Dell's Inspiron XPS Gen 2 will provide gaming and entertainment enthusiasts alike the opportunity to enjoy a unique combination of advanced mobile processing power plus the latest digital video graphics for a truly portable computing experience. Take the LAN party on the road and get instantly connected with other gamers for fast and furious multi-gaming madness or simply communicate with friends or family members via a Wi-Fi network to swap and share your favourite digital movie or music files. Whatever your needs, as long as they're not business related, the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 is the speediest and coolest model on the block.

Pros: Excellent screen; amazing graphics/gaming performance
Cons: Middling battery life; mediocre build quality


Dell's latest fully-loaded mobile computer offers extreme performance for the most demanding gamers and multimedia buffs. The Inspiron XPS Gen 2 sports a new black-and-silver chassis, which is virtually identical to the Inspiron 9300 (from £845 ex. VAT), but includes a stunning backlit lid that lights up the words 'XPS' in two places on the topside of the lid.

Dell has also added an extra four matching LEDs around the chassis, which offer a choice of 16 different colours, and a clear snap-on cover for the LCD display back has been designed in a printer-friendly 6x11in. format so you can place your own unique stamp on the system by using your individual art or photography preferences. These personalisation features are sure to go down well at LAN parties, as well as with those will a little too much time on their hands.

With prices starting from £1302 (ex. VAT), the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 offers a high-resolution UXGA (Ultra Extended Graphics Array) 17in. widescreen display and features Dell's new TrueLife technology, which helps enhance the LCD display contrast and offers extremely realistic, cinematic-like images when gaming. Indeed, the display performs very much Sony's excellent X-black technology. Coupled with the exclusive nVidia Geforce Go 6800 Ultra graphics card featuring a PCIe X16 interface and 256MB of DDR3 video memory, the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 is the model to beat when it comes to gaming.

The GeForce Go 6800 Ultra video chip is one of the fastest mobile GPUs on the laptop market - for now! Support for super-speedy GDDR3 memory delivers fluid frame rates for even the most advanced games and applications and in addition to that, the GeForce Go 6800 Ultra delivers a suite of innovations, including full support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3.0 which ensures top-notch compatibility and performance for all DirectX 9.0 applications.

In terms of specifications, the relatively weighty system (394x288x42.2mm, 3.90kg) is based on an Intel Pentium M Processor 770 (2.13GHz, 2MB of L2 cache), 512MB of 533MHz DDR2 memory (expandable to 2048MB), 60GB 5400rpm hard disk drive (80- or 100GB drives also available), and a 17in. widescreen display that has a high native resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. Of course, you also get an integrated V.92 modem, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and a choice of fixed optical drive. Our test system shipped with a dual-layer DVD+/-RW/+R drive, but you can save a few pounds by opting for a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive if preferred.

There's no integrated TV tuner and the system can't playback audio or video without booting, unlike some other multimedia systems, but the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 is a powerhouse of a laptop that will appeal to high-end multimedia users. Unlike Dell's Inspiron 9300, the Inspiron XPS Gen 2 does not come with a choice of displays. Nevertheless, the screen is big, bright and crisp and performed very well when used to playback DVD-Movies, games and other multimedia applications in our tests.

When it comes to watching DVD-Movies or audio CD playback, life is made a little easier by a set of physical play controls set into the front and centre of the Inspiron XPS Gen 2's chassis. These buttons allow you to alter volume levels and skip tracks. With the lid closed and the screen off, the Inspiron XPS Gen 2's battery life is also increased so you can enjoy listening to music stored on the hard disk for even longer.

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