When it comes to Dell XPS laptops, the XPS 16 makes a great combination between price and an optimal configuration. The laptop runs on a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. The hard disk capacity is 320 GB and the graphics card is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 with 512 MB of video memory.

The starting price is a bit less than $1,200 but the unit configured here costs about $1,800 so be careful what extra options you choose when you order and customize your own unit from the Dell official website as you may end up paying more than you expected.

There is not much to talk about the looks but the display is definitely an interesting chapter. The 16 inch screen offers and impeccable image with rich and sharp colors and a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The keyboard is excellent and like most Dell keyboards, it offers great feedback and excellent key travel. The speakers are located on the left and right side of the keyboard and since the keys are not stretches all the way to the edge of the notebook, it may look like the keyboard is actually smaller than it already is.  The touchpad is small compared to the size of the notebook but the surface is responsive and the left and right mouse buttons produce excellent clicks when you press them.

As for the selection of ports and connections, Dell has always surprised us with a fair combination to make users pleasant. The unit has 4 USB ports, an Express Card slot, a FireWire port, a VGA out, an Ethernet port, a HDMI port, a card reader, a TV tuner antenna jack, e Kensington lock slot and the headphones plus microphone jacks. The HDMI port is excellent if you choose the optional Blu-ray optical drive because you can now watch HD movies on an external monitor.

The speakers are great so external speakers are only necessary for really picky people. As for the battery life, the 9 cell battery will keep the laptop up and running for 2 hours and 50 minutes with screen brightness set to 80% and surfing the internet with the wireless card enabled. And the power management profile of the Windows Vista operating system was set to “balanced mode”. The 6 cell battery obviously does not offer the same performance but it makes the laptop a little lighter so if you are interested in portability, you may want to choose the 6 cell battery.

This notebook has the right specs to one of the amazing Dell XPS laptops.  With a solid built in quality and a super keyboard, the laptop has just what it takes to your laptop for the next years to come. The performance is great considering the price you pay and even if it’s not the best gaming laptop, it still allows you to play a couple of games. It has a great port selection and a Blu-ray optical drive which allows you to watch HD movies on your 16 inch display.

Dell vs. Toshiba laptops is another delicate subject which is somewhat difficult to approach. It is difficult because you cannot compare all the laptop models of these 2 manufacturers so you could see which one wins the fight fair and square. On a personal level, I would say Dell is the winner even if I am a Toshiba owner. Dell has far more models available on the market to cover different types of customers. But both of these manufacturers produce computers ranged from netbooks to bulky gaming laptops so it’s difficult to make a choice.

In this Dell vs. Toshiba laptop fight, we are going to compare two of the best and most powerful gaming laptops that there 2 brands have released on the market. Here is what we have to say about the Dell XPS M1730 and the Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q725. Let’s start off with the Toshiba. This Qosmio model is powered by a 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM. The graphics card is the nVidia GeForce 9800M GTX with another GB of DDR3 RAM. The hard drive can store 320 GB of data. Other features are the integrated webcam and microphone, an integrated Bluetooth device, a dual layer DVD burner and even an integrated subwoofer. The diagonal of the display is 17 inches and the native resolution is 1680 x 1050 pixels.

The XPS on the other hand has a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 processor and 2 GB of DDR2 RAM. So far, Toshiba is the winner when it comes to power and speed. The graphics card on the Dell XPS takes shapes in dual nVidia GeForce 8700M-GT video cards with 256 MB of video memory each. Inside, it has 2 hard drives, each one with a storage capacity of 200 GB, adding up to a total of 400 GB. This is more than I can say for the Qosmio but in the end it’s not the 80 GB in plus of storage space which makes the difference between these 2 gaming units. The 17 inch screen of the XPS has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels which is a bit better than the one found on the Toshiba. I have found no information about any integrated subwoofer on the M1730.

Since both of these units are dedicated to the gamers’ market segments, it’s important to know how much they have each scored on benchmark test ran. This Dell XPS got a really good score of 8,536 which is pretty impressive and it proves that this is a gaming laptop. The Toshiba Qosmio X305 on the other hand… was way better. On the same 3DMark06 test it got a score of 10,180 which is a huge number indicating that the Qosmio knows its way around the 3D stuff.

Both of these units really look like gaming laptops. The lid of the XPs is backed up by shiny blue LEDs which glow amazing in the dark and the Qosmio has a red case which looks like it has just been saved from a fire. Both of them are similarly priced, revolving around $2700. I don’t know about you but I have made my choice.

While searching for Dell Studio laptop reviews, we came across the Dell Studio XPS 16 with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor. It comes with 4 GB of the fast DDR3 RAM. The storage capacity of the hard drive is 320 GB and the graphics card is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3670 with 512 MB of video memory. The starting price of this unit is $1200 but the unit reviewed here was configured up to a cost of $1800.

I find the looks of this laptop to be quite boring. It is plain black with a white stripe and the white Dell logo in the center of the lid.  Since it is a 16 inch laptop, I doubt it would be of any use for people looking for mobility as it is more of a desktop replacement rather than anything else.  About the nicest touch at the design chapter is the leather used over the lid right were the hinges are located. The 16 inch display is amazing.

The colors are sharp and rich and since we have a Blu-ray optical drive, things get even better. Now you can enjoy the best DVD movie in high definition on the beautiful screen which improves the quality of the images. The native resolution of the display is 1920 x 1080 pixels. Above the gorgeous display there is a 2.0 mega pixel webcam that you use when you want to chat with your friends via a video call. The quality of the image is not the best but it’s not the worse either. It’s better than the average 1.3 mega pixel webcam that you usually get with a mainstream laptop.

The keyboard is great with almost no flex registered. The keys have great travel and they offer positive feedback. The touchpad is quite OK as well even if I believe it’s a bit too small for a 16 inch laptop. The glossiness of the touchpad is not bothering in any way and this is a fact which I find surprising. Almost all the Dell Studio laptop reviews which I have read have only good thing to say about the selection of ports and connections. This Dell Studio comes with 3 USB ports, one VGA port, one IR port, one Ethernet port, the Display port, a TV tuner antenna jack, a 8-in-1 media card reader, a HDMI port, a Kensington lock slot, a FireWire port and the 2 headphones out and one microphone in jack. I have to agree, this really is a good selection of ports even if Dell could have squeezed in at least one more USB port.

The standard unit comes with a 6 cell battery and the possibility of going with a 9 cell battery.  Even if the 9 cell battery adds some more weight to the whole unit, it does provide up to 2 hours and 50 minutes of battery life is the display brightness is adjusted to 80%, the wireless is turned on and the power management profile of the operating system is set to “balanced mode”.

The Dell Studio 15 laptop is one multimedia notebook for the whole family to enjoy. With a price of almost $1300, you can get this laptop which runs on a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8600 and it has 3 GB of RAM. The graphics card is the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 with 256 MB of video memory. The capacity of the hard disk is 250 GB. This Dell Studio 15 laptop is actually the 1555, an improved version of the older 1535.

The differences between the 2 models are not huge. One good improvement was increasing the size of the display. The display now measure 15.6 inches in diagonal and it has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. As usual, Dell has given us 6 color choices for the Lid of the Dell Studio 15. In consequence, you can get your laptop in the standard Black Chainlink, the Midnight Blue, the Promise Pink, the Ruby Red, the Plum Purple and the Spring Green. Except for the choice of the colors, you can also get different models and patterns which were designed by artist to better fit your personality. There is some flex if you apply pressure on the back of the lid.

We can’t say that the laptop has a solid built in construction so try to be careful how you handle it around the house. The screen is backed up by LED lights but the brightness seems to be slightly uneven. The horizontal viewing angles are great so if you want to enjoy a movie with a couple of friends, the Dell Studio 15 is going to ease the process. Aside from the integrated stereo speakers there is also a subwoofer and the bass is really very strong. The keyboard is backlit and now it’s easier to type in the dark.

There is some flex noticed in the keyboard area if you usually press the keys while typing.  The touchpad has a nice texture and it’s pleasant to use. There is almost no lag registered and it has great travel and response. Ports and features are an important chapter for a multimedia laptop. The Dell Studio 1555 comes with 3 USB ports, one of them being an eSATA and USB combo port, a FireWire port, a Kensington lock slot, a HDMI port, an Express card slot, a VGA port, the Ethernet port, a media card reader and the headphones out and microphone in jacks.

If you find battery life important, I can tell you that the Dell Studio 1555 battery fits in the category average. If you set the display’s brightness to medium level, activate the wireless card and set the Vista power management profile to “Balanced mode” you will get about 3 hours and 40 minutes of battery life. We like it that the Dell can be customized and it offers good performance for its price tag. Dell is known for offering a high choice of personalized themes and colors and we simply love it.

The D430 is a Dell Latitude laptop with a starting price of $1200. It’s not of thod old Dell laptops that we kept reviewing lately and it has some aces up it’s sleeve that make it a good choice for an ultra-portable. It comes with a 1.2 GHz Santa Rosa Intel Core Solo U1400 processor and 1 GB of RAM. The capacity of the hard drive is 80 GB. At 3.2 lbs. I think it has just the right weight in order to become an ultra-portable.

One thing that we definitely have to say about this Dell Latitude laptop is that it’s solid even if it’s light. The chassis is built using magnesium alloy and solid plastics. There is some flex in the palm rest area but that is about the only thing that flexes on this laptop. The hinges manage to keep the screen steady in place. The 12 inch display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, the same that my 15.4 inch laptop has.

Pretty impressive, isn’t it? When you are used to working with desktop computer and 17 inch laptops, it can be frustrating the first few times that you sue the Dell D430. It’s going to take a lot of zooming and scrolling but sacrifices are to be made when you want an ultra-portable laptop that won’t break you back when you carry it around. The levels of contrast and brightness are OK and you can even read what is on the screen if you are using this laptop outdoors.

There is only one speaker on this laptop which means the sound output is nothing fantastic. It can cover regular Windows sounds but if you want to listen to music or to watch a movie, you are definitely going to need external speakers. The keyboard is among the best you will find on a 12 inch laptop. There is no flex registered when you type. There is also a pointing stick included which seems to work just fine.

The left and right touchpad buttons don’t make any noise when you press them. The unit comes with 3 USB ports, a FireWire port, a PCMCIA slot, a Kensington lock slot, an SD card slot, a SmartCard reader, an Ethernet port, the modem port, a VGA out and the headphones plus the microphone jacks. Battery life is important since this laptop is designed to be carried everywhere you go. If the level of brightness is set to minimum, the wireless card is enabled you can get about 2 hours and 18 minutes of battery life. It’s true that some netbooks can provide with bigger number but let us not forget that a netbook can only be good for 2 things: web surfing and working on documents.

You can get a really good price on this unit if you order it directly from the Dell website. It is surprisingly solid for a laptop this size and even the keyboard feels extremely pleasant to use. The specs are good for what you need to obtain from an ultra-portable. You can go with the dual core processor which are available if you need to get more speed but that is going to cost you extra.