TechTreak

Today’s generation looks for more than the basic needs that are fulfilled by the notebooks. They want a device that has all the features of a desktop and more, including a high end gaming capability. Dell XPS M1710 is the latest gaming notebook launched by Dell. As XPS M1710 is a gaming notebook, it has the highest performing components available for suiting the requirements of high-end games. It comes in a choice of two colors, “formula red” or “metallic black”. The notebook is quoted as being 8.8 lbs by Dell. The battery is a 9-cell located at the front area of the notebook and is available with a feature, so that you can push it on to light up 5 green LEDs to display how much charge is left. This feature works whether the notebook is on or off.

The keyboard keys of Dell XPS M1710 are not black, but rather a silver color that blends with the rest of the case color. The keys are springier and there is no flex to the keyboard, as it is built sturdily. The touchpad is adequate to the XPS lighting, but more importantly it’s actually a decent size and works well with scroll zones on the right side for vertical scroll and on the bottom for horizontal scroll. The integrated sub-woofer provides decent bass. It also provides for extra oomph with sound volume. However at top volume, the sound is definitely too loud.

One thing, which you get with Dell XPS M1710, is the Media Direct functionality that allows you to quickly load up the machine to play music, view pictures or watch a DVD. You do this by clicking the “Media Direct” button on the front of the laptop. The port selection on the XPS M1710 includes 6 USB 2.0 ports along with the video connectors comprising of VGA out, DVI and S-Video out. Graphics card used in the XPS M1710 is 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX, which is necessary for playing high-end games on the notebook. Coupled with the M1710’s 17 inch widescreen and True-life display, the notebook has the graphics at the native resolution of 1920 x 1200. True-life is the reason behind the higher contrast, brightness and colors. This feature allows better viewing while playing games on the notebook.

At the heart of the XPS M1710 is Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor T2600. It has a processor speed of 2.16GHz with a 2 MB Cache. This processor supports a 2 GB DDR2 RAM (extendable to 4 GB). XPS M1710 has also been bundled with a 7200 rpm SATA hard drive of a 120 GB capacity. The notebook comes with an Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 card, which supports a, b and g bands and can help you in getting connected to the Wi-Fi network even at a distance from the Wi-Fi hotspot. You have three choices of an OS: XP Home, XP Professional and XP Media Center Edition. However, the last of the three versions is more preferred, as it supports better gaming.

Specifications

Processor:

• Model: Intel Core 2 Duo T7200
• Speed: 2.00 GHz
• Data Bus Speed: 667 MHz
• Cache: 4 MB L2

Screen:

• Size: 17-inch
• Screen Type: TFT active matrix Widescreen
• Max Resolution: 1920 x 1200 (WUXGA)

Graphics Card:

• Graphics Processor: 256MB NVIDIA
• Vendor: GeForce 7900 GS PCI Express x16

Hard Disk:

• Size: 120 GB
• Type: Serial ATA-150 – 5400 rpm Portable

RAM:

• Size: 2 GB / 4 GB (max)
• Type: DDR2 SDRAM – 667 MHz

Ports:

• USB 2.0 Port: 6
• VGA Slot: 1
• Headphone Port: 1
• Mic-in Port: 1
• DVI-D out: 1
• RJ-11: 1
• RJ-45: 1
• S-video: 1
• ExpressCard/54: 1
• IEEE 1394 FireWire: 1
• Consumer IR: 1

Networking:

• WLAN: 802.11 a/b/g
• Bluetooth: 2.1 (optional)

OS (Operating System): Windows XP
Version: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Useful For: Hardcore Gamers

Pros: It has an excellent 3D performance which is fantastic for gaming or high-end 3D tasks. This notebook is extremely good-looking, especially the lights, screen and the colors with a sturdy and great keyboard.

Cons: It has some problems in the Wireless connections. The area below the LCD and top of the keyboard has some flex. No PCMCIA card slot is available for any sort of accessories.

Price: $4,215