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New/updated XPS M1710/M1720 17" performance notebook 540 points posted to Gaming, XPS products by hjwasson 05/02/07
Dell's well regarded XPS M1710 is arguably the flagship of their notebook line. Unfortunately, it is starting to show it's age, and I am hoping that Dell will soon update it. Here is my personal wish-list for an updated M1710/M1720. Please make additional <u>realistic</u> suggestions, or discuss what you'd like to have that is different from my vision. <u>XPS M1710/M1720 wish list:</u>Processor: Intel Montevina (Mobile counterpart to Penryn) Core 2 Quad. If that's not yet ready when the new M1710/M1720 debuts, then Intel Centrino Pro(aka 'Santa Rosa') T7700 & T7500 Core 2 Duo. http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3265 Alternative Processor: If AMD manages to strike back at Intel with a powerful alternative to the Core 2 Duo, perhaps Dell could add a 'M1715' alternative with the AMD processor |
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benjesuit
05/02/07 |
Mate, clean up this post's format a bit. |
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hjwasson
05/02/07 |
Wow! I just looked at my post in IE6, and it's formatting is terrible! Not that it was exactly what I wanted in Firefox 2, but far better than how it presents in IE. My apologies, everyone! I will work to clean it up right away.... |
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hjwasson
05/02/07 |
Okay...I've cleaned the formatting up as best as I could. Hopefully Internet Explorer will display things cleanly enough for people to understand everything I'm throwing at them. Thank you, benjesuit, for pointing out the issue to me! I apologize also for the huge forum header at the top. Apparently, you should not select the forum headers each time you edit your post, as it keeps adding the forum headers each time you save. It should only read "Gaming Forum | Gaming Headlines | Desktops and Notebooks Forum | Desktops and Notebooks Headlines" |
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andepiel45
05/03/07 |
It summarizes all my wishes, except three: 1.- System HDD imaging program (such as Acronis TrueImage, Microsoft RIS or RescueDisc). This way you can restore a clean image of the system on a regular basis -pretty necessary on Windows, I guess due to register- 2.- ATI/Nvidia option always available. I prefer Nvidia, since better driver's support, and some systems only allow ATI cards. 3.- Include all your improvements worldwide, not only US. I am from Spain, and things arrive here in Europe with a large delay. I would like to remark two aspects on the features listed on this great thread: a.- Anti-Reflection LCD ====> Yeah, it is very annoying to see your face better than what you are watching at. b.- eSATA interface for plugging SATA2 external HDDs. c.- Storage in two devices, either 2xHDD RAID as Vaio laptops, or solid state memory for OS. The OS is something that you need to have, but you actually don't care about it, so, put it somewhere with a recovery mechanism, and that's all. Nobody wants to deal with it as long as it works. |
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hjwasson
05/03/07 |
andepiel, thanks for your comments. My responses are: 1. HDD imaging software - I'm assuming you'd like Dell to bundle this as free software? Or just have it in the options screen when you click through your purchase? Otherwise, you could always purchase it elsewhere. Good point, though - making full drive backups is certainly one way of maintaining your system. 2. GPU's - Yes, I'm all in favor of having high end graphics options from more than one vendor. There's plenty of devoted nVidia fans and ATI (now AMD) fans. In point of fact, I'm scared of the possibility that we'll eventually have only one vendor in this arena. So many have fallen by the wayside - and we don't really need to have another monopoly. It would only stifle innovation. 3. Global availability of product - I completely agree with this. I don't know why it can't be done in today's globalized, interconnected world. BTW...what's to stop you from configuring a machine on the US website, and having it shipped to your location anywhere in the world? Does Dell not allow shipping outside of the US, if you're on the US website? Or is it an issue with warranty service? a. It used to be that the chemical anti-reflective coatings placed on camera lenses and eye-glasses did not bond well with plastics. These days, you can get plastic lenses with AR coatings - so I think it would be relatively easy to do the same to the face of the LCD display. Relative care would need to be taken to not scratch the coating - but the same has to be said about the plastic screen itself. I always use a microfiber cloth. Anyway, I'd like to see this as an option - even if they did charge an extra $20-$50. It would be worth it not to have to look at my ugly mug all the time! ;-) b. eSATA port - I addressed that towards the bottom, under "Increased I/O ports." I've written so much on this post, it's no wonder you didn't see it. I really care about this wish list, and want it to be my next major computer purchase. c. 2 drive bays - I addressed that towards the top, under "HDD/SSD Storage Options." Sorry for being so wordy with my posts! |
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hjwasson
05/03/07 |
felixdaacat has made some interesting suggestions on his similar post. Check it out:http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/66760/Laptop_Ideas |
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andepiel45
05/04/07 |
Related to the imaging system, I was refering an "Out of the box" system, already installed by default and a manual showing how to back-up the system, once all the applications are loaded and how to restore it periodically teh clean image. In my experience is the only way to keep a Windows functional, especially on home environments, since lost of programs install and deinstall and so on. About buying in Dell's US store, I am not sure if I am allow. Anyway, there are some troubles: 1.- Expensive shipment 2.- Extremely high importation fees (around 20% of the cost) 3.- European VAT (Value Add Tax), around 17% 4.- Currency conversion fees. At the end, the laptop has a extremely high cost on the US store compared to irish one, although apparently is cheaper (VAT is not included, and 1 EUR = 0'8 $). |
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hjwasson
05/04/07 |
Ouch! I forgot about import tariffs & taxes! That certainly kills the deal! I think you would agree that since Dell is a global company, they should sell all of their products globally! Please vote on this post:All Dell products should be available globally |
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shiningarcanine
05/04/07 |
I voted for it, but I do not like the idea of having LED keyboards. I also do not think that the larger touchpad and extra DVI port in place of the VGA port are that practical, considering that people might need to use an older monitor and that the average person would prefer the cursor to move more from moving their fingers less than less from moving their fingers more, which would be the only reason for the larger touchpad. |
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hjwasson
05/04/07 |
I disagree (obviously), shiningarcanine - but I respect your opinion. 1. Have you seen the LED lights on the current M1710? The backlit keyboard is a natural extension of that, and would allow users to use it in the dark (like the Logitech G15 & G11 keyboards). Just like on the current model, people who don't like it (or who happen to be using it at work at the moment) could turn it off. 2. As far as dumping the VGA port in favor of DVI - the beauty of DVI is that it's backwards compatible with VGA with a simple adapter that could be included with the notebook (just like they are with desktop systems). The advantage you get in return is that you can output to two LCD monitors in native DVI format, instead of having to downgrade one monitor to VGA. VGA was created in the days of CRT monitors. As much as I'm a fan of good quality (& big) CRT monitors - their time has ended, and LCD's are the new dominant monitor technology. 3. Large touchpad: The nice thing about touchpads is that their sensitivity is adjustable. People don't have to use the entire real estate - they can just increase the sensitivity. However, on the tiny touchpad on my M1210, I have to "lift & drag, lift & drag." If I turn up the sensitivity, I don't have precise enough control. Having a larger pad would greatly help with this. There's a reason why digital artists use a Wacom digital pad instead of a touch pad. Consider my wish list touchpad to be a half-step towards that digital tablet! ;-) |
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jmxz
08/13/07 |
from the Idea... "DX10" Seems DX10's already http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/11/0524250&from=rss SIGGRAPH 2007 was the stage where Microsoft dropped the bomb, informing gamers that the currently available DirectX 10 hardware will not support the upcoming DirectX 10.1 in Vista SP1. In essence, all current DX10 hardware is now obsolete. Perhaps updating this to request DX10.1 would be better? |
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