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]

It looks like that mysterious listing on Dell's support site for a "Studio 1535" laptop is evidence of a larger branding push soon to come -- we just got a tip that says Dell's planning on creating an entire Studio line as "a midpoint between performance XPS systems and entry-level Inspiron systems." The first machines out of the gate will apparently be those rumored 1535 and 1735 laptops we caught a glimpse of last month (the 1435 appears to have been canned), but we're being told that eventually there'll be Studio desktops as well, and that the 1535 will get an AMD-based 1536 twin. All still rumors for now, but they dovetail nicely with the recent merger of the XPS and Alienware teams and Dell's hints at "new directions" for XPS -- and based on the obviously-related design language of the XPS m1530 and Studio 1535, we'd even go so far as to guess that the Studio line is destined to replace the XPS line, not simply supplement it. We'll see when we see -- any other theories out there?

A general review is fine and dandy when you're lookin' at Hello Kitty laptops, but this is Dell's XPS 730 H2C we're talking about. A rig this big demands to be benchmarked, and the mad scientists over at Hot Hardware did that and a whole lot more after it arrived in their lab. Here's the highlights: reviewers were able to hit 4.25GHz (though not for long), the unit itself walked all over its rivals and it was deemed "an absolute monster in any productivity and multimedia task." Sadly, gaming performance was seen as "less decisive but still extremely impressive," but it nevertheless managed to "blaze" through every title tossed at it. Grab your cup of joe and head on down, as you'll be reading for quite some time before seeing that coveted Editor's Choice award there at the end.

Dell's plans for Alienware and the XPS line are getting a little clearer, even as rumors swirl -- a post on the company's Direct2Dell blog today says that the XPS and Alienware dev teams are going to be integrated, and that the XPS line will go in "new directions," hinted at by the m1330 and XPS One. Furthermore, you can now buy the Area-51 m9750 gaming laptop direct from the Dell website in addition to the Area-51 m15x, which doesn't seem all that wild to us -- we're more interested in why Dell picked the super-geeky XPS brand to be its "premium" line. Ever heard of friendly, guys?

[Via CNET]

Oops, looks like the Wall Street Journal was getting a bit of ahead of itself calling for the end of Dell's XPS lineup. While Dell will definitely "invest like crazy" in its Alienware brand, XPS systems and indeed, XPS gaming systems "will remain an important part of our gaming product portfolio." There won't be an early phase-out of the XPS brand as reported by the WSJ. So there you have it, Dell XPS, resurrected after just one day in the tomb. Michael Dell truly is a savior.

[Via c|net]

Hot on the heels of the news that Dell is axing its XPS gaming line to focus attention on Alienware, we've got word that Alienware will intro a new, low-end model soon. Clearly aiming for a bigger chunk of the market, the eyeball-shattering-system makers will offer a $1,699, AMD-powered desktop, featuring 4GB of RAM, a 2.2GHz quad-core 9550 Phenom X4 CPU, and an ATI HD 3870 X2 graphics card. The system will be based around the AMD 790FX chipset, which will be served up on an ASUS motherboard. In a feat of absurd cliché, Alienware spokesman Marc Diana claimed, "It's not your granddaddy's AMD system. We're talking top-of-the-line quad core." The PC will be available sometime in the next two weeks, so stay alert.

We've got some news that'll make a PC gamer or two weep: the Wall St. Journal is reporting that as of next month Dell will be dropping four models of XPS performance PCs to focus solely on pushing Alienware. Certainly no surprise though, we've been waiting for this move since they picked the company up back in 2006. Of course, there will be certain challenges, namely how Dell will keep its Alienware brand separate (read: pristine) -- as its done since the acquisition -- yet be able to offer performance PCs on its site alongside the rest of its machines. It's also unclear what will happen to is XPS line of laptops, since those are big sellers as well, but we'll all have to wait patiently for the bomb to drop before knowing for sure what Dell's cutting and what they're not. [Warning: subscription required]

Update: Not true says Dell -- XPS systems and gaming rigs will live on.

Ugh, it's springtime again. So in addition to the pools of human secretions warming into an olfactory howdy-do on city sidewalks, we get these, the pink laptops. The pink XPS M1530 and M1330 now official. Check the late-nite Dell Infomercial after the break; Ron Popeil Productions must be so proud.

[Thanks, Matus]

It was kinda-sorta announced at CES and we've already seen some in-the-wild shots, but it looks like Dell's newest gaming PC, the XPS 730, is getting close to release -- it's just gotten an official entry on Dell's support site. Nothing really earth-shattering to be found, except for some hints that it'll ship with either XP or Vista and confirmation that it's triple-SLI ready in the owners manual. Alright, secret's out -- let's see some specs, guys.

[Thanks, Andrew and Thomas]

Got a hundred bucks to burn? Lucky you, 'cause that Benjamin will now take the stock 15.4-inch 1,440 x 900 display of Dell's XPS M1530 and squeeze in a full 1,920 x 1,200 pixel resolution. Toss in the optional $500 Blu-ray Disc drive and you've got yourself a sweet portable HD rig pumping Intel's Penryn at the core. Another $50 and you've added a presumably brighter, LED backlit display but you're now back to the original 1,440 x 900 resolution. Oh decisions, decisions.

[Thanks, Jonaid]

Sweet heavens, Dell hasn't forgotten that there's a 15-incher in between the Penryn-stocked M1330 and M1730! As we suspected it would, Dell really, truly went ahead and added options for a Core 2 Duo T8300, T9300 and T9500 to its XPS M1530 in short order after a mysterious message popped up hinting at as much on Friday. The 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz and 2.6GHz chips come at an upgrade cost of $75, $200 and $475 (respectively) and can actually be ordered right now. No, celebrating wildly in your cubicle wouldn't be overreacting.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Hailed as a rig that "gamers won't outgrow," the XPS 630 that we originally peeked at CES is finally official. As expected, the tower is ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI-ready and will support Intel's Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme processors on the nForce 650i SLI chipset. You can beef things up with 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 1TB of HDD space or an optional Blu-ray drive and AGEIA PhysX accelerator, and you'll have plenty of room for all those peripherals thanks to six total USB 2.0 ports, an optional 19-in-1 media card reader, gigabit Ethernet, audio in / out, FireWire and even PS/2 mouse and keyboard connectors. Also of note, it's the first pre-fab PC to support the Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA), and you can snag your own for as little as $1,249 right now. Click on through for more of the breakdown. Oh, and if you're interested to see how this beast stacks up, you can check out reviews from PC Mag, Hot Hardware and Computer Shopper.

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]

Jonesing for more wireless USB options in your laptop? Dell's got you covered with extended availability of the $145 add-on in its XPS M1530 (plus its Gaming Edition), Inspiron 1525, which brings the tally to those and the 17-inch Inspiron 1720 and 13-inch M1330. Still out of the wireless USB loop: the low end 14-inch 1420, the XPS M1730, and the juggernaut M2010 (which really should have it by now).

[Via Electronista]

The last Dells we saw with a slot-loading Blu-ray drive were the XPS One and monster XPS M2010, but it looks like Round Rock's taking it mainstream soon -- the latest BIOS update for the popular XPS M1330 lists support for an unspecified "Blu-ray / DVD +/- RW Combo Drive." No word on when we'll see these actually for order, but if you were in the market for an M1330, you might consider holding off until these become available.

[Thanks, Rupert]