Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

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]

Continue reading Twin GeForce 8800M GTX upgrade now available for Dell’s XPS M1730

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

When the clock strikes midnight on June 18th, Dell will discontinue its sales of XP systems. The move allows Dell to meet the imposed June 30th deadline which requires the industry to cease shipment of XP machines. That is, unless you’re in the market for a netbook and nettop in which case Microsoft is happy for vendors to continue shipping XP in order to stifle Linux’s penetration into consumer computing give consumers a consistent user experience. After June 18th, certain Dell products will still be offered with a factory installed, XP Professional “downgrade” at the cost to you or your business of an unused Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate license and presumably, a small fee as we heard earlier. However, according to TGDaily, the downgrade will only be offered on XPS 630 and XPS 720 H2C desktops or the M1730 laptop — not the 11 laptops and 10 desktops Dell currently ships with an XP option.

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Filed under: Laptops, Storage

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.

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Filed under: Laptops

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]

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Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

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Filed under: Laptops

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)

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Laptops

One rumor ends, and another one begins: now that the M1730 (pictured) is all out in the wild, rumors abound of a mid-range 15-inch M1530 to fit between the M1330 and its bigger brother. The evidence? An error message on a Creative webcam, and a potentially mistyped AC adapter listing on a cheap battery retailer’s site. Not very compelling, but we’ve seen reality borne out of less. Also on the radar is an A2010, probably to replace the M2010, that 20-inch behemoth of a gaming laptop. Keep your eyes peeled.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Features, Gaming, Laptops

Beast is right, this thing is just a monster. We’re fairly certain we’ve held laptop before that are lighter than the Dell M1730’s LCD alone. That said, it can certainly pump out the graphics, and the amBX-esque lighting functions are kind of growing on us. An extra perk to the AGEIA PhysX systems is an exclusive Unreal Tournament 3 level with extra explosion fodder, which is possibly one of the best selling points we’ve heard for the physics card.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Continue reading Dell’s XPS M1730 sneaks onto Dell’s site: a beast indeed

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!