The Bottom Line
- Strong 3D Graphics
- Lots of Expansion Ports
- Expensive
- Heavy for the Dimensions
- TV Tuner Not Included Standard
Description
- Intel Core Duo T2400 Mobile Processor
- 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
- 80GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
- 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
- 17" WUXGA+ (1900x1200) Wide Screen LCD
- NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS 256MB Graphics
- v.92 56Kbps Modem, Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11a/b/g Wireless
- Six USB 2.0, FireWire, 5-in-1 Card Reader and ExpressCard/54
- 15.5" x 11.3" x 1.7" @ 8.8 lbs.
- Windows XP Media Center 2005, McAfee Security Center, MS Office Basic
Guide Review - Dell XPS M1710
7/25/06 – Dell's XPS M1710 is the replacement for the very short lived M170. In fact, the two system look nearly identical. The M1710 was an upgrade from the older system by moving the processor away from the Pentium M to the Core Duo processors. This increased the general performance of the computer, particularly in multitasking thanks to the dual cores. A full 1GB of PC2-5300 DDR2 memory is included to let the system cruise though most applications without much of a problem.
Storage for the XPS M1710 is overall quite good. The focus is more on performance than on capacity though. The standard configurations tend to include a lower 60 or 80GB hard drive that spin at the desktop rate of 7200rpm rather than the slower 5400rpm. This provides fast access times to data over the slower drives. An 8x DVD+/-RW dual layer burner is included for reading and writing CDs and DVDs.
Since the XPS M1710 is really targeted at PC gamers, the graphics are one of its strong points. The 17” LCD screen features a very high 1900x1200 resolution. It is also driven by the GeForce Go 7900 GS processor that can play the latest games at these higher resolutions. An optional GTX version provides even more 3D performance. Its too bad Dell doesn't offer the TV tuner standard to make this a high performance media system.
