2. Inside Out

The real differences between this and any other notebook lie inside the case. Unlike the large Clevo (all-in-one-case laptop and notebook) systems we have reviewed, the 2.13 GHz Pentium M 770 (part of the previously codenamed Dothan processor line) is more than powerful enough. This system also came equipped with 1 GB of DDR2-533, and is loaded with features to satisfy the majority of end users.

The showcase component of the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 is the NVIDIA Go 6800 Ultra graphics card - and performance-wise, it is a monster. However, the graphics card's horsepower comes at a price in terms of power consumption. The Go 6800 Ultra can consume up to 66 W by itself depending on the load, while the low power Pentium M 770 only requires up to 27 W. Though this is a lot of power, the union of the Pentium M 770 and the Go 6800 Ultra is still a good combination in that it keeps the overall maximum power load under 100 W. This is still a lot for a mobile computer, but if you want horsepower, you have to give up some battery life.

The AC power adapter delivers up to 130W but still manages to fit in a smaller form factor than the CyberPower, Sager and Hypersonic 180-W systems with an Intel 3.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor.

The Wireless Card with the Modem

The XPS Gen 2's two 512 MB memory chips.