Dell DTR Laptop Shootout - M1710 vs. E1705

Features

We've already stated that the M1710 and the E1705 are very similar, and the primary difference comes at the lower end of the spectrum. Here's a quick rundown of the available features for both systems.

System Configuration Options
	Dell XPS M1710	Dell Inspiron E1705
Processor	Intel Core Duo T2400/T2500/T2600 (1.83/2.00/2.16 GHz)	Intel Core Duo T2300/T2400/T2600 (1.66/1.83/2.16 GHz) Intel Core Solo T1300 (1.66GHz)
Chipset	Intel 945PM 64-bit Dual-Channel	Intel 945PM or Intel 945GM 64-bit Dual-Channel
FSB Speeds	Up to 667 MHz	Up to 667 MHz
Memory Speeds	DDR2-533, DDR2-667	DDR2-533, DDR2-667
Memory Slots	(2) x SO-DIMM, max. 4GB, DDR2, Dual Channel supported	(2) x SO-DIMM, max. 4GB, DDR2, Dual Channel supported
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS 256MB or 7900 GTX 512MB GDDR3	Intel 950GM 128MB Shared (512MB System Memory) or 224MB Shared (1GB+ System Memory) (Optional) ATI Mobility X1400 256MB (Optional) NVIDIA GeForce Go 7800 256MB (Optional) NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GS 256MB
Display	17" WUXGA (1920x1200) UltraSharp with TrueLife	17" Wide Screen WXGA+ (1440x900) or (Optional) 17" Ultrasharp Wide Screen WUXGA (1920x1200) with TrueLife
Expansion Slots	One ExpressCard 54mm slot supporting 1.5V and 3.3V, ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54, 26 pins	One ExpressCard 54mm slot supporting 1.5V and 3.3V, ExpressCard/34 and ExpressCard/54, 26 pins
Hard Drive	60/80/100 7200 RPM	60/80/100/120GB 5400 RPM or 60/80/100GB 7200 RPM
Optical Drive	DVD+/-RW with Dual-Layer DVD+R Write Support	24X CD Burner/8xDVD Combo Drive or 8x DVD+/-RW with Dual-Layer DVD+R Write Support
Networking/ Communications	Integrated 10/100/1000 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet and V.92 56K Modem (Optional) Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (Optional) Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card (Optional) Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini Card (Optional) Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)	Integrated 10/100 Ethernet and V.92 56K Modem (Optional) Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (Optional) Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini Card (Optional) Intel Pro/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g Mini Card (Optional) Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal (2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate)
Audio	24-bit High Definition Audio with 2.1 Speakers	Integrated Sigmatel HD 24-bit Audio or (Optional) Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD 24-Bit Audio
Left I/O Ports	2 x USB 2.0	2 x USB 2.0
Right I/O Ports	4-pin Unpowered IEEE 1394A, 5-in-1 Flash Reader (MS, MS Pro, SSD/SDIO, MMC, xD, CD Type I/II, IBM MicroDrive), Headphone and Microphone connectors	4-pin Unpowered IEEE 1394A, 5-in-1 Flash Reader (MS, MS Pro, SSD/SDIO, MMC, xD, CD Type I/II, IBM MicroDrive), Headphone and Microphone connectors
Back I/O Ports	1 x RJ45 LAN 4 x USB 2.0 1 x RJ11 Modem 1 x DVI-D 1 x VGA 1 x S-VIDEO Out	1 x RJ45 LAN 4 x USB 2.0 1 x RJ11 Modem 1 x DVI-D 1 x VGA 1 x S-VIDEO Out
Keyboard	87 Key QWERTY (US)	87 Key QWERTY (US)
Battery	9-Cell 80WHr "Smart" Lithium Ion	6-Cell 53WHr "Smart" Lithium Ion or 9-Cell 80WHr "Smart" Lithium Ion
Dimensions	1.7"x15.5"x11.3" (HxWxD) 8.8 lbs. (Display, 9-Cell battery, DVD-Combo drive)	1.7"x15.5"x11.3" (HxWxD) 7.61+ lbs. (Display, 9-Cell battery, DVD-Combo drive increase weight)
Power Adapter	130W 1.42"x2.56"x6.67" (HxWxD), 1.68 lbs. with cables	Ac Adapter - 90W 1.35"x2.39"x6.04" (HxWxD), 1.19 lbs. with cables
Chassis	Metallic Black Dell XPS M1710 or Special Edition Formula Red Dell XPS M1710	Dell Inspiron E1705
Other Features	XPS 16 Color Configurable Accent Lighting Trackpad with scroll bars	Trackpad with scroll bars

The first difference comes in terms of supported processors. The M1710 can naturally support the same processors, but Dell doesn't offer anything lower than the Core Duo T2400 (1.83 GHz) processor in the XPS systems. The E1705 in contrast can be purchased with the Core Duo T2300 (1.66 GHz), or you can even opt for the Core Solo T1300. The price difference between the Core Solo and Core Duo isn't enough that we would actually recommend going that route, however.

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The next major difference comes with the default LCDs. The XPS systems come with a WUXGA UltraSharp LCD (1920x1200), while the Inspiron E1705 defaults to WXGA+ (1440x900). You can get the same display with the E1705, but it's a $150 upgrade. Some people might actually prefer the WXGA+ display anyway, as 1920x1200 resolution on a 17 inch LCD can result in small text on many applications. We would like the option of getting a WSXGA+ (1680x1050) as well.

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The memory and storage offerings follow a similar pattern. The XPS only comes with 7200RPM hard drives, ranging from 60GB to 100GB. The E1705 includes those three hard drives, but it also adds four 5400RPM drives to the list of available choices, ranging from 60GB to 120GB. On the memory front, XPS laptops come with a minimum of 1GB of RAM, and all of the memory offerings are DDR2-667 (other than the insanely expensive 2x2GB configurations: $1800 for DDR2-533, or $3000 for DDR2-667 - not that we would actually recommend either upgrade at those prices). The Inspiron E1705 adds a low-end 512MB option, DDR2-533 as a choice at every memory configuration, and drops the 4GB upgrades. The low-end Core Solo E1705 gives you the choice of either a DVD burner or a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, while all of the other models come with a DVD burner by default.

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Video card choices on the XPS are limited to the 7900 GS or the 7900 GTX. The E1705 also offers the 7900 GS now ($349 upgrade), but you can also choose to go with integrated GMA950 graphics, ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 HyperMemory ($149 upgrade), or GeForce Go 7800 ($199 upgrade). Of the various graphics card offerings, we have to say that there's little point in getting the X1400 HyperMemory given the cost, at least if you're interested in playing games. If you need more graphics power than the integrated graphics provide, the extra $50 to get the GeForce Go 7800 will more than double graphics performance.

The 7900 GS is the fastest of the graphics options for the Inspiron models, and with the 90 nm manufacturing process it may actually produce less heat than the GeForce Go 7800. It's difficult to recommend spending almost twice as much money, but it should come with a decent increase in performance. The GeForce Go 7800 only has 16 pixel pipelines, whereas the GeForce Go 7900 GS comes with 20 as well as higher clock speeds. If you're really interested in high-powered graphics performance, you can of course upgrade to the XPS and get the GeForce Go 7900 GTX instead. We'll have more to say later on the graphics card choices, and while the X1400 isn't great for games, it does have other benefits.

The remaining differences are generally minor. Of course there's the aforementioned difference in appearance. The XPS comes with an 80 WHr (9 cell) battery by default, and the Inspiron comes with a 53 WHr (6 cell) and offers the 80 WHr battery as an upgrade. Somewhat interesting is that the external power brick is a 130W model for the XPS and only 90W for the Inspiron. The 7900 GTX configuration is likely the reason for the different power brick, as otherwise the two laptops are basically the same. The XPS power brick does weigh a bit more as well, but given the total system weight it's unlikely that you would notice the extra couple of ounces.

That takes care of the general overview, but before we get to the benchmarks we want to look at some of the specific shared components. We'll also take a look at how the laptops are put together.