Sibling Rivalry: Dell XPS M1730 vs. Alienware Area-51 m9750
Table of contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Design Features
- 3. Design Features, Continued
- 4. XPS M1730 Components
- 5. Display Characteristics
- 6. Benchmark Setup
- 7. Benchmark Results
- 8. F.E.A.R
- 9. Oblivion
- 10. Audio
- 11. Synthetics
- 12. SiSoft Sandra
- 13. Performance Summary
- 14. Conclusion
Dell markets itself as a quality leader that occasionally applies its expertise to gaming systems. Alienware is a gaming system builder first that uses its technical expertise to enhance quality. While the two brands market products differently, approaching the same target from different directions is sure to lead to an occasional collision.
The concept seems simple enough: Apply advanced technologies such as Intel’s Core 2 mobile architecture, SLI mode for two graphics processors and Level 0 mode for two fast hard drives using an integrated RAID controller to a lightweight case with large 17" display. Add a large battery and some oversized cooling, and hope that the combination can still fit within a mid-sized, middle-weight, semi-portable package. Such systems don’t have to compete with ultra-mobile lightweights as these are instead designed to be a more practical alternative to a portable desktop.
Using many of the same design concepts, today’s high-powered Dell XPS M1730 gaming notebook takes centre stage against its Alienware division’s recent Area 51 m9750.
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| Manufacturer | Dell | Alienware |
|---|---|---|
| Model | XPS M1730 | Area 51 m9750 |
| Dimensions & Weight | ||
| Width x Height x Depth | 16 x 2 x 12"
39.37 x 5.08 x 27.94cm |
15.5 x 2 x 11.5"
39.37 x 5.08 x 29.21cm |
| Unit & Battery | 11lb / 4990g | 9lb 8oz / 4309g |
| Charger and Power Cord | 3lb 8oz / 1588g | 2lb 4oz / 1021g |
| Total | 14lb 8oz / 6578g | 11lb 12oz / 5330g |
| AC Adapter & Battery | ||
| Battery I Capacity | Li-Ion 11.1 V, 85Wh | Li-Ion 14.8 V, 6450mAh |
| Battery II Capacity | none | none |
| AC adapter | 230 W | 180.5 W |
| Pointing Device(s) | Touchpad | Touchpad |
| Display and Graphics Controller | ||
| Display Size | 17" | 17" |
| Display Resolution | 1920 x 1200 | 1920 x 1200 |
| Graphics controller | Nvidia GeForce Go 8700M GT SLI | Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX SLI |
| System | ||
| BIOS | Dell A01 (08/07/07) | AMI W8350F02 (05/03/07) |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900
2.80 GHz, 4MB L2-Cache, FSB800 |
Intel Core 2 Duo T7600
2.33 GHz, 4MB L2-Cache, FSB667 |
| Memory | 2x 1GB 667MHz DDR2 | 2x 1GB 667MHz DDR2 |
| Hard Drive | ||
| Manufacturer & Model | Hitachi HTS72202 x2 | 2x Seagate ST9160823AS |
| Size | 200GB | 160GB |
| Performance | (SATA / 7200 / 8MB / 10ms / RAID0) | (SATA / 7200.2 / 8MB / 11ms / RAID0) |
| Other Drives | ||
| Manufacturer & Model | LG HL-DT-ST DVD-RW | Optiarc DVD RW AD-5540A |
| Type | DVD +/- RW | DVD +/- RW |
| Floppy Drive | none | none |
| Media Bay | none | none |
| Connectors
B=Back, F=Front, L=Left, R=Right |
||
| PS2 Mouse/Keyboard | none / none | none / none |
| USB 2.0 | 1xBack, 1xLeft 2xRight | 2x Left, 1xBack, 1xRight |
| IEEE1394/Firewire | 1x (L) | 1x (L) |
| Serial COM Port | none | none |
| Parallel LPT Port | none | none |
| Microphone | Yes | Yes |
| IR port | Yes | none |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| VGA / DVI out | none / 1x (L) | 1x (B) / 1x (B) |
| TV out | 1xS-Video (L) | 1xS-Video (B) |
| TV in | none | 1xS-Video Back |
| AC Power | Yes | Yes |
| PC-Card Slots | 1x (R) | 1x (L) |
| Express-Card Slots | 1x (R) | 1x (L) |
| LAN | 1x (B) | 1xL (L) |
| WLAN | Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN | Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN |
| Wireless WAN | Dell Wireless 5720 VZW Mobile Broadband | none |
| Audio Connectors | 1xMic, Headphone, SPDIF (L) | 1xMic, Headphone, Centre, Surround, Front SPDIF (R) |
| Audio Chip | SigmaTel STAC9228 @ Intel 82801HBM ICH8M | Realtek ALC885 @ Intel 82801GBM ICH7-M |
| Modem | none | Agere Systems HDA Modem |
| Card-Reader/Writer | Multi Card Reader (L) | 1xMulti Card Reader (L) |
| Fingerprint Security Sensor | none | none |
| Manufacturer’s Docking Socket | none | none |
| Software | ||
| OS | Windows Vista Home Premium | Windows XP Pro |
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Dell XPS's are nice, but to be fair the application performance is irrelevant. The huge cost of these are only justified by the gaming performance.
In this the Low Res gaming, doesn't matter a toss either. Alienware probably have better build quality. Do you notice as well that only the dell got the look inside and out. Biased article. If you have a choice never buy dell.
I don't understand why you would bench compare the two machines with two different operating systems. This make the whole comparision between them very inaccurate.
At least use the same os configuration if you want to compare benchmarks between the two.
A very unprofessional article.