Inspiron e1705 thoughts

[alkaline]

Been using my new inspiron e1705 for a while now and i thought id share my thoughts. I configured it at exactly $3001.00 [includes 2, 4 year warranties], but i found a coupon that took $634 off the price....good deal imo.

specs:

2ghz Core Duo
2gb RAM [2x1gb]
7900gs go 256mb vid card
80gb sata hdd
17in widescreen wuxga 1920x1200
onboard audio and internal wireless

Better start with the bad news....things i dont like:

--Lack of a mouse nub. Call me crazy but i prefer it over the touchpad. No that big of a deal because i use a mouse anyways.
--Large. This definitly isnt for someone who needs a laptop for extensive travelling.
--Bottom gets warm, especially around the RAM. This isnt uncommon for most laptops though
--Costly [but worth it]

Things I like:
--Screen. Very large, allows for a lot of work space. Glossy coating makes picture crystal clear too.
--Power. This thing plays all of my games [bf2, hl2, fear] on max at native res....averaging 60fps.
--Style. I think this laptop has a good design, the keyboard is layed out well, and it looks good on the exterior.
--Worked out of the box. No problems at all, just had to remove some bloatware and off she goes. Internal wireless was very easy to set up as well.

Questions? comments? feel free to ask em here!

 

[who am I - I ask]

never had a poping sound you may just need correct drivers

 

[alkaline]

after updating my drivers [they were 3 months old] the popping is gone. my bad!

 

[RedShark]

My parents bought a (considerably cheaper / less powerful) E1705 and like it too. Just be sure to get rid of all the Dell crapware

 

[ion]

I know the audio crackles when the volume is turned up all the way, atleast it's more obvious that way. It's especially noticable when you hook up the laptop to high-quality external speakers.

On a side note, you can get a "hacked" inf for the dell sigmatel audio drivers that opens up lots of other audio options including a stereo mix for recording what the speakers output. The thread is here: http://www.notebookforums.com/thread169312.html.