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Dell Inspiron 1720

83

Very Good

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Pros
Dual hard drives option
Fast 3D gaming
Cons
Pricey

Pricing: Very Inexpensive: $1938 (10/16/2008)
Performance: Good: 78
Features: Good: 78
Design: Very Good: 88

Find out how these four scores, and their relative weights, combine to produce the PC World Rating.

Pricing

Very Inexpensive: $1938

Performance

Good: 78

WorldBench 6 Tests - Good: 75

WorldBench 6 Component Results (seconds)
Adobe Photoshop CS2	550
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 DirectX	411
Autodesk 3ds max 8.0 SP-3 Rendering	813
Firefox 2	382
Microsoft Office 2003 with SP-1	392
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0	273
Multitasking	497
Nero 7 Ultra Edition	925
Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5	253
Winzip Computing WinZip 10.0	357

Battery Test
Number of Included Batteries	1
Battery Life (Video Playback in hh:mm)	03:33

Graphics Tests (frames per second)
Doom 3, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	90.8
Far Cry, 1024 by 768, 32-Bit	116.79

Features

Good: 78

CPU & Memory
CPU	2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7300
System Memory	2048
Type of Memory	DDR2-667 SDRAM

Video & Display
Display Size (inches)	17" Display
Horizontal Resolution	1920
Vertical Resolution	1200
Video Chip Set	nVidia GeForce 8600M GT
Video Memory	256
External Monitor Interface	Integrated
Wide Screen	Yes

Storage
Total HD Size (GB)	160GB Hard Drive
Optical Drive Speed	1
Optical Drive Type	DVD±R DL/DVD±RW
Removable Optical Drive	No
Floppy Drive	No
Number of Media Slots	3
Other Removable Media Drive	Memory Stick, SD Card, xD-Picture Card

Ports & Expansion
Serial Ports	No
Parallel Ports	No
USB Ports	5
FireWire Ports	1
Microphone Ports	Yes
Headphone Jacks	Yes
S-Video Ports	Yes
Composite Video Ports	No
Docking Station Port	No
Infrared Port	Yes
Shared Mouse/Keyboard Port	No
Mini PCI Port	No
PC Card Slots	0
Express Card Slots	1

Connectivity
Network Port	10/100Base-T ethernet
Wireless LAN Type	802.11g
Bluetooth	Yes
Modem Type	V.92

Other
Standard Number of Batteries	1
Type of Batteries	Lithium ion
Built-In Speakers	Stereo
Dimensions	15.5 by 12.2 by 1.8
Min. Weight (lbs.)	8.7Lbs.
Average Weight (pounds, with accessories)	9.7
Accessories	Notebook, AC adapter, remote
Pointing Device	Touchpad
Operating System	Windows Vista Home Premium (32 bit)
Other Included Hardware	Remote control

Warranty & Support
Labor Warranty (years)	Two
Parts Warranty (years)	Two
Weekday Support Hours	24
Saturday Support Hours	24
Sunday Support Hours	24
Toll-Free Support	Yes

Reliability & Service
Summary of results for all of brand's products in this category	Dell's showing in this category isn't bad overall, though the company should try to improve its record on replacing failed components. Tech reps take too long to answer calls, readers report but once you get one, Dell support is good at resolving problems

Reliability of brand's products in this category
Reports of products with core component problems	Average
Reports of products with failed components	Average
Reports of products with any significant problems	Average
Reports of products arriving with problems	Average
Overall satisfaction with reliability of brand's products in category	Average

Service & Support Quality
Time spent holding for phone support	Worse than Average
Overall quality of vendor's phone support	Average
Reports of problems unresolved after contacting service	Better than Average
Overall quality of service	Average

Design

Very Good: 88

Dell Inspiron 1720 Review

by Carla Thornton

- A powerful laptop does not have to be a boring laptop. Take Dell's Inspiron 1720, a robust system that also happens to be available in seven colors besides black. The 1720 is a heavyish 17-inch notebook, but its multimedia design is outstanding.

Read Complete Review »

User Reviews for Dell Inspiron 1720

Reviewed by: park686

Duration of ownership: 0 Day

Strengths: Good Website

Weaknesses: Horrible Customer Service. Received acknowledgment of order but no confirmation. Tried email, chatting, talking and a supervisor - none of which could help. Told "order was in collections" (paid with credit card) and "configuration was wrong". Could not cancel so now I watch to make sure they do not charge me. A complete DISASTER.

Overall Evaluation: Great website - easy to order and configure. However, Dell has Horrible Customer Service. Received acknowledgment of order but no confirmation. Tried email, chatting, talking and a supervisor - none of which could help. Told "order was in collections" (paid with credit card) and "configuration was wrong". Could not cancel so now I watch to make sure they do not charge me. A complete DISASTER.