Special Edition’s display

Special Edition's display

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Billed as a high-performance version of the popular Inspiron laptop series and featuring a premium design, Dell's Inspiron 17R Special Edition (£899 direct) hits the mark on both accounts. The 17R's third-generation Intel Core i7 processor, switchable Nvidia graphics solution, and mSATA drive provide formidable horsepower, and the beautiful 17.3in full HD display is first rate. However, all isn't perfection with this media notebook…

With this Special Edition, Dell engineers took the chassis used on the standard Inspiron 17R and added some nice touches, including a textured matte black lid and a matching aluminium keyboard deck. Rounded corners and matte silver trim wrapped around the base and lid give the Inspiron 17R with battery such as Dell Inspiron 1720 battery, dell Inspiron 1525 battery, dell Inspiron 1526 battery, Dell HP297 battery, dell GW240 battery, dell RN873 battery, dell XR693 battery, dell 0XR693 battery, dell 312-0625 battery, Dell Latitude X200 battery, dell PP25L battery, Dell WR053 battery Special Edition a sleek, understated look.

With dimensions of 417 x 277 x 38mm (WxDxH), this 3.4kg laptop is not very travel friendly, but you'd be hard pressed to find a 17in desktop replacement that is. For example, the HP Envy 17 (2012 version) is the same weight.

The 17.3in display is a beauty to behold. Unlike the vanilla 17R, the Special Edition's display has a non-reflective matte coating that won't make you feel like you're staring into a dark mirror. The 1,920 x 1,080 panel handles full HD (1080p) with aplomb, delivering excellent image detail and vibrant colours. My 1080p test clip, The Magic of Flight, looked bright and sharp, as did the PC version of Duke Nukem Forever. Additionally, side angle viewing was much better than the basic Dell 17R.

The full size chiclet-style keyboard is roomy and comfortable. It has a number pad on the right and is illuminated so you can find your way around in the dark. At the top of the deck are three Dashboard buttons, one of which is user programmable.

One button launches the Windows Mobility Centre, where you can change display and keyboard brightness levels, check battery status and change power settings, and enable or disable wireless. The other button opens Dell's Audio applet where you can adjust bass, treble, and other audio settings. The touchpad has a smooth surface and two wide mouse buttons; both are responsive and the pad provides plenty of room for gesture control.

A pair of Skullcandy-branded speakers embedded in the front edge of the chassis, and a subwoofer built in to the bottom of the base deliver crisp audio with a bit of bottom. Granted, you don't get wall-shaking bass from the tiny subwoofer, but it is a cut above the typical two speaker array found on most laptops.

Ports are plentiful. On the left are two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, VGA and HDMI video outputs, and the power jack. A 7-in-1 media card reader is located along the front edge of the chassis, and the right side hosts two additional USB 3.0 ports and an Ethernet port. Unfortunately, this model comes with a DVD multi-drive rather than a Blu-ray drive, which means you'll be watching DVD movies in standard definition.