Dell Vostro 1710 now finally, really available

Just in case you've been holding out, we want you to know that Dell's budget-friendly 17-incher, the Vostro 1710, is now available for your purchasing pleasure. The widescreen laptop joins the 1310 and 1510, thus completing the holy trinity of black and boxy systems, and likely signaling the end of this breathtaking saga.

[Thanks, Mike]

[McCulligan @ May 13th 2008 11:14AM]

Hey I have a great idea! Let's install the cheapest compenent into each of our units based on the price that very moment!! People will buy thousands if not millions of these "blue screen" disasters. We will make a fortune, and they won't even know that it's obsolete the moment it arrives at their doorstep!! BRILLIANT! A 17 inch paperweight!! We can't think of these ideas fast enough!

[Pochi @ May 13th 2008 11:21AM]

Obsolete? What the hell are you talking about...? You do know that these are completely customizable, and the midrange base unit starts with a Core 2 Duo and 2GB of RAM... right?

It's hard for a new PC to be immediately obsolete anymore. We're hitting a wall of necessary performance soon, as evidenced by the success of the Eee and what have you.

And where do you think other manufacturers are getting their computer parts from? Some high end boutique computer parts factory with highly skilled engineers pouring over every piece?

Think before you write.

[packetsniffer @ May 14th 2008 8:49AM]

You need to work on your "sarcasm".

[IT-Accountant @ May 13th 2008 11:20AM]

OH WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

/sarcasm

lol

[Che @ May 13th 2008 11:21AM]

... What? I bought a 1710 Vostro 3 weeks ago.

(Bulgaria)

[David @ May 13th 2008 11:23AM]

Guess you haven't learned about economies of scale yet in your very first Econ Class. I'm pretty sure Dell uses the same intel processors, same LCD, ram and hard drive suppliers as every other laptop company; they may get them cheaper since they sell so many. Certainly thinkpads will have better keyboards and builds and macbooks will put a nice finish on the outside along with OSX, but to say that these *parts* are cheaper is pretty ignorant.

[OneLove @ May 13th 2008 11:29AM]

why they got to be so ugly?

[luzzio @ May 13th 2008 12:05PM]

I lol'd.

[packetsniffer @ May 14th 2008 8:48AM]

Because it's a cheap small business laptop. You want pretty, you have to pay through the nose for an XPS.

[Neoprimal @ May 13th 2008 11:49AM]

Why is it so expensive? I purchased a Compaq a916nr, a very generic low end but PERFECT for anything but gaming laptop for around $630 incl. tax.

This Dell laptop with everything similar/same except the core2duo (compaq has a dual core) is almost $900. You even have to pay for an upgrade to Vista Premium (Comes with XP Home/Vista Basic SP1).

No wonder people think 7inch $400 sub-laptops are in.

[Lou @ Jul 24th 2008 8:27AM]

1710 is a laptop for small business, it does not need to be pretty , If toy want a cheap laptop you should buy a Inspiron , if you want a toy laptop you should by a minilaptop , it's a trend, I heard that even Dell will produce one ,
The difference is that non XPS Inspiron are plastics, Vostro is reinforced , aluminum, etc
I intend to by a 1710 and I must confess that I especially like the keyboard, it's finally what I hope for a notebook keyboard . It's one of the reasons to move from a PC to a Laptop

[luke @ May 13th 2008 11:59AM]

why is the thumbpad over to the left? have it in the center please dell.

[Phoenix @ May 13th 2008 12:07PM]

It's in the center of the KEYBOARD, the numpad is over the side.

This is the norm for 17" laptops, it's in the natural position while your hands are resting on the k/b

[MBS @ May 13th 2008 7:29PM]

Uhmm, because that's the center of the actual keyboard Sherlock!
If you put it in the actual center of the laptop the palm of your right hand would be right on top of the track-pad when you type.

[justin @ May 13th 2008 12:02PM]

I'd need Viagra just to muster up enough enthusiasm to boot the thing up. Tis the fugz as Dickens would say.

[Luca @ May 13th 2008 12:34PM]

I'd really like to know how industry decides a name for a new product line...

You know, Dell "Vostro": a pair of italian ears would instantly recall the meaning of "yours". Meh.

Sandisk MP3 Player "Sansa" = the same pair of ears would recall something like "husk oil", by-products of olive oil extraction: ewww!

Anyway, those names are fun, make me chuckle, so it's ok!

[Billy @ May 13th 2008 12:57PM]

What is the difference between the 1710 and the 1700? I just bought the 1700 a few weeks ago ($500 off sale) and am very happy with the purchase, just curious what the difference is.

And I don't think these laptops ugly at all (in response to another comment here) - I like the plain blackness of them, as opposed to the nasty Inspiron "grey with white highlights". Yeah they dont look as good as a MacBook (pro or not), but they still look just fine.

[disciple83 @ May 13th 2008 4:48PM]

the bump in standard screen type, (+XGA vs +WXGA) and video card (8400GS vs 8600GT) from the 1700 to the 1710, respectively, are what I immediately notice. The case remains the same, $210 price difference.

[olly @ May 13th 2008 4:37PM]

Just bought a Vostro 1400 1.8Ghz DC and think it is a real nice machine! Not the prettiest machine but made from Magnesium Alloy so nice and tough dedicated graphics so gaming is enjoyable - runs amazingly cool - it seems to cope with Vista well - thumbs up from me!

[Mickey Blue Eyes @ May 14th 2008 2:43PM]

I wonder if the version with the 256 MB NVIDIA video adapter would make this a nice less-expensive gaming laptop? The Intel graphics adapters suck at everything above a web page, but would the NVIDIA do well for basic gaming? Yes, you won't get the best frame rates but when you're traveling and/or on wireless, you probably won't have the fastest network speeds anyway.

I priced a model with the 1.8 GHz Core2 Duo and 3 GB RAM at $1138. More expensive than my last el cheapo Toshiba laptop, but certainly much more powerful.

[ndroberts77 @ May 14th 2008 3:53PM]

Take the friggin headphone jack off the front of the laptops!!! It is the worst place to have a headphone jack when you use external speakers.

[CHRIS @ Aug 6th 2008 1:24AM]

oh ya just bought it cos the inspiron 1720 is dead. Got the T8300, 4gb ram, 320 sata and 8600 nvidia. welllllllll.... which part is magnesium .....