The M1730 looks sooo tempting. Have some questions though...

I'm looking to buy myself a new gaming laptop for this fall and after considering all the 15" options I had, I turned to the 17" scene, and saw the XPS M1730. Looks very very appealing and tempting but I do have some questions for those who own it.

So let's just get it out real quick as compared to Alienware's systems (and I know all about Dell acquiring it and such) about:

- CPU and GPU downclocking issues
- Cheap built chassis (scratches, dents, light pipes bleeds)
- Overheating issues and wrong nameplates and falling performance (lower and lower benchmark results) and such...

I'm thinking the M1730 would not have these problems, right?

This would be what I want:

Sapphire Blue
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 (2.5GHz/800Mhz FSB/6MB cache)
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium Edition SP1
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Speed: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall Sensor
Blu-ray / DVD / CD Burner (Blu-ray Disc Drive)
NVIDIA® SLI™ Dual GeForce® 8800M GTX with 1GB GDDR3 Memory
Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965a/g/n Mini Card
Built-in Bluetooth capability (2.0 EDR)
85 WHr Lithium Ion Battery (9-cell)
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition

And also:

17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA (I'm thinking this is 1920x1200 right?)
AGEIA PhysX™ 100M Processor

And it all burns my wallet down to:
$4,281.44 (with tax and handling)

So that's what I'm looking at. I figure if there's no issues with the video cards the dual 8800GTX would last me for a while now, and 4gigs of Ram is pretty much sufficient for Vista.

Also, built quality-wise: Is the system sturdy? Screen hinges tight, is it plastic? Is it a good quality product overall?

Alright, thanks for reading all this crap if you had, and I patiently await your input.

Cheers!

edit: I've been searching for a hi-res picture gallery of the M1730 but I couldn't find any. Any links you guys might have? Cheers!

 

M1730 is more mature and stable than m15x.There is a good one with similar config in buy/sell section.

 

That'll be sweet but holy hell what a pricetag

 

That's good to know Rambo!

Yeah, md02geist, but I already have a buyer for my Macbook Pro so that'll wipe like $2,000 from the price tag all together

Question: Is the Blu-Ray drive a Blu-Ray burner? I can't really figure it out from that description they have on the website.

Also, anyone has that picture gallery I've been hoping for so long?

Cheers!

 

The XPS M1730 has Blu-ray ROM only,it is not a burner.

 

The config looks a bit expensive, some parts can be had from newegg at much lower prices.
-RAM
-HDD ...

 

eleron911: I know, but the Dell Configuration pages don't allow me to choose less RAM and HDD... kinda weird how they have set it up (good, better, best and all that)

@nahiyan13:
What would you say about the build quality of the M1730? Did you have any issues with your computer?

 

I am hoping the M1730 can burn Blu-ray Discs. I clicked 'HELP ME CHOOSE' and the side-by-side comparison indicates the 'Blu-ray Disc' option can burn Blu-ray, whereas the 'Blu-ray Disk Combo' option cannot burn.

 

I am a bit picky, therefore I have to say I am not satisfied with its build quality.I now wish I went for the Sager np9262.the whole laptop seems a bit 'plastic-yy' to me. But that's just my opinion.

 

Incorrect.
I also thought it was just a ROM, but I was pleasently surprised to find its actually a BD-RE - which is a BluRay writer.

 

That's awesome news ifti!

Care to share your opinion on the build quality?

 

I had a Precision M65 before the XPS and its definitely not as ruggedly built as that.

Its not bad though,the base is very solid,and the screen hinges are nice and firm,but the screen is pretty plasticy and creaks a bit when moved or twisted......seems to be flexing and the wing panels creaking....but would hardly call it bad....I'm also reasonably fussy,particularly with screen hinges.

I would also give the AGEIA physx a miss as its pretty much unsupported and will mostly sit there creating heat and using power for nothing.

I don't know if you've seen or handled one,but these things are pretty big and are a bit of a pain to use as a mobile,particularly the huge,big,fat powercords and power supply...haha.....someone at work the other day asked if I was hooking up a concrete mixer!

I love the gaming performance of it,but can't deal with the size of the power supply and cords,plus the three fans and vents accross the bottom give you no choice but to carry around something flat and hard for it to sit on if your using it on a bed or something......to me if your going to leave a notebook in one place....buy a desktop.

The size of things has got to me,and I'm going to sell mine and get something smaller for now [just ordered a vostro 1310] and get one of the 15" montevina Precisions when they're out.

 

I love the beast...........its great if your not moving around much. The performance is great and the build is solid imo

 

Does anyone have a hi-res picture gallery somewhere?

Thanks again for the build-quality input!

 

I'll chime in, too. Just got my 1730 a couple days ago, albeit secondhand.

Yes, it is big. No, I don't care about it. I'm used to carrying around a lot of stuff with me, and coming from an original Inspiron XPS has made me not mind the weight. Performance comes at a price, and I'm willing to pay it.

Build quality, to me, is outstanding. Screen is solid, so are the hinges... I can't open it with one hand or else I pull it up off the desk. My only complaint is the finish... I get fingerprints all over it and usually wipe it down with a microfiber cloth several times a day. Lots of nice secondary features... webcam is of good quality, the G15 LCD keyboard is very nifty and surprisingly useful, and the lighted keyboard helps(albeit the previous owner messed mine up; new one's on the way).

Even the base video card (single 8800M GT) is solid compared to what I'm used to; and even with the T7500 2.2Ghz processor it's a surprisingly quick system. Stalker and Oblivion(my two main games right now) play very, very smooth even maxed out at native resolution.

Sapphire blue is my favorite color of 1730, and I lucked out in getting one. Looks awesome, especially with the accent lighting turned to the same color.

If you're really interested in getting one, do it. As long as you don't mind the weight issue you'll be able to carry around some serious power with you. The 1730's got some upgradability to it as well. I did get the PhysX card with mine; don't have a game that uses it but considering the fact I think it's all-inclusive in the 1730 right now it's no big deal if you've got it.

As far as pics go, I'm planning on taking some somewhat soon. Send me a PM with your email address and any shots you'd like; I'll get 'em out to you.

 

I ran across this site which has some good images of the M1730 that seemed different from what I have seen elsewhere :

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-XPS-M1730-Gaming-Notebook.7188.0.html