OFFICIAL: Inspiron 1720 Owner's Thread

hey if anyone has received ur 1720... did u try the earphones and see it you are getting some weird noises like the 1520 owners???

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=141100

 

O man... ordered july 12, 07..
Its in build stage..
I was going to up my processor to T7500 and high resolution 1920x1200, but the lady told me it would add 1-2 weeks... WTF ... So i called again and another rep told me 1 week more... so i left it as it is in my sig.

I'm hoping it arrives before 8/3 ship date..
Can we get some 1720 reviews up .. like the graphic card benchmark?
If someone recieved there notebook with same spec as mine.. can you tell me whats good and whats not

Thanks guys!!
I"M eagerly waiting for mine 1720

 

So you have to use your brain, big deal. Not having someone/thing think for you is a blessing. I cringe at the thought of owning an HP!

 

Aragon, don't you still think it would at least be POLITE of Dell to offer some way of NOTIFYING owners when new, sometimes CRITICAL BIOS updates come out, and to, perhaps gray-out from the list updates a particular owner has already downloaded and installed???

For THAT MATTER, wouldn't it at least MAKE SENSE to put them in some sort of ORDER???

FURTHERMORE, there's only ONE COMPUTER ON THE ENTIRE PLANET with MY DELL SERVICE CODE, PERIOD, yet EVERY SINGLE TIME I enter my Dell Service Code it shows up that my computer has Windows XP installed on it (which is, of course, how it originally shipped, in late November last year, with a free upgrade to Vista)... and EVERY SINGLE TIME I click on that and "update" my Service Code to reflect that my computer is now running Vista 32-bit, yet every NEXT TIME I log-in with my Service Code, yet again, it says I'm running Windows XP.

I'd say Dell has a few SERVICE ISSUES!
Jeff

 

Personally I dislike updates unless there's a good reason for them. When it comes to hardware, what scenario would warrant a critical update? All I really want is a version number and a changelog - I'll decide what needs updating or not based on that...

With the exception of windows itself, all my automatic updates/notifications are disabled on my systems. If microsoft had a decent manual update mechanism I'd disable windows auto updates too.

 

Received my 1720 at 8:30am this morning. Ordered on 7-9-07. Everything seems to be working great. This is my first laptop and I'm very pleased but really have no experience to compare it.

Haven't tried any games so far but the 1900x1200 display is very readable, especially if you set the fonts to large.

Insprion 1720 Jet Black
T7300
2 gig ram 667mhz
160 HD
256mb GeForce 8600M GT
1900x1200

 

NICE, I hope I get mine with in a few days!!! i placed my order on 7-12-07
But, then again.. where are you from?

 

"When it comes to hardware, what scenario would warrant a critical update?"

Oh, I don't know, Aragon... maybe a system BIOS UPDATE??? The first of THREE system BIOS updates Dell has issued since FEBRUARY of this year for my system (XPS 410) was labeled as CRITICAL on their technical downloads list (or whatever their official name for it is), although they sent me NO notification about it and I discovered the BIOS update existed only in another computer forum looking for help with Vista update issues that I WASN'T getting resolved when I went to Dell's technical support staff (and THEY hadn't told me anything about this download list, either!)... The poster on this OTHER computer forum told me that Dell had issued the CRITICAL BIOS UPDATE and how to go about finding that in Dell's Technical Support Area, and that was the first time I was even aware they HAD such an area... and then the NEXT TIME I had reason to talk to their technical support staff, I asked if there was any way I could set up automatic notification tied to my Service Code, and was told "unfortunately, no."

So I guess if you're NOT interested in BIOS updates listed by your computer manufacturer as CRITICAL, then Dell's take on how to handle customer technical service should just thrill you, Aragon!

Frankly, I agree that automatically letting a computer manufacturer, software manufacturer, or ANYBODY have automatic control over when and how your software or hardware is updated, without you even having input DOES seem somewhat counterintuitive... But then do you have your anti-virus software ASK YOU every time a new, REALLY NASTY, virus, worm or trojan horse is discovered and a detection/deletion definition is created before you let it do an update, or do you just let the software DO ITS JOB?

Frankly, we have to trust someone. I like to THINK I can trust the software companies and hardware manufacturers to whom I've PAID MY MONEY to provide me timely updates as needed, and I DON'T feel Dell is doing this, PERIOD.
Jeff

 

Hey, from your listed specs, we have identical computers (except mine's blue). Once you try some games, could you leave a little comment on how they run on the 1920*1200 screen?

And when was your estimated ship date? You got that computer fast. I modified mine on the 16th and expect it Aug. 3rd.

 

Here's hoping you get yours on schedule, Schecter... I feel a bit compelled to jump back in with a posting that's NOT a slam against Dell, lol, since I AM using one, after all, and I DO think they make pretty good computers...

By the way, I DID play with the touchpads a bit on both HP and Toshiba laptops at Sam's Club this afternoon, and because that touchpad on the HP appears to have a sort of lacquer coating on it, I find it a very SMOOTH scroll, and rather responsive (can't find anybody locally who carries Dell laptops -- does anyone sell them in stores?, or I'd check one of them out, too).

As for the Dell/HP debate, truthfully I think if EITHER Dell offered automatic updates OR HP provided systems with the installation software disks either one would be a HANDS-DOWN WINNER over the other for me, lol, as those two separate shortcomings between the two are my only real gripes with each manufacturer...

Coincidentally, 8/3 will likely be my PURCHASE date, as that's the first of three Sales Tax Holiday dates in South Carolina for any item considered "back-to-school", and I'll save 6% on the purchase price if I buy 8-3--8/6 -- That could come to more than $100 on a laptop at this level -- only problem is, I just got offers in the mail from both Best Buy and Circuit City today, and both expire before then -- CC's, in fact, expires 8/1, lol.

Decisions, decisions -- If I'm direct-ordering from Dell or HP, doesn't really matter, does it -- just have to make sure THEY honor the sales-tax holiday.
Jeff

 

I was talking to a rep and I was asking why people that ordrerd after I did with similiar specs get their laptops already and mine is still in build stage...this is what she had to say.

1:08:04 AM Lizy Raphael Currently , we have an industry wide shortage for "glass" used in LCD
hence al parts to be made with the glass could be back ordered,it may or may not ship out on time

 

how are the speakers? and where are they located, because they seem invisible in every picture i look at them

 

Hmmmmm, yeah, right, minj... gotta tell the customer SUMPTHIN', huh?

While that COULD be true, I'm pretty sure you posted it for the same reason I'm responding, because you think it's a CROCK, lol... Fact is, Dell has assembly factories all over the country (and the world), and different production lines at each factory, and one factory, or production line, is probably just more efficient than another -- could be folks out sick at one plant, broken equipment -- you name it... But NOBODY'S going to admit to something like THAT... "a shortage of glass to make LCD displays" makes a GREAT "generic excuse" for EVERYBODY, huh?

I had a salesman at a car dealership explain to me about how the federally mandated gas-mileage minimums worked, and that they were overall averages for all vehicles sold by the manufacturer... He was working at a Volkswagen dealership at the time, so he told me a little inside scoop from when he sold Fords, and why it was so hard to find Ford pickups with automatics for a long time -- because they sold so many of them that it brought their "fleet average" down, so they just quit making automatics to bring their fleet mileage average up by a bit... But they didn't want to admit that to CUSTOMERS, so they told THEM their automatic transimssion plant for their trucks burned down.

Hope you get your laptop soon, glass intact.
Jeff

 

So did anyone received there 1720/1721 or have any good news yet?
Still in production, but my friend is in box stage? wtfzor I ordered 7/12 and he ordered 7/13. We had same settings.

So when did you order your 1720/1721 and did you call to see what stage its in?????????

 

My 1720 is in transit and should either be here tomorrow or the day after.

Ordered: July 9th
Shipped: July 15th

 

haha exactly jeff well said

 

The speakers are at the front edge, below the media control buttons. There is a slight bevel to the front edge, as it curves under to the bottom. The speakers are at the left and right corners of this bevel. I would say the bevel is about a 45 degree angle pointing down towards the table.

I think the speakers sound okay for a laptop. I got the standard speakers with the standard sound card. I don't play games, and if I were going to watch a movie, I would most likely hook up to external speakers. I certainly sounds better than other laptops I've used.

 

Who has received there 1720 and has actually call to get there compensation for the ddr3>ddr2 thing???

I actually called dell rep to check my order list.. and she told me it was a DDR3 , so I'm going to assume it is until i receive my order.
Do you think I will get compensated for a espresso brown belkin messenger bag instead of the 100$ thing???

What have you guys try to get compensated for?

 

I will hedge my answer by saying "maybe".

AHCI has been around a few years. It is an industry-standard implementation of capabilities that many manufacturers and vendors had previously built into their custom drivers. It provides several enhancements to the SATA architecture. Primarily, these enhancements are very important to storage area network (SAN) implementations, where dozens of SATA drives are linked together to form a gigantic RAID device. The most important enhancements for notebook computers are:
1. More efficient spin-up and spin control of disks.
2. Faster read/write operations using fewer CPU cycles.

The bottom line is: You paid a premium for a mother board and bios that supports the technology, and for a drive that supports the technology. Disabling it will without question cause your system to use slightly more power for disk operations, and slightly more CPU cycles every time you store data on your disk.

However, I'm not certain you will ever notice it. The difference might be that a 10 MB file takes .82 seconds to write instead of .75 seconds. It's unlikely any human would ever notice the .07 second difference when writing one file. But, when copying your entire MP3 library, the difference might be measurable in minutes.

Here's a slide presentation that provides a very technical look at what AHCI is all about: http://www.securitytechnet.com/resource/rsc-center/presentation/intel/spring2003/S03USDSIS19_OS.pdf

 

See, that's the problem. What you and Dell allegedly classify as "critical" is not something I consider critical at all. Who says I'm running Vista? Who says the bug is creating a problem for _me_? And if there is no problem, what if the update creates a problem? Does the auto update engine detect that the bug(s) that the update fixes is/are truely creating a problem for me?

As an example, Microsoft classifies Internet Explorer 7 as a critical update. If I were to leave their automatic updates to their own devices I'd have that malware shoved onto my hard drive, and probably with no way to reverse it. No thank you!

That fact that Dell's support staff weren't able to link your problem to a BIOS update is the real issue here. They need to jack up their support.

Yup, I'm not interested unless it fixes a problem I'm having.

I haven't run anti virus since the mid 90s.

Frankly, experience has taught me the opposite.

 

Could someone post some pics of the Ruby red lid

Edit: still waiting for mine, ETA 9/8/2007 (ordered 5/7/2007)

 

Please do, Veco! I know we all wanna see YOUR hot little baby! (or are you still awaiting its arrival, and THAT'S why you wanna see the pics?)

And as for whether the "critical" BIOS update was the cause of my problems, or not, who knew? Half the tech support staff I ended up with online (who INVARIABLY ended up having to CALL ME ON THE PHONE) could barely speak English without such a THICK Indian accent I didn't have to ask them to repeat half of what they said! And almost every time I had any question of a technical nature other than the one they had already researched, they had to put me on HOLD while they either looked up the answer or asked someone else! NOTE: this WAS NOT the case with EVERY tech support specialist, just 3 of 5.

As for never trusting ANYONE (and I'll bow out of the argument after this comment), if you don't trust ANYONE, Aragon, I really don't see WHY you're even trusting Dell to sell you a computer. If I were YOU, I'd be building my own.
Jeff

 

lol

If only I had the time

 

I suspect everyone would like this issue to just go away. Before it does, I thought I'd point out a service that Dell does provide. After registering your service tag you can sign up for e-mail alerts of bios, driver, and software updates for your system. When you do so, you tell Dell what OS is installed, what devices you want update alerts for, and your e-mail address. Whenever there's an update that you should consider, Dell sends you an e-mail. If after reading the e-mail you decide the driver is important, go to the Dell web site, download and install.

I think this is a nice balance. I haven't given Dell blanket approval to install updates (ala WSUS). But I am getting notified of updates that I should consider installing, and the updates are specific to my OS.

 

I ordered mine on 7/8 and the estimated shipdate is tomorrow, though mine is still in the 'Build' stage. The only difference between mine, your's, and your friend's is that I got T5450 processor.

I really don't think I'm going to order another Dell.

 

Well, I'm officially an Inspiron 1720 owner- got my color coordinated blue wireless mouse today so my setup is COMPLETE...

For those still waiting, be patient, you'll be happy when it does get delivered- I sure am. Beautiful system!

By the way, I ordered mine on 7/6 so the lead times are padded by several days. Expect to get yours sooner than what they say.

 

I ordered the same day as Andy (my order went through at about 11:58pm) and I got it today too!

 

I got a killer deal considering all the upgrades and add'l software I added, but no where near $500 like you did. They don't do the 75% off mystery coupons here in the US I don't think.

 

Yeah, dmlange, I signed up for THAT, too... still waiting for my FIRST email... still think there's a bit of "disconnect" in Dell's service department.

I was SO UPSET about my dual-TV tuner card no longer working as a dual-tuner most of the time since I upgraded to Vista, and NOT getting resolution through their tech support after several separate calls (the last of which included the CLEARLY CLUELESS technician calling me and telling me to take my computer apart, unplug the card, and plug it back in, thus "reseating it," and THAT would solve the problem, which it DID just long enough to get HIM off the phone), that I gave them a TERRIBLE REVIEW in a follow-up survey and one of their "issue escalation" team people emailed me, and then I went back and forth with HIM in email for about two weeks before I got angry with HIM after he kept telling me to do the same old stuff I'd already done a dozen times (like checking Device Manager, which I could do in MY SLEEP, by now), and he asked for my mailing address -- like they DIDN'T HAVE IT ON FILE, which took yet ANOTHER email cycle, and then told me they'd send me a replacement card (after reminding me in THAT email that my dual-tuner was certified to work with Media Center ONLY as originally configured with XP MCE), which they did, but that didn't solve the problem, either, and of course they didn't send me a NEW tuner card, but a refurbished one, and then when I didn't send the OLD card back quickly enough, I got a BILL for the refurbished one, at the NEW-CARD PRICE, which said I would have to pay if I didn't return the old card within like two more days (which I did, lol).

I know you folks didn't need to know all this, but this just gives you a bit of an idea WHY I'm not particularly SURE about Dell's service department.
Jeff

P.S. I'm STILL having issues with Media Center on my XPS 410, but I've GIVEN UP going to Dell Technical Support about them, for now!

 

Bahhhhh still waiting.. (it's been officially over 3 weeks now)
It's supposed to go to my Dads (dental) office.. I get a call saying he's received my package. I go in to pick it up, and it turns out it's just a huge box of toothpaste!!! Ahh so frustrating haha my Dad really needs to know the difference between a box that says Dell on the side and a box that says Crest on the side

 

Nice scoots, I'm waiting on mine too, it comes today some time, its currently on the currier for delivery, i'll try and get some pics, i leave this sunday tho for like 3-4 days so how convenient

 

Hey can u check and see if u get the noise from the headphones???

 

Ya and any other additional details would be appreciated!!

 

Hey guys - I'm new here.

My 1720 went in to "testing" this morning. How long did yours take to get in to your hands from there?

Also I don't get how anyone can order the 1440x900 resolution on a 17" screen. Kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me. I had an e1705 with the 1920x1200 and it rocks. I sold it last month to buy a Macbook Pro (15" with 1440x900) and hated it. So I sold that on eBay and now I'm getting a pimped out 1720.

 

Well, since LCD screens look best at their native resolution, if you're serious about gaming, the 8600 GT probably won't be able to handle running current games at the 1920x1200 resolution. It's all a mater of preference..

 

Congrats. Getting to Testing is the key (production doesn't always mean they're actually building it). Testing verifies your laptop is actually built. expect another 2 days or so, maybe sooner. Then it depends on whether you chose Next day or ground shipping.

If you don't mind me asking, what about the MBP didn't you like?

 

Guys, write a review about 1720. Please !!!

 

I'm wanting a review on this sucker .
I just want to know the difference from 1720 vs 1520 graphics card.
It seems the part number is totally different.
I called 3-4 different reps and they all told me its ddr3. 2 of those call are directly to technical and then other 1-2 is from my rep manager.
If what they say is true, we just need prove of someone receiving there 1720 and confirming its ddr3

 

Not sure what kind of review you are looking for, kmart. Here are some of my thoughts having had the 1720 since 7/10:

• Screen size is great! 1920x1200 looks amazing on 17". The text is VERY readable.
• Keyboard with numpad takes a little getting used to, but now I love it.
• Keys are quiet and feel nice
• Games play fairly well. EverQuest 2 can go to max settings at 1920x1200. Neverwinter Nights 2 plays pretty smooth at slightly lowered settings.
• It does get hot when playing games but has yet to crash for me. The highest I saw it in EQ2 was around 63°C
• The back of the screen gathers fingerprints like nobody's business. I got the matte black color, so not sure if other colors will be the same.
• I have NOT noticed grainy screens or bad sound from headphone jack. It looks and sounds great to me!
• The 9 cell battery is pretty big and sticks out about 3/4" from the back. I was not expecting that, and do not like it. Get the 6 cell if you don't want it to stick out.
• I wouldn't call it light, but it's still portable.
• Overall, it's fast, pretty, and fun!

Specs for my 1720 are in my sig.

 

Rivatuner confirms the memory is at 400mhz, therefore it's ddr2.

 

I don't think Rivatuner is reading it correct... i thought that was mention in other forums also?? no?

 

How much did you pay for your system ecaggiani?

 

My system came out to $1976.95, but that was with 1GB RAM and 80GB 5400RPM drive. I bought the 4GB RAM and 200GB 7200RPM drive from Newegg for about $500 ($254.99 for the drive, $224.99 for the RAM).

So total, I'd say about $2476-ish

Yeah, it's up there, but WAY cheaper than what I would have paid at Dell with 4GB RAM and a bigger drive

 

Yeah I got the T7500 (2.2ghz). I've always found ordering the next-to-fastest processor available is the sweet spot for price/performance value. It was only $100+ to upgrade to the 2.2ghz but over $300 to go up to 2.4 from 2.2.

I got 2.2ghz, 2gb RAM (I'm taking the 4GB out of my Macbook and putting it in though), 2x 160GB hard drives for 320gb total (5400 RPM), 1920x1200, Geforce 8600m GT 256MB, camera, mic, dvd burner, 3 year warranty. My final price was $1810. I feel like it's a pretty good deal for such a good system. I've got Vista Ultimate to put on it when it gets here.

I just called and it's now in the boxing phase. Hopefully I can have it in just a few days.

Oh, and the reason I didn't like the Macbook Pro - well there's a lot. I wrote up a list of pros and cons. I'll post it in a minute.

 

Bah what the hell I'll just link to it.

This is the thread where I list all (and there's a lot) of reasons I didn't like OS X and the Macbook Pro:

http://www.nobodylikesonions.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6140

 

Everyone go rebuild your 1720.. you will notice a bit more option and the price is about 10-50$ depending on what day and what you had.... my difference was alot cheaper and now the price is about 70$ more... some odd reason.

 

SketchEtch, I ASSUME you're also known as Meowculees??? aka Patrick?

Sounds like you REALLY had your FILL of the Macbook Pro... Tell ya what was the straw that broke the camel's back for me... In 2000, I upgraded my PowerMac 7600 (Native 132 Mhz system, which I had already bumped up to 192 MB of RAM -- system BIOS maxed out at 512, but 192 was still A LOT in 2000) to a 450 Mhz G4 with a Crescendo upgrade card, just WEEKS before OS X was released, and it turned out the upgrade card wasn't compatible with OS X (I was running 9.1, I think)... Crescendo wanted $35 for a flash firmware download to make the card OS X compatible, even though I was ALSO going to have to buy the new OS, as well, and wouldn't BUDGE on that issue, even though I'd had the card for only like a month... Really pissed me off, and I just dug in my heels on that issue, even though I'd also added a 10,000 RPM SCSI internal drive, a second, SuperSCSI cardbus, a new video card with TV capability... lotsa stuff... Just used it for another 3 years, and when it came time in 2003 to upgrade again, I came back to Windoze.

My Mac friends couldn't understand WHY (I was somewhat active in the local MacUsers group, named SMUG, for Spartanburg Mac Users Group), but part of it actually IS the sort of SMUG attitude a lot of Mac users seem to have about Macs being better, as while I DO BELIEVE that WAS true at one point, I think today, if you get a well-built computer and make sure it's custom-built to YOUR SPECS, you can EXCEED anything Apple offers, PERIOD, and for LESS MONEY, PERIOD.
Jeff

 

You're clearly...comfortable...messing with your system How much trouble was it for you to replace the hard drive and add the RAM by yourself? I'm just getting used to desktop maintenance like that and haven't yet experienced any laptop internal changes, but the RAM price difference with Dell is shameful...haha. I tried to get a rep to price match on that as compared to HP or Newegg. And Dell buys in bulk...you'd think they'd be able to get a better deal than I do at retail.

Excellent system specs. I am thinking of the 1920x1200 screen too. Perfect especially for something like Blu Ray. I was just concerned regarding text size. Glad to hear you think the text is very readable. In addition I know Vista lets you pump up the DPI for text while maintaining the same resolution, which is a good back up if someone decides the text isn't very readable and wants to maintain the resolution.

Does the system support 800mhz RAM or only the default version?

 

Did the exact same thing ....paid $1800 total though...

Inspiron 1720, Intel Core 2 Duo T7300
Alpine White Color with Gloss Finish
1GB, DDR2, 667MHz 2 Dimm - (upgraded through newegg to Geil 4gb)
17.0 inch Wide Screen UXGA+ TLLCD, Inspiron 1720 (1920 x 1200)
256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600gt
80G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive - (upgraded through zipzoomfly.com to 1 Hitatchi 200gb HD)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, English
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
8X DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy
Intel 4965AGN Wireless-N Mini Card
Basic Alpine White LCD back color w/ 2.0M Camera
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Dell Hardware Warranty PlusOnsite Service, Initial Year
Type 3- Third Party At HomeService, 24x7 TechnicalSupport, Initial Year
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Mod

 

Very easy to do both ...there is a guide from dell on how to do it in the service manual

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1720/en/sm/index.htm

click on memory ....follow instructions ...including the guide to remove hinge cover and keyboard(very easy ...took me 7 minutes)

Hard drive replacing is also there. But it does not tell you to take the HD out of the metal case that it comes in. (4 screws) and switch the power connector to the new HD (super easy)