Solved! Want to replace my dell XPS L1702 17"

congaman59

Estimable
Mar 19, 2014
3
0
4,510
I have a 6 or 7-year-old Dell XPS L1702 17" Has the JBL sub in it. It is getting pretty old now. Here is what's in it. (see below for configuration) would like to have the same size screen. I am approaching 60 & my vision isn't what it used to be. I would like to have an i7 8th gen CPU. A 1070 or 1080 GPU. I suppose if Dell made a G7 17" laptop that would possibly be the answer. They don't. I like Dell's warranty and service but they seem to have abandoned the upscale 17". I hesitate to go to a bulky Alienware 'cause I have to take the thing to school (college) weekly. I wish Dell thought about those of us who need a larger screen but want an up to date laptop. I' D appreciate any good ideas on what I might do to get what I would like to do here.

225-2659: XPS 17
317-8384: 2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2 760QM processor (2.40 GHz, with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.50 G Hz)
320-1980 : NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 3GB graphics with Optimus
331-1414: Backlit Internal Keyboard - En English
317-6203 : 6GB,DDR3,2 DIMM
312-1182: 90 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
320-1985 : 17.3 in Multi-Touch 17.3 HD+ W LED TL (1600x900)
317-6214: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6230 and Bluetooth 3.0
318-0151: Tray Load Blu-ray Disc BD-Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/ CD)
342-2250: 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
318-0431: Creative SoundBlaster X-FI MB 1. 2
I
 
Solution
Aside from the age, is the system working OK? With those specs, unless you are hitting battery issues or it's shutting off on you, it is fine for normal use, and for vision, the 17" screen at 1600x900 is good, better than the 1920x1080 screens since everything will be smaller on those.

How about just replacing your hard drive with a new Solid State drive and a clean Windows setup? Assuming the rest of the system is in good shape.

For your specs, with the video card you are looking at, you play games on it? Or are you just looking for a fast system in general but not gaming?
Aside from the age, is the system working OK? With those specs, unless you are hitting battery issues or it's shutting off on you, it is fine for normal use, and for vision, the 17" screen at 1600x900 is good, better than the 1920x1080 screens since everything will be smaller on those.

How about just replacing your hard drive with a new Solid State drive and a clean Windows setup? Assuming the rest of the system is in good shape.

For your specs, with the video card you are looking at, you play games on it? Or are you just looking for a fast system in general but not gaming?
 
Solution

congaman59

Estimable
Mar 19, 2014
3
0
4,510
I like playing some online games and I enjoy playing Half-Life mods. Some of the newer games look and play badly on the computer. Plus the case has been opened so many times by Dell tech support guys that the speakers rattle the palm rest area. Oh, also I dropped the computer and cracked the screen cover in one corner. Another thing is the touchscreen doesn't work with Win 10. See the drivers haven't been updated since 2013 and the computer was made for win7. I would like a new laptop with better faster graphics and updated drivers. I really like the fact the Alienware has the capability to run external graphics which makes the graphics updateable. The one thing I don't like about Alienware is the bulkiness.
 
So thing is in beat up shape, for a new one, my favorite site for gaming systems is www.xoticpc.com Does not seem you are limited to a cheaper budged if you are looking at the Alienware systems with external graphics box, so that site is good to check on since they a lot of options and are pretty much limited to dedicated gaming setups.

I would get a system with a 1070 video card, that will last for quite a few years. Which one exactly does not matter too much, you can browse around the site and check on the size, screen type/size, etc.. you like.