battery life - XPS M1710 vs Inspiron 1720

Is there much difference in battery life between an XPS M1710 with Geforce 7900GS running Windows XP and an Inspiron 1720 with Geforce 8600M GT running Vista?

 

No one knows?
Any ideas on getting an estimate, assuming similar processor speeds.

 

It's somewhat amusing how when I do a Google search for
"xps m1710" inspiron 1720
my unanswered thread is at the top of the list. For the sake of anyone else who does a Google search for the same thing, I'll post what I've been able to figure out from other searches.

The difference in battery life, assuming similar processors and a 7900GS video card in the XPS vs an 8600M GT in the XPS, is at most around 20 minutes on a 9-cell battery, and quite possibly less. Sources:

http://www.laptopmag.com/Review/Dell-Inspiron-1720.htm
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3904
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=270&type=expert&pid=9

I can afford either a high end 1720 or, if I save up a bit more money, a low end M1710. Dell is torturing me with the current $425 off coupon for the Inspiron, but I think I'll save for the M1710, reasons being...

The Inspiron only has one fan, which will limit any video card upgrades you may want to do later.
http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=200601&highlight=xps+inspiron

You can see the one fan in the 1720 in this picture taken from the Dell service manual here
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x241/spixh/Palmrest6.jpg

PC Perspective has good pictures of the M1710 interior
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=270&type=expert&pid=5

The design of the M1710 seems to be much better at reducing heat, which should help increase the longevity of the notebook even for non-gaming use. The design of the 1720 seems more aimed at keeping price down.

If you're going to be using the notebook speakers at all, which I am, the XPS M1710 has significantly better sound. I found that out first hand by visiting the Dell kiosk. Even though the M1710 at the kiosk didn't seem to have its subwoofer working, the sound was still better than the 1720. The 1720 had a muffled or hollow sound, which may have been caused by the speaker placement.

I've read posts in this forum saying the support for the XPS systems uses native English speakers. If this is true, that alone is almost worth the difference in price. It's a lot more efficient not to have to keep asking the other person to repeat himself, and you're never quite sure that they understand what you said either. Besides that, my phone connections to India have been very poor quality, with a constant moan or honk in the background.

I can get XP Pro on the M1710. The 1720 only comes with Vista. All my school-related applications are for Win 2000 or XP, and I can't be sure all of them would work correctly in Vista. Although I may eventually want to (or have to) get Vista, I'd rather wait until SP1 is out. I know it's possible to install XP on a 1720, but I'd have to pay extra for an XP license. Although I'd be quite happy with Windows 2000, and do have a spare Windows 2000 license, I've yet to see anyone successfully install Windows 2000 on any of the new Inspirons, let alone get all the drivers working.