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Ok so I didnt see another 1700 review on here so I decided to make one! Here it goes

Presentation 10/10
So as usual Dell shipped in a well-protected brown box. Inside were two smaller boxes: one held the charger and the documentation and recovery discs(a first for Dell) while the other box held the laptop. The only reason this got a 10/10 is because everything was well protected and more importantly everything was there.

Amazement 10/10
Okay so I immediatly opened the box and was astonished when I saw the laptop. Trust me people this laptop looks lots better in person than in the pictures. It weighs about the same as my previous i9300, which I'm guessing weighed around 9lbs. Dell really nailed it with the black paint but if your hands are sweaty, you are bound to be cleaning fingerprints later.

LCD Display: 10/10
So I chose the WXGA screen simply because I didnt want to spend much and the WXGA was standard. At first I was worried that everything would be too big for what Im used to(my i9300 had WUXGA) but it looks great and produces vivid colors. It is also very bright, so if your eyes get strained easilly you would find the brightness adjuster a very helpful tool. Please note that this laptop is very screen-heavy, meaning that when you open the screen, the whole computer rises. To solve this, you simply put your hand on the computer.

CPU 10/10
Again I only chose the 1.4GHz because of my budget, but this thing is fast as hell. Nothing much more to say here since I dont really know much about CPU's but even with the 1.4GHz this thing is fast.

Graphics 10/10
Ok so the graphics on this thing are a big step up from my i9300. All I have had time to play so far has been Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. I was able to play on 1440x900(LCD resolution limited) and all high settings and the game ran like a dream and looked FANTASTIC. If you are like me, meaning you dont really give a crap about the resolution of the game, the 8600GT will more than fit your needs. Gonna try Crysis and COD4 soon and also Flight Simulator X.

Sound 9/10
This is MUCH better than what I expected the sound quality to be. San Andreas sounds great and the speakers dont really sound distorted like on some of the 9300's. Some external speakers would be nice though especially if you're a sound fanatic and everything has to sound good.

Hard Drive 10/10
This hard drive is huge and surprisingly fast, especially since mine is only 5400RPM. I got the 250GB although I think its only about 220-240GB large, but that doesnt bother me since I came from one that was 57.2 GB big. Definitely recommend this hard drive.

Optical drive 10/10
This drive is extremely quiet for an optical drive and is also pretty fast. One thing that I still have to get used to is that it is on the right side of the laptop, but Im getting used to it already.

Overall 10/10
Okay so I LOVE THIS LAPTOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I couldnt have made a better choice and I hope that it doesnt break down too much(9300 had to have video card, optical drive, and LCD screen replaced) I recommend this laptop to ANYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!

Bump

Bump now going to install GTA3 and Vice City and 3DMark05

Bump GTA3 and Vice City run great...getting Shadowrun today.

Amen!
Bought to replace an HP 9000 that was totalled by offshore tech support (incoherent & incomptetent Asian-India-Paki) - For $50, Del sells purely Amercan support!

Nice! Got Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and that runs great 1440x900 with all high settings.

Bump...Crysis runs at 800x600 with all low settings in DX10 mode but at 1440x900 with all medium settings in DX9 mode. Loving the laptop!!! Installing UT3 now

BUMP...I love this machine. Still going extremely strong. Got stranglehold and that can run topped out, as well as Crysis and Bioshock.
I'm thinking of adding 2GB more RAM to have 4GB and I'm gonna put in the 8800GTS of they release it.

nice write up. Would you mind filling out the System Quality Ratings by going into Edit, Advanced Edit? Are you planning on submitting any benchmarks?

I'm planning on posting benchmarks but how do I do the other thing?

Go to edit (your review) and go to Advanced Edit. There are drop down menus where you can rate each section of the laptop.

Cool, will try that in a bit

Bump...still loving the laptop and still loving it's performance

Bump...now have 3GB of RAM and still loving this machine.

ISUZU its been a while, I too had a 9300, how would you compare the construction of the vostro? the ones ive seen are shoddy compared to the build quality of the 9300.