The DELL INSPIRON 1720
was my second new laptop, since my departure for good from the desktop headaches and pains. It was also, another level of OS experience for me (from XP
to Vista
). I always hate smaller viewing display of laptops compared to desktops. I wish they could sell those 19" laptops at a cheaper, entry level price. Dell
did offer 8 different color options for customizations, but unfortunately there was only white available.The system was pre-configured as follows; Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500
(2.2GHz, 4Mb L2 cache, 800MHz FSB) with Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset, 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM
, 160GB Sata HDD
, 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 8600GT
, 17.0" Diagonal Widescreen TrueLife TFT LCD Display(1920x1200, Glossy WUXGA), 8X DVD (+- Double layer) Drive, 2.0 Megapixel Webcam
, Bluetooth
(EDR 2.0Plus), Intel Wireless Link (WiFi) 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n), Express Card Slot (34/54), Firewire IEEE-1394, Mic/Headphone Connector, 5 USB 2.0 Ports, VGA Out, 5-in-1 Media Card Reader, Dell Bluetooth Mouse
, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition
, 12 Months McAfee Antivirus
, 90W (19V X 4.62A) 100~240 AC Adapter
, 9 Cells (85W) Li Ion Battery
, Dimension (W15.5" X D11.5" X H1.7") and finally with a standard Dell 1 Year Limited Warranty. I got a blue-screen upon the first start-up! But that was just it. Everything went on smoothly after that. It was pretty heavy at about approximately 3 kg without a second hard disk. The stock no-option alpine white was not bad after all. It has cleaner and sleeker design compared to the previous INSPIRON models. Awesome display! TrueLife Glossy WUXGA is indeed (IMO) the best of display in the market, period. Built quality is not that bad either, with some cheap touch of plastic components here and there that will trigger clacking noises, when you try to move it to places. This kind of heaviness and cheap-feeling-of-plastic makes DELL INSPIRON 1720 unsuitable for swatting flies.
(2.2GHz, 4Mb L2 cache, 800MHz FSB) with Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset, 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM, 160GB Sata HDD, 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 8600GT, 17.0" Diagonal Widescreen TrueLife TFT LCD Display(1920x1200, Glossy WUXGA), 8X DVD (+- Double layer) Drive, 2.0 Megapixel Webcam, Bluetooth (EDR 2.0Plus), Intel Wireless Link (WiFi) 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n), Express Card Slot (34/54), Firewire IEEE-1394, Mic/Headphone Connector, 5 USB 2.0 Ports, VGA Out, 5-in-1 Media Card Reader, Dell Bluetooth Mouse, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition, 12 Months McAfee Antivirus, 90W (19V X 4.62A) 100~240 AC Adapter, 9 Cells (85W) Li Ion Battery, Dimension (W15.5" X D11.5" X H1.7") and finally with a standard Dell 1 Year Limited Warranty. I got a blue-screen upon the first start-up! But that was just it. Everything went on smoothly after that. It was pretty heavy at about approximately 3 kg without a second hard disk. The stock no-option alpine white was not bad after all. It has cleaner and sleeker design compared to the previous INSPIRON models. Awesome display! TrueLife Glossy WUXGA is indeed (IMO) the best of display in the market, period. Built quality is not that bad either, with some cheap touch of plastic components here and there that will trigger clacking noises, when you try to move it to places. This kind of heaviness and cheap-feeling-of-plastic makes DELL INSPIRON 1720 unsuitable for swatting flies.The new Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition is quite impressive even though it is not as fast as its predecessor's XP and being power hungry, the factory pre-installed 2GB DDR2 SDRAM and Core 2 Duo Processor T7500
, able to meet with its demand. The smaller applications and utilities which were pre-installed may slow the system down, and I do not know if it' were really that useful. The 160GB SATA hard disk space was basically enough for storing basic files and documents, but not your collections of movies, videos, images, games. I found out that it took merely few weeks, when I realized, I need a secondary hard disk. Five USB2.0 ports is likely more than enough to handle normal dude mobile needs (three at the back and two at the right side).
is quite impressive even though it is not as fast as its predecessor's XP and being power hungry, the factory pre-installed 2GB DDR2 SDRAM and Core 2 Duo Processor T7500, able to meet with its demand. The smaller applications and utilities which were pre-installed may slow the system down, and I do not know if it' were really that useful. The 160GB SATA hard disk space was basically enough for storing basic files and documents, but not your collections of movies, videos, images, games. I found out that it took merely few weeks, when I realized, I need a secondary hard disk. Five USB2.0 ports is likely more than enough to handle normal dude mobile needs (three at the back and two at the right side).The screen display is simply amazing. WUXGA Glossy TrueLife with resolutions up to 1920 X 1200 is absolutely beautiful. The widescreen offers vibrant colours and make the screen looked sharp and good in extra-ordinary angle which is not
previously possible on normal LCD screens. Tried a few games in it, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare
and some other older titles, like Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction
, EA Need For Speed
few racing titles. The equipped nVidia GeForce Go 8600GT handles these games easily. It does manage Modern Warfare at high settings of 1920 x 1200 resolutions... but with not that fast speed of play. Not a bad gaming machine at this kind of pricing... around RM3.3k eh!
previously possible on normal LCD screens. Tried a few games in it, Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare and some other older titles, like Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction, EA Need For Speed few racing titles. The equipped nVidia GeForce Go 8600GT handles these games easily. It does manage Modern Warfare at high settings of 1920 x 1200 resolutions... but with not that fast speed of play. Not a bad gaming machine at this kind of pricing... around RM3.3k eh!Built quality is okay with a cheap plastic feeling. I shouldn't expect something classy like the DELL XPS
material or APPLE
stuff put into these range of laptop. Maybe the cost of production will improve in the near future, where awesomeness is not that expensive anymore. The full sized keyboard
was another attraction.
material or APPLE stuff put into these range of laptop. Maybe the cost of production will improve in the near future, where awesomeness is not that expensive anymore. The full sized keyboard was another attraction. The feel of having a desktop
with much lesser power requirements while retaining the portability of a notebook. It is not that portable anyway. I wouldn't want a 3kg laptop sitting on my lap for 30 minutes! Consider its smaller model of INSPIRON 1420
if you want to lug it around to classes or lectures. The INSPIRON 1720 is a great mobile multimedia desktop replacement, and carrying this, a-closes-to-2-inches thick, more than 3kg laptop on your back every other 1-2 hours is a serious workout.
with much lesser power requirements while retaining the portability of a notebook. It is not that portable anyway. I wouldn't want a 3kg laptop sitting on my lap for 30 minutes! Consider its smaller model of INSPIRON 1420 if you want to lug it around to classes or lectures. The INSPIRON 1720 is a great mobile multimedia desktop replacement, and carrying this, a-closes-to-2-inches thick, more than 3kg laptop on your back every other 1-2 hours is a serious workout. 