When Dell announced the new gaming laptop line, I was dying to talk to someone. I now spend a lot more time on my laptop than my desktop and seeing the power of the new Inspiron XPS line had me itching to talk to someone about it. Venancio Figueroa, PR for the line, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.


Gaming Nexus: Are you a gamer and if so what are some of your favorites and some that you currently play?

Venancio Figueroa: I certainly enjoy playing games on the Inspiron XPS. At the launch event we showcased the awesome power of the Inspiron XPS by showcasing Call of Duty, Far Cry, Unreal Tournament 2004, Madden 2004 and Halo. They are great gaming titles that quickly become addictive once you`ve played them on an Inspiron XPS.


Gaming Nexus: You seem to have packed quite a package together for a mobile gamer. What kind of battery performance can we expect from a full charge while playing say a game of Call of Duty?

Venancio Figueroa: We advertise battery life at approximately 1.5 hours, using the industry standard MobileMark benchmark. As the processor is utilized and the display brightness is maximized, the battery operating life may vary accordingly.


Gaming Nexus: I see that you are working with game developers to help resolve issues. Can you name some of the developers you are working with?

Venancio Figueroa: We work closely with several leading gaming software development companies to ensure the best customer experience for our customers both from a hardware and software perspective.


Gaming Nexus: Tell us a little about the cooling system and how it`s unique to the Inspiron XPS and the effectiveness of it.

Venancio Figueroa: The Inspiron XPS possesses one of the most dynamic thermal solutions in the industry today. It is achieved by way of 3 - 3" blower fans that dynamically operate based on thermal emissions within the chassis. As the cooling requirement increases, the velocity and quantity of fans are activated appropriately to ensure the gaming experience is not impacted. The Inspiron XPS does not throttle under A/C power and maintains a 100% processor utilization experience for the demands of gamers.


Gaming Nexus: I see from the news posting, you purchase an upgrade and have a technician from Dell come out to install it. Will the onsite upgrade only be available if you have an At-Home Service contract or will it be available for the life of the laptop?

Venancio Figueroa: The onsite graphics option will be available to current XPS customers. At the time of the next graphics card selection, prior XPS customers will be offered the onsite graphics card upgrade. Subsequent XPS customers will not need the new card, as it will already be factory installed.


Gaming Nexus: With the graphics upgrade, will there be an option to do it yourself for those of us who love to tinker with computers?

Venancio Figueroa: The graphics card upgrade is only offered via an onsite Dell certified technician. Dell does not recommend that customers disassemble and modify the internal hardware components of the XPS.


Gaming Nexus: Are you planning on offering video card upgrades from other vendors such as NVIDIA, sticking primarly to ATI, or hasn`t this been decided yet?

Venancio Figueroa: At this time Dell has not selected a graphics vendor or a graphics card offering for the Inspiron XPS onsite graphics upgrade.


Gaming Nexus: The graphical design of the snap ons are pretty unique when you compare them to the other designs that Dell offers on other computers. Do you have any plans for more, say perhaps some even game specific?

Venancio Figueroa: We are constantly monitoring feedback on design and personalization of the Inspiron XPS. We c...