CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 03/16/2007
- Updated on: 06/24/2009
Dell's high-end 17-inch XPS M1710 is a popular choice for hard-core gamers who need a desktop replacement system, but the company's mainstream Inspiron E1705 offers a more media-center-oriented take on big-screen laptops. Minus the flashing lights and overwrought industrial design of the XPS line, the $1,909 Inspiron E1705 (configurations start at $999) includes a Media Center remote and an external USB TV tuner, ideal accessories for a portable home theater setup. If price is no object, however, the excellent $2,832 HP dv9000z provides the option for an HD DVD drive--which all but the most ardent cinephiles can safely live without.
Measuring 15.5 inches wide, 11.3 inches deep, and 1.6 inches thick, the Inspiron E1705 isn't the largest desktop replacement we've seen, but it still requires a generous amount of desk space. The system weighs 8.1 pounds (9.2 pounds with the AC adapter). It's certainly not something we'd want to carry around on a daily basis--no 17-inch model is--but it isn't too cumbersome to shuttle the E1705 from room to room or to take it along on the occasional road trip.
The silver-and-white design makes it an easy match for most modern decor, unlike the fire engine red XPS M1710, which comes complete with trippy strobe lights. While the E1705's keyboard tray is clean and uncluttered, we wonder why the keyboard itself is so small--there's clearly plenty of room on each side for a more spacious keyboard layout, or at least a separate number pad. (Bear in mind, the E1705's slightly cramped keyboard is bigger than what you'd find on a 15-inch or smaller laptop.) The touchpad has comfortably large buttons and includes both horizontal and vertical scroll zones, which we always appreciate.
Stereo speakers and an internal subwoofer (still a rare feature) deliver surprisingly crisp and rich sound. The speakers are located on the laptop's front edge, which helps when playing music with the lid closed. Located between the speakers, a row of seven media buttons lets you control playback and adjust or mute the volume.
The 17-inch LCD wide-screen display offers a fine 1,900x1,200 native resolution, which is higher than some other multimedia-friendly desktop replacements we've tested. The HP dv9000z, for example, provides only a 1,440 x 900 resolution. The higher resolution is great for tasks such as gaming and editing hi-res photos, but be aware that screen icons and Web-based text will be tiny.
The Inspiron E1705 boasts a comprehensive set of inputs and outputs, including FireWire, six USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, S-Video, VGA, and DVI outputs, and an Express Card slot. There's also a 5-in-1 media card reader. Networking connections include a modem and Gigabit Ethernet jacks and integrated 802.11a/b/g wireless. Having three video output options is appreciated, letting you connect the laptop to any number of external displays. We'd be more apt to connect it to an HDTV, however, if it featured a Blu-ray or a HD DVD drive. Sadly, Dell does not offer a next-gen optical drive on the Inspiron E1705. They do offer a Blu-ray in the XPS M1710, but as Dell is part of the Blu-ray collation, don't expect to see HD DVD anytime soon.
Components include a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, Nvidia GeForce Go 7900GS graphics, a DVD burner, and a 120GB 5,400rpm hard drive. These are pretty beefy specs for anyone short of hard-core gamers. Our review unit also included a Dell-branded external USB TV tuner and Media Center remote--an $80 option. The TV tuner includes coaxial cable, S-Video, and composite video inputs, for recording from a variety of sources, and works with Windows Media Center, now a part of Windows Vista Home Premium (and also Vista Ultimate).
If you're primarily interested in the system's design and want to spend less, the base $999 configuration (currently $749, thanks to one of Dell's frequent, but short-lived, instant discounts) rolls back the specs to an Intel Core Duo T2250 CPU, 1GB of RAM, integrated Intel 950 graphics, and an 80GB hard drive. For basic Web surfing and media playback, that's OK, but running Vista Home Premium with only 1GB of RAM often feels sluggish to us.
Compared to other similarly configured systems, the Inspiron E1705 was not as fast on CNET Labs' Photoshop CS2 processing and iTunes encoding tests, falling behind the HP dv9000z and Dell XPS M1710 (a Windows XP system we upgrade to Vista ourselves), but it did beat out the competition in our Multitasking test. In each case, the differences were not severe. The M1710 stepped up the processor to a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600, while the HP had an AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-64. The E1705 can easily hold its own against any high-end laptop, even when performing multiple processor-heavy tasks such as burning an optical disc while viewing an online video feed and converting MP3s.
With an Nvidia GeForce Go 7900GS graphics chip, the E1705 is a decent gaming system, offering 51.1 frames per second in Quake 4 at a ridiculously high resolution of 1,600x1,200. The only Vista laptop with better gaming scores was the XPS M1710, which has a faster Nvidia GeForce Go 7950GTX.
The E1705 ran for 2 hour, 28 minutes on our DVD battery drain test, using the included nine-cell battery. That's impressive for a high-powered desktop replacement system--our 17-inch Alienware Area-51 m5790 Special Edition ran for only 92 minutes on the same test. You can knock $50 off the system price by going with a smaller six-cell battery, but we wouldn't recommend it.
Dell backs the Inspiron E1705 with an industry-standard one-year, on-site warranty. Upgrading to three years of warranty protection costs $180. Toll-free telephone support is available 24-7, and Dell's Web site offers the typical knowledge base and driver download sections. Environmentally minded consumers should note that Dell will both send you a recycling kit (basically a prepaid shipping box) for your old system and plant a tree to offset your carbon dioxide usage, for an extra $2.
Find out more about how we test laptops.
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1,024x768, SS:on, AA: off, 8xAF | |
1,280x1,024, SS:off, 4xAA, 8xAF | |
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(Longer bars indicate better performance.)
System configurations:
Alienware Area-51 m5790 Special Edition
Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit); 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon x1900; 200GB Seagate (RAID 0 SCSI) 7,200rpm SATA/150
Dell Inspiron E1705
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7900GS; 120GB Toshiba 5,400rpm SATA/150
Dell XPS M1710 (Vista Ultimate Upgrade)
Windows Vista Ultimate; 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 664MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7950GTX; 100GB Hitachi 7,200rpm SATA/150
HP Pavilion dv9000z
Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit); AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile TL-64; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB Nvidia Geforce Go 7600; 120GB, Seagate, 5,400rpm, SATA/150
Lenovo ThinkPad T60P
Windows Vista Business; 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon V5250; 100GB Hitachi 5,400rpm SATA/150
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