Dell Inspiron 9300

With the Inspiron 9300, Dell has delivered a big 17" screen and great performance--particularly for graphics.

The model we looked at included the UXGA (1920x1200 pixel resolution) option and a 256MB Nvidia GeForce Go 6800 graphics controller. It has both VGA and DVI-external monitor outputs.

Using the 2GHz Intel Pentium M processor and 1GB of DDR2 memory (of a maximum 2GB), the 9300 achieved an amazing graphics score of 19220 in 3DMark 2001. That's better than most desktops.

This graphics processing power allowed us to achieve average frame rates of 209fps and 232fps in Unreal Tournament 2003's taxing Inferno and Face3 maps, respectively--outstanding!

On the downside, Dell has only included a 60GB hard disk--which almost isn't good enough for a high-end machine anymore--and the company still only provides a one-year warranty as standard (although this includes free courier pickup and return). We also wish Dell made use of the space available on the notebook to include a dedicated number pad for the keyboard.

Dell has included system status lights above the keyboard and on the right hinge and blue-backlit CD playback buttons are located on the front fascia.

The Inspiron 9300 supports one Type II PC Card and includes single FireWire, Ethernet and 56Kbps modem connections. Serial and parallel ports are not available. Wireless connectivity comes in the form of Intel's ProWireless 2200 (802.11b/g) connection. An SD I/O card reader is integrated along with no less than six USB 2.0 ports.

Norton Internet Security, Microsoft Works 7, Dell Media Experience by Cyberlink (for music, movies and photos) and Sonic CD and DVD creation tools are also included.