driver stops responding and recovers every five seconds, etc)
but overall, a pretty good computer if you're willing to carry around a HUGE thing. Seriously. HUGE
but overall, a pretty good computer if you're willing to carry around a HUGE thing. Seriously. HUGE
User Rating: 1/10
Do not Buy This Computer
Pros: looks nice
Cons: every thing else
Review: This is $3000 down the drain. My first one died after 3 months, so they replaced it. The second one died after 3 days which they then came and fixed. Both overheat constantly, many blue screen error messages. Because of this computer I am now getting a Macbook.
User Rating: 9/10
Wonderfull Laptop! Worth the price and reputation
Pros: Graphics (FPS) are amazing, Ultra Fast processing/multitasking
Cons: Warms up a bit, Cooling pad is a must to prevent future damage due to heat.
Review: I bought this laptop on ebay from (good price trading)last week and it has met all my expectations and more. I know most get anxious when thinking of buying from ebay but it isn't bad if you buy from a well known seller. This laptop took on every modern game with ease. Games such as oblivion, Fear, Everquest II were playing at near maximum quality with a min. of 55-60 FPS. This is great FPS, not even near what I have experienced on my home desktop, which has high end hardware by the way. Truely awsome gaming, unreal for a laptop.
These are my specs...
Hard Drive Capacity: 100 GB
Screen Size: 17 inches
Processor Type: Core 2 Duo
Windows Vista
Primary Drive: DVD+/-RW
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Memory (RAM): 2 GB
512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
Mine came with the RED cover which I think looks so much better than the black, especially when the LED lights are on.
The screen resolution is wonderfull, 1900X1200 native, with rich color. The 17 inch screen is a great addition to this already awsome laptop. When I have it sittin on my lap it feels like am looking into a 20 inch.
Battary life should not be a big deal for someone buying this laptop, because it isn't your ordinary mobile system. From what I've seen the battary lasts for 2 hours max, Which is enough for me since I mostly use it as a desktop replacment so its hooked to an outlet most of the time.
The bad news is this laptop does heat up after a few minuts of usage, but the good news is that it maintains a tempreture way below most laptop temps. A cooling bad can be bought at a cheap price, it helps maintain a comfortable tempreture, also its healthy for the laptop.
These are my specs...
Hard Drive Capacity: 100 GB
Screen Size: 17 inches
Processor Type: Core 2 Duo
Windows Vista
Primary Drive: DVD+/-RW
Processor Speed: 2.16 GHz
Memory (RAM): 2 GB
512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
Mine came with the RED cover which I think looks so much better than the black, especially when the LED lights are on.
The screen resolution is wonderfull, 1900X1200 native, with rich color. The 17 inch screen is a great addition to this already awsome laptop. When I have it sittin on my lap it feels like am looking into a 20 inch.
Battary life should not be a big deal for someone buying this laptop, because it isn't your ordinary mobile system. From what I've seen the battary lasts for 2 hours max, Which is enough for me since I mostly use it as a desktop replacment so its hooked to an outlet most of the time.
The bad news is this laptop does heat up after a few minuts of usage, but the good news is that it maintains a tempreture way below most laptop temps. A cooling bad can be bought at a cheap price, it helps maintain a comfortable tempreture, also its healthy for the laptop.
User Rating: 9/10
Sexy, but expensive
Pros: Great Display, FAST, Great Battery Life, Great Warranty
Cons: No Number Pad, Vista issues, Dell Bloatware
Review: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7600 (2.33GHz/667MHz/4MB)
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM
512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit Edition
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR)
Express Card Media Remote for Bluetooth-enabled Notebook
**************
First off, this machine is Beautiful...I got the Metallic Black armor brushed metal LCD cover.
System is fast.
Wireless is great (Linksys WRT350N router.)
DVD playback is smooth with gorgeous picture. This display is so bright and crisp.
Battery life is impressive.
Keyboard is nice, no touchpad issues.
Plenty of ports.
Received System 1 week ahead of date promised.
Best warranty package I could find
-At-Home Service and 24x7 Technical Support 4 Years
-McAfee Anti-Virus/Spyware Suite 3 Years
-Dell On Call Phone Support 14 Months
-LoJack® for Laptops Theft Protection 4 Years
-Complete Care Accidental Damage Service 4 Years
-Online Training with Live Tutor Support 14 Months
Received System 1 week ahead of date promised.
******
My only concerns are
-lack of number pad.
-Windows Vista is great (search feature ROCKS!!!) , but not all my previously owned software is compatible. (Download Accelerator Plus, Madden NFL 07)
-Vista drivers are still a bit shaky, but I anticipate this to work itself out over the next few months.
-Dell insists on partitioning hard drive for system restore
-Had to remove a lot of needless startup items.
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM
512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7950 GTX
100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit Edition
Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR)
Express Card Media Remote for Bluetooth-enabled Notebook
**************
First off, this machine is Beautiful...I got the Metallic Black armor brushed metal LCD cover.
System is fast.
Wireless is great (Linksys WRT350N router.)
DVD playback is smooth with gorgeous picture. This display is so bright and crisp.
Battery life is impressive.
Keyboard is nice, no touchpad issues.
Plenty of ports.
Received System 1 week ahead of date promised.
Best warranty package I could find
-At-Home Service and 24x7 Technical Support 4 Years
-McAfee Anti-Virus/Spyware Suite 3 Years
-Dell On Call Phone Support 14 Months
-LoJack® for Laptops Theft Protection 4 Years
-Complete Care Accidental Damage Service 4 Years
-Online Training with Live Tutor Support 14 Months
Received System 1 week ahead of date promised.
******
My only concerns are
-lack of number pad.
-Windows Vista is great (search feature ROCKS!!!) , but not all my previously owned software is compatible. (Download Accelerator Plus, Madden NFL 07)
-Vista drivers are still a bit shaky, but I anticipate this to work itself out over the next few months.
-Dell insists on partitioning hard drive for system restore
-Had to remove a lot of needless startup items.
User Rating: 8/10
this is good leptop
Pros: this is good leptop
Cons: this is good leptop
Review: this is good leptop
User Rating: 9/10
O jucarie foarte interesanta dar totusi...
Pros: Ca si plusuri, ce sa zic, ar fi asa: procesorul se misca f bine at cand intra la cei 2,16 GHz, hdd-ul de 7200 SATA f bun, ecranul nici nu mai zic, tastatura ok, cam totul e facut bine
Cons: Rezolutia de 1920X1200, sa fim seriosi pt desktop e mult prea mica iar daca o schimbi isi pierde din claritate. Ca si un al doilea aspect ma deranjeaza ca nu au introdus in acest avion o tastatura ful
Review: Sunt multe puncte de vedere pro dar si conta. Per total i-as da un 8,9 nu chiar 9 curat. De 10 nici nu mai poate fi vorba pt ca inca nu s-a inventat laptopul perfect. Il am de cca o luna si i-am facut 1000 de teste. Sincer imi placea mai mult vechiul inspiron 8200 pe care il luasem de *** aparuse. Mi-ar fi placut ca in forma acelui laptop sa fie inclusa tehnologia XPS-ului actual, bineinteles cu ecracul de 15,4 
Inca nu ma pot abishnui cu imaginea asta de desktop atat de mica si anume 1920X1200. Ar fi trebuit sa puna cei de la DELL o rezolutie mai mare pt OFFICE ca sa zic asa si alta sa fie treaba in jocuri, pt ca sa fim seriosi, cine isi ia racheta asta, o ia pt jocuri si prea putin pt aplicatii office. Am un monitor DELL 2407WFP UXGA si are si acesta 1920X1200 DAR ! Este mai mult decat bine venita aceasta rezolutie pe un monitor asa mare! Pe asta de 17 de pe XPS nu stiu... e tare dificil de citit paginile web sau... altceva si tot timpul treb sa folosesc ctrl si + pt a mari caracterele de pe pagini. Acum ca tot am dat o gashca de bani pe racheta asta stau si ma gandesc cu groaza la ce vor mai scoate nebunii astia de la Dell. Sper sa nu imi fie ciuda ca am cumparat laptopul acum si ca nu am mai asteptat, adica la fel am patit cu celalalt dell inspiron 8200. Era practic cel mai tare din parcare la ora respectiva si dupa ce l-am cumparat la o zi aparuse ceva mai bun si mai performant ) Sa mor de inima nu alta, dar ce sa fac am inteles ca asa stau lucrurile cu tehnologia si ca orice ai face de la o zi la alta apare altceva mai bun, mai frumos s.a.m.d.
Asa, dar sa revenim la oile noastre si sa-mi continui impresiile despre acest frumos exemplar XPS M1710, pt ca treb sa recunoastem, ca si design, dar nu numai, arata criminal. Unde ma duc si il scot din geanta toti intorc privirile
oare e bine? heheh. A! mi-ar fi placut sa poti alege intre culorile interioare partii cu display-ul si anume sa fie negre tastele si restul... Gri-ul asta ma enerveaza, arata de parca ar fi facut din plastic.. ) bine asa si este dar.. eh intelegeti voi, ii da o senzatie de subtire de material nashpa desi nu e deloc asa. In alta ordine de idei, merita cumparat in caz ca vrei sa renunnti sa mai stai acasa cu fundul pe scaun si sa prinzi radacini jucand 10 jocuri in acelasi loc. Descktopul meu e tot un INTEL la 3,01 GHz si vreau sa zic ca asta mic il face nu numai la viteza dar si in jocuri desi nu am crezut v-o data ca am sa ajung sa vad un laptop care se misca mai bine decat un pc mare, uite ca a venit si ziua aia...
Deci, daca vreti sa il cumparati GO AHEAD AND BUY IT! IT IS A VERRY GOOD AND POWERFUL MACHINE with a beautyful design and colors.
Inca nu ma pot abishnui cu imaginea asta de desktop atat de mica si anume 1920X1200. Ar fi trebuit sa puna cei de la DELL o rezolutie mai mare pt OFFICE ca sa zic asa si alta sa fie treaba in jocuri, pt ca sa fim seriosi, cine isi ia racheta asta, o ia pt jocuri si prea putin pt aplicatii office. Am un monitor DELL 2407WFP UXGA si are si acesta 1920X1200 DAR ! Este mai mult decat bine venita aceasta rezolutie pe un monitor asa mare! Pe asta de 17 de pe XPS nu stiu... e tare dificil de citit paginile web sau... altceva si tot timpul treb sa folosesc ctrl si + pt a mari caracterele de pe pagini. Acum ca tot am dat o gashca de bani pe racheta asta stau si ma gandesc cu groaza la ce vor mai scoate nebunii astia de la Dell. Sper sa nu imi fie ciuda ca am cumparat laptopul acum si ca nu am mai asteptat, adica la fel am patit cu celalalt dell inspiron 8200. Era practic cel mai tare din parcare la ora respectiva si dupa ce l-am cumparat la o zi aparuse ceva mai bun si mai performant ) Sa mor de inima nu alta, dar ce sa fac am inteles ca asa stau lucrurile cu tehnologia si ca orice ai face de la o zi la alta apare altceva mai bun, mai frumos s.a.m.d. Asa, dar sa revenim la oile noastre si sa-mi continui impresiile despre acest frumos exemplar XPS M1710, pt ca treb sa recunoastem, ca si design, dar nu numai, arata criminal. Unde ma duc si il scot din geanta toti intorc privirile
oare e bine? heheh. A! mi-ar fi placut sa poti alege intre culorile interioare partii cu display-ul si anume sa fie negre tastele si restul... Gri-ul asta ma enerveaza, arata de parca ar fi facut din plastic.. ) bine asa si este dar.. eh intelegeti voi, ii da o senzatie de subtire de material nashpa desi nu e deloc asa. In alta ordine de idei, merita cumparat in caz ca vrei sa renunnti sa mai stai acasa cu fundul pe scaun si sa prinzi radacini jucand 10 jocuri in acelasi loc. Descktopul meu e tot un INTEL la 3,01 GHz si vreau sa zic ca asta mic il face nu numai la viteza dar si in jocuri desi nu am crezut v-o data ca am sa ajung sa vad un laptop care se misca mai bine decat un pc mare, uite ca a venit si ziua aia...Deci, daca vreti sa il cumparati GO AHEAD AND BUY IT! IT IS A VERRY GOOD AND POWERFUL MACHINE with a beautyful design and colors.
User Rating: 9/10
If you want outstanding support and gaming performance buy this PC.
Pros: Graphics performance, speed, and customer/XPS tech support.
Cons: Monitor has known issues with dark bottom corners when equipped with the Samsung WUXGA monitor.
Review: Alright, I have read all kinds of reviews and recommendations in the forum saying the 9000 series HP notebooks are a better value when compared to the Dell E1705 or M1710. Well, I hate to burst the bubbles of those of you who say the Dell is inferior and lesser in value than the HP, but I am saying it! First of all let's look at the HP DV9260US vs the E1705 apples for apples and remember the Dell's XPS series is primarily for gamers and performance enthusiasts.
HP DV9260US $2250.00 AFTER REBATE (CIRCUIT CITY 3-1-2007)
WARRANTY: LIMITED 1 YEAR MANUFACTURERS COVERAGE
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0 GHz)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667MHz
HDD: 240 GB 5400RPM
SCREEN: 17" WXGA 1440x900
VIDEO CARD: 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/ VGA ONLY OUT
OS: Vista Ultimate w/ TV Tuner
DRIVES: HD DVD Player/DVD+RW
BATTERY: 8 Cell LI Ion
EXTRAS: Built in Camera
DELL XPS E1705 ($2169 DELL.COM 3-1-2007)
WARRANTY: 3 YEAR AT-HOME
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0 GHz)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667MHz
HDD: 160 GB 5400RPM
SCREEN: 17" WXGA 1440x900
VIDEO CARD: 256MB ATI RADEON X1400 w/VGA Out
OS: Vista Ultimate w/ TV Tuner
DRIVES: DVD+RW DL
BATTERY: 9 Cell LI Ion
This would be a fair comparison of the two computer manufacturers, I would first take notice to warranty support for the two notebooks, who is more confident with their product? These two computers are apples for apples in performance capacity, the Dell does not have a built in camera, does not have an HD DVD player, and has a 160 GB HDD vs a 240 GB HDD. The HP only has a one year limited warranty (only known defects) and the Dell has a 3 year IN HOME warranty and can be extended to 4 years for $70 and you'll get a $75 rebate therefore it is cheaper to go with a 4 year warranty than a 3 year. Alright, the question is do you value the built in camera ($30 for a better quality external camera), extra HDD space (personally I would go with a 100GB 7200RPM drive for an extra $25 from Dell, the performance capacity of the CPU is hugely effected by the lack of bandwidth from the HDD slow rotational rate of the 5400RPM drives), and finally is there any use for a HD DVD player??? I only see Blu-Ray and even then for a computer, why? These two computers are identical, I believe 3 or 4 years of IN HOME coverage and a tech support that far surpasses anything HP has ever offered is the better value. If you want to extend the HP warranty it would cost $199 to get a 3 year warranty for in shop service bringing you to ($2449 after rebate vs $2169 w/ in home, don't even ask what Circuit City wants for their extended warranty!).
NEXT:
Dell XPS M1710
Right off the bat you cannot compare the above systems to an XPS that's like comparing a Ford Mustang Cobra to a Ford Contour.
Realistically:
T7200 vs T7400 2.0GHz to 2.16GHz add $175
WXGA vs WUXGA Huge gain in res. add $140
100 GB 7200 RPM SATA vs 5400RPM add $25
RAM EXPANDABLE TO 4GB VS MAXED PRICELESS IN FUTURE ESP. W/ VISTA
OK now why the XPS is the XPS, The motherboard of the other models are not off a PCI Express bus (major loss in bandwidth!), the expandability of the RAM makes the XPS an upgradeable investment vs what you got is what you got with the above 2 systems, There is probably a $100 difference in the motherboards between the HP and E1705 and the XPS. MOST IMPORTANTLY you buy an XPS to game or run GRAPHIC INTENSIVE programs!!!! I can't even begin to compare a 256MB GeForce Go 7600 to a 512MB GeForce Go 7950GTX, I can put a price on it though, add $400. Not to mention the BLING, I want you to show me an HP that can light up like a XMAS tree IF the user wants it to, even without the lights it simply is a stunning looking machine.
So...$175 + 140 + 25 + 400 = $740, Now admittedly, Dell is about $1000 more for the XPS M1710 vs the E1705, but you have to remember you get another level of support above and beyond ANYTHING you will get from HP.
Alright, here is the low-down on the two companies: First of all, I have been a Sales Manager for Circuit City for 4 years. I started as a technology sales counselor, now known as a technology product specialist (non-commissioned). HP up until recently did not even have an 800 number for their customers! They would not even talk to a customer after 90 days until last year! Now for Dell, I purchased a notebook from them and have had alot of issues and Dell's customer Service staff has been WONDERFUL!!! Had an issue with shipping, they gave me a $75 Coupon for their online store, had an issue with the monitor, they gave me a $300 credit for my inconvenience plus a notebook bag, had an issue with a OS recommendation by their sales staff, they upgraded my OS to a retail Vista Ultimate for FREE (in my opinion this issue was caused by Microsoft and Dell took it upon themselves to resolve the issue because Microsoft was not willing), had an issue with Vista software included they OVERNIGHTED delivery of the appropriate software. As for the issue of dark corners on the Samsung WUXGA monitor you commonly see complained about, they sent a technician to my house within 3 days of calling them to attempt to fix it (this happened today), I will post again with how they ultimately resolve this current issue but I'm sure they will go above and beyond to remedy the situation. Now, if you add it all up they do care about their customers. If this were HP I can almost guarantee they would have pawned it off on the retailer, because it's no big deal to them, the retailer has already bought the product from them i.e. you really are not their primary customer and they do not allow Circuit City to return notebooks or desktops to them, no matter what! Now who do you want to deal with when you have $2200-$4000 on the line???? How long do you want to have the notebook for? Are you a PC user or a PC Gamer?
In conclusion, this is my system:
XPS M1710
17" WUXGA Monitor
Intel Core 2 Duo T7400
2GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
80GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
Intel ProWireless A/B/G Wireless
10/100/1000 NIC
512MB NVidia GeForce Go 7950GTX
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
3D Mark 2006 Score: 5009 <--Will be better when NVidia releases a decent set of drivers for Vista
WoW Performance ---> Avg. 55 FPS but have got in the 90's
I will be updating this review when Dell finally resolves the monitor issue for me.
As of yet the system is a solid 8.5-9.0 and would easily be a 9.5-10.0 if the monitor would have been flawless from the get-go. Honestly, the only way I could have a bad taste left in my mouth is if Dell Customer service drops the ball on the monitor issue, however I doubt that will happen.
HP DV9260US $2250.00 AFTER REBATE (CIRCUIT CITY 3-1-2007)
WARRANTY: LIMITED 1 YEAR MANUFACTURERS COVERAGE
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0 GHz)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667MHz
HDD: 240 GB 5400RPM
SCREEN: 17" WXGA 1440x900
VIDEO CARD: 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 w/ VGA ONLY OUT
OS: Vista Ultimate w/ TV Tuner
DRIVES: HD DVD Player/DVD+RW
BATTERY: 8 Cell LI Ion
EXTRAS: Built in Camera
DELL XPS E1705 ($2169 DELL.COM 3-1-2007)
WARRANTY: 3 YEAR AT-HOME
PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0 GHz)
RAM: 2GB DDR2 667MHz
HDD: 160 GB 5400RPM
SCREEN: 17" WXGA 1440x900
VIDEO CARD: 256MB ATI RADEON X1400 w/VGA Out
OS: Vista Ultimate w/ TV Tuner
DRIVES: DVD+RW DL
BATTERY: 9 Cell LI Ion
This would be a fair comparison of the two computer manufacturers, I would first take notice to warranty support for the two notebooks, who is more confident with their product? These two computers are apples for apples in performance capacity, the Dell does not have a built in camera, does not have an HD DVD player, and has a 160 GB HDD vs a 240 GB HDD. The HP only has a one year limited warranty (only known defects) and the Dell has a 3 year IN HOME warranty and can be extended to 4 years for $70 and you'll get a $75 rebate therefore it is cheaper to go with a 4 year warranty than a 3 year. Alright, the question is do you value the built in camera ($30 for a better quality external camera), extra HDD space (personally I would go with a 100GB 7200RPM drive for an extra $25 from Dell, the performance capacity of the CPU is hugely effected by the lack of bandwidth from the HDD slow rotational rate of the 5400RPM drives), and finally is there any use for a HD DVD player??? I only see Blu-Ray and even then for a computer, why? These two computers are identical, I believe 3 or 4 years of IN HOME coverage and a tech support that far surpasses anything HP has ever offered is the better value. If you want to extend the HP warranty it would cost $199 to get a 3 year warranty for in shop service bringing you to ($2449 after rebate vs $2169 w/ in home, don't even ask what Circuit City wants for their extended warranty!).
NEXT:
Dell XPS M1710
Right off the bat you cannot compare the above systems to an XPS that's like comparing a Ford Mustang Cobra to a Ford Contour.
Realistically:
T7200 vs T7400 2.0GHz to 2.16GHz add $175
WXGA vs WUXGA Huge gain in res. add $140
100 GB 7200 RPM SATA vs 5400RPM add $25
RAM EXPANDABLE TO 4GB VS MAXED PRICELESS IN FUTURE ESP. W/ VISTA
OK now why the XPS is the XPS, The motherboard of the other models are not off a PCI Express bus (major loss in bandwidth!), the expandability of the RAM makes the XPS an upgradeable investment vs what you got is what you got with the above 2 systems, There is probably a $100 difference in the motherboards between the HP and E1705 and the XPS. MOST IMPORTANTLY you buy an XPS to game or run GRAPHIC INTENSIVE programs!!!! I can't even begin to compare a 256MB GeForce Go 7600 to a 512MB GeForce Go 7950GTX, I can put a price on it though, add $400. Not to mention the BLING, I want you to show me an HP that can light up like a XMAS tree IF the user wants it to, even without the lights it simply is a stunning looking machine.
So...$175 + 140 + 25 + 400 = $740, Now admittedly, Dell is about $1000 more for the XPS M1710 vs the E1705, but you have to remember you get another level of support above and beyond ANYTHING you will get from HP.
Alright, here is the low-down on the two companies: First of all, I have been a Sales Manager for Circuit City for 4 years. I started as a technology sales counselor, now known as a technology product specialist (non-commissioned). HP up until recently did not even have an 800 number for their customers! They would not even talk to a customer after 90 days until last year! Now for Dell, I purchased a notebook from them and have had alot of issues and Dell's customer Service staff has been WONDERFUL!!! Had an issue with shipping, they gave me a $75 Coupon for their online store, had an issue with the monitor, they gave me a $300 credit for my inconvenience plus a notebook bag, had an issue with a OS recommendation by their sales staff, they upgraded my OS to a retail Vista Ultimate for FREE (in my opinion this issue was caused by Microsoft and Dell took it upon themselves to resolve the issue because Microsoft was not willing), had an issue with Vista software included they OVERNIGHTED delivery of the appropriate software. As for the issue of dark corners on the Samsung WUXGA monitor you commonly see complained about, they sent a technician to my house within 3 days of calling them to attempt to fix it (this happened today), I will post again with how they ultimately resolve this current issue but I'm sure they will go above and beyond to remedy the situation. Now, if you add it all up they do care about their customers. If this were HP I can almost guarantee they would have pawned it off on the retailer, because it's no big deal to them, the retailer has already bought the product from them i.e. you really are not their primary customer and they do not allow Circuit City to return notebooks or desktops to them, no matter what! Now who do you want to deal with when you have $2200-$4000 on the line???? How long do you want to have the notebook for? Are you a PC user or a PC Gamer?
In conclusion, this is my system:
XPS M1710
17" WUXGA Monitor
Intel Core 2 Duo T7400
2GB DDR2 667MHz RAM
80GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
Intel ProWireless A/B/G Wireless
10/100/1000 NIC
512MB NVidia GeForce Go 7950GTX
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
3D Mark 2006 Score: 5009 <--Will be better when NVidia releases a decent set of drivers for Vista
WoW Performance ---> Avg. 55 FPS but have got in the 90's
I will be updating this review when Dell finally resolves the monitor issue for me.
As of yet the system is a solid 8.5-9.0 and would easily be a 9.5-10.0 if the monitor would have been flawless from the get-go. Honestly, the only way I could have a bad taste left in my mouth is if Dell Customer service drops the ball on the monitor issue, however I doubt that will happen.
User Rating: 7/10
Why get the XPS? Get a properly equipped E1705 for half the money.
Pros: Fast processor, graphics card and good onboard audio.
Cons: Price. Price, and oh yea, Price.
Review: In my opinion, unless you just absolutely have to get 60fps on a game instead of 55fps...by all means spend an extra $1000 bucks.
Few people know that an E1705 can be equipped virtually the same for much less.
The trick to the E1705 is how much the GS7900 can be overclocked. You can also flash the bios to the GTX version. If you really ramp the clock speed up you can score over 9000 on 3DMark 05. That is as good or better than a stock XPS.
I packaged my E1705 with the T7200 (2.0ghz) Core2 Duo, 100gb 7200rpm HD, 2gb of 667mhz ram, GS7900, HD EAX audio and the highest res display 1900x1200, plus internal bluetooth and wireless G....and because I watched the web site like a hawk, I got it out the door for $1649 bucks. That is a smoking deal for a laptop with those features thats just a FRACTION slower than the $2500 - $3500 XPS models.
Another tip...don't buy Dell's warrantys when you order. About three weeks later they called me and offered me the 3 year package and full accidental damage coverage for $109 bucks. It was over $350 for all that coverage at the time I was building the laptop.
Few people know that an E1705 can be equipped virtually the same for much less.
The trick to the E1705 is how much the GS7900 can be overclocked. You can also flash the bios to the GTX version. If you really ramp the clock speed up you can score over 9000 on 3DMark 05. That is as good or better than a stock XPS.
I packaged my E1705 with the T7200 (2.0ghz) Core2 Duo, 100gb 7200rpm HD, 2gb of 667mhz ram, GS7900, HD EAX audio and the highest res display 1900x1200, plus internal bluetooth and wireless G....and because I watched the web site like a hawk, I got it out the door for $1649 bucks. That is a smoking deal for a laptop with those features thats just a FRACTION slower than the $2500 - $3500 XPS models.
Another tip...don't buy Dell's warrantys when you order. About three weeks later they called me and offered me the 3 year package and full accidental damage coverage for $109 bucks. It was over $350 for all that coverage at the time I was building the laptop.
User Rating: 9/10
excelent system, 2 day delivery and no problems at all
Pros: i havent found a game that i cant run in full detail
Cons: i would have to say the weight, but as a desktop replacment i dont even see that as an issue
Review: i ordered the system two weeks before christmas, i was expecting delays in delivery due to the time of year but was shocked when it arrived in two days. i havent had a single problem with it and recomend it to anyone who wants a powerfull gaming system but dosent mind paying top doller for it,
User Rating: 6/10
Good Graphics but starts to get a little shaky after a while
Pros: Amazing Graphics, Very appealing
Cons: BIG, Heavy, and a so-so processor
Review: well i recieved my Dell Xps M1710 Laptop a month ago and i was thrilled i loaded a game onto it right away and it worked perfectly but a month later its getting a little shaky and the 15 of the 16 lights have burnt out. so in all the Centrino Processor Sucks but its still an ok Laptop
User Rating: 9/10
Show me the money
Pros: Big screen, large and easy to use key board, if you have the options that count then your looking at the best main stream brand gaming computer money can buy!
Cons: You can't physically check out the computer before you buy it! Where is the nearest Dell store near you? Hand?s on experience is always nice...so from reviews you make your judgment to shell out 4k!
Review:
User Rating: 9/10
just great no problem
Pros: handy and hard
Cons: not bright screen.
Review: general functions are acceptable
User Rating: 9/10
THE desktop replacement PC.
Pros: Great features, runs well, excellent looks, great Dell support
Cons: A bit pricey.
Review: The M1710 is possibly the best desktop replacement laptop built, with Dell offering excellent support and the options you can customize it with allow you to build the laptop that is right for you. Yes, it is pricey, but it is just as good or better is most categories than other gaming laptops, and is a surprisingly light laptop for its 17 inches. The looks on this PC are also stunning. With the cover's brushed black or red surface looking almost three dimensional and not to mention the customizable LED lights pouring out of the front speakers, side vents and the panel back. The Core 2 Duo processors are excellent and the M1710 runs great, a fairly short battery life is to be expected, and hasn't bothered me yet. Another great feature of the M1710 are its two fans. Fed by vents on each side, top, bottom, and back of the laptop, they keep up with activities very well. I have experienced no lag in any of the games I have used on it ? graphics maxed, even while online. This thing is the best laptop money can buy, and if your buying a PC like this, chances are you can afford the price tag. For those who are looking to build their dream laptop, look no further, it is not as large as the ultimate 19" models, but holds its own very well.
User Rating: 1/10
Its a dell Need i say more?
Pros: works for about a week longer than a ipod
Cons: works for about a month
Review: Cr*p A huge disappointment
User Rating: 9/10
Love my M1710
Pros: Great desktop replacement. Portability, I love the graphics!
Cons: Too good looking to put a scratch on. Little bulky.
Review: Plays all my favorite games and has made me replay some just to see the effects that I was missing out on. This is not a machine made for carrying around, it's made for use in your home and being able to place it where you want. My family loves it!
User Rating: 10/10
Mobile Gamer's Dream
Pros: I have the latest model
Cons: There isno comparison
Review: Out of all the computer thins I have seen in my life, his is definately the best thing ever made..... And it comes with a massive subwoofer
User Rating: 9/10
XPS 2.0 GHZ WITH 7950GTX HAS FASTER 3DMARK06 BENCHMARK
Pros: Nice big 17inch screen; video in and out; multitasks very well
Cons: big large heavy notebook; get a backpack
Review: I love the notebook; i dont mind the size cause i just throw it in a backpack and go. I like the screen; but on batteries it is too dim; so plan on hooking this laptop up to some ac power. Is great for the road; but not for your lap ; you need an ac hook up ; ither with ac car adapter or plug it in at the motel or hotel room; but its a fast neat super computer ; very flashy and just blows away anything else i have ever had. I ran a 3dmark03 benchmark test on it with the faster 7950gtx; not the 7900 gtx graphics card that cnet tested and i got 20120 benchmark points; that was with a 2.0ghx core 2 duo; not the 2.33 ghz core 2 duo so the 2.0 ghz with the faster 7950gtx video card; runs the 3dmark03 benchmark software program faster the the 2.33 with the 7900 card. Like they say; It's all in the cards dude.
User Rating: 8/10
Very much a chip off the old die
Pros: just as much a brick as the Gen 2
Cons: chrome finish bezel shows every ding, no PCMCIA
Review: Readers who have read my review of the XPS Gen2 can almost skip this text because it's more of the same.
First, I should mention that I have a rather unusual use for my laptops; I use them to talk for me. I'm phyically disabled with Cerebral Palsy. I can only speak via computer using custom software I developed. The laptops are Velcro'd to a folding aluminum table mounted on my wheelchair. Power is supplied from the chair's batteries to the laptop's automotive-type adapter through a commercial 24-to-12 volt converter. The nature of this solution is that whatever is my current laptop gets almost continuous use in a central role as part of my everyday life. It is responsible for my banking, software development, shopping, communicating, and even entertainment. Such varied-but-central casting clearly stretches any laptop and its underlying service agreement to their utmost limits.
Yes, that paragraph was directly lifted from the Gen2 review, because that part still applies. The one-line summary of this review hints at just how much the M1710 owes to its Gen2 parentage. It's almost a twin. Sadly, my trusty Gen2 developed an overheating issue after a year that even Dell couldn't figure out so they opted to replace it with a 1710.
I received my 1710 shortly before the Core 2 Duo shipped so I have just the Core Duo. This 1710 does have the updated BIOS necessary to run a Core @ Duo, but I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade. Perhaps Vista will convince me of the need, but I doubt it. This Core Duo rarely kicks its fans on anyway.
Astute readers will note I rated the Gen2 slightly above the 1710. The chrome finish around the keyboard of the latter wears quickly in daily use. More importantly, Dell made a decision to stop shipping laptops with PCMCIA slots. Instead, they offer a single PCIExpress slot. That move may prove to be the right one in the long term, but it leaves customers in a bind at present. There is precious little industry support for PCIE yet. If you want mobile broadband connectivity, Verizon is your only choice. That will change soon, but hasn't to date. There are a few USB-to-PCMCIA third-party options available. These are, however, pretty card-specific, bulky, and pricey. Not smart, Dell.
All in all, the 1710 is very capable. The current incarnation, with the Core 2 Duo and Nvidia 7950, would be on the first rung.
First, I should mention that I have a rather unusual use for my laptops; I use them to talk for me. I'm phyically disabled with Cerebral Palsy. I can only speak via computer using custom software I developed. The laptops are Velcro'd to a folding aluminum table mounted on my wheelchair. Power is supplied from the chair's batteries to the laptop's automotive-type adapter through a commercial 24-to-12 volt converter. The nature of this solution is that whatever is my current laptop gets almost continuous use in a central role as part of my everyday life. It is responsible for my banking, software development, shopping, communicating, and even entertainment. Such varied-but-central casting clearly stretches any laptop and its underlying service agreement to their utmost limits.
Yes, that paragraph was directly lifted from the Gen2 review, because that part still applies. The one-line summary of this review hints at just how much the M1710 owes to its Gen2 parentage. It's almost a twin. Sadly, my trusty Gen2 developed an overheating issue after a year that even Dell couldn't figure out so they opted to replace it with a 1710.
I received my 1710 shortly before the Core 2 Duo shipped so I have just the Core Duo. This 1710 does have the updated BIOS necessary to run a Core @ Duo, but I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade. Perhaps Vista will convince me of the need, but I doubt it. This Core Duo rarely kicks its fans on anyway.
Astute readers will note I rated the Gen2 slightly above the 1710. The chrome finish around the keyboard of the latter wears quickly in daily use. More importantly, Dell made a decision to stop shipping laptops with PCMCIA slots. Instead, they offer a single PCIExpress slot. That move may prove to be the right one in the long term, but it leaves customers in a bind at present. There is precious little industry support for PCIE yet. If you want mobile broadband connectivity, Verizon is your only choice. That will change soon, but hasn't to date. There are a few USB-to-PCMCIA third-party options available. These are, however, pretty card-specific, bulky, and pricey. Not smart, Dell.
All in all, the 1710 is very capable. The current incarnation, with the Core 2 Duo and Nvidia 7950, would be on the first rung.
User Rating: 10/10
The BEST Laptop!!!!!!
Pros: Very fast! Best video card! Nice Display, Great Sound! Best WARRANTY
Cons: Price, Weight, DVD Tray
Review: This is a wonderful laptop. It has all the features and power you could want. To start the review I am going to start with the pros.
The laptop has all the power you could want. You can have the best graphics cards, best processor, and ALL the memory you could want.
The display is awesome. People complain that its not bright enough but I would have to say it meets my expectation. The display is fine and I dont see any floaws besides the screen leaking a little.
This laptop has a built in sub woofer so as far as the sound goes, it counds great. I can listen to music on my laptop and it sounds like I have desktop speakers.
Those were some of the pros, now here are some of the cons......
This thing is expensive. You could buy two fair laptops for the price of this one. If you have the money though I would tell you not to think about it much and just buy this one.
Its a heavy laptop overall but I am not taking off for it becuase compared to other gaming laptops this things is usually lighter so you cant really complain. If you want fast you are going to get something heavy.
I also dont like how it doesnt have a slot loading DVD drive. It has one of the drives with a tray that is flimsy and I am sue could easily break.
Now for my favortie thing about the laptop, the warranty. For $200 I bought dells accidental coverage warranty. What this means is if I run my laptop over on accident dell will give me a new one. I has it in my bookbag at school and it fell out and the lcd and the bottem cracked and dell overnighted me a brand new laptop. It has saved me once and I am sure it will again.
I am sure their is lost I left out but this laptop is the best so if you are in the market for one then this should be at the top of your list. Get it! You will love it!
The laptop has all the power you could want. You can have the best graphics cards, best processor, and ALL the memory you could want.
The display is awesome. People complain that its not bright enough but I would have to say it meets my expectation. The display is fine and I dont see any floaws besides the screen leaking a little.
This laptop has a built in sub woofer so as far as the sound goes, it counds great. I can listen to music on my laptop and it sounds like I have desktop speakers.
Those were some of the pros, now here are some of the cons......
This thing is expensive. You could buy two fair laptops for the price of this one. If you have the money though I would tell you not to think about it much and just buy this one.
Its a heavy laptop overall but I am not taking off for it becuase compared to other gaming laptops this things is usually lighter so you cant really complain. If you want fast you are going to get something heavy.
I also dont like how it doesnt have a slot loading DVD drive. It has one of the drives with a tray that is flimsy and I am sue could easily break.
Now for my favortie thing about the laptop, the warranty. For $200 I bought dells accidental coverage warranty. What this means is if I run my laptop over on accident dell will give me a new one. I has it in my bookbag at school and it fell out and the lcd and the bottem cracked and dell overnighted me a brand new laptop. It has saved me once and I am sure it will again.
I am sure their is lost I left out but this laptop is the best so if you are in the market for one then this should be at the top of your list. Get it! You will love it!
User Rating: 9/10
This computer is fantastic!
Pros: Looks, speed, connectivity.
Cons: Keyboard / wasted space
Review: This computer is amazingly fast, and is beautiful to look at. I am a high school teacher, and when I bring this computer in to school the kids go crazy. It is truly a beautiful computer, and the lighted XPS logo on the cover is the icing on the cake. The C-Net review mentions that the screen is not quite bright enough, and I disagree. I have absolutely no complaint about the brightness of the display, in fact I find the display to be beautiful and I have had many of my students and fellow teachers comment on how bright and beautiful the display is. My only complaints with this computer are that there is no USB port on the right hand side of the machine, which is unfortunate because there are six between the back and left hand side of the machine. Another USB port on the right would have made a nice addition. Also, the keyboard could have been made considerably better if they had used more of the wasted space around the keyboard. Everyone will notice all of the wasted space between the front of the computer and the keyboard, which is set well back. There is also wasted space to the left and right of the keyboard.
User Rating: 3/10
Extemely disappointed
Pros: Speed, Aesthetics, Display, Resolution, Able to move the laptop from room to room.
Cons: Tech Support in India, Inconsistent answers with the same problem, Updating video drivers a killer, not what I expected with Elder Scrolls Oblivion, don't expect to use it on a plane, battery life.
Review: I purchased the highest end of the options available for the XPS 1710. I received my first system at the end of August. First I found out that the Dell Wireless Card was incompatible with my brand new Belkin-Draft N router. They had to send me an older model of the card.Then I received memory parity errors, a crashing system, sound distortions while playing World of Warcraft and Elder scrolls Oblivion. After several system restores and twice reloading everything to factory settings, they finally allowed me to return that PC. I received the 2nd PC at the end of September. Though the previous issues had gone away, I was still noticing framerate issues with Oblivion when placing all the settings on Maximum (which is what I expect from a $4000 laptop). I tried working with Dell to updated my video drivers, but that only led to issues with Texture Crawling and the temporary freezing of my Browser when roaming the internet. I had to go through additional system restores and restoring drivers to the factory presets. I do accept the fact that Oblivion is a buggy game. I also am glad that WOW is greatly improved since playing that game on my 3 year old Gateway PC. The framerate issues won't kill me, but I was just expecting more from the PC. The tech support out of India has been HORRIBLE. For example, after only having my PC for 1 week, one individual insisted that I have way too many items loading at start up. I told her that I havent loaded anything other then the critical updates, enabling Nortan Internet Security, and thats about it. If things are loading, its because Dell put them there. She suggested going though MS Config, and then disabling apps in the Start up tab one by one until we see if that helps with the framerate issues with Oblivion. I called back again and another tech said you should Never touch the start up tab in MSconfig. I called back a third time and another tech said you should disable everything. 3 completely different answers from 3 people in the same group. Anyway, after days and days of testing, restoring, reloading, etc, I finally have my PC in a state where Oblivion is playable and WOW is fine. Most of that was without the help of Dell, but my own common sense and reading up on various forums. I would never purchase a gaming laptop from dell again. I know, some may say I should have brought a desktop. I wanted one, but in order to always be close to my girlfriend, I needed something that could be moved from room to room with enough power to play games like Oblivion which is why I chose this PC. So far I have spent more time troubleshooting then playing my games. I am hoping this will change.
User Rating: 6/10
much maligned customer service came through in the end
Pros: sleek, fast, superb graphics
Cons: memory issues, error messages within 48 hours
Review: For his graduation gift, we shared the cost of a new laptop with our son who was planning to leave shortly to work overseas in S. Korea. He looked at comparable systems, but opted for the Dell XPS 1710, given it's high ratings by various computer mags. We were aware of Dell's declining reputation with respect to customer service, but went with them anyways, partly because they had a customer support office in S. Korea. To be on the safe side,we ordered the extended international service warranty. The laptop performed beautifully for a few days..then the memory and parity error messages started. A technician arrived at our home soon after and replaced the mother board and RAM. Within a few days the same error messages appeared. The tech recommended we ask for a brand new system but as our son was due to leave Canada imminently there was no guarantee that the new system would arrive in time. So, he opted for another tech visit and this time the video card and its memory was replaced. A few days later more memory and parity errors appeared. More calls were logged with Dell and finally frustrated at the amount of time spent conosoumed with talking and waiting on hold for various Dell technicians, our son asked that his computer be replaced. He was told no as the 30 day grace period had just expired. So now it looked like he was stuck with a defective $3000 system and he'd have to face the prospect of taking it with him to S. Korea and have it fixed, if possible there...assuming of course he could take time off work as his office was located 2 hours out of Seoul...Finally, he asked to speak with the technician's supervisor who patiently listened to his story. She promised to get back to us regarding replacement of the system, which she did within 2 days. Dell agreed to supply a new computer. We asked it be sent to S. Korea so our son could pick it up there on his arrival but they insisted on sending it to Canada and we'd have to pay the courier fees to have it shipped overseas. We balked at that, and after a few more calls, Dell agreed to reimburse us for the cost of the courier fees. As it turned out, our son's visa was delayed by a few days, and when Dell was apprised of his delay, they expedited the system through manufacturing and shipping and the new computer arrived one day before his departure. He's now had his new system for 3 weeks and so far, no complaints. In the past 3 weeks I've received numerous calls from Dell reps inquiring to ensure satisfaction with the new system. Life would have been so much easier had the original system been bug free. But, in fairness to Dell, after a bit of pushing and shoving on our part, they came through and made the best of a bad situation. We were left with the impression that Dell is making an exerted attempt resurrect their reputation and we give them full marks. Would we purchase another system from Dell? Probably. There are no guarantees that any other company's customer service would be any better, and given our recent experience, at least we have some confidence that Dell would, if necessary, come through again.
User Rating: 7/10
Dell XPS M1710 Best Gaming notebook
Pros: This notebook is the ultimate desktop replacement
Cons: Hard to believe that such a high end notebook dont support PC cards, I have a verizon wireless broadband PC card, cant even use it.
Review: Excellent notebook, but I think if your going to this amount of money, it should support Wireless PC cards. IF I had to rate this notebook on performance alone, it would get a 10
User Rating: 8/10
High End Precision M90 with Lights
Pros: Display remarkably bright. Highly tweakable. Runs cool (unless gaming). Solid performance. Lighter than expected. Changeable parts (ie CPU/GPU). Above average sound options.
Cons: Battery life is average. Big flashy laptop = theft magnet.
Review: From someone who works with a lot of Powerbooks, Macbooks, Latitudes, Precisions, Inspirons, Lenovos and Vaios, this was my choice for personal purchase. I shopped around for four months and hit all the forums when I decided I needed a new laptop. And I have no regrets.
Who won't want an M1710: Someone who's first concern is portability. It's wide and with power adapters and batteries, it weighs in. Still, not as heavy as I was led to believe... so much the better..
Who will want one: Someone who's first concern is form and function. It's rock solid and it rocks (not back and forth). It looks nicer and feels better than you think.
Quick take on the performance value: Yes it?s an insane 3Dmark, it?s very good all around and it lives up to all the power hype. You can get little dell specific apps online to manually control the processor speeds/voltages and fans and lights etc and display internal temperatures and clock speeds, all that so you can tweak everything..
BUILD/RELIABILITY
The most significant info for business users interested in an "ultimate" Inspiron is-- this is not an Inspiron. This notebook is based on a Precision. The chassis and keyboard for starters, and certain little design differences inside (as in INSIDE like take it apart inside) show this is a Precision M90. The docking port is a dead giveaway. Thus we have a little more price justification. DELL should make a bigger deal about that before flashing the price tag..
It has more options for configuration than either a Macbook or Viao, and is easily repaired or disassembled. All the major parts can be changed out and upgraded on site by a DELL technician or by a qualified power user. You don?t have to put it in a box and mail it when it has issues. Sony and Lenovo also offer nationwide onsite repair, but Toshiba?s on-site support is sketchy, and Apple has none.
LOOK/FEEL
The M1710 is not small. It's thinner than the Acer, amazingly it?s a little lighter than some 15" Lenovos (with batteries), and way less gaudy and cheapy than the Quasimo. It?s thicker and heavier than the Macbook, same thickness and lighter than the new Vaio 17? but the quality is on par or better with either of them. Despite what gets printed about Inspirons feeling cheap, this notebook does not feel flimsy or plastic. It doesn't twist or bend at the hinges, and my keyboard is responsive and error free. I was also impressed by how well balanced it feels when open to a normal position. A lot of laptops are top heavy or awkward when open. I can pick up and move this one around with one hand if I need to.
Up close it has the same sparkly cool aluminum look and feel as the Macboook case, but not the same style simplicity as the Mac or Vaio. However the pictures online make it look a lot less professional than the look it actually pulls off in real life. It?s not gaudy, people are usually impressed. Tech types are pretty awestruck. Style conscious people prefer a less technical appearance--though they do say it looks ?powerful? and sleek, and everyone goes for the side lights (I work IT/Web with a marketing group, we have a fashion marketing department so I get a full round of opinions).
SOUND
The Audigy card is a great idea-- using the Equalizer will get the best sound from the speakers. They sound tinny and ordinary right out of the box, but clean up REALLY nice with a little tweaking. I can definitely surprise people with a laptop that sounds this good.
IN THE END
Displays and keyboards seem to vary unfortunately, because DELL sometimes uses different suppliers depending on where your system is built. I have the LG/Philips display in my XPS and it is absolutely on par with the new Macbook 17? and the best Vaio screens. They all look about the same, more or less. If you think your XPS screen sucks, check your invoice and see what you got. Sharp or Samsung may have made the screen. DELL will replace it if you complain.
Also remember DELL?s faltering customer support issues don?t entirely apply to XPS. This is part of their new ?flagship? philosophy so you get a different set of rules. That doesn?t help the other DELL owners any, but if you ask around in IT circles you learn customer support as an industry standard is just falling apart in general. I prefer the new online ?chat with a technician? method now, telephone voicejail service is dead to me. Even so, it helps to know what you?re talking about before you get started. I just play pac-man while I pretend to ?troubleshoot? the system. Too many hoops..
Who won't want an M1710: Someone who's first concern is portability. It's wide and with power adapters and batteries, it weighs in. Still, not as heavy as I was led to believe... so much the better..
Who will want one: Someone who's first concern is form and function. It's rock solid and it rocks (not back and forth). It looks nicer and feels better than you think.
Quick take on the performance value: Yes it?s an insane 3Dmark, it?s very good all around and it lives up to all the power hype. You can get little dell specific apps online to manually control the processor speeds/voltages and fans and lights etc and display internal temperatures and clock speeds, all that so you can tweak everything..
BUILD/RELIABILITY
The most significant info for business users interested in an "ultimate" Inspiron is-- this is not an Inspiron. This notebook is based on a Precision. The chassis and keyboard for starters, and certain little design differences inside (as in INSIDE like take it apart inside) show this is a Precision M90. The docking port is a dead giveaway. Thus we have a little more price justification. DELL should make a bigger deal about that before flashing the price tag..
It has more options for configuration than either a Macbook or Viao, and is easily repaired or disassembled. All the major parts can be changed out and upgraded on site by a DELL technician or by a qualified power user. You don?t have to put it in a box and mail it when it has issues. Sony and Lenovo also offer nationwide onsite repair, but Toshiba?s on-site support is sketchy, and Apple has none.
LOOK/FEEL
The M1710 is not small. It's thinner than the Acer, amazingly it?s a little lighter than some 15" Lenovos (with batteries), and way less gaudy and cheapy than the Quasimo. It?s thicker and heavier than the Macbook, same thickness and lighter than the new Vaio 17? but the quality is on par or better with either of them. Despite what gets printed about Inspirons feeling cheap, this notebook does not feel flimsy or plastic. It doesn't twist or bend at the hinges, and my keyboard is responsive and error free. I was also impressed by how well balanced it feels when open to a normal position. A lot of laptops are top heavy or awkward when open. I can pick up and move this one around with one hand if I need to.
Up close it has the same sparkly cool aluminum look and feel as the Macboook case, but not the same style simplicity as the Mac or Vaio. However the pictures online make it look a lot less professional than the look it actually pulls off in real life. It?s not gaudy, people are usually impressed. Tech types are pretty awestruck. Style conscious people prefer a less technical appearance--though they do say it looks ?powerful? and sleek, and everyone goes for the side lights (I work IT/Web with a marketing group, we have a fashion marketing department so I get a full round of opinions).
SOUND
The Audigy card is a great idea-- using the Equalizer will get the best sound from the speakers. They sound tinny and ordinary right out of the box, but clean up REALLY nice with a little tweaking. I can definitely surprise people with a laptop that sounds this good.
IN THE END
Displays and keyboards seem to vary unfortunately, because DELL sometimes uses different suppliers depending on where your system is built. I have the LG/Philips display in my XPS and it is absolutely on par with the new Macbook 17? and the best Vaio screens. They all look about the same, more or less. If you think your XPS screen sucks, check your invoice and see what you got. Sharp or Samsung may have made the screen. DELL will replace it if you complain.
Also remember DELL?s faltering customer support issues don?t entirely apply to XPS. This is part of their new ?flagship? philosophy so you get a different set of rules. That doesn?t help the other DELL owners any, but if you ask around in IT circles you learn customer support as an industry standard is just falling apart in general. I prefer the new online ?chat with a technician? method now, telephone voicejail service is dead to me. Even so, it helps to know what you?re talking about before you get started. I just play pac-man while I pretend to ?troubleshoot? the system. Too many hoops..
Updated
I meant 9 not 8, oops
I meant 9 not 8, oops
User Rating: 10/10
The Best LAPTOP MONEY CAN BUY
Pros: the best everything. even looks the sweetest
Cons: its not cheap to get the best
Review: by best laptop ive ever had, extremely fast
User Rating: 3/10
Can only ever be second best.
Pros: huge graphics card, High def screen
Cons: Weight, size, graphics card, price, and oh, the company Dell
Review: This laptop (yes, remember, it is a laptop, it is SUPPOSED to be both practical and portable) will only ever be second best AS A LAPTOP to the Apple MacBook Pro, which, AS A LAPTOP, is the better offering.
As a desktop, the Dell XPS is better. Yes, if you use this machine as a desktop it succeeds in being practical. But it is not portable. It never will be.
Yes, the dorky XPS does change colours. Whoopee! Its fun to be 9 yrs old again. Speaking of 9 yrs old, Michael Dell got his kids to design the externals. Lovely, aren't they!
The Dell is 4.2 cm thick. The Apple is 2.5 cm (1 inch). The Dell is 4KG (most likely excluding all the upgrades it needs to be equal to the Macbook). The Apple is 3.1 fully loaded.
Apple offers you the choice of fast 100GB hard disk or big 120GB hard disk as options at no cost. Dell makes you pay to get the faster hard disk.
Apple has a faster processor at 2.16GHz standard. Dell offers 2.0. 2.16 is an expensive upgrade.
Apple has both bluetooth and WiFi standard. Does the Dell? Nope, pay up!
Apple has the most critically acclaimed bundled software. Dell has nothing. In fact, Apple can run the whole Windows operating system, either in it's own little window, or it can reboot in Windows, god forbid you need to.
Also, as of late, you can still use your Apple laptop on a plane! Hahahahah! Not Snakes on a Plane, but Dell Laptops on a Plane!! Ha!
Dell laptop has less battery life, at 3hrs compared to 4, with only the 2.0GHz Intel, not the Macbook STANDARD 2.16GHz.
Dell laptop is more likely to explode.
Dell laptop has (an expensive) option to a better graphics card than Apple! Oh god, Dell has beaten the Macbook! At one thing anyway. Still, adding that extra card throws in a huge pile of money, and kills your battery (no pun intended, you crazy exploding Dell batteries!) even quicker, and makes your laptop heavier!
Dell laptop has more fans, is noisier, and the fans run more often, especially if you upgrade it to the Macbook equalling specifications.
The Dell does have a denser screen (higher resolution), but less contrast, response time, and brightness.
Dell has that sh*t software built into your copy of windows and you can't get rid of it! Apple on the other hand, has some of the best software in the world, and lets you run windows if you desire. God forbid.
Most independent third party reviewers (as in not sponsored by Dell) will tell you Dell service and support is very lacking compared to Apple.
Finally, people who use Apple will all tell you how much more ENJOYABLE they are than using a typical PC. A Mac is designed for everyone, not just some little teenage geek ******** his pants when NVIDIA releases a new video card (however they can cater for him too).
You want to whinge about expandability? Oh, your downgraded intel processor isn't soldiered in? Wow, that means you can buy a new chip and... and.... well throw the old one away because you were stupid enough not to wait till both manufacturers bought them out (only days now). Now you are $600 out of pocket and an extra chip in hand. I pitty the fool.
Buying a mac is a great experience, starting with the artistically created box, and the smell of your Apple laptop. Don't settle for second best, because this Dell XPS M1710 is second best, is more expensive, and is a desktop competitor, not fit for a laptop showdown. While I may be biased by style, practicality, and performance (hmm sounds like I picked the winner eh?), all the figures I've stated are fact. The Dell costs at minimum, $200 over the MacBook Pro at equal specs.
The verdict - if you want a desktop competitor and money is plentiful and foolishly spent, go the Dell. If you want value for money, and the better all round package, the Apple is the only way to go.
As a desktop, the Dell XPS is better. Yes, if you use this machine as a desktop it succeeds in being practical. But it is not portable. It never will be.
Yes, the dorky XPS does change colours. Whoopee! Its fun to be 9 yrs old again. Speaking of 9 yrs old, Michael Dell got his kids to design the externals. Lovely, aren't they!
The Dell is 4.2 cm thick. The Apple is 2.5 cm (1 inch). The Dell is 4KG (most likely excluding all the upgrades it needs to be equal to the Macbook). The Apple is 3.1 fully loaded.
Apple offers you the choice of fast 100GB hard disk or big 120GB hard disk as options at no cost. Dell makes you pay to get the faster hard disk.
Apple has a faster processor at 2.16GHz standard. Dell offers 2.0. 2.16 is an expensive upgrade.
Apple has both bluetooth and WiFi standard. Does the Dell? Nope, pay up!
Apple has the most critically acclaimed bundled software. Dell has nothing. In fact, Apple can run the whole Windows operating system, either in it's own little window, or it can reboot in Windows, god forbid you need to.
Also, as of late, you can still use your Apple laptop on a plane! Hahahahah! Not Snakes on a Plane, but Dell Laptops on a Plane!! Ha!
Dell laptop has less battery life, at 3hrs compared to 4, with only the 2.0GHz Intel, not the Macbook STANDARD 2.16GHz.
Dell laptop is more likely to explode.
Dell laptop has (an expensive) option to a better graphics card than Apple! Oh god, Dell has beaten the Macbook! At one thing anyway. Still, adding that extra card throws in a huge pile of money, and kills your battery (no pun intended, you crazy exploding Dell batteries!) even quicker, and makes your laptop heavier!
Dell laptop has more fans, is noisier, and the fans run more often, especially if you upgrade it to the Macbook equalling specifications.
The Dell does have a denser screen (higher resolution), but less contrast, response time, and brightness.
Dell has that sh*t software built into your copy of windows and you can't get rid of it! Apple on the other hand, has some of the best software in the world, and lets you run windows if you desire. God forbid.
Most independent third party reviewers (as in not sponsored by Dell) will tell you Dell service and support is very lacking compared to Apple.
Finally, people who use Apple will all tell you how much more ENJOYABLE they are than using a typical PC. A Mac is designed for everyone, not just some little teenage geek ******** his pants when NVIDIA releases a new video card (however they can cater for him too).
You want to whinge about expandability? Oh, your downgraded intel processor isn't soldiered in? Wow, that means you can buy a new chip and... and.... well throw the old one away because you were stupid enough not to wait till both manufacturers bought them out (only days now). Now you are $600 out of pocket and an extra chip in hand. I pitty the fool.
Buying a mac is a great experience, starting with the artistically created box, and the smell of your Apple laptop. Don't settle for second best, because this Dell XPS M1710 is second best, is more expensive, and is a desktop competitor, not fit for a laptop showdown. While I may be biased by style, practicality, and performance (hmm sounds like I picked the winner eh?), all the figures I've stated are fact. The Dell costs at minimum, $200 over the MacBook Pro at equal specs.
The verdict - if you want a desktop competitor and money is plentiful and foolishly spent, go the Dell. If you want value for money, and the better all round package, the Apple is the only way to go.
User Rating: 6/10
Still need to work out some bugs ...
Pros: Great performance, good looking machine,
Cons: Wireless issues, noisy drives,
Review: This machine definitely lives up to the hype but be advised, the M1710 is right out of pre-production, so there's some bugs to work out.
1. Wireless card issues, connectivity and RF noise, I had the Draft-N card and it simply wouldn't perform up to the 270 mbps as spec'ed, setting the speed higher than standard 54 causes the card to lose connectivity.
Also, every 60 secs when the card looks for available networks there's a ~ 3sec period of RF noise that stutters the audio, very annoying. Dell had no fix for this.
I had the 100g, 7200 rpm HD, the read/write head magentics were so loud it sounded like a type writer ...click, click, clack, clack .., if your not listening to music or playing game that masks out the HD noise this soon becomes beyond annoying.
Have to admit, Dell support was great trying to resolve these issues, they sent another drive (Hitachi) but it was even nosier then the Seagate.
It may be that there's simply no thought given to acoustic dampening of the drive bay. Believe me if this was a Sony it would be absolutely noiseless.
For the price of this machine I find the screen brightness less than impressive. While watching DVD's I find myself trying to increase the brightness but it's already at max, a fairly dim screen.
Now the good part, what a joy in media creation, awesomely fast, I do a lot of graphic editing and have several apps open while still editing some .wavs, all at the same time while still streaming and listening to music. What a ball.
It plays all games excellently, but of course we knew it would.
Be advised, your going to attract attention with this bad boy at coffee shops, airports, LAN parties and at home, besides being a general head-turner, the XPS illuminated logo and grille lights have people coming up and just checking out the machine, which can get a little annoying when you want to be left alone to surf, or just play.
I'm sure Dell is already addressing the wireless and HD noise problems as we speak, so I wouldn't let those issues be a deal breaker.
I've had nothing but excellent support from Dell and if they can't resolve the issue you can send the machine back for a full no- penalty, no restocking fee for a thirty day period so there's nothing to lose.
1. Wireless card issues, connectivity and RF noise, I had the Draft-N card and it simply wouldn't perform up to the 270 mbps as spec'ed, setting the speed higher than standard 54 causes the card to lose connectivity.
Also, every 60 secs when the card looks for available networks there's a ~ 3sec period of RF noise that stutters the audio, very annoying. Dell had no fix for this.
I had the 100g, 7200 rpm HD, the read/write head magentics were so loud it sounded like a type writer ...click, click, clack, clack .., if your not listening to music or playing game that masks out the HD noise this soon becomes beyond annoying.
Have to admit, Dell support was great trying to resolve these issues, they sent another drive (Hitachi) but it was even nosier then the Seagate.
It may be that there's simply no thought given to acoustic dampening of the drive bay. Believe me if this was a Sony it would be absolutely noiseless.
For the price of this machine I find the screen brightness less than impressive. While watching DVD's I find myself trying to increase the brightness but it's already at max, a fairly dim screen.
Now the good part, what a joy in media creation, awesomely fast, I do a lot of graphic editing and have several apps open while still editing some .wavs, all at the same time while still streaming and listening to music. What a ball.
It plays all games excellently, but of course we knew it would.
Be advised, your going to attract attention with this bad boy at coffee shops, airports, LAN parties and at home, besides being a general head-turner, the XPS illuminated logo and grille lights have people coming up and just checking out the machine, which can get a little annoying when you want to be left alone to surf, or just play.
I'm sure Dell is already addressing the wireless and HD noise problems as we speak, so I wouldn't let those issues be a deal breaker.
I've had nothing but excellent support from Dell and if they can't resolve the issue you can send the machine back for a full no- penalty, no restocking fee for a thirty day period so there's nothing to lose.
User Rating: 10/10
This is the Best Laptop that I've seen. A laptop with 256 video card..WOW. I want it so bad
Pros: Everything, video card, screen
Cons: I'm going to have to think about the CONS...Ummm, NO CONNS
Review:
User Rating: 9/10
GREAT!! BEST LAPTOP IVE EVER BOUGHT SLEEK COOL VISUAL
Pros: i think it is great, its amazingly fast and i dont have any problems with it. its reliable, good for gaming and i can have a lot of windows open. and also god for watching porn huge screen. fast DLing
Cons: the speaker sound isnt thaaaaaat great but theyre good enough for me
Review: overall its an awsome computer 9/10
PS CAN ALL OF YOU PLEASE STOP BASING THINGS ON THE SERVICE INSTEAD OF THE LAPTOP? IF I WANT TO BUY SOMETHING AND I LOOK ON CNET I DONT WANNA SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF THE SERVICE I WANNA SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF THE ACTUAL PRODUCT
PS CAN ALL OF YOU PLEASE STOP BASING THINGS ON THE SERVICE INSTEAD OF THE LAPTOP? IF I WANT TO BUY SOMETHING AND I LOOK ON CNET I DONT WANNA SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF THE SERVICE I WANNA SEE WHAT YOU THINK OF THE ACTUAL PRODUCT
User Rating: 2/10
Poor Reliability, Bad Customer Service, very long...
Pros: Very fast machine for a notebook, exceptional screen
Cons: Tech support, warranty, reliability, price for what you get
Review: I purchased a new XPS M170 from Dell in April of this year, 2006, right before they released the new M1710 and had almost all of the high end options installed. I realize that my machine is the previous generation, but same issues would apply if I ahd wated 8 days to place my order. I had purchased this notebook as a game machine. I choose this particular model because I was going to Japan for 6 months for work starting the end of May and I wanted something that was decent and that I could take with me. I realized this was not going to be the best performance as it was a notebook but it seemed like the best alternative that I had at the time.
When I received the computer things seemed to be good except for the standard software bundle that Dell loads onto their machines. However, after I loaded on the first game, my problems started. After about 10-20 mins my screen would show some graphical glitches and then my computer would completely lock up. A hard reset would be required to restart the machine. If I turned off all anti aliasing and turned my graphic settings to bare minimum I could get some games to run about 1 hour before locking up. This is with the nVidia 7800 GTX go video card as well. Talking with Dell support they had me do a bunch of diagnostics (which I had already done plus more prior to calling them) and then tell me that it must be a software issue. I kept telling them it seemed to be hardware related.
After several reinstalls of the operating system, several different programs, and many, many calls back to Dell (over 4 weeks I had logged 27 calls with Dell) they finally agreed that it might be a hardware issue. However, at this time I only had 4 days left before I needed to leave to Japan and my standard 1 year hardware service warranty said it would take 1 to 2 weeks to fix my notebook and send back to me. They also could not send it to me in Japan, but would have to send it to an address in the US and from there I could have a friend forward it on to me. I asked if I could have my roommate replace the video card instead of having to send it back to the Dell Depot since he is a Certified Dell Replacement Parts Technician for his company but was told no as he is not a Dell Warranty Service Technician (he is basically more qualified, but isn?t a direct employee of Dell). They said they would send me the video card but my warranty would be void after that if he replaced it. I was not going to do that as I was already having troubles with the machine and did not want to have other things fail later and have no recourse.
I asked what else I could do and was told I could pay $450 for a Gold warranty and get next day service which also included international warranty service. I said fine as I had no choice as per timing and the international warranty would be a good option. Sure enough, Dell sent out a technician the day before I left, replaced the video card and everything worked wonderfully. Until 1.5 months later...
My video card has died again. Any semi graphic intensive program (And by semi I mean even Starcraft which was designed for video capabilities back in 1997) again freezes and locks up the machine. I once again called the main Dell Tech Support line as I have the international warranty and was told they can not help but instead was given 2 other numbers. One for international warranties and the other for Japanese Dell customer support. Well, the international warranties number I was supplied with is only for Government and large corporate accounts, and the Japanese support line was for sales only, no tech support.
I called back to the main Dell Tech Support in the US and asked why they gave me those numbers and what we needed to do now. After many diagnostics again (repeat of the exact same they had me do back in May and same results) they once again told me it may be software related or maybe a bad fan on the CPU. It is hard for them to grasp the concept that I on a technical stand point I am above the average user and that I have already the troubleshot the main issue back to the video card again. The CPU is fine as extensive mathematical computations do not hinder it, only anything that uses moderate graphics. Granted, their may be some other problem that is causing the video cards to blow, but it is definitely hardware related and not software. Finally I have re-convinced them that yes, it appears my video card is again bad. However, they said they can not send me a replacement as I am overseas even though I have a international warranty and that they will get back in contact with me in 1 to 2 weeks via email. Thus far I have paid over $3000 for a computer that I have been able to use 6 weeks of 13 and counting for its intended use, and am once again left hanging with frustration due to Dell's customer service. I have decided at this point to never again buy Dell and not let any of the groups under my direction purchase Dell equipment again. My friend that tried to help me before, who is also an IT manager for one of the Emerson subsidiaries has also been put off by Dell from this whole episode as well.
When I received the computer things seemed to be good except for the standard software bundle that Dell loads onto their machines. However, after I loaded on the first game, my problems started. After about 10-20 mins my screen would show some graphical glitches and then my computer would completely lock up. A hard reset would be required to restart the machine. If I turned off all anti aliasing and turned my graphic settings to bare minimum I could get some games to run about 1 hour before locking up. This is with the nVidia 7800 GTX go video card as well. Talking with Dell support they had me do a bunch of diagnostics (which I had already done plus more prior to calling them) and then tell me that it must be a software issue. I kept telling them it seemed to be hardware related.
After several reinstalls of the operating system, several different programs, and many, many calls back to Dell (over 4 weeks I had logged 27 calls with Dell) they finally agreed that it might be a hardware issue. However, at this time I only had 4 days left before I needed to leave to Japan and my standard 1 year hardware service warranty said it would take 1 to 2 weeks to fix my notebook and send back to me. They also could not send it to me in Japan, but would have to send it to an address in the US and from there I could have a friend forward it on to me. I asked if I could have my roommate replace the video card instead of having to send it back to the Dell Depot since he is a Certified Dell Replacement Parts Technician for his company but was told no as he is not a Dell Warranty Service Technician (he is basically more qualified, but isn?t a direct employee of Dell). They said they would send me the video card but my warranty would be void after that if he replaced it. I was not going to do that as I was already having troubles with the machine and did not want to have other things fail later and have no recourse.
I asked what else I could do and was told I could pay $450 for a Gold warranty and get next day service which also included international warranty service. I said fine as I had no choice as per timing and the international warranty would be a good option. Sure enough, Dell sent out a technician the day before I left, replaced the video card and everything worked wonderfully. Until 1.5 months later...
My video card has died again. Any semi graphic intensive program (And by semi I mean even Starcraft which was designed for video capabilities back in 1997) again freezes and locks up the machine. I once again called the main Dell Tech Support line as I have the international warranty and was told they can not help but instead was given 2 other numbers. One for international warranties and the other for Japanese Dell customer support. Well, the international warranties number I was supplied with is only for Government and large corporate accounts, and the Japanese support line was for sales only, no tech support.
I called back to the main Dell Tech Support in the US and asked why they gave me those numbers and what we needed to do now. After many diagnostics again (repeat of the exact same they had me do back in May and same results) they once again told me it may be software related or maybe a bad fan on the CPU. It is hard for them to grasp the concept that I on a technical stand point I am above the average user and that I have already the troubleshot the main issue back to the video card again. The CPU is fine as extensive mathematical computations do not hinder it, only anything that uses moderate graphics. Granted, their may be some other problem that is causing the video cards to blow, but it is definitely hardware related and not software. Finally I have re-convinced them that yes, it appears my video card is again bad. However, they said they can not send me a replacement as I am overseas even though I have a international warranty and that they will get back in contact with me in 1 to 2 weeks via email. Thus far I have paid over $3000 for a computer that I have been able to use 6 weeks of 13 and counting for its intended use, and am once again left hanging with frustration due to Dell's customer service. I have decided at this point to never again buy Dell and not let any of the groups under my direction purchase Dell equipment again. My friend that tried to help me before, who is also an IT manager for one of the Emerson subsidiaries has also been put off by Dell from this whole episode as well.
User Rating: 10/10
The first red gaming notebook from Dell and the fastest mobile gaming rig
Pros: Aggressive red styling. nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX. Intel Core Duo processor. Excellent instant-on media software.
Cons: Expensive. Lacks an integrated TV tuner. (Display dim)
Review: Serious mobile gamers have known for some time now that the portable rig of choice is Dell's distinctive metallic and black XPS M170 notebook ($4,215 direct). That common wisdom is unlikely to change, because the company has enhanced its popular laptop's look by adding extra flair and some hot new parts. Dubbed the Special Edition Formula Red XPS M1710, this laptop is guaranteed to draw attention at your next gaming soiree. And thanks to its new nVidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX graphics chipset, coupled with the fastest Intel Core Duo processor available, it's still the best gaming notebook deal in town.
SLIDESHOW (7)
Slideshow | All Shots
Though it doesn't bear the famous racecar emblems of other automotive-styled notebooks such as the Acer Ferrari 4000 or the Asus Lamborghini VX1, the XPS M1710 is a speed-evoking bright red. Underneath its lid, however, the laptop has the same Arctic silver chassis as its predecessor. There are some exciting design elements: The Dell XPS M1710 name is stamped in crimson, right above the white-clad keyboard, and an illuminated XPS logo is on the system's touchpad.
Like the old XPS M170, the new XPS M1710 is equipped with six grills, lacing the laptop's edges, that light up in a myriad of user-definable colors. You can customize the LED lights to match the XPS's red color or choose from among the 15 other colors available through Dell's Quickset software interface. Either way, gaming in the dark will never be the same. The system's TrueLife 17-inch high-contrast widescreen display is a joy to behold, bringing life to games and providing bright and lovely movie images. Thanks to its powerful graphics subsystem, the laptop can handle the screen being cranked all the way up to 1,920-by-1,200, its native resolution. You won't miss a single detail at this level.
You still get the white-glove customer service experience that Dell's XPS line is known for. For example, you'll have the same salesperson at your disposal throughout the life of the warranty, plus an MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) qualified support staff if things get really hairy. You also receive a 30-day trial subscription to Dell's On-Call support, a fee-based extension of Dell's hardware-only warranty; this service helps users troubleshoot anything from spyware problems to setting up a home network. (It's figured into the price.)
* Laptops: The Essential Buying Guide
* Inside Notebooks
* Media Center Laptops: A TV Lover's Laptop
* Product Guide: Laptops & Notebooks
For an operating system, the M1710 runs Windows XP Media Center 2005 Edition, which boasts features to organize and play all your photos, videos, and music. Unfortunately, the system lacks a TV tuner. You can, however, purchase an external USB tuner separately. For a more AV-centric laptop, check out my review of the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV600, which has an integrated TV tuner and a slew of ports.
The M1710 also comes with Dell's Media Direct, which is arguably the best instant-on multimedia software on the market. Simply press the laptop's Media button instead of its Power button, and Media Direct launches within seconds. No more waiting for Windows to boot. The software's interface is easy to use and lets you play everything from DVD movies to MP3 files. It also allows access to media files anywhere on your hard drive, optical drive, or the included 5-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, XD).
The M1710 is well endowed with connections: It has the most USB ports?six?I've seen on a laptop, plus a FireWire port, which comes in handy for connecting camcorders. There's also a DVI-D port for displaying digital content over an HD-ready display. One interesting development is that the XPS M1710's external expansion slot is ExpressCard only, so all your legacy PC Cards are useless for this machine.
The real thrill of an XPS notebook is its performance, and the M1710 doesn't disappoint. It's the first gaming notebook to arrive in PC Magazine Labs that's built with nVidia's GeForce Go 7900 GTX, by far the most powerful mobile graphics chipset available. Benefiting from this screaming 3D subsystem, my M1710M test system beat the XPS M170 by 12 percent on 3DMark 2005 and by 23 percent on our Doom 3 benchmark tests. Thanks to a muscular Intel Core Duo processor (T2600), 2GB of RAM, and a 7,200-rpm hard drive, the laptop soundly trounced all of its close competitors on our SYSmark 2004 SE tests. It was 66 percent faster than the M170 on Internet Content Creation and 59 percent faster on Office Productivity.
All this power will cost you?and I don't just mean the $4,215 sticker price. The XPS M1710's blazing configuration demands plenty of juice, and its short (2.5 hours) battery life reflects that reality. Because of the notebook's substantial weight (8.8 pounds), the likelihood of your playing games on battery power is pretty slim.
Despite its high price, the Dell XPS M1710 is still the gaming notebook to beat. It's without a doubt the fastest notebook I've seen. Your gaming buddies will be seeing glorious, gleaming red, as you pummel them frame after frame.
SLIDESHOW (7)
Slideshow | All Shots
Though it doesn't bear the famous racecar emblems of other automotive-styled notebooks such as the Acer Ferrari 4000 or the Asus Lamborghini VX1, the XPS M1710 is a speed-evoking bright red. Underneath its lid, however, the laptop has the same Arctic silver chassis as its predecessor. There are some exciting design elements: The Dell XPS M1710 name is stamped in crimson, right above the white-clad keyboard, and an illuminated XPS logo is on the system's touchpad.
Like the old XPS M170, the new XPS M1710 is equipped with six grills, lacing the laptop's edges, that light up in a myriad of user-definable colors. You can customize the LED lights to match the XPS's red color or choose from among the 15 other colors available through Dell's Quickset software interface. Either way, gaming in the dark will never be the same. The system's TrueLife 17-inch high-contrast widescreen display is a joy to behold, bringing life to games and providing bright and lovely movie images. Thanks to its powerful graphics subsystem, the laptop can handle the screen being cranked all the way up to 1,920-by-1,200, its native resolution. You won't miss a single detail at this level.
You still get the white-glove customer service experience that Dell's XPS line is known for. For example, you'll have the same salesperson at your disposal throughout the life of the warranty, plus an MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) qualified support staff if things get really hairy. You also receive a 30-day trial subscription to Dell's On-Call support, a fee-based extension of Dell's hardware-only warranty; this service helps users troubleshoot anything from spyware problems to setting up a home network. (It's figured into the price.)
* Laptops: The Essential Buying Guide
* Inside Notebooks
* Media Center Laptops: A TV Lover's Laptop
* Product Guide: Laptops & Notebooks
For an operating system, the M1710 runs Windows XP Media Center 2005 Edition, which boasts features to organize and play all your photos, videos, and music. Unfortunately, the system lacks a TV tuner. You can, however, purchase an external USB tuner separately. For a more AV-centric laptop, check out my review of the Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV600, which has an integrated TV tuner and a slew of ports.
The M1710 also comes with Dell's Media Direct, which is arguably the best instant-on multimedia software on the market. Simply press the laptop's Media button instead of its Power button, and Media Direct launches within seconds. No more waiting for Windows to boot. The software's interface is easy to use and lets you play everything from DVD movies to MP3 files. It also allows access to media files anywhere on your hard drive, optical drive, or the included 5-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro, XD).
The M1710 is well endowed with connections: It has the most USB ports?six?I've seen on a laptop, plus a FireWire port, which comes in handy for connecting camcorders. There's also a DVI-D port for displaying digital content over an HD-ready display. One interesting development is that the XPS M1710's external expansion slot is ExpressCard only, so all your legacy PC Cards are useless for this machine.
The real thrill of an XPS notebook is its performance, and the M1710 doesn't disappoint. It's the first gaming notebook to arrive in PC Magazine Labs that's built with nVidia's GeForce Go 7900 GTX, by far the most powerful mobile graphics chipset available. Benefiting from this screaming 3D subsystem, my M1710M test system beat the XPS M170 by 12 percent on 3DMark 2005 and by 23 percent on our Doom 3 benchmark tests. Thanks to a muscular Intel Core Duo processor (T2600), 2GB of RAM, and a 7,200-rpm hard drive, the laptop soundly trounced all of its close competitors on our SYSmark 2004 SE tests. It was 66 percent faster than the M170 on Internet Content Creation and 59 percent faster on Office Productivity.
All this power will cost you?and I don't just mean the $4,215 sticker price. The XPS M1710's blazing configuration demands plenty of juice, and its short (2.5 hours) battery life reflects that reality. Because of the notebook's substantial weight (8.8 pounds), the likelihood of your playing games on battery power is pretty slim.
Despite its high price, the Dell XPS M1710 is still the gaming notebook to beat. It's without a doubt the fastest notebook I've seen. Your gaming buddies will be seeing glorious, gleaming red, as you pummel them frame after frame.
User Rating: 9/10
Absolutely stunning performance in a portable machine
Pros: Powerful, versatile, full-on desktop replacement in a laptop
Cons: Heavy and pricey; battery life is iffy
Review: When I moved from a house to an apartment, I decided that with the decrease in room, I needed a laptop to replace my gaming rig (it was a full tower with a water cooled Intel chip). I still wanted to be able to play games but wanted something that wouldn't be simply adequate.
Enter the M1710.
An awesome blend of power and performance, this machine is capable of anything I have thrown at it and more. Running City of Villians in 1600x1200 with the settings at max... running Battlefield 2... running anything I had and better in some cases than my old rig did.
If you are on the edge wondering if this machine is everything it seems to be, rest assured - you will not be disappointed.
Enter the M1710.
An awesome blend of power and performance, this machine is capable of anything I have thrown at it and more. Running City of Villians in 1600x1200 with the settings at max... running Battlefield 2... running anything I had and better in some cases than my old rig did.
If you are on the edge wondering if this machine is everything it seems to be, rest assured - you will not be disappointed.
User Rating: 7/10
Decent Notebook
Pros: Appeal, Speed, EZ Keyboard
Cons: Must open Disk Drive, Sound Quality not the best, Rebooting causes Conflicts
Review: I've recently purchased this notebook with hopes of incredible success. Yet all I've seen are a vast variety of lights and a plethera of problems. I got a refund and bought the Toshiba Qosmio which I can enjoy much better. Thankyou Toshiba.
User Rating: 5/10
I received a DEFECTIVE M1710
Pros: Superb Components
Cons: Dell Tech Support
Review: I just got this laptop a week ago on the 21st of July and was deeply disappointed with what I received. I was all excited about opening the box to only find a defective dell product. As soon as I turned it all I had multudes of noise problems come up and hiccups in games with medium graphic settings in place like "Titan's Quest".
Now I troubleshooted and found there is something wrong with my hard drive, as it makes a clicking noise constantly as well as the fans going beserk whenever I play Titan's Quest. I have heard other M1710 owners claim it was dead quiet while running this paticular game.
Now there is also an unexplainable static like noise coming from god knows what, probably the motherboard as the speakers were already replaced... but could be the sound card. I just want my M1710 to work properly. I had to wait 4 days just to get a dell tech to come out, so much for next day service.
I much rather just get a replacement, since it was dell who gave me this defective junk in the first place. Anyways, I think the XPS is a nice machine, but only if you don't get the shaft on quality/defects.
Now I troubleshooted and found there is something wrong with my hard drive, as it makes a clicking noise constantly as well as the fans going beserk whenever I play Titan's Quest. I have heard other M1710 owners claim it was dead quiet while running this paticular game.
Now there is also an unexplainable static like noise coming from god knows what, probably the motherboard as the speakers were already replaced... but could be the sound card. I just want my M1710 to work properly. I had to wait 4 days just to get a dell tech to come out, so much for next day service.
I much rather just get a replacement, since it was dell who gave me this defective junk in the first place. Anyways, I think the XPS is a nice machine, but only if you don't get the shaft on quality/defects.
User Rating: 8/10
Fast and reliable.
Pros: Screen quality, speed, durability.
Cons: Horrible speaker sound.
Review: For a laptop gaming computer, it is one of the best. The speakers could use a bit of an upgrade though. Great service, great machine.
User Rating: 9/10
Love the laptop, but...
Pros: Super fast, powerful machine that looks great!
Cons: Trouble after a few weeks...
Review: I love this computer; however, about 3 weeks after i bought it i started having trouble with my screen... after quite a while with a tech support guru where he insisted it was just a loose cable and i insisted that that was not what it was acting like we checked the cable (it was fine) and he told me to give it a day (... um.. yea, right..) so i called back and talked to someone else who confirmed what i thought it was: my LCD inverter went kaput. the second guy took a while to get the job done, but they are replacing the whole system (according to him on newer system designs they like to capture the system if it has hardware problems so they can ensure that it will not be an issue that other users will encounter.) overall though i love the system, i can still use it now with an external monitor until my new system arrives (inconvienient but better than returning this and waiting..)
Overall: System: A; Tech support: B-
Overall: System: A; Tech support: B-
User Rating: 9/10
Amazing laptop beats the hell outa everything!!!
Pros: Speed, Graphics, Stability, Performance
Cons: Price and also a few things...
Review: Ok i got my Dell XPS M1710 back in April and i've got to say i'm very impressed!
I can play F.E.A.R on Max settings with everything enabled and i never drop below 40FPS and i normally avarage about 55FPS.
Best of all i can play The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion at MAX SETTINGS with everything enabled and its quite playable!
I get between 30 and 60FPS inside and in dungeons.
I get between 20 and 30FPS in towns.
I get between 13 and 30FPS outside in the wilderness.
The lowest FPS i get was 13FPS but that was because i was in deep forest and it was raining and loading the area at the same time.
Anyway back to the Laptop!
The duel core makes it good for everything, especially gaming since its duel core (duh) and has a FSB of 667mhz!
Pair that up with 2GB of 667mhz RAM and you have yourself one fast machine!
The screen is gorgeous and shiney and makes the gameplay that much better!
Don't believe what they say about it being too reflective... it's only annoying if you have the sun directly n the screen reflecting into your eyes.
Now onto the GPU!
The nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX Go with 512mb Video memory!
It rips through anything you throw at it in max settings!
It was definatly worth the money i paid for it!
If in doubt... dont be... JUST BUY IT DAMN IT - YOU WONTBE SORRY!!!
The only reason i didnt give it a 10 is because some areas get a little warm for my liking like the keyboard and under the unit.
The fans are quite hot too especially playing Oblivion.
Nothing to worry about though but still.
Thanks for reading!
Jonno ^_^
I can play F.E.A.R on Max settings with everything enabled and i never drop below 40FPS and i normally avarage about 55FPS.
Best of all i can play The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion at MAX SETTINGS with everything enabled and its quite playable!
I get between 30 and 60FPS inside and in dungeons.
I get between 20 and 30FPS in towns.
I get between 13 and 30FPS outside in the wilderness.
The lowest FPS i get was 13FPS but that was because i was in deep forest and it was raining and loading the area at the same time.
Anyway back to the Laptop!
The duel core makes it good for everything, especially gaming since its duel core (duh) and has a FSB of 667mhz!
Pair that up with 2GB of 667mhz RAM and you have yourself one fast machine!
The screen is gorgeous and shiney and makes the gameplay that much better!
Don't believe what they say about it being too reflective... it's only annoying if you have the sun directly n the screen reflecting into your eyes.
Now onto the GPU!
The nVidia GeForce 7900 GTX Go with 512mb Video memory!
It rips through anything you throw at it in max settings!
It was definatly worth the money i paid for it!
If in doubt... dont be... JUST BUY IT DAMN IT - YOU WONTBE SORRY!!!
The only reason i didnt give it a 10 is because some areas get a little warm for my liking like the keyboard and under the unit.
The fans are quite hot too especially playing Oblivion.
Nothing to worry about though but still.
Thanks for reading!
Jonno ^_^
User Rating: 4/10
DELL XPS M140
Pros: GOOD SCREEN SIZE 14.1 WIDE
Cons: FREEZES UP LOCKS UP
Review: DELL TECH DON'T SPEEK CLEAR ENGLISH AND DONT KNOW WHAT THERE DOING..THEY BHAVE A 5TH GRADE LEVEL. THEY JUST READ A MANUAL TO TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.. I HAVE BEEN ON PHONE WITH TECH FOR 3 MONTHS. FROM 4 HOURS TO 6 HOURS DAY ABOUT DEFECTS IN THE LAPTOP M140 XPS. DON'T GET ME WRONG XP ARE GOOD UNITS .I JUST GOT BAD ONE AND TECH DID NOT DO THERE JOB BECAUSE THEY DONT KNOW HOW.I BOUGHT THIS WITH HIGH MEMORY AND SPEED BUT THE UNIT HAS MAJOR ISSUES.. SO BEWARE WHEN SPEEK TO TECH IF YOU DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT COMPUTER BE CAREFULL THEY DONT NEITHER
User Rating: 10/10
Outstanding - the best computer I've ever owned.
Pros: Where do I begin?
Cons: Price. Of course, there's a price to be paid for everything.
Review: This laptop is simply suberb - the graphics, the speed, event the design is unique and customisable. Although it's not the best suited for the average user (for obvious reasons), and is essentially a DTR, you should definitely consider it for gaming, or even just a high-speed computer.
User Rating: 4/10
Not 64 bit core duo
Pros: Latest graphics
Cons: Very expensive
Review: Us worker bees want value? Dell keeps using non-standard parts
User Rating: 9/10
Best gaming laptop in market today
Pros: Superb gaming performance. Very good screen. Ports, ports and ports. Quiet. XPS specific customer support is great.
Cons: Expansive. Display could be brighter. No built in video cam. No built-in biomatric recognition.
Review: I travel almost 40+ weeks a year and needed a gaming laptop. After much research I decided to go for Dell XPS m1710. This is my first gaming laptop and I was a bit worried buying from Dell. However, all my fears have been proven wrong.
The laptrop is built like a tank - really. It is very sturdy. Construction quality is top of the line. It is still smaller and lighter than some of its competitiors. I have been using it for 4 weeks now. Although it is heavy, I have not experienced much discomfort lugging it at the airports. Although, many people are likely to find it uncomfortable.
The gaming performance is amazing. It is almost as good as my desktop. I am playing EQ2 and Oblivion at present and I can run both games at very high settings without any issues.
The built-in wireless is powerful and I get excellent connections at hotels and other hotspots.
The Laptop fans are so quiet, I had to put my ears next to them to make sure they are working.
The bottom of laptop gets hot after intense long gameplay (dont use it on your lap or you may not be able to create your future generations ...).
The media direct feature is very handy. I was able to play movies and music without any problems.
The battery life is decent for a gaming laptop. Usually the battery lasts for 1 movie (about 2 hours).
I used customer support to ask for missing installation disks. The support person was very helpful and shipped whole set of replacement disks (twice, for some reason) by overnight delivery.
I still miss the built-in webcam like some other laptops. It would have been nice to have it. Same goes for biometric recognition (like, thumbprint recognition in Toshiba).
And remember to bargain. You will be surprised what deals you can get.
The laptrop is built like a tank - really. It is very sturdy. Construction quality is top of the line. It is still smaller and lighter than some of its competitiors. I have been using it for 4 weeks now. Although it is heavy, I have not experienced much discomfort lugging it at the airports. Although, many people are likely to find it uncomfortable.
The gaming performance is amazing. It is almost as good as my desktop. I am playing EQ2 and Oblivion at present and I can run both games at very high settings without any issues.
The built-in wireless is powerful and I get excellent connections at hotels and other hotspots.
The Laptop fans are so quiet, I had to put my ears next to them to make sure they are working.
The bottom of laptop gets hot after intense long gameplay (dont use it on your lap or you may not be able to create your future generations ...).
The media direct feature is very handy. I was able to play movies and music without any problems.
The battery life is decent for a gaming laptop. Usually the battery lasts for 1 movie (about 2 hours).
I used customer support to ask for missing installation disks. The support person was very helpful and shipped whole set of replacement disks (twice, for some reason) by overnight delivery.
I still miss the built-in webcam like some other laptops. It would have been nice to have it. Same goes for biometric recognition (like, thumbprint recognition in Toshiba).
And remember to bargain. You will be surprised what deals you can get.
User Rating: 10/10
The Dreams laptop baby.
Pros: Hmm, What about Every thing?!!
Cons: Non up till now.
Review: Ok!! Now it is my Turn.
Bragging part:
Hear me well as I am an MCP, MCSA, MCSE, Compaq ACT, and for who doesn't know what is that, these are IT and Technical Certificates :P
How I made my mind:
I've got this lovely babe after a month of researching, reading, forums, bla bla bla ..
Honestly I was getting worried with every bad comment I see here in C-net by users. But the way they were really nailing the laptop to the ground and giving it very low score, was suspicious and didn¡¦t look realistic at all. So I was thinking well .. lets give it a try, if I don't like it well .. simply will return it
.
Now .. I called Dell, and I have to say it, Dell Sales Suck big time. I've done the order, provided my Credit card number, done. After 10 days of following the delivery status and it was in the preparation status. All of a sudden, I found no Online status, called them to find out the order has been cancelled?!! Bad credit number .. I flipped .. what the &*^%&^ .. It is not my mistake if the Sales didn't get it right .. And why the Hell didn't you call me to get the right CC number?!! Sorry Sir it is another department etc, So I had to start all over and it is a pain.
I would really like to thank all the guys in here that suggested calling Dell and not to purchase online. I¡¦ve done that, and I've got my self a very nice deal, Not as wonderful as 500$ but I still got 350$ worth of upgrade .
I got the 1.8 processor. 1GB RAM. Upgraded my HDD to 100GB Sata 72 rpm.
And I got the 512MB Display for less than half the price. The upgrade worth 450$ Extra, I've got it for 200$ also I've got the upgrade to 1 year complete care kit for free, worth 100$ .. Bottom Line .. I got 350 Off Bluetooth as well.
Ops, almost forgot .. During calling to order the first time, second time, and when I was complaining for canceling the order without getting back to me to correct my credit card information, they were trying to push a sale for a Plasma TV, I said no thanks politely and they didn't insist or tried to push any farther.
Now, I was following the order online, and this time it took 1 week, came on time it was just good.
The interesting part starts here:
Firs impression:
When I opened the box, got the laptop out, it was very solid as steel, you can feel the power just by looking at it, it looks exactly IMO like the Hammer Car stiff and full of muscles . It arrived before going to work, so I was thinking .. for sure the battery is not charged, but lets give it a try, I turned it on, and it worked, it came charged!! The battery was fully charged. This was amazing .. the lights came on and you rock my world baby ..
Played a little with Windows Media Center '' and btw for those who are hesitated which one to order XP pro or the Media Center, Media Center is based on XP Pro, so don't worry, it still has all the advanced networking of the Pro and it is not like the XP home edition '' I liked the Media Center as well.
After the First impression: Let the Testing begnissssss:
After I got back from work. I started to look more deeply at the laptop, It came as every one said with lots of Junk Software, and it was only one partition. So I had to reformat it, re partition it, and re install the operating system.
Created 3 Partitions '' Never keep your Data on the C partition, if you lost the C, you lost everything '' Now the driver installation was easy as well, created my wireless network and joined the XPS to my wireless network. I have to mention here that the Wireless performance of this laptop rockssssss, I like the Utility as well.
Installed my software, and here I had an idea, lets try to get this laptop angry I was running office 2003 update, Windows update, started both updates installation, while doing another download, installing the Adobe Photoshop CS2 in the same time and performing a virus scan, and the Fan wasn't even on. Wawwwwwwwwwwww, if it turns on, then for sure I didn't hear it. Never gets hot, and for sure I didn¡¦t succeed to get this beast angry The Entire reformatting, reinstalling, remove my backups from the other laptop updating my software took me 8 hours, no over heating, I didn't hear the fan ''Btw I am only 29 no hearing problems :P ''.
The reason I bought this laptop is not because of games, it is because of Photo Editing, I am into photography and I need a beast to handle my work in CS2 and other applications, when you start working with a RAW Images, add layers and more layers, the computers start running extremely slow, I managed to get my old laptop Compaq 1.2 Proce 512 RAM to run out of Physical and Virtual memory in 3 min
With this computer, the picture is amazing. Advance control over the monitor, Sharpness, Contrast, lighting bla bla bla .. If you are into photography like me or 3D's, well don't look any farther, this is your beast.
I am not sure if C net will allow publishing this URL, but any way here is my Photography site as well: http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/31917.html
I ran the computer on the Native resolution 1900x1200 Mannnnnnn, it took my breath away, but it is just too much space, this makes me remember that guy who rated this laptop 4 or 5 something like that for not being able to run this resolution and he clamed it is not a true native resolution and that you have to scroll up and down to see the full screen, well he doesn't have a clue what he is talking about, I ran the native 1900x1200 and it ran like silk, I had to change the windows icon size and the font to be able to see it
Now the only problem I am having, is whenever lowering the computer resolution lower than 1900x1200, the display gets a little bet blurry hmm can't say blurry, but you can say less sharp, I am sure there is a solutions for that and I will call if I have to. But right now I am running it the full resolution and trying my best to get used to the 17inch space with its Native resolution. So I am not really worried about less resolution.
To answer some of your concerns, that I was thinking of before getting it.
Is it expensive?: Yes .. you get what you pay for and this is for sure.
Is it heavy? Yes, and Big to, I work out so for me it is not a problem at all to carry it, and guys .. please stop the whining about the how heavy it is Either work out and build some muscles, or buy a 14inch laptop.
Games performance: I don't have a clue, maybe I will try solitaire on it :P
Digital Manipulation: Honestly, I didn¡¦t know how to over load or over clock this beast.
Plastic? It is magnesium and very solid. I would recommend you to get the complete care just in case. I wont afford to get another laptop in the coming few years.
Audio: It is just wonderful and more than sufficient as a laptop, the Subwoofer is a wonderful add, don't expect miracles, but it is for sure one of the best sound systems I've heard on a laptop. Want more, buy a home theater 500W.
Now the rating, I would definitely give it 10 out of 10, Sales and Customer service are not up the to the computer¡¦s Standard, but I wont take points of because of a bad experience with the sales. It would be unfair.
If anything came up in the next few days, I will update.
Kind regards all,
Bragging part:
Hear me well as I am an MCP, MCSA, MCSE, Compaq ACT, and for who doesn't know what is that, these are IT and Technical Certificates :P
How I made my mind:
I've got this lovely babe after a month of researching, reading, forums, bla bla bla ..
Honestly I was getting worried with every bad comment I see here in C-net by users. But the way they were really nailing the laptop to the ground and giving it very low score, was suspicious and didn¡¦t look realistic at all. So I was thinking well .. lets give it a try, if I don't like it well .. simply will return it
. Now .. I called Dell, and I have to say it, Dell Sales Suck big time. I've done the order, provided my Credit card number, done. After 10 days of following the delivery status and it was in the preparation status. All of a sudden, I found no Online status, called them to find out the order has been cancelled?!! Bad credit number .. I flipped .. what the &*^%&^ .. It is not my mistake if the Sales didn't get it right .. And why the Hell didn't you call me to get the right CC number?!! Sorry Sir it is another department etc, So I had to start all over and it is a pain.
I would really like to thank all the guys in here that suggested calling Dell and not to purchase online. I¡¦ve done that, and I've got my self a very nice deal, Not as wonderful as 500$
but I still got 350$ worth of upgrade . I got the 1.8 processor. 1GB RAM. Upgraded my HDD to 100GB Sata 72 rpm.
And I got the 512MB Display for less than half the price. The upgrade worth 450$ Extra, I've got it for 200$ also I've got the upgrade to 1 year complete care kit for free, worth 100$ .. Bottom Line .. I got 350 Off
Bluetooth as well. Ops, almost forgot .. During calling to order the first time, second time, and when I was complaining for canceling the order without getting back to me to correct my credit card information, they were trying to push a sale for a Plasma TV, I said no thanks politely and they didn't insist or tried to push any farther.
Now, I was following the order online, and this time it took 1 week, came on time it was just good.
The interesting part starts here:
Firs impression:
When I opened the box, got the laptop out, it was very solid as steel, you can feel the power just by looking at it, it looks exactly IMO like the Hammer Car stiff and full of muscles
. It arrived before going to work, so I was thinking .. for sure the battery is not charged, but lets give it a try, I turned it on, and it worked, it came charged!! The battery was fully charged. This was amazing .. the lights came on and you rock my world baby .. Played a little with Windows Media Center '' and btw for those who are hesitated which one to order XP pro or the Media Center, Media Center is based on XP Pro, so don't worry, it still has all the advanced networking of the Pro and it is not like the XP home edition '' I liked the Media Center as well.
After the First impression: Let the Testing begnissssss:
After I got back from work. I started to look more deeply at the laptop, It came as every one said with lots of Junk Software, and it was only one partition. So I had to reformat it, re partition it, and re install the operating system.
Created 3 Partitions '' Never keep your Data on the C partition, if you lost the C, you lost everything '' Now the driver installation was easy as well, created my wireless network and joined the XPS to my wireless network. I have to mention here that the Wireless performance of this laptop rockssssss, I like the Utility as well.
Installed my software, and here I had an idea, lets try to get this laptop angry
I was running office 2003 update, Windows update, started both updates installation, while doing another download, installing the Adobe Photoshop CS2 in the same time and performing a virus scan, and the Fan wasn't even on. Wawwwwwwwwwwww, if it turns on, then for sure I didn't hear it. Never gets hot, and for sure I didn¡¦t succeed to get this beast angry The Entire reformatting, reinstalling, remove my backups from the other laptop updating my software took me 8 hours, no over heating, I didn't hear the fan ''Btw I am only 29 no hearing problems :P ''. The reason I bought this laptop is not because of games, it is because of Photo Editing, I am into photography and I need a beast to handle my work in CS2 and other applications, when you start working with a RAW Images, add layers and more layers, the computers start running extremely slow, I managed to get my old laptop Compaq 1.2 Proce 512 RAM to run out of Physical and Virtual memory in 3 min
With this computer, the picture is amazing. Advance control over the monitor, Sharpness, Contrast, lighting bla bla bla .. If you are into photography like me or 3D's, well don't look any farther, this is your beast. I am not sure if C net will allow publishing this URL, but any way here is my Photography site as well: http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/31917.html
I ran the computer on the Native resolution 1900x1200 Mannnnnnn, it took my breath away, but it is just too much space, this makes me remember that guy who rated this laptop 4 or 5 something like that for not being able to run this resolution and he clamed it is not a true native resolution and that you have to scroll up and down to see the full screen, well he doesn't have a clue what he is talking about, I ran the native 1900x1200 and it ran like silk, I had to change the windows icon size and the font to be able to see it
Now the only problem I am having, is whenever lowering the computer resolution lower than 1900x1200, the display gets a little bet blurry hmm can't say blurry, but you can say less sharp, I am sure there is a solutions for that and I will call if I have to. But right now I am running it the full resolution and trying my best to get used to the 17inch space
with its Native resolution. So I am not really worried about less resolution.To answer some of your concerns, that I was thinking of before getting it.
Is it expensive?: Yes .. you get what you pay for and this is for sure.
Is it heavy? Yes, and Big to, I work out so for me it is not a problem at all to carry it, and guys .. please stop the whining about the how heavy it is Either work out and build some muscles, or buy a 14inch laptop.
Games performance: I don't have a clue, maybe I will try solitaire on it :P
Digital Manipulation: Honestly, I didn¡¦t know how to over load or over clock this beast.
Plastic? It is magnesium and very solid. I would recommend you to get the complete care just in case. I wont afford to get another laptop in the coming few years.
Audio: It is just wonderful and more than sufficient as a laptop, the Subwoofer is a wonderful add, don't expect miracles, but it is for sure one of the best sound systems I've heard on a laptop. Want more, buy a home theater 500W.
Now the rating, I would definitely give it 10 out of 10, Sales and Customer service are not up the to the computer¡¦s Standard, but I wont take points of because of a bad experience with the sales. It would be unfair.
If anything came up in the next few days, I will update.
Kind regards all,
Updated
Update:
As I mentioned before, the only thing I wasn?t sure about in this laptop is, when you lower the resolution below the native one 1900x1200 you get less sharpness.
I called the tech support for the XPS, and she told they know about this problem and there is nothing to be done or a work around it, she also blamed NVIDIA for that.
Another question I had for the rep, and it was regarding the Windows Media center. When I got my laptop I reformatted my computer and created 3 partitions, C, D, and E. I save all my media ?? movies, pictures, MP3s ?? in the E, but when I start the media center while the operating system is off. It only sees the C partition, nothing else, of course it is out of the question to save my movies and media in the C, she consulted her senior and told me there is nothing also to be done about that ?? which I doubt ?? . I am not blaming Dell regarding the Media Center, it is Microsoft, But I was really disappointed regarding the resolution, the native resolution is amazing, but if you need a lower resolution you will have to live with less sharpness, which is not noticeable when viewing movies or gaming, but only noticeable when surfing the net and viewing the windows and internet fonts.
This would change my rating to 9.
If anything else came up, Will let you know.
Cheers.
Update:
As I mentioned before, the only thing I wasn?t sure about in this laptop is, when you lower the resolution below the native one 1900x1200 you get less sharpness.
I called the tech support for the XPS, and she told they know about this problem and there is nothing to be done or a work around it, she also blamed NVIDIA for that.
Another question I had for the rep, and it was regarding the Windows Media center. When I got my laptop I reformatted my computer and created 3 partitions, C, D, and E. I save all my media ?? movies, pictures, MP3s ?? in the E, but when I start the media center while the operating system is off. It only sees the C partition, nothing else, of course it is out of the question to save my movies and media in the C, she consulted her senior and told me there is nothing also to be done about that ?? which I doubt ?? . I am not blaming Dell regarding the Media Center, it is Microsoft, But I was really disappointed regarding the resolution, the native resolution is amazing, but if you need a lower resolution you will have to live with less sharpness, which is not noticeable when viewing movies or gaming, but only noticeable when surfing the net and viewing the windows and internet fonts.
This would change my rating to 9.
If anything else came up, Will let you know.
Cheers.
Updated
Regarding the Less Resolution = Less Sharpness issue, I found the explanation regarding this issue in this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_resolution
It seems it is the technology and not the laptop,
Now I am taking my rating once again to 10
Cheers,
Regarding the Less Resolution = Less Sharpness issue, I found the explanation regarding this issue in this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_resolution
It seems it is the technology and not the laptop,
Now I am taking my rating once again to 10
Cheers,
User Rating: 10/10
The Best GAMING Laptop
Pros: Speed Baby
Cons: None If you have the Cash!!!
Review: For all the the people out there comparing an Apple to the XPS M1710 is a joke and If you try to tell me otherwise dont waste your time, because I have both, I bought the MacBook Pro for my WIFE and KIDS and they love it, but for me this is it baby the fastest Laptop on the market. Here are my specs I copied from my receipt. Ordered by phone and after about 30 min wheeling and dealing they gave me a $500 DISCOUNT.
XPS M1710, Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB) Qty: 1 Unit Price: $2,770.00
[222-1716] XPS M1710, Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
[320-4755] 17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA with Black LCD Cover, for XPS M1710
[311-5891] 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM, for XPS M1710
[320-4758] 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX, for XPS M1710
[341-3344] 60GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive for XPS M1710
[420-4775] Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 English
[420-4928] Windows Media Player 10
[463-2282] Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
[313-4210] Dell Resource CD with Application Backup,w/Tools for XPS M1710
[420-4830] DELL SUPPORT 3.0
[420-5460] Complimentary courses: Look for EU icon
[420-5476] Dell Direct Download
[420-5924] Icon Consolidation Application
[430-1277] Integrated 10/100/1000 NetworkCard and Modem for Inspiron
[430-1048] Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, for Inspiron
[465-2556] 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, for XPS M1710
[420-5783] Sonic Cineplayer
[420-5791] Roxio Creator Basic/MyDVD Basic
[313-4218] SoundBlaster Advanced Audio for XPS M1710
[430-1660] Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps) for XPS M1710
[412-0853] Network Associates McAfee 7.0 English, 3 Year Subscription
[312-0422] 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1710
[412-0787] AOL for Broadband
[420-3224] Broadband Icon for Inspiron
[412-0687] NETZERO ISP
[420-5256] Netscape ISP
[412-0803] Corel WordPerfect 12 plus Trial of Quartro Pro and Presentations
[950-9797] No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
[412-0360] Soft Contracts - Banctec
[960-6590] Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
[960-8690] Technical Support,Initial Year
[983-2207] Thank You for buying Dell
[970-5927] Inspiron XPS, Specialized Support
[430-1659] Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR), for XPS M1710
[465-2373] Thank you for choosing Dell
[412-0856] Paint Shop Pro Standard
[412-0865] Basic digital Music,Photo and Game experience
[465-0505] No Broadband Expresscard technology currently available
[464-7526] Special Offer - $500 off
Subtotal: $2,762.00
Shipping and Handling: $0.00
State Environmental Fee: $8.00
More Info
Tax: $214.07
Total: $2,984.07
XPS M1710, Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB) Qty: 1 Unit Price: $2,770.00
[222-1716] XPS M1710, Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
[320-4755] 17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA with Black LCD Cover, for XPS M1710
[311-5891] 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM, for XPS M1710
[320-4758] 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX, for XPS M1710
[341-3344] 60GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive for XPS M1710
[420-4775] Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 English
[420-4928] Windows Media Player 10
[463-2282] Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
[313-4210] Dell Resource CD with Application Backup,w/Tools for XPS M1710
[420-4830] DELL SUPPORT 3.0
[420-5460] Complimentary courses: Look for EU icon
[420-5476] Dell Direct Download
[420-5924] Icon Consolidation Application
[430-1277] Integrated 10/100/1000 NetworkCard and Modem for Inspiron
[430-1048] Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, for Inspiron
[465-2556] 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, for XPS M1710
[420-5783] Sonic Cineplayer
[420-5791] Roxio Creator Basic/MyDVD Basic
[313-4218] SoundBlaster Advanced Audio for XPS M1710
[430-1660] Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps) for XPS M1710
[412-0853] Network Associates McAfee 7.0 English, 3 Year Subscription
[312-0422] 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1710
[412-0787] AOL for Broadband
[420-3224] Broadband Icon for Inspiron
[412-0687] NETZERO ISP
[420-5256] Netscape ISP
[412-0803] Corel WordPerfect 12 plus Trial of Quartro Pro and Presentations
[950-9797] No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
[412-0360] Soft Contracts - Banctec
[960-6590] Type 3- Third Party At Home Service, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
[960-8690] Technical Support,Initial Year
[983-2207] Thank You for buying Dell
[970-5927] Inspiron XPS, Specialized Support
[430-1659] Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR), for XPS M1710
[465-2373] Thank you for choosing Dell
[412-0856] Paint Shop Pro Standard
[412-0865] Basic digital Music,Photo and Game experience
[465-0505] No Broadband Expresscard technology currently available
[464-7526] Special Offer - $500 off
Subtotal: $2,762.00
Shipping and Handling: $0.00
State Environmental Fee: $8.00
More Info
Tax: $214.07
Total: $2,984.07
User Rating: 10/10
Well designed gaming platform
Pros: very fast, good battery life, customizable LED colors
Cons: weight, price, no dedicated numeric keypad, no PCMCIA legacy slots
Review: I received my XPS M1710 about two weeks ago with the 7900GTX-512MB video card upgrade, 1G RAM, 100Gig HD, and 2.0ghz Core Duo processor. Black cover only for my unit -- the red casing was just too darn loud visually.
This XPS has performed flawlessly so far. I currently have Guild Wars, UT2004, and Quake4 loaded with framerates that easily surpass my old desktop (2.5ghz P4 w/ Nvidia 6800-Ultra).
The laptop's physical casing is very stiff -- no discernable flex. The bottom/side fans switch on intermittently when they system is under heavy load. The top right portion of the keyboard does get slightly warm but not too bothersome.
The 1920x1200 screen is just a beauty to behold. The screen isn't the brightest available on the market, but its ambient light output is more than fine for FPS gaming needs. LCD response time is very fast -- no slow pixel shadowing was visible in any of the titles I had loaded (all pushing 60fps).
I am very happy that I waited for the Core Duo. All the apps I run seem to split the workload evenly over both CPU's. I was running McAfee Virus Scan, Guildwars, and browsing 3 separate web pages at the same time with no visible performance impact. I also do occasional video transcoding, so the Core Duo will speed up video render times by a good margin.
I wouldn't have minded spending less $$$ on another gaming laptop, but to be frank, there just aren't many laptops out there that meet my gaming frame rate requirements. I shopped around quite a bit before settling on this product. I do attend local LAN parties and got tired of lugging around my old desktop, so the M1710 definitely met my needs nicely.
DON'T buy the M1710 if you only plan on using it for DVD playback. This is like buying a Lamborgini Diablo and never pushing it beyond 30mph. Keep your apps in perspective before choosing this model.
This XPS has performed flawlessly so far. I currently have Guild Wars, UT2004, and Quake4 loaded with framerates that easily surpass my old desktop (2.5ghz P4 w/ Nvidia 6800-Ultra).
The laptop's physical casing is very stiff -- no discernable flex. The bottom/side fans switch on intermittently when they system is under heavy load. The top right portion of the keyboard does get slightly warm but not too bothersome.
The 1920x1200 screen is just a beauty to behold. The screen isn't the brightest available on the market, but its ambient light output is more than fine for FPS gaming needs. LCD response time is very fast -- no slow pixel shadowing was visible in any of the titles I had loaded (all pushing 60fps).
I am very happy that I waited for the Core Duo. All the apps I run seem to split the workload evenly over both CPU's. I was running McAfee Virus Scan, Guildwars, and browsing 3 separate web pages at the same time with no visible performance impact. I also do occasional video transcoding, so the Core Duo will speed up video render times by a good margin.
I wouldn't have minded spending less $$$ on another gaming laptop, but to be frank, there just aren't many laptops out there that meet my gaming frame rate requirements. I shopped around quite a bit before settling on this product. I do attend local LAN parties and got tired of lugging around my old desktop, so the M1710 definitely met my needs nicely.
DON'T buy the M1710 if you only plan on using it for DVD playback. This is like buying a Lamborgini Diablo and never pushing it beyond 30mph. Keep your apps in perspective before choosing this model.
User Rating: 5/10
Spec and Price
Pros: Nothing that I can say
Cons: Where do I begin
Review: Where to begin ? Over Priced, Plastic in everything with same specs you can get better deal somewhere else,Mediocore screen, where do I sign...Dell used to have excellent deal, but not anymore....all of my friends that own their laptop, their keyboard and touchpad peel off within 1 year !! all that money Dell could have done better
User Rating: 10/10
Everything you need and more! Value People! Value!
Pros: Amazing GFX Card, awesome upgradability, Vista Ready, Huge Screen, Dell Support.
Cons: A little big, a little heavy.
Review: I hear everyone ranting about how expensive this computer is but you are all making stupid assumptions.
Firstly, no one needs 4GBs of ram! Im sorry, but unless you plan on running Oblivion and Doom 3 (or some other combination of benchmark quality games) at the SAME time, its just not necessary!
Secondly, a 512mb geForce 7900 GTX? Ok, I know all of us nutty computer fiends just crave having the most spanking new, top of the line, make your head spin and turn into mush Graphics Cards but be reasonable. It will be another 5 years atleast before any game actually 'Requires' such a delicious piece of engineering! So suck it up and live with the much cheaper, yet rediculously powerful 256mb Geoforce 7900 GS.
So in conclusion, you can all see, that if you settle for what will be sufficient, actually more than sufficient for the next several years, you can end up with a beautiful, versitile, if not slightly large computer for about $2700. Suck on that MacBookPro!
As a side note, did you know you can hagle with dell? Now im not very good at it, but I did manage to get $200 knocked off the build price of my M1710, give it a try, then you can stop whining about the price!
Further side note: Yes we would all love to have a tiny laptop that is only about 1" think like a MacBookPro or a Sony Vaio. But then you'ld have to sacrifice both upgradability, performance and support. The 3 year warranty for a Mac is 399$! Thats rediculous! And it doesn't even come with accidental damage protection (aka I droped it :S)! And if any of you complain about the weight to the point that you feel it is a legitimate reason not to get the laptop, then you all have gangly baby arms and need to exercise once in your lives!
--Alexander
Firstly, no one needs 4GBs of ram! Im sorry, but unless you plan on running Oblivion and Doom 3 (or some other combination of benchmark quality games) at the SAME time, its just not necessary!
Secondly, a 512mb geForce 7900 GTX? Ok, I know all of us nutty computer fiends just crave having the most spanking new, top of the line, make your head spin and turn into mush Graphics Cards but be reasonable. It will be another 5 years atleast before any game actually 'Requires' such a delicious piece of engineering! So suck it up and live with the much cheaper, yet rediculously powerful 256mb Geoforce 7900 GS.
So in conclusion, you can all see, that if you settle for what will be sufficient, actually more than sufficient for the next several years, you can end up with a beautiful, versitile, if not slightly large computer for about $2700. Suck on that MacBookPro!
As a side note, did you know you can hagle with dell? Now im not very good at it, but I did manage to get $200 knocked off the build price of my M1710, give it a try, then you can stop whining about the price!
Further side note: Yes we would all love to have a tiny laptop that is only about 1" think like a MacBookPro or a Sony Vaio. But then you'ld have to sacrifice both upgradability, performance and support. The 3 year warranty for a Mac is 399$! Thats rediculous! And it doesn't even come with accidental damage protection (aka I droped it :S)! And if any of you complain about the weight to the point that you feel it is a legitimate reason not to get the laptop, then you all have gangly baby arms and need to exercise once in your lives!
--Alexander
User Rating: 9/10
GREAT COMPUTER!!
Pros: graphics, sound, keyboard, front media buttons and the price
Cons: the glare on the screen is ridculous its perfect indoors but outdoors ur looking into a mirror and
Review: ive had tis computer for about a week and i love it the keyboard is very good nice and easy to press on. The grapgics are amazing! (indoors of course). the media buttons in the front are pretty helpful when your playing a game u just push them and it will lower/ higher the volume.
User Rating: 4/10
returning in less than 15 min, toshiba qosmio for the win
Pros: nice specs
Cons: poor audio and video despite promotion
Review: Hi,
editor's choice?? wow
I just unpacked my red xps. I got the bottom rung red system with the upgraded video card. And in less than 15 minutes i have decided to return it.
here is why,
My Toshiba Qosmio g25(which has been a lemon, but my other toshiba is fine) and the Dell XPS m1710 are sitting side by side on the kitchen table.
I call Dell to inquire about the return policy.
Both are playing movies, when i told the dell rep why i wanted to return it, all i did was to hit play on both machines. I told her, both are sitting side by side, playing movies. The Toshiba is playing Jarhead. The Dell is playing I robot.
All i had to do was hold the phone between the two systems, while they both played. Then I turned the Toshiba volume up.
After a few seconds of them BOTH playing movies, I went back on the phone, and said. I think it is obvious. The Dell is an inferior product despite its listing.
The Dell XPS m1710 screen is about half as bright as the Toshiba. The volume is less than half of the Toshisba and both have subwoofers.
Its real simple, there is no comparsion. The Dell might have better guts but falls flat on its face next to the Toshiba.
For Gaming, well, Toshiba is releasing a new Qosmio with HD-DVD in the middle of may in Japan. The Qosmio AV G35 supposedly does not do gaming. The G30 with the HD-DVD is supposed to come with a Nvidia 7600 with 256 video ram instead of the AV G35s low 7300.
Save your money for now. Honestly. Wait for the reviews of the new Qosmio and see how it does with gaming and the 7600.
I will buy another one of the XPS if the G30 falls flat in testing.
But right now, this was a disappointment.
editor's choice?? wow
I just unpacked my red xps. I got the bottom rung red system with the upgraded video card. And in less than 15 minutes i have decided to return it.
here is why,
My Toshiba Qosmio g25(which has been a lemon, but my other toshiba is fine) and the Dell XPS m1710 are sitting side by side on the kitchen table.
I call Dell to inquire about the return policy.
Both are playing movies, when i told the dell rep why i wanted to return it, all i did was to hit play on both machines. I told her, both are sitting side by side, playing movies. The Toshiba is playing Jarhead. The Dell is playing I robot.
All i had to do was hold the phone between the two systems, while they both played. Then I turned the Toshiba volume up.
After a few seconds of them BOTH playing movies, I went back on the phone, and said. I think it is obvious. The Dell is an inferior product despite its listing.
The Dell XPS m1710 screen is about half as bright as the Toshiba. The volume is less than half of the Toshisba and both have subwoofers.
Its real simple, there is no comparsion. The Dell might have better guts but falls flat on its face next to the Toshiba.
For Gaming, well, Toshiba is releasing a new Qosmio with HD-DVD in the middle of may in Japan. The Qosmio AV G35 supposedly does not do gaming. The G30 with the HD-DVD is supposed to come with a Nvidia 7600 with 256 video ram instead of the AV G35s low 7300.
Save your money for now. Honestly. Wait for the reviews of the new Qosmio and see how it does with gaming and the 7600.
I will buy another one of the XPS if the G30 falls flat in testing.
But right now, this was a disappointment.
Updated
Once the tech listened to the two machines, and I said the Dell was clearly inferior and cost 3k and inferior.
They immediately dropped all talk of the restock fee.
Once the tech listened to the two machines, and I said the Dell was clearly inferior and cost 3k and inferior.
They immediately dropped all talk of the restock fee.
User Rating: 3/10
Laptops great, support is AWFUL!
Pros: Cant beat the performance
Cons: Support is clueless
Review: Dell keeps making great machines, but the lack of help at the point of purchase and the support lines are down right embarassing.
User Rating: 9/10
WONDERFUL! (please read review)
Pros: Merom Ready,Gaming power is Amazing, System Preformance, Screen Image Quality, Build Quality, Connectivity and Wireless Abilities, Light for a gaming Notebook, Stays rather cool.
Cons: Less Battery than ThinkPad (But expected), If i had to really complain, Size and Weight is a little more than usual.
Review: I am a Certified Tech. for HP, Dell, Apple, Toshiba, and Gateway. I have had all of those computers and i decided i would take a risk with the Dell product and I was nothing short of shocked to receive a product that was so well rounded in abilities.
Here are a couple things that i have noticed when using my Dell M1710.
The Dell Media Direct feature I am still deciding what i think of it, but I have to admit it is very nice and ultimately does do the job if you are looking for a Multimedia feature.
GPU is utterly amazing, i have upgraded to the NVIDIA Geforce Go 7900GTX. I can?t say that it is anything short of EXTREMEMLY FAST. While playing Battlefield 2 and The Elder Scrolls IV the frame speed is more than fast enough to support the games even at 1920/1280 (native resolution) while being scary fast for a laptop.
The weight is a little shocking for a laptop but realizing what is packed inside, and also that the lid is a solid sheet of Aluminum and the bottom case is all extruded magnesium. The top of the LCD panel is extremely strong; it gives no flex at all and is stiffer than at Lenovo ThinkPad.
The Notebook is extremely thermal efficient. The fans always run but are almost never heard. When running games, it runs very cool in temp, and produces just a slight hum. The overall experience here is amazing for the components that are smashed inside.
The Build Quality is extremely good for a notebook; there is almost no flex when the computer is lifted with one hand on one side of the notebook. When you apply an extreme amount of pressure on the backing of the LCD panel there is no "stress bend" that shows in the style of shadows and ripples in the screen.
The Wireless is great if configured with a A/B/G wireless card. The connectivity range is excellent and allows for extreme distances of roaming while still allowing it to connect to the way point.
There are SOOO many ports, to the extent that I don?t really know what to do with them. That?s pretty much enough said.
When Dell talks about the Xtreme Preformance System. They really mean it, it is extremely fast for both system use and also gaming use. Loads are almost instant and often doe not show slow downs.
The Battery Life which i am sure everyone is worried about is not bad at all. When gaming i can get close to 2 hrs away from the power cord which is not that bad. When being portable and moving around and with the Wireless Off. I can defiantly say that you can get around 3 Hrs if you are careful in what you do. This is great for a gaming system.
The negatives of this notebook are to a limit and i say that directly as an owner rather than a Tech. I would recommend this notebook if you are a gamer and go to a lan gaming sessions and are mobile while gaming. Overall i am extremely satisfied, and I have no real complaints for my purchase.
My System Specs are as Follows
Core Duo 2.13 GHZ
(THE CORE DUO SOCKET IS READILY REPLACABLE WITH THE 64 BIT MEROM PROCESSOR)
512MB Nvidia Geforce Go 7900GTX
2 Gig DDR2 667Mhz Memory
100 gig 7200 Rpm HD
Hi-Def Sound Blaster Audio(extra when built)
Dell 350 Bluetooth
4 yr on Site next Day and Complete Care Warranty
OOO and don?t forget they will move prices around if you call on the phone if you need to say under a certain price. For me they took off 500 dollars for the same system as I wanted and even upgraded the warranty for free.
Here are a couple things that i have noticed when using my Dell M1710.
The Dell Media Direct feature I am still deciding what i think of it, but I have to admit it is very nice and ultimately does do the job if you are looking for a Multimedia feature.
GPU is utterly amazing, i have upgraded to the NVIDIA Geforce Go 7900GTX. I can?t say that it is anything short of EXTREMEMLY FAST. While playing Battlefield 2 and The Elder Scrolls IV the frame speed is more than fast enough to support the games even at 1920/1280 (native resolution) while being scary fast for a laptop.
The weight is a little shocking for a laptop but realizing what is packed inside, and also that the lid is a solid sheet of Aluminum and the bottom case is all extruded magnesium. The top of the LCD panel is extremely strong; it gives no flex at all and is stiffer than at Lenovo ThinkPad.
The Notebook is extremely thermal efficient. The fans always run but are almost never heard. When running games, it runs very cool in temp, and produces just a slight hum. The overall experience here is amazing for the components that are smashed inside.
The Build Quality is extremely good for a notebook; there is almost no flex when the computer is lifted with one hand on one side of the notebook. When you apply an extreme amount of pressure on the backing of the LCD panel there is no "stress bend" that shows in the style of shadows and ripples in the screen.
The Wireless is great if configured with a A/B/G wireless card. The connectivity range is excellent and allows for extreme distances of roaming while still allowing it to connect to the way point.
There are SOOO many ports, to the extent that I don?t really know what to do with them. That?s pretty much enough said.
When Dell talks about the Xtreme Preformance System. They really mean it, it is extremely fast for both system use and also gaming use. Loads are almost instant and often doe not show slow downs.
The Battery Life which i am sure everyone is worried about is not bad at all. When gaming i can get close to 2 hrs away from the power cord which is not that bad. When being portable and moving around and with the Wireless Off. I can defiantly say that you can get around 3 Hrs if you are careful in what you do. This is great for a gaming system.
The negatives of this notebook are to a limit and i say that directly as an owner rather than a Tech. I would recommend this notebook if you are a gamer and go to a lan gaming sessions and are mobile while gaming. Overall i am extremely satisfied, and I have no real complaints for my purchase.
My System Specs are as Follows
Core Duo 2.13 GHZ
(THE CORE DUO SOCKET IS READILY REPLACABLE WITH THE 64 BIT MEROM PROCESSOR)
512MB Nvidia Geforce Go 7900GTX
2 Gig DDR2 667Mhz Memory
100 gig 7200 Rpm HD
Hi-Def Sound Blaster Audio(extra when built)
Dell 350 Bluetooth
4 yr on Site next Day and Complete Care Warranty
OOO and don?t forget they will move prices around if you call on the phone if you need to say under a certain price. For me they took off 500 dollars for the same system as I wanted and even upgraded the warranty for free.
Updated
I made a mistake on the native screen resolution and would want to make sure i dont mislead anyone by my mistake. The native resolution is actually 1920x1200. I am sorry for my original mistake and want to add on thing. I checked my screen maker and i have a LG screen. While it is brighter than the old screens of the Last Generation M170 (Which i did own). The screen is very very clear but is not as clear as the Fujitsu screen for example. The contrast of the Fujitsu screen seems to be higher, but dont get me wrong the screen is nothing less of amazing and in my situation is better than my desktop LCD panel. I do not have any dead pixels on my screen so i am very happy. Please send me a comment if you would like me to clarify anything.
I made a mistake on the native screen resolution and would want to make sure i dont mislead anyone by my mistake. The native resolution is actually 1920x1200. I am sorry for my original mistake and want to add on thing. I checked my screen maker and i have a LG screen. While it is brighter than the old screens of the Last Generation M170 (Which i did own). The screen is very very clear but is not as clear as the Fujitsu screen for example. The contrast of the Fujitsu screen seems to be higher, but dont get me wrong the screen is nothing less of amazing and in my situation is better than my desktop LCD panel. I do not have any dead pixels on my screen so i am very happy. Please send me a comment if you would like me to clarify anything.
Updated
As i have recieved many comments that questioned my pricing, i ended up looking back at the sales reciept. I want to appologize to people for being slightly off i stated that it was 500 off but that was partly due to my rushed math, and not really paying attention. The actual reduction, was 325.90 and was listed under rebate for "Manager & Company Agreement". Sorry for any inconvienence that this may have caused, as i appologize for misleading everyone. I hope this helps to solve some worries of people.
I would also like to say, that due to the current replacement of batteries and recalls, that have been placed, i have also recieved comments about my battery, i would like to state, and i was lucky and my battery is totally fine, but i will soon be buying a new battery as i pretty much have used its life cycle up. I hope that in total this helps to clarify all questions, and best of luck you everyone.
As i have recieved many comments that questioned my pricing, i ended up looking back at the sales reciept. I want to appologize to people for being slightly off i stated that it was 500 off but that was partly due to my rushed math, and not really paying attention. The actual reduction, was 325.90 and was listed under rebate for "Manager & Company Agreement". Sorry for any inconvienence that this may have caused, as i appologize for misleading everyone. I hope this helps to solve some worries of people.
I would also like to say, that due to the current replacement of batteries and recalls, that have been placed, i have also recieved comments about my battery, i would like to state, and i was lucky and my battery is totally fine, but i will soon be buying a new battery as i pretty much have used its life cycle up. I hope that in total this helps to clarify all questions, and best of luck you everyone.
User Rating: 8/10
this notebook has the power of a car but the looks of a dead man
Pros: EXTREMELY powerful, nice gfx card, 4 GINORMOUS GIGS OF RAM
Cons: it'll put ur wallet on a diet, its uuuuuugggggggglllyyyyy!
Review: I am the owner of an Dell Inspiron xps m170 (the older one). The only thing i would want in my xps that this has is the RAM and GFX card. This would be able to make this notebook keep up with the generations a little but longer. The M1710 is powwweeerfffuuulll. The only thing that seems to be the problem is the looks. This peice of monster equipment should have stuck with the older colors. Those were much better. A limited edition red? WHO WOULD PAY EXTRA FOR THAT? ITS UGLY AND U HAVE TO EXTRA ONLY BECAUSE ITS LIMITED EDITION. This laptop would have been probably one of the best laptops on the market if it would have looked better. If you pay for a 6k laptop, you would expect bragging rights. It would be hard to brag with an ugly laptop like that. If this was all in the old case, it would have been truly the best gaming laptop on the market.
User Rating: 10/10
Dead on hit
Pros: Superbly fast - track record of upgradeability
Cons: High cost but worth it
Review: Drop in Merom and DX10 video card and you are set for gaming on Vista. Fastest laptop available in many tests. Doesn't weigh 15lbs like the Sager 9xxx series. Vastly more reliable than the Sagers to boot.
Hard to fault durable solid power with the ability to make it even more powerful over the next 6 months!
Score!
Hard to fault durable solid power with the ability to make it even more powerful over the next 6 months!
Score!
User Rating: 8/10
XPS 1710...the price of power
Pros: Looks like a powerful piece of equipment....
Cons: ...The price is a bit hefty for the power
Review: The review stated no S/PDIF output, It has one-just need to plug in the dongle to the S-Video port just like the M170.
I would probably wait 2 months before upgrading... I imagine there will be a large price drop after all the initial hoopla wears off...
I would probably wait 2 months before upgrading... I imagine there will be a large price drop after all the initial hoopla wears off...
User Rating: 9/10
amazing but.......
Pros: superb gaming
Cons: not vista (64bit) compatible
Review: ok if i got this i wouldnt be able to get 64 vista which is a real dissapointment. other than that it seems amazing
Updated
So I got my M1710 yesterday and it is amazing.
T2500 2.0ghz
2gb ram
80gb HDD
7900GTX 512 GPU
upgraded sound card
3 years warranty and 3 years complete care
$4000 canadian
Customer support was great in the order process and the laptop is just a dream. so far ive played F.E.A.R (an amazing game that is very graphically demanding) i run it on Max resolution with Max settings and it runs like amazingly. and the laptop stays as cool as an unrefridgerated coke!
the screen is so bright and nice to look at and the keyboard feels awsome.
unfortately upon receiving it 7gb or space were taken up by pointless software and i cant seem to free it all back up.
but this is definately the best gaming laptop around
So I got my M1710 yesterday and it is amazing.
T2500 2.0ghz
2gb ram
80gb HDD
7900GTX 512 GPU
upgraded sound card
3 years warranty and 3 years complete care
$4000 canadian
Customer support was great in the order process and the laptop is just a dream. so far ive played F.E.A.R (an amazing game that is very graphically demanding) i run it on Max resolution with Max settings and it runs like amazingly. and the laptop stays as cool as an unrefridgerated coke!
the screen is so bright and nice to look at and the keyboard feels awsome.
unfortately upon receiving it 7gb or space were taken up by pointless software and i cant seem to free it all back up.
but this is definately the best gaming laptop around
User Rating: 4/10
Apple's MacBook Pro is a better buy
Pros: large video card, max memory
Cons: 2lbs. heavier, and twice as thick as the MacBook Pro and over $700 more expensive!
Review: MacBook Pro is over $700 LESS than the similarly configured Dell XPS M1710. Not to mention, with the MacBook you're getting a high quality video camera, optical audio I/O with 5.1 surround sound support and a backlit keyboard that the XPS doesn't have. Did I also point out that the MacBook Pro also runs Windows XP (or Vista, when it gets here) at full-speed along with Apple's award-winning Mac OS X? Well, it does! Allowing it to run more software than the XPS M1710 or any other Windows notebook or desktop PC. Be educated, spend your money wisely!!
User Rating: 10/10
Best Laptop Ever Made
Pros: 4 GIG Ram, Awesome video cards, Great Design, So Many Ports, Ridiculously Fast in Multimedia and Gaming, Amazingly good battery life
Cons: CNET gave it a .1 lower score than it's predecessor?
Review: This laptop is the best laptop ever made. It is ridiculously fast, looks awesome, has mediadirect for watching DVDs, has an awesome lineup of graphics cards, plays games so well, has up to 4 gigs of ram(which is insane for a laptop), and looks awesome. I would take this laptop over ANY other laptop on the market today and already have. Mine has 2 gigs and Core Duo 2.0 ghz processor with the GEForce Go 7900 GTX and it is even faster than my one year old Alienware PC(This is a first for me a laptop that outruns my desktop). It is well worth the price of admission and I highly suggest that if you have the money you pick up the best laptop ever made.
User Rating: 10/10
Way Better
Pros: Best in Class, 64-Bit Core-Duo Processor, Up to 4GB Ram at 667MHZ , Up to 512MB Video Card, WideScreen, TrueLife, Optional Sound Blaster® Audigy® ADVANCED HD sound card
Cons: High Price...
Review: The XPS M1710 is way better than the M170, looks cooler, and its ready for Vista. Cnets wrong with the rating!
User Rating: 7/10
Dell XPS M-170 Vs. M-1710
Pros: Yes it is good
Cons: Very high in price
Review: But, not as good as the M-170, the M-170 got a 8.3 unlike the this model M-1710, If you have a M-170, stand your own! you have the better one!
Updated
I got my M170 for just $2700.00 a month ago (after coupons) with everything that the M1710 (almost $5570.00) has and few extras from Dell after having a great chat with the sales manager, oh yes Dell is the best when it comes to marketing, aren?t they! The M1710 (metallic black) is a very good computer, but very happy that I spent what I got it for. M1701 is very expensive; display not remarkably bright like the M170 and the only thing new is; the Nvidia's new top-shelf GeForce Go 7900 GTX GPU and Intel's top-of-the line 2.16GHz Core Duo processor. Now it?s time to buy a new Dell PC? Billy Amato (NYC)
I got my M170 for just $2700.00 a month ago (after coupons) with everything that the M1710 (almost $5570.00) has and few extras from Dell after having a great chat with the sales manager, oh yes Dell is the best when it comes to marketing, aren?t they! The M1710 (metallic black) is a very good computer, but very happy that I spent what I got it for. M1701 is very expensive; display not remarkably bright like the M170 and the only thing new is; the Nvidia's new top-shelf GeForce Go 7900 GTX GPU and Intel's top-of-the line 2.16GHz Core Duo processor. Now it?s time to buy a new Dell PC? Billy Amato (NYC)
User Rating: 8/10
Unfortunately it is widescreen instead of full screen
Pros: Excellent performance
Cons: Wide screen instead of full screen. Next to impossible to read text at "native resolution".
Review: I wish the trend towards widescreen
computers would revert back to full
screen. PC manufactures somehow convinced
people that they were getting more "real estate" when in fact all they do is shave off 2 to 3 inches off the top of the screen. What a scam.I will probably return this laptop in favor of a full screen Thinkpad.
computers would revert back to full
screen. PC manufactures somehow convinced
people that they were getting more "real estate" when in fact all they do is shave off 2 to 3 inches off the top of the screen. What a scam.I will probably return this laptop in favor of a full screen Thinkpad.
User Rating: 10/10
cnet forgot - up to 4 GB RAM!!!!!
Pros: best components out there
Cons: expense is the only con, but this is to be expected
Review: CNET forgot to mention the most shocking thing about this laptop, which is that you can get it with up to FOUR gigabytes of RAM! As far as I am aware, besides being the first laptop to incorporate the new nVidia graphics card, this is also the first laptop to offer 4 GB RAM. The most I had seen before this was 3 GB in an Alienware system.
That said, if you go to Dell's website and configure one of these systems with 4 GB RAM, you will have a heart attack... that's because Dell charges $2,275 to upgrade from 2 to 4 GB. Yes, you read that right, that is in fact a 4 digit number. I think they must have a special deal to be the first company to receive 2 GB RAM DIMM's, because selecting that option also delays your shipping date by like 3 weeks (into June), implying that those components are still being rolled out.
As for me, if I had the money to even consider this system (which I don't right now), I might consider holding off a bit to see what Alienware does in the next couple of months. I'm assuming Dell doesn't want to damage Alienware's prestige too badly right after it's just bought it, so an even more powerful laptop from Alienware must be in the works. Perhaps we'll see Alienware put the nVidia 7900 in SLI? They have yet to make an SLI laptop but are listed as an SLI partner on nVidia's website so I have to wonder...
That said, if you go to Dell's website and configure one of these systems with 4 GB RAM, you will have a heart attack... that's because Dell charges $2,275 to upgrade from 2 to 4 GB. Yes, you read that right, that is in fact a 4 digit number. I think they must have a special deal to be the first company to receive 2 GB RAM DIMM's, because selecting that option also delays your shipping date by like 3 weeks (into June), implying that those components are still being rolled out.
As for me, if I had the money to even consider this system (which I don't right now), I might consider holding off a bit to see what Alienware does in the next couple of months. I'm assuming Dell doesn't want to damage Alienware's prestige too badly right after it's just bought it, so an even more powerful laptop from Alienware must be in the works. Perhaps we'll see Alienware put the nVidia 7900 in SLI? They have yet to make an SLI laptop but are listed as an SLI partner on nVidia's website so I have to wonder...
Updated
(i meant 2 GB RAM DIMM's for /laptops/)
(i meant 2 GB RAM DIMM's for /laptops/)
Updated
When I said that choosing 4GB RAM delays your shipment by 3 weeks, what I meant was 3 weeks beyond the standard preliminary ship date, which isn't until May 17 for a regularly-configured M1710 model. So the actual delay is 6 weeks, but delays obviously are not cumulative.
May 17 itself is a long time by Dell standards; I think they may be allowing for initial kinks in their assembly process.
When I said that choosing 4GB RAM delays your shipment by 3 weeks, what I meant was 3 weeks beyond the standard preliminary ship date, which isn't until May 17 for a regularly-configured M1710 model. So the actual delay is 6 weeks, but delays obviously are not cumulative.
May 17 itself is a long time by Dell standards; I think they may be allowing for initial kinks in their assembly process.
Updated
Since I wrote my review, Dell has upped the upgrade price for moving from 2 to 4 GB RAM to $2,775 (was $2,275)!!!!
That's more than the base price of the computer, and 3X the price of Dell's average computer... that said, I bet they'll still find buyers, since it is completely unprecedented.
Since I wrote my review, Dell has upped the upgrade price for moving from 2 to 4 GB RAM to $2,775 (was $2,275)!!!!
That's more than the base price of the computer, and 3X the price of Dell's average computer... that said, I bet they'll still find buyers, since it is completely unprecedented.
Updated
Alienware has a new laptop out that beats this Dell XPS. It launched today, I think. Check it out:
www.Alienware.com
(Alienware is now owned by Dell, so this is basically Dell's high-high end line...)
Alienware has a new laptop out that beats this Dell XPS. It launched today, I think. Check it out:
www.Alienware.com
(Alienware is now owned by Dell, so this is basically Dell's high-high end line...)
User Rating: 9/10
Twice as good as its predecesor.
Pros: Out of this world gaming performance, superb multimedia.
Cons: Very expensive.
Review: This is easily the best laptop I have ever seen. Gaming performance is outstading. Multimedia is awesome. If I can only have one complaint is the price which will put a big hole in your wallet.
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