The Dell Studio 17 is a strong and affordable desktop replacement machine that will give you almost the kind of return you would expect of a desktop computer. It has a good tilt thanks to its battery that is achored at the back. The Studio 17 is also a solid video and gaming performer, while at the same time not disappointing with its battery longevity. The price tag starts at $700 -as at 7th july,2010, but with some configurations you can get yours at $1100. That price is obviously fair considering the system’s productivity.

The Studio 17 is powered by an intel four -core i7 720Q processor that spins at a speed of 1600 MHz. It ships with a pre-installed 4 GB of RAM DDR3 memory with a speed of 1333 MHz. Your investment will also bestore on you a 500 GB hard drive disk with an impressive 7200 rpm speed. The other storage facilities are; memory stick, XD-picture card and an SDHC card. Its great video and gaming performance comes from a solid ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4650 GPU.

The Studio 17 comes ensuite a full -grade keyboard, complete with a full numbers and cursor keys. The keys have a softer texture and a passable feedback mechanism, but they are more than useful when it comes to typing. The unit also comes with a responsive trackpad that is properly adjusted to curtail involuntary tapping. The slight feel also makes the trackpad easy to locate.

The machine comes with a healthy allay of ports that are scattered randomnly across the field. On the right side you will find two USB 2.0 ports -one in front and the other at the back-, a mini IEEE 1394 port and a flash card reader. On the left side you will get a hybrid USB 2.0/eSATA combo port, gigabit ethernet connection, Digital and SBG video out. The only issues are that you will need you use considerable effort to insert in a flash drive in the USB/eSATA combo drive. The Studio 17, just like many machines these days make the mistake of lining look -alike ports like HDMI, USB, Display port, eSATA and other ports in near proximity. This problem leads to confusion and even spoiling of vital devices when inserted in the wrong port.

The machine operates Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition. Other notable softwares are; McAfee security, Adobe Element 8, Roxio Burn and Microsoft Works. It also comes with in -built webcam, microphone, subhoofer and not to forget a Tv tuner. It gets its robust network connection from 802.11n wi -fi. You will also enjoy the services of DVD burner and a Bluetooth.

The video playback is above the cut, but could be even better with a Blu-ray and a 1080P display on show. Movies, including the high -end ones, stream seemlessly whether you are playing from the hard drive, flash disk or the web.The sound through the SRS JBL speakers is good but suffers in high -octane volume. Headphones will offer you a solid quality. The system comes good in gaming where it produces frame rates north of 60 per second. The battery can give you about 3 hours 23 minutes run time, which is okay when you put its powerful performance into the equation. A WorldBench 6 score of 103 will also earn the Studio 17 many friends.