Dell XPS M1710 Review (pics, specs)

My only reservation about buying one of these right now is that there's no built in Bluetooth 2.0. I have an old Dell Inspiron 8000 right now (it's almost 6 years old and has been great!), and I use a USB Bluetooth dongle. It's annoying to have to plug it in everytime. It kind of defeats the purpose of Bluetooth.

 

nice photos.. i love those neon lights inside the laptop

 

i got a m1710 with the 7900gs. I figure even with the lesser end 7900 you still good to go on games untill DX10 is basically mandatory. That should be a few years, im use to playing games on low settings, so im good for a long time, go from now with max/near max to few years med/low. got like $380 off than the current price of my setup now. quite weird how it landed exactly on the max amount i said i had earlier, $2550 shipped. I guess i could have mabye got em to lower it some more. My case was, keep climbing the ladder, each person i talked to the price kept fallin and fallin.

 

Chaz: The one thing I did not see in the otherwise excellent review was something about the sound card.

I know we're a whole bunch of people who are wondering about this Audigy thing. Some have said (including at Dell XPS chat) it's a software package on top of the same chip. There are a few things we'd all want to know:

* Does the Audigy really sound better than the "Integrated audio" option?
* Does the Audigy impact framerate? It could if it's a pure software solution. Need benchmarks...
* Is there some way of getting surround sound from games from the Audigy card?

and, a bit off-topic, but related:
* Are there any options for getting something like the Audigy 2ZS PCMCIA card for this laptop (which has no PCMCIA)?

Can anyone comment on this?

 

It didn't say on the spec sheet whether this had the 'audigy' or the regular sound; I never heard of having integrated audigy sound before, so I assume it was a software package.

Framerates - sound cards do impact framerates to a certain extent, but even if you're using a desktop and have a sound card, the max you're going to gain is only about 7 or 8. I never had a problem using integrated sound before.

I don't know how you can do surround sound with it, don't think it's possible.

Good question whether or not there is a solution for an externals sound card. Right now - you're stuck with the integrated sound. It is excellent quality, clear and no static through the headphone jack.

 

Actually a couple small differences...

1) Up to 4GB vs 2GB (First notebook I've seen this on)
2) Updated display panel (30% brighter)

and yes, all the bells, whistles, smoke and lights that go along with it

 

Actually, the 9400/e1705 might very well support 4Gb, we don't know. Certainly the motherboards are the same or nearly so. I think 4Gb will work on 9400, but don't take my word for it. If so, it's reasonable to believe that all core duo laptops support 4Gb... certainly the Precision M90 does.

The panel is different, and there's a Gigabit ethernet card in the M1710 as well. Also, there's some discussion about the chassis - maybe the 9400 is plastic, as compared to M1710's magnesium alloy.

 

wouldn't you like to go for a less gaming graphic card and go for something more like a nVidia Quadro FX Go 1400 256MB?

i know voodoo offers it, but again, you do pay a "premium"... but i am sure there are others who also offers this video option with the similar model...

 

In my years of doing 3d research work including realtime 3D graphics programs ( my main issue now), 3D authoring and high-end rendering ( dipaola.org) , I have been bit by quote specialty cards. I find it is always better to get the best of the consumer cards. Mainly because the quadro ( or in the old days wildcats, ...) seem more unstable or made for one app compared to the consumer cards (which work equally well in photoshop as in Maya. I do not buy the wrap that the Quadro has anything more to offer except that certain software companies ( Maya,3dsMax) have certified it. Yes you get "pro" features like antialiasing and things but who cares - I need raw 3D realtime speed and high end shader language support just like in games. Where I do differ is I never buy ATI cards as therir drivers are (historically) awful for any pro programs or 3d programming environments. ATI works well in games because rather than write and overall good driver ( like nvidia attepmts to do) they are simply test and tweak there ad hoc drivers for as many games as possible. Because it will be my everything on the road and my presentation machine, beside the realtime 3D, the quadros worrys me that they will be less staple for all the other stuff I'll do. OK so not to be too negative about quadros, I do think there place is where someone is buying them for one highend system that has certified them (like MAYA) but most people who use a laptop, do everything on them.

Also somewhere in this thread someone said that the quadro was meant for pro uses like rendering - no high-end rendering (as in non-realtime for movies or high res images) is done on the graphics card - it is done in software. While this is beginning to change as the graphic pipeline in cards is being opened up, it is still pretty much the norm when you hit the final render button with all the bells and whistles rendering options are you are just using the cpu and lots of ram.

If people see a head to head with the m1710 and the toshiba p105, please point it out.

thanks for all the other comments.
-steve

 

So you're saying that a regular consumer card (Geforce) can work rendering and 3d animation just as good as a Quadro without that much compromise in performance? I have Maya installed on my computer but I haven't really used it since I haven't had time to tweak around it but I always wondered about that.

 

Well, some say that this is the compromise between the two:

* Quadro FX2500M: +50% in OpenGL apps (lots of antialiased lines etc.)
* Go7900GTX: +10% in games

The +10% has to do mostly with lower clock of the Quadro.

There may also be a difference in power consumption. Nvidia lists the Quadro FX 2500M at 100W (!!!) and extremetech said the Go7900GTX was at 45W. But I don't know if the two figures measure the same thing...

 

Here's an example of an audio benchmark with wildly different results for integrated and discrete...

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2681&p=12

I think maybe it matters less on a dual core CPU, as some of the CPU intensive audio processing can be offloaded to the second CPU...

 

Having an external sound card would help performance, but when you're talking about a Go7900GTX, it doesn't really matter. If you're buying a laptop, you are going to have to live with integrated sound unless you buy a card. Most games aren't multithreaded, so the Duo doesn't offer much help there.

I have never had a problem gaming on integrated sound with all of my laptops past and present; the M1710 was no exception.

 

You're probably right, but I'd still like to see benchmarks, though...

Also, if the software Audigy is implemented in a driver, there's nothing stopping that driver from running in kernel mode on the second CPU - that wouldn't necessarily have to be supported in the game. But what do I know of Windows internals anyway...

 

Well thanks to you guys here..I got suckered in and bought myself the XPS from dell Canada.
Black cover:
1 222-2071 XM1710,CDP T2500(2GHZ)
1 310-6394 BPACK,CRY CASE,NYLON,XPS,NB
1 311-5891 1GB,DDR2,667MHZ,2 DIMM,XM1710
1 312-0422 80 WHR,9-CELL,LION,PRIM BATT,XM1710
1 313-4079 8X DVD+/-RW DRIVE,XM1710
1 313-4210 DELL RESOURCE CD,BACK-UP,XPS-M1710
1 313-4218 SND BLSTR AUDIGY ADVCD AUDIO,XPS M1710
1 320-4755 LCD,17-INCH,TRUELIFE,WUXGA,BLK,XM1710
1 341-3344 60GB HARD DRIVE,7.2K,XM1710
1 412-0850 MCAFEE 7.0,OEM,ENG,90DAY,DIM/INSP
1 420-4830 DELL SUPPORT 3.0,INSP
1 420-4928 WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 10,INSP
1 420-5591 WINXP MCE 2005,ENG,IXPS,U,FACT
1 420-5783 SONIC CINEPLAYER,CD,INSP,XPS
1 420-5791 ROXIO CREATOR/MYDVD LE,XPS
1 430-0493 INTEGRATED NIC AND MODEM
1 430-1048 ADOBE ACROBAT READER,V6.0,INSP
1 430-1660 INTEL PRO/WRLS 3945,A/G,DC,XM1710
1 463-2282 THANKS FOR PURCHASING YOUR DELL
1 465-2657 512MB NVIDIA 7900 GTX,XM1710
1 465-2658 TV TUNER,W/REMOTE,TVT-2,USB, MCE,INSP
1 412-0674 AOL 9.0 ,FI,ENGLISH CANADA
1 412-0861 MS WORKSUITE 2006,ENG,INSP
1 950-3610 RTD,INSP,SOL,INIT YR, REL/PAI (HIGH-2)
1 960-2780 WARRANTY SPRT,INSP,INIT YR
1 983-2207 INFO, SERVICES DELL
1 007-1195 INFO, SERVICES DELL
1 950-3612 RTD,INSP,SOL,2YR EXT, REL/PAI (HIGH-2)
1 950-5442 WARRANTY SPRT,INSP,2YR EXT
1 009-6800 SHIPPING FEE

The warranty is 3 year return to depot + 3 year Tech support

Total: 2700CAD or about 2395 US (before tax) and about 2731 with tax

The same configuration costs from the Dell US website (without the additional warranty): 3423US w/o tax

The microsoft works suite costs 69US from the website??? thats triple the cost of what it is in Canada?? How does that make any sense......

Anyway if you're from canada, the deal is pretty good you get a 'free' upgrade to a GTX, free tuner w/remote control and also 50 bucks off any online order. Thats 370 CAD discount instantly.
And since I talked to a sales rep, I managed to get another 80 dollar discount, the warranty was extended to the 3 years and also a thrown in of the microsoft works suite. You can probably negotiate for more..I was just happy to have saved anything. Glad to be Canadian

 

Excellent price on that machine - the free upgrade to the Go7900GTX 512MB is phenominal. That's a $399USD upgrade here in the US. And I can't believe Dell dropped a free TV Tuner + $50 off on top of it. Incredible deal, you got the best one I've seen so far. Congratulations!

Chaz

 

Yeah I agree with that one Chaz,

I have always loved Canada

Charlie-Peru

One question mate, you didnt buy this notebook, so can you just review them (getting them from DELL?)

 

Hi,

How is it possible that the review doesn't say anything about the DVI-D support!? Is it a singke or dual-link one? THe 7900GTX should (I hope) be able to run a dual-link DVI...

My question is: Does this notebook support dual-link DVI-D for 30 inch DELL 3007WFP LCDs or not?

Thanks,


Steve

 

Just wondering if anyone else was having problems with their wireless connection? Like ChazMan mentioned the connection is flaky, I can't get it to stabilize for more than 10-20 seconds. I tried what ChazMan suggested, but when I uninstall the drivers and do it from scratch it still does not work.

I even tried the newest ones from the Intel website, but now it doesn't even detect the network anymore

I have two sets of drivers from which to choose from:

Driver version 10.1.0.13 with Driver Date 12/4/2005
Driver version 10.1.0.15 with Driver Date 2/26/2006

Perhaps I have to remove both of these from the system folder?

 

It's a really messed up problem - the way I described in the review worked for two-three days with zero problems (I could even game on it), then it would suddenly ... die. Sometimes repeating that process I did worked, sometimes no. The WiFi light flickers and goes out or it doesn't sometimes.

Maybe it is some sort of power issue . . that's all I can think of. A firmware BIOS upgrade should fix it. For now, I don't know how much there is to do besides the drivers and fooling around with the power settings. Calling Dell probably wouldn't do much for you becuase there's nothing they can do which you haven't already done . .

Chaz

 

So I'm essentially screwed lol. Good to know

Well, in all fairness I just received it this morning, and I'm testing it on a ratty Wireless B router. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just that. When I get home I can try it on my somewhat more reliable Wireless G.

Otherwise no complaints whatsover, just like you said, it's whisper quiet, I can't hear it at all. The notebook gets warm but that's expected. I also installed FEAR and man, what can I say, playing it on maximum settings makes my head spin

 

I just bought a Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G and it works great with the 1710. I had never set up a wireless network before and it was a breeze and seems to be just as fast as my desktop internet - we use SBC Yahoo DSL.

 

I got one of these bad boys Monday, and I need to get a good laptop backpack- any reccomendations? I would like it to be as slim as possible; I hate bulk.

Thanks in advance.

--------------------------------------------------------

I also wanted to add a few things about this laptop:

• It CAN use the docking station that Dell sells for it's Inspiron laptops. BUT, since the docking station comes with a 90w power supply, you will have to buy an additional 130w XPS power supply for the docking station (or unhook it every time, kind of a pain).
  
• I ordered mine with Windows XP Media Center Edition, since I've never had it before and I thought it would be fun to use. However, since this is a desktop replacement for work within a domain, this was a big issue since MCE can't join a domain. It turns out that it's built on XP Home edition which can't join a domain, either. I was pretty bummed at first since I thought I would have to upgrade to Pro and lose the MCE functionality. I don't usually give up without a fight, so I did some searching, and it turns out that you can join XP MCE to a domain with a little tweaking. I will list the instructions below, but I wouldn't attempt it unless you know what you are doing with Windows software. You also need a XP Pro Service Pack 2 disk, or this tweak won' t work (this works on MCE 2002 and 2005):
  
  
  Join Windows XP MCE to Domain
  
  1. Insert Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2 CD.
  
  2. Start > Run > X:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
  (replace X: with the appropiate drive letter)
  
  3. Acknowledge prompt by clicking 'Yes'.
  
  4. Skip updating process by clicking 'Cancel' or by pressing 'Esc'
  
  5. After installation, acknowledge success msg. by clicking 'Ok'
  
  6. Start > Shutdown > Restart
  
  7. At boot menu, select 'Microsoft Windows Recovery Console'
  
  8. Select proper installation to log onto (default: 1) and press 'Enter'
  (If prompted, enter Administrator password and press 'Enter')
  
  9. Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'cd system32\config'
  
  10. Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'copy SYSTEM C:\'
  
  11. Type (without quotes) and press enter: exit
  
  12. At boot menu, select 'Windows XP Media Center Edition'
  
  13. Log into Windows and play a game of minesweeper (very important)
  
  14. Start > Run > Type: 'regedit' and press enter
  
  15. Click on 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE'.
  
  16. File > Load Hive...
  
  17. Browse and select C:\SYSTEM
  
  18. Specify key name 'BANANA' and click OK
  
  19. Expand: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > BANANA > WPA > MedCtrUpg
  
  20. On the right-hand side, double-click IsLegacyMCE value
  
  21. Change selected value to 1 and click Ok. (THAT IS NOT AN L!)
  
  22. Click on BANANA subkey (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE).
  
  23. File > Unload Hive. Confirm.
  
  24. Start > Shutdown > Restart
  
  25. At boot menu, select 'Microsoft Windows Recovery Console'
  
  26. Take sip of Dr. Pepper (very important)
  
  27. Select proper installation to log onto (default: 1) and press 'Enter'
  (If prompted, enter Administrator password and press 'Enter')
  
  28. Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'cd \'
  
  29. Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'copy SYSTEM C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM'
  (Yes, you want to overwrite - Go ahead and do it)
  
  30. Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'del SYSTEM'
  
  31. Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'exit'
  
  32. At boot menu, select 'Windows XP Media Center Edition'
  
  33. Join domain. ​
• I've found that you can turn off the booting LEDs in the BIOS. You turn them off, but don't worry, you can turn them back on with the Dell Quickset software. I was using the XPS in bed and my wife griped at me because the LEDs were lighting up the whole room at 1 AM.

Thanks again for all of the great info on the site, in the forums and on this review!

-J

 

Hey.


WOW i just cant get my hands off the ground This laptop is insane cool It got a coool looking got some INSANE nice specs... hmm I WANT IT Now i just need to get some money I hope in some month i can get it. But maby that time there is a new and better model But i think i will save up for this.

The only - i have with this laptop is that it cost ALOT

Hmmm when you go with it is it then big? or do you not feel you are going with it??

Have someone tryed to play Oblivion on it??? And if yes what grafic was it on and how did it handle it?

Thx

From Kehaan.

 

I played Oblivion at WSXGA+ resolution, mid-high settings with HDR and it looked spectacular.

Chaz

 

Hey.

Hmm thx. Waht do it handle if you put it up to FULL hight??? And what of the two grafic cards is it???

Thx

From Kehaan.

 

Ok guys... this is my first post here.

I need the power since I do websites/hosting and mutimedia for a living. So I ordered my XPS a couple weeks ago and I must say I am pretty damn excited. Top notch reviews (especially here!), awards from MANY magazines, and excellent support and appreciation from the gaming community near and abroad has lead me to my decision.. that this thing better rock!

Anyway, here's what I got for (cough...) $3188

1 222-1716 XPS M1710, Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz FSB)
1 320-4755 17 inch UltraSharp TrueLife Wide-screen WUXGA with Black LCD Cover, for XPS M1710
1 311-5892 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 677MHZ,2 DIMM, for XPS M1710
1 320-4757 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900, for XPS M1710
1 341-3346 100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive for XPS M1710
1 420-5591 Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005,English for Inspiron XPS
1 420-4928 Windows Media Player 10
1 463-2282 Dell Owners Manual installed on your system,click on icon after system set-up to access
1 313-4210 Dell Resource CD with Application Backup,w/Tools for XPS M1710
1 420-4830 DELL SUPPORT 3.0
1 420-5460 Complimentary courses: Look for EU icon
1 420-5476 Dell Direct Download
1 420-5924 Icon Consolidation Application
1 420-5769 Internet Search and Portal
1 430-1277 Integrated 10/100/1000 NetworkCard and Modem for Inspiron
1 430-1048 Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, for Inspiron
1 465-2556 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, for XPS M1710
1 420-5783 Sonic Cineplayer
1 420-5791 Roxio Creator Basic/MyDVD Basic
1 313-4218 SoundBlaster Advanced Audio for XPS M1710
1 430-1660 Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps) for XPS M1710
1 412-0851 Network Associates McAfee 7.0,English, 15-Month Subscription
1 312-0422 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for XPS M1710
1 412-0787 AOL for Broadband
1 420-3224 Broadband Icon for Inspiron
1 412-0687 NETZERO ISP
1 420-5256 Netscape ISP
1 412-0861 MS Worksuite 2006
1 950-7447 4 Year Limited Warranty
1 412-0359 Soft Contracts - Qualxserve
1 950-4453 Type 15- Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, 3 Year Extended
1 960-6520 Type 15- Third Party At Home Service with Nights and Week ends, 24x7 Technical Support, Initial Year
1 464-5099 $70 Promo Dell Gift Card Card Card to arrive 6-8 weeks afterpurchase Redeem before 1 year expiration. dell.com/giftcard
1 902-2483 Warranty Support,3 Year Extended
1 960-8690 Technical Support,Initial Year
1 970-5927 Inspiron XPS, Specialized Support
1 430-1659 Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR), for XPS M1710
1 465-2378 Thank you for choosing Dell
1 464-8857 Special Offer - $125 off


Notice the promo gift card for $70 and the special $125 off

So did I get a good deal?
AND will it still scream in gaming and multimedia (check my configuration even though I didn't cough enough for the $4200 formula red SE?

thanks
xlr8

 

There were a few questions as I perused that I'll touch on...

I got a T2600 with the 7900GTX... for under $2500.00. I bought 3 at a time at end of month. I used a reseller... your mileage may vary.

I ended up grabbing the Ogio Hip Hop... only I bought the Spartan Messenger version of this bag from http://www.bungiestore.com . I liked the colors better. The Ogio site ( http://www.ogio.com) says that this bag will hold most 17". I haven't received it yet, but I'll post pics when I get it.

Finally, the real reason for my joining the ranks here... I created a short vid clip of the XPS booting into MediaDirect mode. This was a bit of a challenge considering the first thing I did with this box was blow it away and reinstall XP Pro.

Without further ado...

<object width='425' height='350'><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep2RobzQVv4"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ep2RobzQVv4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width='600' height='350'></embed></object>

Forgive the quality. It was shot straight to Quicktime MOV from my old Canon C-3000 Zoom. Also, the Matchbox 20 DVD was the closest DVD we had here at work. I'm definitely not a fan ;-)

 

I also wanted to add that I'm able to use this machine with my d/port advanced port replicator that I bought with my Dell Latitude D800 a couple of years back. Makes it nice to run in dual head mode over DVI with my 2000FP (looks so aged and dark compared to the screen on the m1710). The port replicator can be had for around $50 on "that auction site" without the AC Adapter...which is what you'll want as you'll need your pa-13 130 watt in order to run the XPS. I've ordered a second PA-13 to leave connected to the dock so I won't have to swap all the time.

There seems to be a little confusion out there over docking solutions... especially amongst XPS techs, but YES, there is a dock connector on this machine, clearly visible in the pics provided by Chaz in this review, and yes it will dock and function correctly with the d/port advanced port replicator from Dell.

 

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to do that - I was never able to boot the review unit into there for some reason, whenever I pressed the Media Direct button it would boot right into Windows. Perhaps the pre-boot utility was never installed.

That's the best deal I've seen so far, can't beat that. The base model started at more than that originally with a T2400 and Go7900GS.

Yes, Dell has made them pretty much standard across their notebooks, which can only be a good thing. It's mainly for the Latitude models; Dell is going to keep the D-series accessories compatible with other versions for a while.

Thanks for the great posts, welcome to the forums.

 

My pleasure, thanks for having me! It was your phenomenal review that encouraged me to participate.

I've had a couple of folks ask about the pricing I received. Please keep in mind that in the past I've been affiliated with a datacenter that has done lots of biz with Dell. I believe our price breaks were due in major part to our purchase commitments. So basically if you buy several dozen PowerEdge Servers every quarter, they'll treat you right too! ;-)

I've now had this machine for a week, and its been phenomenal.

I wanted to touch on the MediaDirect concerns a bit. There are issues with this feature, especially if you do what any sane customer would do which is wipe the disc and start over OS wise.

When (not if... I'm an optimist) you get your m1710, and you start the reinstall routine to reload your OS you will notice 2 partitions. In the case of my box which came with XP Pro preloaded and has a 100GB 7200 RPM HDD, there was a 93GB partition and a 47MB partition. Instinct, and a lot of Linux experience, made me think that they were stashing MediaDirect on that partition. I was told by Tech support that that was a correct assumption.

Now why would I call tech support? In the manual when looking up the method in which to rescue MediaDirect it actually recommends you contact support to get it back.

So I chatted up XPS Freddy, or someone, and they had me detail the method that I reinstalled. I asked if he was wondering if I'd blown away that 47MB partition and assured him I hadn't. He then told me this was going to be cake... and frankly it was.

He pointed me to an update driver on Dell's site.
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?releaseid=R121517&fileid=161804

Included in this update is an iso. You need to burn the cd... boot from it... cd to md2 then run repair.bat.

It finishes in a blink. I shut the machine down, hit the MediaDirect button and it fired right up. One of the first things I did inside of MediaDirect was update it. Settings... Update... something or other.

So now I've got absolutely no sign of some bloody anti-virus software, [fill in your bloatware here], etc... but I've rescued the MediaDirect for... reasons still unclear to me. I'll never use it.

I have a question for the group... and I think it might be a tad off-topic but... can the 7900 GTX drive the Dell 3007 30" LCD? I'm leaning towards the 2405FPW because of the analog component inputs and the whole pic-in-pic which I use frequently on my 2000FP, but 30 inches... that's a beautiful thing.

 

Hi, after a long waiting.. too long 5 weeks (sorry if i screw up with my language or my english) i'm just about to get my xps m1710..
it was an US$2460 deal for this included

- Dual core T2500 2.0GHz
- 2 GB RAM at 667Mhz
- SoundBlaster Audigy HD
- 1 year complete care warranty (here in my country -ok i say it Colombia- it cost extra money)

i know i miss the 7900 GTX /512 and a 7200RMP HDD.. but i hope isn't so bad.

well i expect to post some good pictures of it, so you guys who haven't bought it can get a better (or another) visual idea..

 

That's a great deal considering you are outside the US. The Go7900GS will still perform well and I think you'll like the machine a lot. We'd definitely be interested in pictures.

Chaz

 

Living in Canada this is the highest end laptop i can find at a reasonable price(using EPP).
I so would have gotten this, if it wasn't for the flashy design -_-

 

I recieved the M1710 through work this week and it looks as if they didn't order me the Audigy HD. For owners with this feature, could you tell me if this is a hardware onboard solution or a software solution and how (if possible) you output 5.1 to external sources for gaming. Does your M1710 have a single output jack for audio even though you have Audigy HD.

Thanks
FPSmaker

 

Hey.

Hehe i would be very happy for alot more videos of the XPS That would just be GREAT

Tyvm

From Kehaan.

 

I already responded to you in my own M1710 thread Chaz, not sure if you saw it yet. in case you didnt, I just wanted to thank you for this great review. it was this review (along with the fact that I managed to get my hands on a nice 30% off coupon) that finally convinced me to take the plunge and buy this fantastic laptop. The one small negitive is my M1710 has some light leakage on the bottom of the screen. Particularly the bottom left corner area. I belive you touched on that subject in your review as well. I only really notice it when there is a white backround. Anyhow, thanks a bunch!

 

I also only noticed the light leakage when the screen was perfectly black. It is so unnoticable that I don't even consider it much of a con. Thanks for reading the review.

Chaz

 

Great Review!
I have a thinkpad and was wondering how does the keyboard on the xps compare to a thinkpad?
Thx Tek

 

remember that i promise some pics.. well ..weeell
after 2 very long months of waiting i finally got my xps m1710!!
that day i slept more than happy...

the next day when i turned on the notebook.. the video card just started to fill the screen with garbage (strange blinkin characters and color pixels everywhere)..and went off..

i called dell's support and now i have to wait at least 2 weeks for the ship of the replacement card to my country..

very..very funny son of a b..

see ya!

 

Man cant believe this laptop came out when i actually do have the money to buy it....anyways guys...am new to this forum.... your comments on the review and the review itself helped me a long way in making a decision...finally i ordered the beast today.The config is the same the only difference being that i have bought the one with 2.33 core 2 duo T7600 processor instead of the 2.16 GHZ processor...guess that should add in some more atomic fuel to the rig..hehehe costed me an extra 320 euros(me in germany)

anyways the total price i paid was 3336 euros with a 4 years complete care package...i guess the Value added Tax is much more here than in US

As soon as i get it i ll have photos uploaded here....man...cant wait to lay my hands on the red mettalic lid and play with all those 16 LED colours...not to mention F.E.A.R at highest reso.

the downside being my gf (who stayed with me before the purchase) is furious and has decided to stay wid her parents for a week or two...

 

Did you get the red lid? AFAIK, it's only available in North America.

Be nice to your gf - after all, what's a computer worth?

(Though the M1710 is really nice, too)

 

i sure did order the red lid...i mean... i paid..... i guess an extra 40 euros for that....but u are scaring me there saying its available only in NA.Hope i havent bought something else with those 40 euros for i want it with the red lid.I am calling dell tomorrow right away.....

anyways mini thanks for the tip about my gf...according to my calculations my gf (who is now slowly recollecting herself) was just talking about coming a week earlier to me (than the stipulated 2 weeks) if i promised to take to her advice in the future.....heheh......i guess the XPS M1710 is also proving lucky for me

 

I was disappointed by this review, but that's probably no surprise. The grammar errors and typos were pretty distracting, but I soldiered on. The "Customer Support" section was entirely useless; I expect to read about a test call to customer support here. If I want a list of phone numbers and links, I can get those from the Dell website.

Some of the photos were great; the ones labeling the different ports, for example. Others were pretty miserable. The shots of the keyboard, in particular, were obviously taken with two different colour balance settings leaving me to wonder how well the keyboard does or doesn't match the case.

Why wouldn't the benchmark result columns be sorted by score?

Why not bench the battery life while gaming?

Dell (and many other companies) get flamed for the bundled software. Drivers for the touch pad, for example, apps that handle the special buttons or the configuration of the laptop. These weren't mentioned here; are they any good? Are any of them painful for memory or CPU use?

 

Hello.. I'm a new owner of the XPS M1710. Great laptop! I've got the 2.33 T7600G 7950GTX model. I have a few questions.

I have a set of speakers at the house with the 3 headphone type connectors. I saw this dock and noticed it has the 3 connectors I could use for my speakers. Does anyone know if this particular dock will work with my M1710?

Also.. I'd like to get an additional power supply and I came across these ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...EWA:IT&viewitem=&item=200048708520&rd=1&rd=1). Will this work this the laptop and the dock I referenced?

Thanks for the help!

 

The dock lists compatibility with 9400, so I'm 99.9% sure it would work with the M1710. Note that it seems to have a sound card of its own, because most of the mentioned systems don't have 5.1/7.1 sound cards.

The power supply lists M1710 explicitly, so that should work.

 

Have just placed my order for my Xps m1710 specs:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7600 (2.33GHz/667MHz/4MB)
2 GIG DDR Memory (677MHZ)
100 GB Hard Drive (7200RPM)
512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7900 Go GTX graphics card
XP Home
DVDRW Drive
1Year Guarentee.

All for £1479.99 from ebay.

Just wondering whether this laptops dvd-rw drive is compaitible with the software Dvd Decrypter, i currently own a i9300 and have had numerous problems burning dvds using nero etc with 30 % of disks failing half way, dvd decrypter doesnt work on this system for some reason, can someone let me know if it runs ok on this xps, small thing i know, macihines arriving in a few days cant wait to see the graphics, why is it hardly any games support 1920x1200 resolution such a Pain!!!!

 

I just realized that the SPDIF will pretty much do the same thing for me, and my receiver that I use for gaming has a SPDIF on it. It works great and sounds great too, so I could go ahead and get the dock with the PCI expansion bus on it. Does anyone here use that dock? Any have you been able to put a powerful video card in there? I know most of them would probably be too long to fit.

Thanks for the info.

 

I paid $3099 and mine had everything you could possibly order aside from the 4GB RAM upgrade. It also included a 3Yr warranty including 3Yr accidental damage insurance. I haven't overclocked anything yet, but the bios allows the T7600G @ 2.33Ghz to be pushed up to 3.3Ghz. I'm not sure where it will become unstable, but it is nice to know the options are there to utilize. The 7950GTX is well worth the extra cash man. I've been running the following games at 1920x1200 with max graphics and they are stunning.

Oblivion - HDR & Max Graphics - 45-60fps outdoors
Neverwinter Nights 2 - Max Graphics minus full shadows - 30-40fps
GTR2 - Max Graphics - 90fps
Thief Deadly Shadows - Max Graphics - 45-60fps
Company of Heroes - Max Graphics - 55-60fps

Almost all of these games are fairly new; within a year for some of the older ones. I can't vouch for the 7900, but the 7950 is powerful and does what I need it to do.

 

Question from a total Newbie...

What is the best and most efficient way to overclock this machine?

Many people seem to simply overclock the CPU to 2,8 - 3 Ghz? Also, being a total newbie - what software tools should I use - or do I directly go into the notebook device manager etc?

Thanks a lot!



P.S Price happige 5700 EUR

-----------------
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7600G (2.33GHz/667MHz/4MB)
4 GIG DDR Memory (667MHZ)
100 GB Hard Drive (7200RPM)
512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7950 Go GTX graphics card

I have not seen anybody else with this config anywhere else so it is going to be interesting to see how it performs in Oblivion....