I was wondering if I could get your guys opinions on a few laptops I'm looking at? They are the Hypersonic Aviator CX7 Duo, the Dell XPS M1710, and the Dell E1705. Spec's are as follows:
System 1:
Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Hard Drive 100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives FREE!8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless and Bluetooth
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Word, Excel, and Outlook email
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 36-months
Primary Battery 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service plus Nights and Weekend
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Free SKIN Promotion 17 - Free Promotion for 17 inch Skin
Future Operating Systems Windows Vista™ Capable
Operating System Re-Installation CD Genuine Windows® XP Professional re-installation CD
Dell Digital Entertainment Deluxe Entertainment Pack - Starter plus a total Music and Photo package
ACCESSORIES
Notebook Expansion Dock Qty 1
Dell Part# 80370971 Unit Price $66.00
TOTAL
2,047.20
System 2:
XPS M1710 Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GTX
Hard Drive 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless and Bluetooth
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Word, Excel, and Outlook email
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) PC-cillin Internet Security: AntiVirus, Firewall, Spyware removal 15-months
Primary Battery 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
XPS Specialized Support Inspiron XPS, Specialized Support
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service, Support
Future Operating Systems Windows Vista™ Capable
Dell Digital Entertainment No preinstalled software
TOTAL3,507.00
System 3:
Aviator CX7 Duo: High Performance 17" Centrino Duo Gaming Notebook - Qty: 1
Aviator CX7 in Silver with Tinted Brushed Aluminum Cover - Qty: 1
1.83GHz Intel® Core Duo Processor T2400 / 2MB Cache/ 667MHz FSB - Qty: 1
Intel® 945PM chipset + ICH7M Mobile Motherboard (CX7-Duo) - Qty: 1
1024MB Mushkin PC5400 DDR2-667 SODIMM - Low Latency (5-5-5-15) - Qty: 1
1024MB Mushkin PC5400 DDR2-667 SODIMM - Low Latency (5-5-5-15) - Qty: 1
Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX PCI-Express 512MB GDDR3 - Qty: 1
100GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Hard Drive with NCQ & 8MB Cache - Qty: 1
8X DVD ± R/W Drive Dual Layer w/ DVD Recording Software - Qty: 1
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView™ Display w/ Super Clear Glossy Surface - Qty: 1
Built-in High Definition 3D Sound System for CX7 - Qty: 1
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller - Qty: 1
Internal 802.11A/G 54Mbps Wireless Mini PCI for CX7 - Qty: 1
Internal Bluetooth™ Module for CX7 - Qty: 1
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem - Qty: 1
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD & Manual SP2 Pre-Installed & Configured - Qty: 1
Custom Hypersonic Disaster Recovery DVD (Recommended) - Qty: 1
1 Year Platinum Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free Tech Support - Qty: 1
TOTAL2,713.00
So here's the deal, according to this review http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2766&p=1 the E1705 and M1710 are vertually the same computer if you add some options to the E1705. The review makes it look like the M1710 is a better machine in the end but the E1705 they tested had 1G of ram while the M1710 had 2G. The E1705 was also tested with the 256MB 7800 while the M1710 had the 512MB 7900 GTX. The only thing you can't get on the E1705 is the 512MB 7900 GTX but is that really worth 1,500 more then the 256MB 7900GS which is what I spec'd on my E1705. Here is a compare of the video cards tested and spec'd.
Tested 7800 vs 7900 GTX:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=410&card2=393
Spec'd 7900 GS vs 7900 GTX:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=394&card2=393
So basically they are all the same other then video cards, which, will all be obsolete in 6-12 months when Vista rolls out. Correct? Anyone see any reason to spend 700-1500 dollars more? I bet in a month after the release of the Core 2 Duo for notebooks and with Dell's ficsal year rebates the E1705 will drop another 400-500 bucks....what ya think?
System 1:
Inspiron E1705 Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
Video Card 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Hard Drive 100GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives FREE!8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless and Bluetooth
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Word, Excel, and Outlook email
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 36-months
Primary Battery 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 3 Year Limited Warranty plus 3 Year At-Home Service plus Nights and Weekend
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Free SKIN Promotion 17 - Free Promotion for 17 inch Skin
Future Operating Systems Windows Vista™ Capable
Operating System Re-Installation CD Genuine Windows® XP Professional re-installation CD
Dell Digital Entertainment Deluxe Entertainment Pack - Starter plus a total Music and Photo package
ACCESSORIES
Notebook Expansion Dock Qty 1
Dell Part# 80370971 Unit Price $66.00
TOTAL
2,047.20System 2:
XPS M1710 Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
Operating System (Office software not included) Genuine Windows® XP Professional
LCD Panel 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife™
Memory 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
Video Card 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GTX
Hard Drive 100GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card and Modem
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 6.0
Combo/DVD+RW Drives 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
Sound Options Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
Wireless Networking Cards Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 Internal Wireless and Bluetooth
Office Software (not included in Windows XP) Microsoft Office Basic - Includes Word, Excel, and Outlook email
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) PC-cillin Internet Security: AntiVirus, Firewall, Spyware removal 15-months
Primary Battery 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Warranty 1Yr Ltd Warranty, 1Yr At-Home Service, and 1Yr HW Warranty Support
XPS Specialized Support Inspiron XPS, Specialized Support
Dial-Up Internet Access 6 Months America Online Internet Access Included
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service, Support
Future Operating Systems Windows Vista™ Capable
Dell Digital Entertainment No preinstalled software
TOTAL
3,507.00System 3:
Aviator CX7 Duo: High Performance 17" Centrino Duo Gaming Notebook - Qty: 1
Aviator CX7 in Silver with Tinted Brushed Aluminum Cover - Qty: 1
1.83GHz Intel® Core Duo Processor T2400 / 2MB Cache/ 667MHz FSB - Qty: 1
Intel® 945PM chipset + ICH7M Mobile Motherboard (CX7-Duo) - Qty: 1
1024MB Mushkin PC5400 DDR2-667 SODIMM - Low Latency (5-5-5-15) - Qty: 1
1024MB Mushkin PC5400 DDR2-667 SODIMM - Low Latency (5-5-5-15) - Qty: 1
Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX PCI-Express 512MB GDDR3 - Qty: 1
100GB 7200rpm Serial-ATA Hard Drive with NCQ & 8MB Cache - Qty: 1
8X DVD ± R/W Drive Dual Layer w/ DVD Recording Software - Qty: 1
17" WUXGA 1920x1200 VividView™ Display w/ Super Clear Glossy Surface - Qty: 1
Built-in High Definition 3D Sound System for CX7 - Qty: 1
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Controller - Qty: 1
Internal 802.11A/G 54Mbps Wireless Mini PCI for CX7 - Qty: 1
Internal Bluetooth™ Module for CX7 - Qty: 1
Integrated V.92 56K Fax/Data Modem - Qty: 1
MS Windows XP Home Edition CD & Manual SP2 Pre-Installed & Configured - Qty: 1
Custom Hypersonic Disaster Recovery DVD (Recommended) - Qty: 1
1 Year Platinum Warranty with 24/7 Toll-Free Tech Support - Qty: 1
TOTAL
2,713.00So here's the deal, according to this review http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=2766&p=1 the E1705 and M1710 are vertually the same computer if you add some options to the E1705. The review makes it look like the M1710 is a better machine in the end but the E1705 they tested had 1G of ram while the M1710 had 2G. The E1705 was also tested with the 256MB 7800 while the M1710 had the 512MB 7900 GTX. The only thing you can't get on the E1705 is the 512MB 7900 GTX but is that really worth 1,500 more then the 256MB 7900GS which is what I spec'd on my E1705. Here is a compare of the video cards tested and spec'd.
Tested 7800 vs 7900 GTX:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=410&card2=393
Spec'd 7900 GS vs 7900 GTX:
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=394&card2=393
So basically they are all the same other then video cards, which, will all be obsolete in 6-12 months when Vista rolls out. Correct? Anyone see any reason to spend 700-1500 dollars more? I bet in a month after the release of the Core 2 Duo for notebooks and with Dell's ficsal year rebates the E1705 will drop another 400-500 bucks....what ya think?
