If you used the Dell XPS 15 or XPS 17 for gaming and multimedia entertainment, you'll be pleased by Dell's latest announcement -- the Inspiron 15R Special Edition and 17R Special Edition notebooks. Both the 15-inch 15R Special Edition ($799 starting price, pictured above) and 17-inch 17R Special Edition ($1,099 starting price, $1,299 with 3D) feature a 3rd-Generation Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, with the option to upgrade to a 3rd-Generation Core i7 quad-core processor.
Audio quality on the Inspiron 15R Special Edition and 17R Special Edition promises to be just as good as on the XPS 15, one of the best-sounding laptops we've ever reviewed. The notebooks feature Skullcandy speakers and Waves MaxxAudio 4 for fine-tuning the sound to your taste. The 17R Special Edition also features a built-in subwoofer. Media mavens can stream 1080p video and 5.1 surround sound wirelessly from the 15R and 17R using the notebooks' built-in support for Intel Wireless Display, or plug their laptop into their home entertainment system directly using HDMI 1.4a output.
No multimedia machine would be complete without discrete graphics, and the Inspiron 15R and 17R Special Editions don't disappoint -- the 15R sports an AMD Radeon HD 7730 GPU with 2GB of VRAM, while the 17R boasts an Nvidia GT 650M GPU with 2GB of VRAM. The 17R comes standard with a Full HD 1080p display (with the option of upgrading to a Full HD 3D display) while the 15R can be upgraded to a 1920 x 1080 display as well.
Select configurations include a traditional hard drive as well as a 32GB mSATA SSD with Intel Smart Response and Rapid Start Technologies, for quicker boot and wake times. The notebooks come standard with four USB 3.0 ports, as well.
Both the Inspiron 15R and 17R Special Edition feature an anodized aluminum finish in Stealth Black. The systems should be available starting on June 19. In the meantime, check-out our hands-on gallery with the Inspiron 15 Special Edition.
