Dell DTR Laptop Shootout - M1710 vs. E1705
by Jarred Walton on May 30, 2006 1:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
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.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
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.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
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.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
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.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
34 Comments
View All Comments
NullSubroutine - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
In the article the author mentioned the painfulness of disassembling the laptop system, however I disagree. While not being two thumb screws like on some desktops, after taking apart the laptop (which doesnt void your warrenty, as tell had me disassemble so to take the CD/DVD drive in and out to fix a glitch) after a few times, it becomes a breeze. I can take it apart in less than a minute.I would have liked to have seen the comparison of the 7900 GS vs the 7800. As a early i9400 buyer, I was plagued with the 7800 (didnt realize it wasnt the 7800 Go GTX until after it was purchased), there is some good info on i think its called notebookforums or something on how to overclock your gpu with some volt mods. I could get 485/965 on 1.3 volt mod, but it gets hot, and accept a 450/960 on 1.2v (default is 1.1) the 130watt psu helps (I highly recommend) and you should prop up your laptop. I use two 'crystal light cup packs' under each backside pad; I actually perfer it propped as it is easier to type with the backside elevated a bit.
Unfortunetely, dell isnt shipping the 7900 Go GTX, otherwise you could drop that video card right into an older shipping model of the i9400. You can always slightly mod your case and put the 7800 Go GTX in there...but I'm personally gonna wait (and save money) to get the 7900 Go GTX later, or get the 8800 Go GTX sometime later this year if it is released (dell will offer it for the m1710 and it will fit right into the i9400). But this is only if I really decide to droop myself low enough to switch to Vista....shutters....I really hate MS for making DX10 Vista only.
Also, Dell said the Memron will work perfectly (needing at most a bios update) with either laptop.
ElFenix - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
and what pipe configuration does it have?thanks!
JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - link
20 pixel, 7 vertex (I think), 375/1000 clocks are typical. I'm not positive what the Dell model has on clocks, as there is some variation, but it should still be quite a bit faster than the GF Go 7800. I figure the GF Go 7900 GTX adds another 20-30% in performance, however, as it has even higher clocks (500/1200 with 24/8 pipelines).anandlurker - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
I'm glad that Anandtech include Source DoD for benchmarking, i love this game but when i bought my $300 7800gt just to play this game, the results were mediocre and rather disappointing for this kinda of price. I hope future benchmark from Anandtech include this game, it's a nice simple multiplayer game that seems to render 7800 series useless(pricewise).JarredWalton - Wednesday, May 31, 2006 - link
The fastest scores I've seen on DODS top out at around 67 FPS with audio enabled. (Overclocked FX-62 running 3.08 GHz.) The game is very CPU limited, at least with any reasonable GPU. That said, I find 40 FPS to be very playable on this particular title, though lots of people want higher frame rates.turkster - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
you dont even need the modified INF drivers, the installed Nvidia drivers that came with my M1710 will allow me fix aspect ratio and set scaling options without any problem.For those interested my M1710 (T2500 2Ghz, 2GB RAM) with 7900GS graphics card scored 3805 in 3dmark06 straight out of the box with no tweaks or new drivers etc. This seems a quite respectable score and puts it considerably ahead of the 7800go. I havent done any further benchmarks yet but my experience so far shows that it is quite capable of playing FEAR at 1920x1200 4xAA perfectly smoothly, similarly FarCry and HL2. As such it would seems like quite a good option for those who cant quite stomach the rather steep price of 7900GTX.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
So there is an option to do 1:1 scaling - I've removed the paragraph on this. I would have never thought to look in the drivers for this, and it certainly could be placed in a more prominent position. I guess I'm just used to older laptops that did this via BIOS/keyboard shortcuts. (I'm getting old.... LOL)mrSHEiK124 - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
You actually can have the laptop scale resolution while preserving aspect ratio, you just need to install nVIDIA's desktop drivers w/the modified INF that allows them to run on mobile parts and then you can use the scaling settings built into the drivers.ahmshaegar - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
Now I don't know about the Nvidia-based laptops, but I have the Dell Inspiron E1505 (with ATI x1400 Mobility) and to have the aspect resolution preserved when changing resolutions, there's an option in the control panels (both CCC and the old ATI control panels have the option to preserve aspect ratio when changing resolutions.) I'm guessing that it would be the same for Nvidia.Thor86 - Tuesday, May 30, 2006 - link
So, instead of reviewing DTRs, which it seems no-one really cares about, how about a review of ultra-portables?