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More…A powerful laptop does not have to be a boring laptop. Take Dell's Inspiron 1720, a robust system that also happens to be available in seven colors besides black. The 1720 is a heavyish 17-inch notebook, but its multimedia design is outstanding.
Dell Inspiron 1720 Notebook - Customizable
- Spec Navigator
- Processor
- Memory
- Display
- Storage
- Battery
- Dimensions
- Other Features
- Networking
- Multimedia
- Software
- Interface Connections
- Included Devices
Storage
| Total HD Size | 160 GB |
| Optical Drive Type | DVD±R DL/DVD±RW |
| Optical Drive Speed | 1 |
| Removable Optical Drive | No |
| Slots |
|
| Number of Media Slots | 3 |
Networking
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Included network card | Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) |
| Modem Type | V.92 |
| Wireless LAN Type | 802.11g |
Multimedia
| Video chipset | nVidia GeForce 8600M GT |
| Installed video memory | 256 MB |
| Video integration | Integrated |
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Laptops »
Pros
Dual hard drives option
Fast 3D gaming
Cons
Pricey
Bottom Line
Perfect for gadget lovers, this splashily designed unit offers excellent entertainment options and rich-sounding speakers.
Dell Inspiron 1720
Inspiron 1720 Notebook - Customizable Review, by Carla Thornton July 25, 2007
Superbly crafted for a demanding home office, the 1720 has a full-size keyboard with a separate number pad. Our test machine had a single 160GB hard drive, as well as a complete contingent of connections--five USB ports, an ExpressCard/54 slot, and a memory card slot. The 1720's weight (8.7 pounds) makes it a less-than-ideal notebook for the road.
When you're ready to kick back, Dell's DirectMedia button provides instant access to the full panoply of entertainment choices: DVD movies, music, photo slide shows, and videos. The stereo sound is good; a Blu-ray Disc drive is an option, albeit a costly one ($660 on top of our test unit's $2409 price).
Configured with a 2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, 2GB of RAM, and an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card, the 1720 proved an agile workhorse and gaming machine. Its WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 75 puts it in the top 10 percent of currently tested notebooks. The 1720 kicked booty in our gaming tests, producing 116 frames per second playing Far Cry at 1024 by 768 resolution. Its 3-hour, 33-minute battery life, while not great, is above average for this class.
Our review notebook had an espresso-brown lid that I found a little drab, but if you're looking for a notebook with some pizzazz, try the Inspiron 1720 in spring green or flamingo pink, among other available hues. Who said work isn't fun?
Carla Thornton
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
78
-
78
-
88
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance Comparison with Similar Laptops
78
52
67
66
Performance
| Adobe Photoshop CS2 | 550 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX | 411 |
| Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering | 813 |
| Battery Life (Video Playback in hh:mm) | 3:33:50 AM |
| Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit | 90.8 |
| Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit | 116.79 |
| Firefox 2 | 382 |
| Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1 | 392 |
| Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0 | 273 |
| Multitasking | 497 |
| Nero 7 Ultra Edition | 925 |
| Number of Included Batteries | 1 |
| Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5 | 253 |
| Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0 | 357 |
| WorldBench 6 Score | 75 |
| WorldBench 6 Word Score | Good |
User Reviews
Average User Reviews for Dell Inspiron 1720 Notebook - Customizable
1 Review Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 1 review
-
Reviewed by: park686
Duration of ownership: 0 Day
Strengths: Good Website
Weaknesses: Horrible Customer Service. Received acknowledgment of order but no confirmation. Tried email, chatting, talking and a supervisor - none of which could help. Told "order was in collections" (paid with credit card) and "configuration was wrong". Could not cancel so now I watch to make sure they do not charge me. A complete DISASTER.
Overall: Great website - easy to order and configure. However, Dell has Horrible Customer Service. Received acknowledgment of order but no confirmation. Tried email, chatting, talking and a supervisor - none of which could help. Told "order was in collections" (paid with credit card) and "configuration was wrong". Could not cancel so now I watch to make sure they do not charge me. A complete DISASTER.
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