Dell Studio 1737

Dell Studio 1737 is an easy system to spot since it's fairly large, measuring 15.4 by 11.4 by 1.4 inches (HWD) and weighing 7.5 pounds. It's the type of system you'll want anchored to your desk, though, replacing your old desktop. The HP Pavilion dv7 (2173cl) and dv7-2170us are each only two tenths of a pound lighter (7.3 lbs) and take up just as much space. If the lightest 17 inch laptop is what you're after, Apple is the only one that offers it in the MacBook Pro 17 inch (Unibody). The 1737's looks are simple, and has a common theme seen in most Dell laptops.

You get to pick from a crop of colors or personalize your own from over 200 designs, though Staples only has a select few in stock. This configuration is draped in Midnight Blue, which is otherwise a $40 option through Dell's Web site. The 17 inch widscreen is Dell Studio 1737's most prized feature, as it enriches the movie experience and allows you to work with multiple windows while keeping eye strain down to a minimum.

At this price, though, you so have to understand what you're missing. While it's perfectly acceptable to use the aging 16 by 10 screen aspect ratio, the dv7 (2173cl) and HP HDX18t have already transitioned to 16 by 9 screens, which share a common resolution with consumer HDTVs. Dell Studio 1737 has a 1.440 by 900 resolution, but is dwarfed by the 1600 by 900 and the 1.920 by 1.080 resolutions found in the dv7 (2173cl) and dv7 (2170us), respectively. At $750, though, a baseline resolution is an acceptable concession. Alternatively, Dell's Web site offers better screens (RGB option) and a higher resolution (1.920 by 1.200), but you'll have to buy it there.

Features
Dell Studio 1737 has the most USB ports found on a 17 inch system five, with one that acts as an E-SATA combo port. And while not many systems in this price range gives you a FireWire port, the 1737 has it for those who have compatible camcorders and external storage devices. It includes an HDMI port, which is now a standard feature on media centers, and the slot loading dual layer DVD burner (is usually a crowd pleaser over the tray ejecting ones found in the dv7s. In features, there are several reasons why you're paying less than the dv7 (2173cl) and dv7 (2170us). Their 500GB hard drives are bigger, for one (although you won't hear anyone complaining about Dell Studio 1737's 320GB one), and Dell Studio 1737's Wi-Fi capability maxes out at 802.11g (both dv7s support the 802.11n standard).