Laptop Review: Dell XPS M1730

Call it star alignment. Call it great timing. When Intel launched its mobile Extreme processor to coincide with nVidia's introduction of its mobile SLI GeForce 8700M GT graphics chipset, the stage was set for Dell to bring forth something sublime and mind-blowing. If there was ever a gaming laptop that will inspire its competition to do the same, it's the Dell XPS M1730 ($4,024 direct). The feel of gaming nirvana culminates as you feast your eyes on the tweakable 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo X7900 CPU, the nVidia SLI chipset, and something that has never been seen on a laptop—a built-in physics card from Ageia. But what about the pulsating Christmas lights that conjure up images of a nightclub? Well, the color-shifting LED lights are still intact, and there are even additional lighting effects under the keyboard and behind the lid. Awarding the M1730 an Editors' Choice is a no-brainer. (Taking a break from shamelessly showing it off might be a problem.)

At first glance, my reactions were: "Wow, this is quite a facelift" and "Boy, has this thing gotten bigger?" When the Dell XPS M170 launched, back in September 2005, it was basically an LED-enhanced version of the Inspiron E1705—with the fastest gaming card available, of course. At the very least, the new M1730 looks nothing like the current Inspiron 1720. It weighs 10.9 pounds, for one thing—significantly more than the 8.8-pound Dell XPS M1710, and at least a pound and a half heavier than the previous Editors' Choice for gaming laptops, the Alienware Area-51 m9750. A tasteful layer of plastic is draped over the frame and keyboard area, shielding the black and gray camouflage design. Underneath the plastic lies a magnesium-alloy infrastructure that protects the core processing parts.

The amount of LED light emanating from the M1730 makes it look as if there's a party going on inside. The system inherits some of the lighting effects from the Dell Inspiron M1710, including LEDs in the front speakers and within the touchpad, though Dell chose to omit the set of LEDs located on the side vents. This was done, presumably, to make room for the LEDs on the keyboard and the newly added numeric keypad. The "XPS" logos on the lid are lit by a diffuse white-light source coming from the center of the lid. The LEDs illuminate the XPS logos like stage lights directed on a performer. You can add to the effect by swapping in different-colored faceplates; my configuration came in smoke gray, but you can get it in bone white, sapphire blue, and crimson red. Like the M1710, you can switch (either manually or automatically) between 16 "Zone" colors that are displayed through the speakers and touchpad. The assorted colors are not extended to the LEDs behind the keyboard and lid. But the "extra" effects—the strobe lights, the color rotations, the breathing lights—apply to all areas. The LEDs will even pulsate synchronously to music played over Windows Media Player, iTunes, and WinAmp. All of this can be configured through Dell's Quickset software.

As if all those LED weren't enough, Dell has integrated a Logitech LCD above the keyboard. No, it's not Vista's SideShow, like the one found on the ASUS W5fe. Instead, it's a monochrome display that relays information about your CPU and RAM utilization, with a countdown timer, stopwatch, and date and time stamps—all of which can be cycled through with a physical button next to the display. The playback buttons in the front bezel and Dell's Media Direct button are carried over from the M1710. Media Direct is a nice alternative to using Windows Media Center; it can play back movies, organize your photos, and work in a preboot state to conserve your battery. I'm a little disappointed, however, that Dell removed two USB ports,. Though the four ports the M1730 has are still way above the norm, the two extra USB ports that graced the M1710 will be sorely missed. The unit comes with a DVI-I port, for those who prefer to view content on a larger screen than the integrated 17-inch (1,920-by-1,200) display. You have an option for a Blu-ray drive, and the screen resolution is considered 1080p. Whether you want to dish out another $520 for the drive is another story. You'll probably be taking this laptop to a slew of gaming tournaments, so the embedded EV-DO or HSDPA antenna is actually a good idea, allowing access to broadband speeds via a cell-phone signal.

Before I go into details about performance parts, I thought I should give you an overview of what my testing experience was like. First, the speed at which Windows Vista Home Premium runs is unlike any laptop I've tested to date. For example, Vista's Control Panel icons fill the screen in an instant, as do 100 photo thumbnails appearing in a directory. Installing Adobe Photoshop CS2 (using the DVD drive) took roughly half the time I'm used to seeing with other laptops. And the M1730 produced record numbers when running a series of Photoshop scripts. The last time I've seen video encoded that quickly was on the Eurocom D900C Phantom, which runs a desktop processor. Writing files to the dual 200GB hard drives (400GB total) went swiftly; it helped that these drives are arranged in a RAID 0 configuration and spin at 7,200 rpm. Dell will also offer a 64GB SSD option (at an as-yet undetermined price) in place of one or both of the spinning hard drives. The performance gains from solid-state drives are still questionable, but one thing you can count on is that these drives are more durable than their spinning counterparts. (Again, much of the above is based on my observations.)

The M1730 is equipped with a 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X7900 processor. The Extreme part means that Intel is sanctioning overclocking with this particular CPU. Dell has simplified this capability by letting you adjust the clock frequency in the BIOS. I was able to crank it up from 2.8 GHz to 3.4 GHz. The fans kicked into high gear immediately after Windows booted up, to offset the heat. There is no doubt you'll see significant performance gains from overclocking, but I ran my performance tests at 2.8 GHz. Another thing to note is that the M1730 loads Windows Vista Home Premium. Most gamers, not to mention average users, are still squeamish about loading Microsoft's latest operating system, mainly because of the lack of optimized drivers and Vista's resource-demanding interface.

On SYSmark Preview 2007 Overall, the M1730's scores were 10 percent better than those of the Alienware m9750, which loads Windows XP Professional. It also finished Photoshop scripts and video-encoding tests 14 and 26 percent faster, respectively, than the Alienware did. But with all the lighting effects and power-consuming components, the 85-Wh battery lasted only 1 hour 26 minutes on MobileMark 2007 tests, though that's understandable for a gaming laptop. The Toshiba Satellite P105-ST9772, with its cooler-running components, offers half an hour more battery life. The best MobileMark 2007 scores on a 17-inch laptop, so far, belong to the HP Pavilion dv9500t, at 3 hours 10 minutes.

I saved the most important section for last—3D graphics. One of the most compelling features of the M1730 is the built-in physics card from Ageia, a first for a laptop. A physics processor provides a sense of realism in 3D games by enriching details based on the movement of different objects. For example, particles from an explosion, effects of a weapon, and even the way a piece of cloth moves can be exploited with a physics processor. There aren't many games yet that take advantage of the Ageia PhysX Card, and the performance benefits are still being debated. But Dell graciously sent a copy of PhysX card are technological advances that will surely inspire others to follow suit. Even the price is reasonable once you factor in all the latest technology. For that, Dell easily reclaims the throne from Alienware as the top pioneer in laptop gaming.