Upcoming; Inspiron 1520 and 1720

UPDATE FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ THE ENTIRE TOPIC:
Available now at the US, Canadian and Belgian Dell website!
Release date of the new models is rumoured to be June 26
Promo pictures can be found by clicking here

Vostro = The Inspirons but at the Small Business section. Rumoured to be the same as the current Inspirons, but will sport a full black look. Rumoured release date: July 12.




At a college website, they recommend students to buy the Inspiron 1520 or 1720. I couldn't find any information on it, so I talked with a Dell representative. The Dell representative confirmed these models are do exist, just aren't available yet. Unfortunate, she didn't know when they would be available either. But since it's recommened at a college website, I think they should come out around July-August.

These new ones have everything I'm looking for! Santa Rosa and DX10. Both models have the same specs, just a different screen and resolution.

Dell Inspiron 1520
Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2 GHz processor
2 GB RAM
160 GB hard disk
15,4” (1680x1050)
nVidia GeForce Go 8600M GT (256 MB)
draadloze netwerkkaart, Bluetooth en FireWire
3 jaar “next business day on site” garantie

Dell Inspiron 1720
Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 2,2 GHz processor
2 GB RAM
160 GB hard disk
17,4” scherm (1920x1200)
nVidia GeForce Go 8600M GT (256 MB)
draadloze netwerkkaart, Bluetooth en FireWire
3 jaar “next business day on site” garantie


Anyone heard any rumours about those or have an idea when it will be released?


PS: For those who care, this is the college website: click here

 

Wow !
If it's really true it'll be very interesting, as the first time that DELL goes for a descent GPU in the 15.4" range.

 

Doesn't seem plausible... Dell's always had heat problems with the inspiron line, and if it suddenly decides to include the 8600GT, then I pity the consumers. It'll probably be the 8400GT. Also the WSXGA+ screen's hard to believe... Why would they suddenly include premium stuff on their budget line?

 

I have that screen on existing E1505

 

There was a lot of talk that Dell was doing a redesign of most of the Inspiron line for Santa Rosa, so this could very well be possible.

 

WSXGA+ screens are nothing new for the Dell Inspiron E1505. Read before you type .

 

Now, the question is... how much more would these new Inspirons cost?

 

Nice!

They are indeed upping the ante, giving HP a run for their money.

 

It would be cool if they also came out with a 12.1 inch screen Inspiron once they release the new models. Would be nice to have an ultra-portable model in the Inspiron line.

 

This is interesting news. Any info on whether there's going to be a physical redesign in addition to the santa rosa + dx10? I'd be a little dissapointed if the laptops looked the same as the E1505 and E1705. And sesshomaru, I don't think dell has "always" had heating problems with their inspiron line. I've taken apart my dell and I think the heating system is fairly well-designed, with not only air vents on the bottom, but additional vents on the side and on top in case the bottom is obstructed. It's true that Dell's default fan settings are fairly conservative, in order to reduce fan noise, but you can easily use a program like i8kfangui to set your fans to whatever you want.

 

it'll certainly give existing gaming 15.4" models a serious challenge, i.e Asus F3, C90, Compal IFL90, etc.

 

Gosh that would be great. I like Dell pricing on the 15.4" lineup and they have great hardware except for graphics (I won't mention aesthetics ). It will be interesting to see what happens!

 

8600M GT is really nice. That should give the IFL90 a run for its money. I like that they have finally filled the void between 12" and 17" gaming machines. Hopefully, these have a new design as well.

Another site linking the same store: http://www.lesdelliens.com/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=3935
Its in french, but the specs are pretty easily understood. Translated in english (Goole Translator): http://translate.google.com/transla...a&rls=com.google:en-US:official&hs=arb&pwst=1

It appears that there will also be a 1721 model with the AMD CPU and 17" screen. Some one in the Chinese Dell Support forums has it in his sig: http://support1.ap.dell.com/cn/zh/forum/thread.asp?fid=6&tid=100611

Inspiron 1721
2.2 GHz/1 MB (TL-64)
AMD M690T ATI Radeon X1270
2048MB*2
160GB/7200 *2 RAID 0
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit)

So does this mean that the Dell 17" models will finally get the dual hard drive option?

 

This is very exciting news. I just went on the forum to post a question regarding when we may get some info about the new Inspiron line. Afterall, all other manufacturers, including HP, have released their Santa Rosa line. I was seriously considering putting down on the current e1505 as I can get a fully spec'd one for $1000 this week. I suppose I can wait until the end of July if necessary, though sooner is much preferred of course. Yes, this would be in time for back to school, but it's still ironic that all other laptop makers, even Asus of all companies, have come to market with Santa Rosa.

I suppose it could said that a certain amount of patience should be conceded to Dell with this new line if they indeed are revamping the whole design. Most of the other OEMs kept the same design on their lines. As for the GPU, I was hoping for at most an 8400M GT. The 8600M GT is surprising, and probably sure to win over a lot of potential buyers. For some time now notebook buyers' biggest complaint about the e1505/6400 line was the lack of a medium/medium-high end graphics offering. However, I must wonder how the battery life will pan out with this. From the reviews I've read, battery life on the current generation e1505 is very good on the 9 cell, and an added plus is that it does not add a bulge to the body of the notebook like most others.

Thanks for this piece of info!

 

http://gwanbo.korea.go.kr/upload/2007/05/0514000000.pdf

I have no idea what this document is, but its in Korean, I found it through a Google search, and it contains something about the Inspiron 1520 and 1720, along with the Vostro line and something called Mantra. There appear to be n versions of these, which I would assume to be the Open Source Linux versions.

I have yet to find the mentions though, I saw them on the google search listing.

Got it: listing 91 on page 144; listing 115 on page 148

Since all of them are grouped, I am led to believe that each size will have 4 different mode lines: 2 (1xx0) Intel, and 2 (1x21) AMD, with one in each platform being Inspiron and one special variant for each platform. All models will have 'n' open source Linux versions. I am going to guess that PP22X and PP22L are the internal chassis codes for the 17" and 15" laptops, respectively.

Also interesting to note is that Vostro means "your" in Latin/Italian, and Mantra is just what it is. I don't know the significance of that fact though.

Someone knowing Korean (Goren?) could probably glean a little bit more information out of it, in regards to the headings of the columns and such.

 

Any speculation on what the variants of the Intel systems will involve? Or is this a listing for preconfigured models bought through another company or school?

 

This is a listing from some Korean document. I'm not really sure of what it is, but it may be like an FCC thing, except for Korea. There are no specs listed here, but we have other specs posted previously.

I would assume that these will have a full range of CPUs, from 1.6GHz to 2.4GHz on the Santa Rosa chipset. Graphics-wise GMA3100, 8600M GT, and something in the middle like the 8400M GS; 1 to 4 GB DDR2 667 memory in dual channel configuration; 80 - 250GB hard drives; WXGA, WXGA+, and WSXGA+ glossy screens; all forms of Windows Vista; and hopefully a new design.

 

Is there any chance that those of us who possess Inspirons 9400 with 7900 gs will be able to upgrade our graphics cards with the 8600?

 

Probably, as long as they haven't changed the heatsink design and the type of slot on the motherboard.

 

Yes, a full range of configurations is great and should be expected with Dell of course. But key is, WHEN can we see these available?? Any insiders willing to gather some info on this? heh. Oh and Dell better be smart and offer them up at a better initial price point than the current line, just as the other manufacturers have done with Santa Rosa.

 

It is called progress my good sir. Increased screen resolution is quickly becoming a must especially now that everything is going HD. Graphic cards are becoming more powerful too and can drive them. You should read about the new line of Mobile 8 series cards too. They only consume 22w of power which would easily allow integration into a 15.4"'er.

 

As with the Vostro laptops, there is also mention of the 1520 and 1720 on the following link:
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/environment/en/prod_datasheets?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~tab=2
With an effective date of 26th June 07 which i believe was the planned release date.
Once again, hope this helps.

 

Cool find!! Checkin out the link!

 

Nice find.

It confirms 1. the existence of Vostro laptops and 2. confirms their use of Intel C2D processors and the Santa Rosa platform.

 

It has the Vostro laptops in addition to the 1520, 1521, 1720 and 1721 which suggests that the Vostro will be similar to the XPS maybe a little less in terms of price and performance.

 

I'm disappointed with the weight listed... 3.0 kg for both the Insp. 1520 and the Vostro 1500... I would have hoped they'd make it a little lighter.

 

6.6lbs is standard weight for a 15.4" laptop, and identical to that of the outgoing E1505.

 

6.6 lbs. is within the normal range, but there are plenty of 15.4" laptops that are half a pound lighter, and I was hoping this would be one of them. Heck, the MacBook Pro is a whole pound lighter (but I wasn't expecting that since that's an expensive machine). For a comparison, HP lists their 15.4" dv6500t at 6.14 pounds.

Edit: Actually, Dell lists the e1505 at 6.18 pounds. So their new machines apparently are a bit heavier.

 

Yes, I would say 6.6lbs is a bit heavy compared to others. Hopefully though this weight includes a dedicated GPU and 9 cell battery.

Maybe I'm out of the loop....what is this Vostro line?

And maybe someone would have a better idea of this - how does the energy consumption (wattage) levels seem? In line with the current e1505?

 

Hi,

today I noticed that Dell stopped to offer the Geforce 7900 GS in the Inspiron 9400 (1705) in Germany, so I already thought it looks pretty much that something new is up to come...

Really interesting news!

 

Even if you could, I don't really think that a 8600 is an "upgrade" from a 7900 gs. If you look at framerates in today's games, i think it's more like a downgrade, albeit dx10 capable.

 

No, not even close. The E1505 has a rating of 43w roughly, and teh Vostro 1500 and Inspiron 1520 are at 61w. I'm not sure why this is though, these are just power consumption ratings from Dell's site. Potentially something to do with the more powerful GPU?

And nobody is 100% what this Vostro thing is yet. It might be a more visually customizable line (vostro = "yours" in Latin); most people think (hope?) it will be a line that actually has some sense of style. We do know that it is based on the i1520 and likely shares the same components.

Meh, thats a starting weight with nothing on it. Add DVD-RW and dedicated graphics, plus the extended battery, and your back up to 6.5-6.8lbs.

 

Agreed, but I have no reason to believe they're including the extended battery and dedicated graphics when they give the weight for the new machines. They don't include it when they give the weight for the older machines... and I've never seen a manufacturer publish the weight of a fully loaded notebook... they always publish the weight of one without extended battery, dedicated graphics, etc.

In fact, the wording on the environmental spec page implies that the 3.0 kg (6.6 pounds) is the weight of a minimal configuration. It says: "May vary with additional options installed."

 

I found the release dates for the Inspiron and Vostro models.

Inspiron 1520, 1720, 1521, 1721 and Vostro 1500 are all coming on 6/26/2007.
Vostro 1700 is coming on 7/12/2007.
Its the "effective date" in the environmental PDFs on that Dell page.

EDIT: This may not be the actual release date. I just found something called the Precision M4300 (with Santa Rosa) that has an effective date of May 21, but it is obviously not out yet.

 

So perhaps the new 1520 will have a much worse battery life compared to the e1505? Then again, 62 watts is a maximum. What would have been really great is a physical switch just like on the Sony Vaios between integrated graphics and the dedicated GPU.

 

Well I need my notebook by July, so it looks like I can pretty much scratch dell of my list.

 

I'm just hypothesizing here, but I think the E1505 was done with Intel GMA950, and the i1520 done with the 8600M GT. If you got it with the standard GMA X3100, power consumption should be about the same if not slightly lower than it was before.

Again, I'm not sure, but it seems to make sense.

 

There are some serious issues with those specs listed in the environmental specs. Check out the 1520 and the 1720's dimensions. Then look at the E1505's dimensions. First off the 1520's dimensions are the same as the 1720's and both of those dimensions looks like... normal aspect dimensions perhaps?

 

Yes, I noticed that. Its kind of screwed up, almost like half of them are typos. So I'm ignoring the dimensions. The weights I'll take with a grain of salt, but they are pretty reasonable, so yea (6.6 for the i1520, 8.1 for the i1720)

 

Anyone have any idea as for the pricing for the Inspirion 1520?

 

Something I'd like to know as well. Does anyone remember how the e1505 priced compared to the old line when it came out? Maybe pricing will be similar here.

 

I don't know, but the Dell Inspirons are generally about the same price or a little cheaper than their HP Pavilion counterparts. The HP dv6500t is $950 for the base config of 1.8GHz/1gb/80gb/wxga/integrated-graphics/combo-drive. So... I imagine Dell will have a similar config available for maybe $850-$900.

There aren't any budget Santa Rosa processors yet. I mean, nothing equivalent to the Pentium Dual Core or the Core Duo (not core 2) on the e1505. So, unless that changes before launch, the base price will be much higher than the e1505's.

 

Theres going to be something called the T5450; I'm going to assume thats a 1.6GHz budget Santa Rosa CPU. I saw it mentioned in the dv2500t spec sheet at launch time.

 

Despite all the interesting features of Santa Rosa, I think the current Core 2 Duo 1.86ghz may be able to beat it in terms of processing power. So far, it appears that Santa Rosa is retailing for at least 1500 at base specs. 1.6ghz seems to be way too weak compared to the current Core 2 Duos.

 

very interesting, need one soon tho, so release date is crucial.

 

who says santa rosa is retailing for $1500???

 

Sounds like a nice notebook, but I'm under timepressure to get one (need it by half july) so this one most likely won't be for me.

 

The new ThinkPad T61's are retailing for a lower price than the T60, same configurations. This seems telling.

 

This is interesting, and probably done somewhat grudgingly, although by necessity. The reason there are no "cheap" Santa Rosa laptops is the minimum processor is the still-pricey T7100. I'm sure they're keen to stop producing the older chips and move on to producing only the newer ones, if indeed they still make the Core Duos, etc.

A lot of people who merely surf and read email are just fine with a 1.6GHz processor, let alone a dual-core 1.6.

Greg.

 

But again, we should be comparing similar configurations between these new models and the current e1505 line. With this week's coupons, I configured an e1505 as follows:

T7200 (2GHz, 4mb)
1GB DDR2
120 GB, 5400 RPM HDD
ATI X1400
DVD-RW
Draft-N wireless, Bluetooth
9 cell battery
etc

This came to $950 or so. With the price of ram right now, you could swap out the two 512MB sticks for 2GB for just around $65. So let's say $1000 for (to me at least) an excellent configuration on this system. All things constant, I would be willing to pay another $100-200 for the better GPU+ any new refinements/additions of the Santa Rosa platform. How realistic is this? - I don't know, but I sure hope Dell keeps the 1520 in line with these prices.