Dell XPS 17 3D review: Dell XPS 17 3D

Dell's sometimes-confusing array of in-house consumer brands has been thankfully whittled down to three, and there's a clear enough delineation between them to make choosing a Dell laptop (or at least a starting point) a simple equation. The mainstream Inspiron brand hits the lowest end of the price spectrum, with plastic bodies and a surprisingly wide range of component options; the premium-priced Alienware brand is for Mountain-Dew-chugging gamers, with aesthetic palates that lag behind their budgets. In the middle is the XPS line, which takes some of the same higher-end components available from the other two lines, adds new and different options, and wraps the entire system up in an appealing metal-clad shell.

8.1

Dell XPS 17 3D

The Good

The <b> Dell XPS 17 3D</b> is a sharp-looking desktop replacement that can handle 3D content, as well as output 3D movies and games to a compatible 3DTV. Highly configurable, the more-expensive options are powerful indeed.

The Bad

Some wonky stereoscopic 3D issues make this less plug-and-play than a 3DTV, and the 17-inch version of the XPS has not gotten the same slim makeover the 15-inch version has.

The Bottom Line

Dell's XPS 17 3D is for those who want a powerful media and gaming 17-inch laptop, but in a more aesthetically upscale package than offered by Dell's Alienware brand. The stereoscopic 3D is gimmicky, but a certain breed of PC gamer will love it.

The upscale-looking XPS 17 3D is a relatively recent variation on the brand, taking the current 2011 17-inch XPS, with its second-gen Intel Core i-series processors, and adding stereoscopic 3D support via Nvidia's 3D Vision platform (which is really the standard for PC-based 3D). You can also send the signal to a 3DTV via HDMI and watch video or play PC games in 3D--a potential draw for fans of PC-only games such as StarCraft II.

Related links
• Dell XPS 15z review
• Dell XPS 15-L502X review
• HP Envy 3D review

Our XPS 17 3D rang up at $2,054, but the starting price for a 3D version is $1,199 (non-3D XPS 17 models can be configured down to $899). While it's actually very hard to configure a laptop to cost more than $2,000 these days, our expensive review unit included an Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, 8GB of RAM, a full-HD 1080p screen, Nvidia's GeForce GT 555M GPU, a Blu-ray writer, and 1TB of hard-drive space.

That's probably more computer than anyone needs, but a more reasonable build will get you up and running for under $1,500, and still be a killer gaming/multimedia/3D rig that won't make your apartment look like a dorm room.