There's just one problem with this, the way we see it: most folks with $3000 earmarked for a gaming laptop probably already own an Xbox 360. Just a thought. Other than that we see little to dislike about this little promotion. Dell is offering up its top-of-the-line XPS M1730 system with an Xbox 360 Elite bundle tossed in for good measure. The bundle includes, a pair of faceplates, two game and of course the Xbox itself, and while it's not exactly "free" -- you're looking at a couple hundred dollar premium over a similarly specced M1730 -- it's still a savings of over $300, and should be eBayable, if nothing else. Offer expires July 24th.

[Thanks, Cezar]

If you pulled the trigger early on an XPS M1730, you may have gotten "stuck" with "just" a GeForce 8700M GT or similar. If you just can't be behind the times, Dell is finally offering a solution with the GeForce 8800M GTX upgrade kit. Said package includes dual SLI 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express graphics card designed specifically to boost frame rates and install all sorts of Vista-compatible bragging rights. If you're comfortable with doing the swap yourself, the upgrade price sits at a penny under $1,100. For those seeking professional help, you'll be coughing up $1,218.99. For those of you not frozen in place by sticker shock, you can peek the how-to guide for installation after the break.

[Via Laptoping, thanks Danijel]

While Fujitsu and Hitachi may have announced first, Seagate is first to commercialize its new 7,200RPM, 320GB SATA disk with 16MB cache. The Momentus 7200.3 with G-Force free-fall protection is now available as an option on Dell's "XPS laptops" -- at the moment, it appears limited to the XPS M1730 for a $46 premium over the 320GB 5,400RPM spinner. Alienware laptop rigs should see the new HDD option soon enough.

We already saw Intel's Penryn lineup invade Dell's XPS M1330, but now folks gunning for its (much) larger sibling can finally get in on the new CPU action, too. That's right folks, effectively immediately, prospective M1730 buyers can select a 2.4GHz T8300, 2.5GHz T9300, 2.6GHz T7800 or 2.8GHz X7900 to run the show. Ready to claim one for yourself? Follow the read link below.

[Via Laptoping]

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."

If you're down with your "laptop" weighing some 10.6-pounds, and you don't mind shelling out copious quantities of cash in order to see those frame rates hold steady in the triple digits, the XPS M1730 has your name written all over it. At least, that's what we've gathered from reading the first batch of reviews to hit the 'net. Generally speaking, the adoration for this so-called Beast was universal, as just about everyone came away thoroughly impressed with its gaming performance, mesmerizing LEDs and cutting edge hardware found all over. Truth be told, the only real digs revolved around its unwieldy size, ho hum port selection, paltry battery life and the humongous power supply. 'Course, anyone remotely interested in this thing is probably willing to deal with the aforementioned negatives in order to posses such an incredibly powerful mobile gaming rig, and if you've been holding that trigger finger waiting for the critics to give you the all clear, feel free to fire at will.

Read - HotHardware ("...a mobile gaming dream system...")
Read - CNET (8.4 out of 10; Editors' Choice)
Read - LAPTOP (4.5 out of 5 stars; Editors' Choice)
Read - PCMag (4.5 out of 5 stars; Editors' Choice)

We're not exactly sure what kind of impression they'd make during a presentation or business meeting, but luckily for sales of Dell's upcoming World of Warcraft edition XPS M1730 laptop, most folks who would purchase such a product have long ago fled corporate America for the privacy and creepy ambiance of their basements. Seriously, though, the pair of special edition Horde and Alliance notebooks are a hardcore fan's dream come true, featuring WOW artwork all over the place along with all the current games and patches preloaded. What's more, the bonus swag here is off the hook, including a special box full of items related to the game and an envelope containing such goodies as beta tester privileges and a free in-game pet, whatever that means. Dell also claims that the minimum configuration specs have been bumped as compared to the plain Jane M1730, but like pricing for this package which goes on sale next week, specifics remain a mystery.

Update: As commenter Ryan points out, specs and pricing are now up on Dell's retail site. The good news is that even a barebones rig gives you a 2.2GHz T7500 Core 2 Duo, 2GB of DDR2, and 160GB of storage; the bad news is that such a configuration starts at $4,500 and only goes north.

Wow, the Dell XPS M1730 isn't even out yet and already we've got even more pictures of the laptop all splayed open. We're a little worried about that drive-on-drive configuration they've got going on, but if you were curious to check out more of the intricacies of the M1730's chassis, both internal and external, here's your shot. Of course, there's nothing more we can tell you in terms of the specs this laptop's going to have, every single detail is already out there. All we can do is wonder what it's going to cost and whether they'll keep that September 21st launch date.

It looks like Dell is finally readying a followup to its M1710 speedster with the XPS M1730. The 17-inch laptop will of course be packing some Santa Rosa muscle, but according to rumors Dell's also going to provide that new Core 2 Extreme X7800 chip for the real speed demons / big spenders out there. For graphics the base models will be getting an NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS card with 256MB of memory, with a 512MB GeForce 8700M GT waiting in the wings. Other rumored specs include 4GB max of RAM and a 512MB or 1GB Intel Turbo Memory option, Bluetooth 2.0, Blu-ray and that welcome numeric keypad addition. The word is this one will go on sale August 27th, and while the paint job is bordering on "crime against humanity," hopefully Dell will have a few more acceptable options to decorate this gaming beast whenever it does hit the market.

[Thanks, Matthias]