So on Tuesday – XPS delivery day – I find myself running downstairs and checking all the intercoms for my flat to make sure they work. The delivery muppets don’t carry mobiles.
After much nervous looking-out-of-the-window at engine noises, two boxes arrive at 11am. I’m guessing the flatter one is the laptop-lugging backpack. One swift Stanley-knifing and it is indeed a focknig huge, very nondescript black backpack. Standard issue Dell fodder.
(On a side note I recently found out that our Stanley knife is what they call a boxcutter in the US. One of the few cases where the roles are reversed and we Britons use a brand name instead of a generic name: see Scotch tape, Sharpie, Magic Marker, etc. They’re also handy for hijacking passenger jets.)
The Important Box doesn’t feel too heavy, a good sign.
After extrication the XPS is big. Much bigger than the work lappie. Black and silver. Super-shiny 17-inch screen with ultra-amazingness (or something).
The casing is pretty plasticky. In fact it’s pretty fucking ugly. LEDs shine out of every orifice.
However:
- Absolute silence reigns. Amazing.
- Horsepower. On every game I am able to casually select ‘Very High’ detail and the native LCD res, 1920×1200. Full HD gaming, by Jingo.
Not since the days of WoW have I risked addiction, but for this I’ve started a new Lord of the Rings Online career – it’s pretty special. Who needs a social life etc.
24-Jul-07 at 8:51 am | Permalink
You haven’t foresaken your mac have you?
27-Jul-07 at 4:40 pm | Permalink
The shiny Metal Mickey is still around but not being used much now… still at least OS X can do Wi-Fi properly, unlike fucking Vista (which I had to get for Blu-ray, argh).