Dell Inspiron 1720 (Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 80GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)

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Product Summary

This configuration of the Dell Inspiron 1720 is a 7.9-pound, general-purpose notebook computer.Compared to other general-purpose notebooks on the market, it is midpriced at around $1,315.Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.Features NVIDIA GeForce 8400M graphics with 128MB of video memory.

Dell Inspiron 1720 (Core 2 Duo 1.5GHz, 1.5GB RAM, 80GB HDD, Vista Home Premium)

Manufacturer: Dell, Inc.

Part Number: DNDWMA3_4

Specs: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.16 GHz); RAM installed: 3 GB DDR2 SDRAM; Weight: 7.9 lbs See full specs >>

Price range: $1,349.00

CNET product brief

Description: This configuration of the Dell Inspiron 1720 is a 7.9-pound, general-purpose notebook computer.Compared to other general-purpose notebooks on the market, it is midpriced at around $1,315.Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.Features NVIDIA GeForce 8400M graphics with 128MB of video memory.

Pros: Has a 17.0 screen size, which is considerably larger than some similarly priced notebooks.Also, this notebook has a 320GB hard drive, which is considerably larger than some similarly priced notebooks.

Cons: Has a 7.9-pound weight, which is considerably heavier than some similarly priced notebooks.For example, the Lenovo 3000, at around $1, 260, has only a 4-pound weight.Also, this notebook has an integrated housing media bay, which is somewhat less favorable than some similarly priced notebooks.For example, the Fujitsu LifeBook N3530, a 7.9-pound notebook at around $1, 260, has a plug-in module media bay.The Dell Inspiron 1720 comes with entry-level word processing software ? if you often need to create presentations you will likely need to upgrade to a full-fledged office suite.

Suitability: A general-purpose notebook, suited for general mobile computing.Store massive amounts of data on DVD using the DVD writer included in this notebook.With 128MB of dedicated video RAM, this machine will do tremedously better than most other notebooks, when it comes to multimedia applications and games.If you have a wireless network at home, wirelessly browse the Internet from any room in your house with this Wi-Fi enabled notebook.

Value: In general, this notebook's features are in line with its price.However, the average price of consumer level products with a similar screen size is quite a bit less -- right around $1,064.

Suggestions: (1) Given this device's Wi-Fi capability, you may want to get a wireless access point for your home, so that you can browse the Web more conveniently from any room.(2) Using this PC's Firewire (1394) port, you can connect to many digital videocameras and other equipment to rapidly upload data to the computer hard drive.

CNET's Product Briefs are generated by a software tool that combines product specifications with knowledge of our editorial experts. They do not reflect hands-on assessment or labs testing. For more information about how we create Product Briefs, contact us.