Dell XPS M1710 (Core 2 Duo) review

When it comes to 3D games, though, the XPS M1710's new processor alone couldn't provide a performance bump -- because it has the same graphics card, its frame rates were almost identical to the earlier Core Duo-based system. With 110.7fps on Doom 3 and 71fps on F.E.A.R., the XPS M1710's scores weren't bad, but they were also no match for the Aurora mALX's respective 133.6fps and 86fps. If you're looking to play the newest games at the highest settings (and you're willing to stretch your definition of laptop to include a 6.8kg beast), the dual-SLI graphics and slightly faster processor speed of the Aurora mALX will provide a superior gaming experience. Otherwise, the Dell XPS M1710 continues to deliver extremely strong game performance in a more reasonably sized package.

Performance results
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Multitasking Suite (in seconds)

iTunes 6.0.4.2 AAC to MP3 conversion (in seconds)

Photoshop CS2 performance (seconds)

Alienware Aurora mALX

353 

207 

290 

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo

191 

174 

224 

BAPCo MobileMark 2005 battery life
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

BAPCo MobileMark 2005 battery life in minutes

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo

257 

Dell XPS M1710

154 

Toshiba Satellite P105-S921

121 

BAPCo MobileMark 2005 performance
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

BAPCo MobileMark 2005 performance

Dell XPS M1710

254 

Toshiba Satellite P105-S921

214 

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo

160 

Id Software/Activision's Doom 3
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Id Software/Activision's Doom 3

Alienware Aurora mALX

133.6 

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo

110.7 

Dell XPS M1710

107.9 

Monolith's/VU Games' F.E.A.R.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Monolith's/VU Games' F.E.A.R.

Alienware Aurora mALX

86 

Dell XPS M1710

72 

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo

71 

 
System configurations:

Alienware Aurora mALX
Windows XP Pro; 2.6GHz AMD Turion 64 ML-44; 2GB PC 3200 DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 512MB; Seagate Momentus 7200.1 100GB 7,200rpm (2)

Dell XPS M1710
Windows XP Media Center Edition; 2.16GHz Core Duo-T2600; 2GB PC 5300 DDR2 SDRAM 666MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX 512MB; Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB 7,200rpm

Dell XPS M1710 Core 2 Duo
Windows XP Media Center; 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7600; 2GB DDR2 SDRAM PC5300 666MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GTX 512MB; Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB 7,200rpm

Toshiba Satellite P105-S921
Windows XP Pro; 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo T2400; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM PC5300 666MHz; Nvidia GeForce Go 7900 GS 256MB; Fujitsu MHV2160BT 160GB 4,200rpm

Edited by Matthew Elliott
Additional editing by Kate Macefield