The newest Dell XPS M1730 (Penryn) us a aweinspiring piece of technological splendor. A Bold statement yes, but one that’s easily warranted by this masterfully designed gaming laptop, despite its size and heft.

Weight is, in fact, this rig’s only limitation. With its gigantic AC adaptor, the weight of the 17”, wide screen M1730 jumps to almost 14 pounds. Nonetheless, M1730 is a terrific example of where technology is heading. LED lights shine out through the grilles of the front speakers and from underneath the keyboard, the numeric keypad, and the center of the lid. You can also customize the lights with Dell’s Quickset software. If you’re more interested in conserving power or battery life, the intensity of these lights can be lowered or turned off.

The feature set is solid, for the most part, except for the aging DVI-out connector. The 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 represents the M1730’s move to a “Penryn” core. The M1730 also includes a built in PhysX card from Ageia - a first for a laptop, as well as nVidia Geforce 8800M GTX SLI graphics cards.

The M1730’s SYSmark 2007 Preview Overall score was slightly behind our comparison system, the Alienware Area-51 ml5x (by 6%). The system’s video-encoding score also came up short. Scores on CineBench R10 and Photoshop tests, on the other hand, were as impressive as those of the Alienware laptop. Results on the World in Conflict and Crysis gaming tests were 1.7 times and 7.2 times as high, respectively, as those of the Alienware. As for battery life, the Dell laptops score of 1 hour 30 minutes on MobileMark 2007 sentences it to a life near power outlet. But for serious gamers, the game experience is what counts the most. Here the M1730 easily takes first price. If you’re looking for an all-around laptop that’s still strong on gaming, however, I’d recommend going for the Alienware system.

Dell XPS M1730 Specification:

- Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor X9000 (2.8GHz, 6MB Cache, 800Mhz FSB)
- 4GB Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2
- NVIDIA® SLITM Dual GeForce® 8800M GTX with 1GB GDDR3 Memory
- 17” 1920×1200 display
- Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11 a/g Mini Card Wireless
- Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini Card
- Dual Layer DVD+/-R, Blu-ray Optical Drive
- 4 USB 2.0
- Dual-link DVI-I (support for 30-inch displays)
- HDMI via DVI adapter
- Firewire (IEEE 1394a)
- RJ45 Ethernet port (10/100/1000)
- S-video with component, composite, S/PDIF support through dongle
- 8-in-1 card reader
- ExpressCard 54 mm slot
- Consumer IR
- Dual headphones, microphone (stereo line-in) and support for 5.1 audio out
- 9-cell 85WHr Li-Ion Battery
- Up to 320GB configured with a single 5400 RPM SATAII hard drive (Raid 0 and 1 is also available)
- Integrated 2.0 MP camera
- Bluetooth® 2.0

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