Dell XPS M1730 Review
If you're thinking about getting a new gaming laptop,
should the M1730 be top of your list?
The M1730 is the latest flagship gaming laptop from Dell, and boasts a level of processing power that would make most desktop systems blush. This one is targeted at serious gamers, and is definitely not for the faint of heart - the dual 512MB SLI graphics cards and dedicated physics card options enable you to experience some of the most advanced and realistic graphical environments ever created. But how can you get the most out of your M1730?
Here are some key points to consider when configuring your M1730:
- Processor:
The Dell M1730 can be configured with Intel Core 2 Duo processors from 2.2 GHz to the extreme 2.8 GHz X7900 (which can be overclocked to 3.4GHz!). The best value option here is probably the 2.4 GHz processor. However, if you want an absolute bleeding-edge unstoppable gaming beast, then the extreme processor is unbeatable - if you can afford it.
The M1730 comes with a 4MB cache as standard, which is vital if you work with a lot of memory-intensive material such as games, large audio samples or media streaming. FSB speed is important too, as this affects how quickly data can pass from memory to the processor (the 800 MHz FSB speed of the M1730 is the fastest currently available).
- Memory:
The best value configuration on the Dell site is 2GB, and this is the default for new M1730 systems. You can always add more memory later on if you need it. Going from 2GB to 4GB is definitely advisable for a machine of this spec; Dell frequently offer memory upgrades on their laptops at reduced prices, so watch out for those. There's really no excuse for running this one on less than 3GB though...
- Hard disk:
7200rpm SATA is a must if performance is your priority - a dual hard-drive RAID configuration boosts your performance even further. The M1730 can be configured with two hard drives, which is known as a RAID array (redundant array of independent disks). Depending on your requirements, you can use this either to make your machine faster (so it can read and write from both drives at once) or to increase its reliability (all data is stored on both drives, so if one fails you can still get your data from the other).
- Graphics:
This is where the M1730 really pushes performance to another level. Dual SLI-enabled graphics cards combined with the Agea Physx processing card provide graphics and speed that are truly unbelieveable. Even titles such as Oblivion, which brings most other machines to their knees, are no problem for the M1730.
READ MORE ABOUT THE DELL XPS M1730...
