Dell Inspiron 1720

By Michelle Thatcher on 27 June 2007

The Dell Inspiron 1720 is pitched as an "entertainment powerhouse" and offers a range of component upgrades and colour choices for home users.

User rating:9

The Dell Inspiron 1720 is built around an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and the new Centrino Duo platform. Aside from processor choices, Dell is also offering colour choices with the Inspiron 1720 series: if buyers don't like the traditional white or black case, they can opt for red, blue, green, yellow, brown or pink. We've seen colourful laptops before--most recently in the Sony VAIO C series -- but we've never seen a coloured laptop with as many configuration options as the Dell Inspiron 1720 offers. While many of the upgrade options will surely push the price well above the AU$2,349 baseline, we think the Inspiron 1720 series will nevertheless appeal to home users who want a solid all-around laptop with a high degree of customisation.

Though the Inspiron 1720's feature set is largely average for its category, a few key items stand out. For example, the laptop's 17-inch wide-screen display can be configured with a 1,440x900 or 1,920x1,200 native resolution. Buyers will have the option to include a Blu-ray drive in their system, and such finer features will drive up the starting price, but many home users will appreciate the option to customise their laptop to fit their needs and lifestyles.

Dell has also borrowed a few handy design features from its other laptop lines and incorporated them into the Inspiron 1720 series. First, media controls along the front edge, similar to those found on the XPS line of laptops, let you easily control disc playback. From the Latitude line, the Inspiron 1720 has adopted a built-in Wi-Fi Catcher, which lets you detect wireless networks even when the laptop's lid is closed or the computer is powered off.

As often happens with configurable laptops, the price of the Dell Inspiron 1720 series can vary widely depending on your component and feature choices. The initial baseline configuration for the Inspiron 1720 is above average for a budget desktop replacement, incorporating a Core 2 Duo T7100 processor (based on Intel's Santa Rosa chipset), 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GT graphics, and a DVD-RW drive for AU$2349. Though the Inspiron 1720 is initially being pitched in Australia as an "entertainment powerhouse", there is also an option to purchase a stripped-back model starting with a non-Santa Rosa chipset at AU$1,749.00.

Topics: centrino duo, dell, inspiron, intel, laptop, dell inspiron

Comments (8)

  • inspironz gave 10/10 on 26/10/2009 20:40 Report abuse

    • Good: fast + good screen + good value for money
    • Bad: a little heavy

    love it! so fast, super screen, easy to use.

    nVidia geforce 8400 graphics card, 2gb of ran, core2duo processor. super computer!

  • tony gave 10/10 on 18/02/2009 14:37 Report abuse

    • Good: fast, sturdy, easy to use
    • Bad: tiny bit heavy, not much so its ok i dont mind it. makes me sure that this laptop actually has something in it!!

    this laptop is a really good one i got a 4gb ram with 1.8ghz processor it goes ok, looking to upgrade it a bit, (i love the speed) just so it becomes perfect.

  • Steve Riley gave 9/10 on 31/05/2008 17:06 Report abuse

    • Good: Ultra competitive price, even when specced up! The screen - it's awesome! Full size keyboard is a winner. Very fast CPU. Build quality is very good, nice and solid and well manufactured.
    • Bad: Definately a desktop replacement, I wouldn't like to lug it all day from site to site.

      However for moving it around the house between rooms (and in the garage where I am right now typing this ;-) or to a mates to watch a Blu Ray DVD on it - no problems at all!

    My first laptop with a 17 inch screen. I've owned 4 laptops prior to this, Dell, Acer, Dell and Vaio.... each with screens getting larger and larger....

    And I'm impressed.

    I tailored mine with a fast CPU and 4gb of RAM. But the screen - wow. So clear and sharp. Refresh rate is impressive.

    Bundled with Vista Home Premium, so got all the basic software needed.

    The kids play their games on this with no probs - something my 17yo was concerned with!

  • anna gave 3/10 on 02/04/2008 19:25 Report abuse

    • Good: the screen has a good picture and the movie player is really efficient!
    • Bad: apart from the size and dimension being all wrong it is just not a great laptop! slow and hard to use! Dell need to get their act together and make it possible for customers to see them before they are able to buy them!

    I was really disapointed with mine, its really big and heavy and just plain large. It is really slow and is not as good looking as i thought it was going to be! now there is nothing i can do about it and its really annoying i would not reccomend it to anyone, there is much better stuff out there!! keep looking or you will be very disapointed!

  • steve_da_man_717@hotmail.com gave 10/10 on 02/03/2008 00:37 Report abuse

    • Good: 2 gud 2 b tru 4 price... $a2200. and the range of colours gives it that better taste
    • Bad: none... srsly one of the bestest laptops

    Bought one - T9300 2.5Ghz w/ 4gb ram and an 8600m gt card... and damn IT FRIKIN FAST.

  • Johnitz60 gave 10/10 on 07/02/2008 21:05 Report abuse

    • Good: Comes with many options and is very fast and sturdy. Cannot fault its performance.
    • Bad: Gives your arms a work out when carrying it around, but I use it at home so this isn't an issue.

    I've had many laptops over the years but this one tops the lot.

  • Trooper775 gave 10/10 on 12/12/2007 05:37 Report abuse

    • Good: The computer itself is very fast it has an Intel core 2 dual processor at 2.0Ghz with 2gigs ram my home desktop has an AMD Sempron 3.1Ghz with 2 gigs ram and my Dell Inspiron 1720 smokes it in the dust .
    • Bad: I had it built supposedly With an Intel Centrino duo processor and it has the Centrino Duo Sticker but CPUz tells me it has an Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T7250

    I got one made for me from dell and I use it as my main computer. The 1720 series is a little heavy but besides that it is very rugged my line of work has me on the road a lot so I needed a laptop that would stand up to being bumped around a lot because I use local transit around the city so I carry it in a Targus backpack witch helps me to carry the weight.

  • hypno57 gave 10/10 on 12/11/2007 23:28 Report abuse

    • Good: For $2000 u can have a comfortably high preforming laptop that will last years to come, including 3GB RAM.
    • Bad: It is a bit Heavey (but it is meant to be a desktop replacment)

    It is a really great laptop!

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