Vostro 1710 vs Inspiron 1720

Hi all.

I was just wondering which of these people prefer? Tossing up between both of them, but can get an Inspiron with a Blu Ray combo drive, which appeals, while I can't get this on a Vostro.

I couldn't find any comparisons, so does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

Well, you're going to get better support with the Vostro, that's for sure. But, when it really comes down to it, the Vostro and the Inspiron are the same. Your real difference is: the vostro is black. Aside from that, it seems that you can get a low-end Vostro and keep it at a great price, but when you try to bump it up to a middle-line, the Inspiron ends up being cheaper.

 

Well, 1720 is 10 bigger than 1710, so, you do the math!

 

This was true with the older Vostro 1700... The Vostro 1710 is a redesigned version, so it's different than the Inspiron 1720.

After a lot of thinking, I decided to go for the Vostro 1710, as it was cheaper. The customizations are WAY more expensive in the Vostro than in the Inspiron, but the only thing I wanted changed was the screen, and the WUXGA upgrade of the Vostro was cheaper than the one the Inspiron 1720 has.

From a specs point of view, the main difference is that the Inspiron has a 8600M GT DDR2 graphics card option, and the Vostro 1710 has a 8600M GS DDR3 one. Apparently, the performance of both solutions is quite similar, so I don't think this should affect your decision.

The Inspiron 1720 is sturdier, has less "flex", and more customizations than than Vostro, but the later is slimmer and lighter (and cheaper?).

In any case, I don't think you'll go wrong with either laptop

 

I have a vostro 1710, although about to return it due to false marketing.

the laptop is VERY light for a 17'' machine. very thin aswell. the downside is that it runs real hot when gaming, and flex is found nearly every where.
the 1440*900 matte screen is quite bright for a matte screen, superb horizontal viewing angle, not so good vertically.

the 8600m gs is decent it as has the faster gddr3 vram, still slower than the ddr2 8600m gt though.

 

That means that my old Inspiron 9400 is 5-6 times better than yours?

 

Some interesting thoughts, thanks guys.

They're both roughly the same price in the spec I'm looking at (T9300, 4GB RAM, 2 x HD, WUXGA screen, etc), hence the difficult decision. The Vostro being thinner and lighter appeals, however thinner and lighter can also mean poorer build quality in my experience.

One of the main appeals in the Inspiron is that it can be optioned with the WUXGA screen and Blu Ray combo drive, perfect for high def viewing. A friend also has one already, and is quite happy with his, and besides the fact that its a little heavy (its a 17", what do you expect), its solid, and he is happy with the build quality.

So go with the proven performer which is slightly dearer with a better video card and Blu Ray combo or go with the cheaper, thinner, lighter newcomer. Sounds like either way I'll get a good unit, since no one is saying to steer clear of either model.

Just waiting for Dell to call me back with a price now, thanks for the help!

 

Well that was pretty easy... Inspiron 1720 is being discontinued apparently, and the new unit will most likely use the Vostro 1710 chassis. New unit won't be released until Inspiron 1720 is sold out, but in the meantime it looks like the blu ray option is sold out, which was the main incentive for getting the Inspiron.

Quote I have at the moment is $AU2189 for a Vostro:
Intel Core 2 Duo T9300
Windows Vista Business 32 bit
WUXGA Screen
4GB RAM
2x320GB HDs
DVD burner
GeForce 8600M GS
1.3MP web cam
Wireless-N
3 year warranty

Just waiting on the final price from Dell. May as well pick that up rather than pay more for the Inspiron which had smaller HDs, and is bigger and heavier, unless there is some compelling reason to choose otherwise.

 

The new version of Inspiron is rumored to be the "Inspiron Studio 1735", and it will use a new chassis, which looks a lot more like the XPS line. The rumored release date is around July 14th, as Intel it's the date when Intel will release the "Montevina" platform (meaning that a lot of laptops will be announced by then).

This new model will have Blu-ray plus digital outputs, so if this is important for you, I would wait a little.

 

Thanks for that. Based on that info, and this: http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/08/dell-inspiron-1435-1535-and-1735-leaked/

I think I'll probably wait, as a 17" XPS which doesn't way 4000kg and come with 64 video cards and flashing disco lights sounds perfect to me.