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Thanks Drum. One of these days I want to get a comprehensive list of future possible upgrades, like:
1. T7600"G" overclockable cpu (unobtainable at this time), or just settle for a T7600 which currently is about $645
2. nVidia 7950GTX Go graphics chip (after I've OC'd the bee-jeesus out of the 7900, which is nearly what a 7950 is)
3. D/Dock with PCI-E slot, for ...
4. External HDTV tuner, such as the AutumnWave or Hauppauge, for OTA or Cable TV and recording
5. ???

1st post updated Sat. 17 Feb 2007: Added info about T7600 CPU install, nVidia overclock, 160GB HDD external, OnAir GT USB HDTV Tuner. Krikey, I haven't added info about my D/Dock yet. It never ends.

People I am buying M1710 with 2-4GB of ram with 7950GTX... I want some portable monster for gaming and lans,... Do you think 7950GTX is better than 2 SLI 7900GSs from alienware aurorua?

thank you very much in advance

I haven't owned an SLI machine, but I've heard they're hard to configure. Also I think they are about 6 pounds heavier. My T7600 and 7900GTX with mild OC to 575-785 gets 5400+ in 3Dmark06 and 10,000 in 3DMark05. Compare that to an SLI. If I were buying today I would get the T7600G, which is overclockable to a stable 2.83Ghz or a fan-screaming 3.16Ghz, and the 7950GTX. If I could afford it I would get 4GB RAM so it would be maximum Vista-ready. Good luck!

DELL D/DOCK, P/N PD01X (added 2 Mar 2007):



This is the older docking station for the D400/410/500/510/600/610/800/810/M90 (and more) series of Dell laptops. It works fine for the M1710. There are a LOT of them for sale on eBay. I paid $32.99 + $15 shipping. You can Google specs and pix all over the place. Following is a ports list that looks accurate:
Port(s) Total ( Free ) / Connector Type: 1 x Serial, 1 x Parallel, 4 x USB, 2 x PS/2, 1 x PCI, 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI, 1 x S-Video, 1 x RJ-45 (10/100/1000 Ethernet), 1 x RJ-11, 1 x Audio Line-out, 1 x Digital Audio (S/PDIF), 1 x D/Bay Connector, 1 x Internal Media Bay.

What is useful to me are the 4 USB ports and the DVI monitor connector. Note there is NO Firewire port. However the sides of the laptop are still usable so I have Firewire on the right and 2 more USBs on the left. The back of the laptop is unusable while it is docked.

Of interest to many will be the ability to add an additional HDD or optical drive in the left side of the Dock.



I haven't worked with the media bay yet, but you're supposed to be able to use the removable bays from the supported laptops and put them in the slot. There are a lot of bays available on the Internet. The ones with drives can be expensive, those without not but may require additional screws. HERE is a web site that explains how to install an HDD in a media bay carrier.

Also of interest to many is the half-height PCI slot accessible from the rear. I've read of several people easily putting in a X-Fi sound card. The slot is too small for a graphics card, which is too bad because the BIOS has an option for accessing an external graphics card.

I mainly wanted easy dock and undock in "desktop, dual monitor" mode without having to plug in a lot of wires everytime. Hidin' the wires is everything. See what I mean:



L to R we have the power cord (integrated power, no "brick"), ethernet, DVI, Parallel port for my still chugging BJC-240 printer (we have an HP all-in-1 on the LAN for good color), USB (3 on right rear), and 1 USB on the side (below the proprietary D/Bay connector). It's nice to have a parallel and serial port, since there are none on the M1710.

As most of you know, the M1710 has a compatible docking slot on the bottom and it snaps into place in the D/Dock:



The lid raises for viewing, of course, and you can power on from either the Dock or the laptop. I've found the laptop "tends" to remember its' docked profile better if I power on from the laptop, but I think it's an nVidia software quirk. You can hot-undock from your Start Menu and press the disconnect release on the top lower right of the dock.

Here's another shot with my Personalization Shield on the lid ...



... which leads us to:

DELL PERSONALIZATION SHIELD and Lid Scratches (added 2 Mar 2007):

As many M1710 owners have discovered, the stock black or red lids look great but are easily marred or scratched. Mine has remained pretty clean during the first 10 months of ownership, except for this small scratch in one corner:



I used Blue Magic Plastic & Plexiglass Cleaner & Light Scratch Remover on it but it didn't help. It did leave a brightly buffed black area around the scratch so I had to do the whole lid. I used Microfiber cloth for applicator and buffer. The scratch remover dried a bit hazy so persistent buffing was required, but it really cleaned up the the superficial marks on the rest of the lid. I followed up with Blue Magic Liquid Metal Polish (yes, METAL) which does NOT scratch plastic. It really cleaned it up.

I decided then to get the Dell Personalization Shield (p/n 311-4994) to protect the lid from further damage. HERE is where to order it from Dell. It cost me $45.78 including shipping and tax(?). Yes, it says XPS Gen 2 or M170, and it fits perfectly. It also says usually ships in 3-5 weeks, but I figured a long wait was better than no shield at all. It arrived at my house in 72 HOURS!

It comes in a pizza-sized box (medium, no anchovies?).



The shield slides into rear slots between the hinges and lid:



... and securely snaps over thin grooves at the front of the lid:



The nice thing about this clear lid protector is that it has thin guides on the inside which will take 8.5x11 photos or paper. The shield was supposed to include sample inserts but it did not. I'm not requesting them as I intend to make my own.

I found some awesome and FREE hi-res PC wallpaper HERE. (This link will give you an error until you click to Terms of Service and get a free ID and PWD.) Here is an example I'm currently using:



... and here is another "cool" one:



FYI and caveats on printing photos. The viewing area on the shield is about 7.25" x 10.50". No problem, you say, paper is 8.5 x 11. EXCEPT that many\most printers will not print to the edge of the paper. Thus you may have to trim and still have a tiny bit of white showing. (If that was my only problem in the world, sigh.) All in all I'm tickled to death with the pizzazz it adds along with protection.

So everybody.. is there any fiercer beast in the whole world, than XPS 1710 ?

Lottttta bells and whistles, fer sure. They put the right parts together for this one. Top dog for 10+ months, not bad in today's laptop world.

man u are lucky boy colorado avalanches i am getting one for myself
do you know if you can buy that shiled lid somewhere else thant dell?

Google brought THIS up.

Those lids look awsome! And 160 GB!! Wow! My PC only has an 80 GB HDD, you have double my storage!

Thanks Boom. Those shields are pretty cheap protection, and you know what they say: "Alway use protection".

I've put a 160GB PATA HDD in a hard drive tray in the D/Dock, and will update the review with that soon. I still have my 80GB SATA in the laptop, but the 160GB 7.2k SATA's will be released very soon.

Can't keep track of my own reviews. The Hard Drive Tray info is here.

yeah, right. That's my favorate. I　will get one next month. It must be fun.

I just visited the Dell sight and the Notebook Outlet section is definatetly worth checkin into for anyone interesred in purchasing one of these beauties. They have four catagories of Outlet computers (Previously Shipped New, Certified Refurbished, Scratch and Dent and Previously Leased). It is a great way to get into an XPS 1710 for up to an 80% savings!!! I saw some, with 1GB ram starting at less than $1000.00. Keep in mind the Outlet purchases carry the same warranties as new. I was blown away.. I ended up getting a Certified Refurbished 1705 maxed out to the T for $1800.00 with tax and overnight shipping. Its due to arrive on Monday the 23rd. I will update you guys and let you know if there are any catches... Seems to good to be true...Hers what i got.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#99ccff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="60%" bgColor=#ffffff height=30>Inspiron 9400/E1705 Notebook: Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7400 (4MB Cache/2.16GHz/667MHz FSB) Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium </TD><TD vAlign=top align=middle width="20%" bgColor=#ffffff height=30>1 </TD><TD vAlign=top align=right width="20%" bgColor=#ffffff height=30>$1,609.00 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Inspiron 9400/E1705 Notebook: Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7400 (4MB Cache/2.16GHz/667MHz FSB) </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Certified Refurbished </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>6 Cell Primary Battery </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Hinge Cover </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Documentation </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz (2 DIMMs) </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Operating System Label </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Processor Label </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Service Software </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>AOL Software </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Support Software </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Software CD </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>AOL Software Documentation </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>AOL ISP Software </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>TV Tuner w/ Remote Control </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Yahoo! Music JukeBox Plus - Music Player </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Keyboard On Notebook </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>17 inch UltraSharp Wide Screen UXGA Display with TrueLife </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Intel Pro Wireless 3945 </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>ISP Search Assist </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Microsoft Works 8.5 </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Reader </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Bluetooth Wireless Card 355 </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Corel Paint Shop Pro XI - Advanced photo editing </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Earthlink ISP </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Recource CD </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Shipping Material </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>100 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM) </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Reference Guide </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Dell Media Experience Basic </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Shipping Material </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Operating System DVD </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>McAfee Security Center, 30 Day </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Net Zero ISP </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>90W AC Adapter </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Roxio Creator LE </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Wild Tangent Gaming Client </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Image Restore Software </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Service Software </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#99ccff><TD bgColor=#99ccff colSpan=2>Base Assembly </TD></TR><TR><TD width="15%" bgColor=#dfecfa><TD bgColor=#dfecfa colSpan=2>Corel Snapfire Plus - Basic photo management </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=right><TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD align=right width=400>Subtotal: </TD><TD align=right width=75>$1,806.99 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>