Dell XPS M1730 with 8800M GTX SLI reviewed -- that sucker is fast

As is usually the case when you slap the latest and greatest silicon in a laptop, it's going to best whatever came before. What's surprising here is how thoroughly the Dell XPS M1730 with a Core 2 Extreme X9000 processor and dual GeForce 8800M GTX cards in SLI trounces the last generation of tech. The folks at ExtremeTech pitted the laptop against a hapless m9750 from Alienware, sporting the last generation of tech, and it handily bested it in every competition. CPU tests were heavily in the M1730's favor, and GPU tests even more so. The only holdup is that new X9000 processor, and according to Dell a release is "imminent" -- and if you're shelling out $4480 for a laptop, it might as well be what ExtremeTech calls "the fastest notebook yet."

[Fernando @ Feb 14th 2008 9:06AM]

Personal Nuclear Reactor not included!

[John Johnson @ Feb 14th 2008 9:06AM]

This will, in fact, play Doom.

And Crysis. But only just.

[Kamokazi @ Feb 14th 2008 9:25AM]

What's funny is it would probably be trickier to get Doom running on that thing than Crysis. DOSBox ftw!

[Ethan @ Feb 14th 2008 3:12PM]

It actually can't do Crysis on the highest settings. I think you need four graphics cards for that, at least.

[Patuxentbball @ Feb 14th 2008 5:40PM]

I ran Crysis on the highest settings at 1280 by 1024 with a core2duo 2.4 ghz(at 2.8), 2 gigs of ram and 1 7950gtx w/512mb vram. On xp with the settings hack.

[projekt84 @ Feb 14th 2008 9:10AM]

It's ugly, but when you hear what's inside you think:

"I WANT this beast to be ugly"

[nikster @ Feb 14th 2008 8:39PM]

Yeah it's a monster and monsters are supposed to be ugly - but it's a difference if a monster is cool ugly or stupid ugly. Predator is cool. Deathstars are cool. Thinkpads are cool.
But this is more like ... http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/multimedia/2007/11/gallery_star_trek_monsters

[Ladderless @ Feb 14th 2008 9:11AM]

It looks thicker and heavier than the MBA - A big step backward. Why would they come out with something that doesn't at least meet the new size standard?

[iii @ Feb 14th 2008 9:19AM]

there is no standard comparism between these two, desktop gaming replacement and ultra portable, you can't have the best of the world always, understand ?

[josh @ Feb 14th 2008 9:20AM]

New size standard? I didn't know thinning out a laptop and not including features constituted a new size standard.... Besides the MBA is a whole different ballgame compared to this one. Apples and Oranges my friend. (no pun intended for the use of Apple and MBA)





Who am i kidding, yes there was!

[Kamokazi @ Feb 14th 2008 9:21AM]

You're missing the point. This is not designed for sitting in a coffee shop and browsing the internet. It's a desktop replacement for serious gamers who need something portable to take to lan parties and tournaments (or people like me who travel overseas for several weeks at a time and need their fix in the hotel). Heck they could probably just scrap the battery and label it as a portable desktop and sell just as many.

Also, this form factor has been out a while, it's just an updated CPU and GPU. There is no such thing as a 'size standard'. People want different laptops for different purposes, so there will always be large(17") laptops (Until we get holographic screens, or some other crazy display technology that allows the screen to be compacted).

[Ladderless @ Feb 14th 2008 9:23AM]

Wow... Only eight minutes for someone to miss the sarcasm...

I thought comparing an MBA to a high end desktop replacement system would outrageous enough on its own. I guess I was wrong.

[LondonConsultant @ Feb 14th 2008 9:24AM]

Sorry to ask a rude question, but are you an idiot?

[Kamokazi @ Feb 14th 2008 9:27AM]

Hey, it's not our fault you suck at sarcasm.

[Down @ Feb 14th 2008 9:29AM]

Haha Ladderless, good one. Someone wrote 2 paragraphs in response to a question of sarcasm! Awesome.

[roach @ Feb 14th 2008 9:30AM]

Actually....it WAS funny.

Just because the article didn't have any mention of Apple doesn't mean you have to be pissy for the rest of the day...

[roach @ Feb 14th 2008 9:31AM]

my last comment was directed to Kamokazi btw

[Timothy Sottek @ Feb 14th 2008 9:35AM]

I chuckled, Ladderless.

Don't let these plebeian bottom feeders bring you down.

[Jorvay @ Feb 14th 2008 9:36AM]

Don't worry, some of us got it.

[Down @ Feb 14th 2008 9:22AM]

What is the point of that number keyboard on the right? For a gaming machine - it is useless.

[Sam @ Feb 14th 2008 9:28AM]

1) It looks easy enough to fit on there with the 17" size and all.
2) Gamers need to spreadsheet too sometimes
3) Plenty of games us the numberpad natively, such as ffxi.
4) I know gamers personally that use the numpad instead of WASD.

So yeh, numberpad =/ useless.

[Down @ Feb 14th 2008 9:38AM]

Like I said, its useless. And it looks awful. Actually the whole keyboard (silver) looks horrible in comparison to the rest of the laptop (black).

[Ry @ Feb 14th 2008 9:58AM]

um, i know for a fact that the default keys for controlling the airplane, helicopter and some other things on GTA: San Andrea's utilizes the number keys... stop being a pompous ass

[PJK @ Feb 14th 2008 10:03AM]

Lefties use number keys instead of WASD, least any I know.

[Zeus.:God @ Feb 14th 2008 10:06AM]

Wow, Down... I use the keypad on my desktop computer all the time, and it is much easier, when keying numbers, to use that rather than the number bar along the top.

It looks fine, and provides functionality that many laptops don't have. If you don't like it, fine, but don't sit there and say it's useless when it is most certainly not.

[makishima @ Feb 14th 2008 10:34AM]

@Sam actually you should have said number pad != useless

[michael @ Feb 14th 2008 11:29AM]

I'll be getting this for 3-D modeling. Yes, I use the 10-key number pad. I have one of the few jobs that justify a gaming machine, for work. My current portable CAD machine (yes, I have a need for a mobile modeling machine) doesn't have the 10-key, and it drives me crazy.

[Prokanda @ Feb 14th 2008 11:58AM]

I actually had to buy an external keyboard off the Egg for my new lappie (15.4") because when my roomies and I use it for our games (and whatever else we're doing on the web), we can't get by WITHOUT a numberpad. at first I thought it was sarcasm and I missed it.. but I think you just don't play games.. or haven't been forced to use a laptop for an extended period of time that's actually lacking a numberpad. and as a previous poster said, why not? that screen leaves more than enough space for a numberpad... how could you diss a machine for having a feature included that makes it more versatile like it's desktop counterpart that it's trying to replace?

EPIC FAIL.

[Ladderless @ Feb 14th 2008 9:26AM]

Only an idiot for underestimating the insight of the Engadget reader.

[Muu @ Feb 14th 2008 10:12AM]

What, you don't get a kick out of seeing all those angry kids miss the sarcasm? I myself find it highly amusing.

[roach @ Feb 14th 2008 9:28AM]

God, Engadget readers are so jaded.... it is called sarcasm people

Thanks for the humor Ladderless... I got a chuckle out of it

[Ace @ Apr 1st 2008 1:14AM]

they are not jaded...they are emo...there is a difference.

[snife @ Feb 14th 2008 9:32AM]

I'm afraid I only got annoyed reading the responses and rankings of Ladderless's post - it was clearly sarcasm so how could so many people be so dumb.

[Ladderless @ Feb 14th 2008 9:33AM]

I'm slowly regaining my faith in the readership.

Thanks!

[deniz @ Feb 14th 2008 9:36AM]

who buys a gaming laptop? who pays 4000$+ for gaming? are you people insane?

[c1906w @ Feb 14th 2008 10:49AM]

they're not insane they just enjoy gaming and traveling.
i wish people would realize that there is more than one
valid opinion of whats good in the world.
people think not having a super-drive is insane, others don't,
some people think not having a home cinema is insane others don't
and some people like gaming on the move and others don't. just
because someone made something that doesn't fit your tiny window
of whats acceptable doesn't mean they're insane it just means we're
all different.

[michael @ Feb 14th 2008 11:33AM]

I work in multiple countries. It's pretty tough to get my server on the plane.

[Kev @ Feb 14th 2008 12:25PM]

To Deniz,....Why buy a Corvette in stead of a Yugo? Are you a Yugo driver, Deniz?

[Chrysaor @ Feb 14th 2008 9:36AM]

but does it fit inside a manilla envelope?

[Macha88 @ Feb 14th 2008 9:56AM]

In an A0 Manila envelope ^_^

[Bryan T @ Feb 14th 2008 10:04AM]

From the read link:

"The right side is relatively unadorned, with only a WiFi switch, a WiFi "catcher" button (to scan for nearby WiFi signals without opening the system up)"

Haven't heard of this before...is this common with the XPS line, or other Dell lines, or any other notebooks for that matter? Seems like a feature that would be useful to me.

[Zeus.:God @ Feb 14th 2008 10:09AM]

Look- your comment was not sarcastic in context. You made no attempt to even make it look like you were being sarcastic. Seems to me you were just being dumb and now you're bullshitting to ease the hurt on your fragile ego.

[LondonConsultant @ Feb 14th 2008 2:00PM]

Ban sarcasm from Engadget: http://youtube.com/watch?v=MPgkZfaA_K8

[michael @ Feb 14th 2008 11:36AM]

Looks like you got that backwards. Comparing the XPS1730 to the MBA = sarcasm. Unless you're a moron.

[Zeus.:God @ Feb 14th 2008 5:17PM]

Not unless you're an Apple fan, like many on this site are, and many say stupid things like that, and mean it.

Text does not have a tone. There is no way to detect sarcasm unless there is some sort of hint towards it. I find it funny that no one claimed it to be funny until AFTER he posted saying it was. No matter how you look at it, there are people that say stupid shit like that and mean it, and believe it or not, many of them post on this site.

[zargon @ Feb 14th 2008 10:09AM]

... and people say IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads look ugly?!

Wow, this thing really is an eye sore.

[nikster @ Feb 14th 2008 6:54PM]

I sort of remember seeing a nice Dell design for an unreleased laptop on Engadget recently. But this - this is a major regression. Ugly is an understatement. This looks horrible all around.

[Zeus.:God @ Feb 14th 2008 10:10AM]

People who enjoy games? Just because you can't afford it or don't see the use in it, doesn't mean there isn't a market, and it certainly doesn't mean they're insane.

[CraigJ @ Feb 14th 2008 11:37AM]

Reply

[Puneet @ Feb 14th 2008 10:10AM]

totally tits