Dell Introduces New XPS 15 and 17 Laptops

At CES, Dell demoed several Sandy Bridge laptops, one of which was the
new XPS 17. However, only just this week has Dell gotten around to releasing them. Additionally, Dell is also releasing an XPS 15 with the updated platform. Right now, the XPS 17 is available in North America, Latin America, and Europe, while the XPS 15 is released in the United States, but will move to the rest of Dell's markets shortly. So what kind of changes do the new XPS laptops bring? And what about the Sandy Bridge chipset issue?

Dell has posted a blog post with details on the release. First and foremost, they have confirmed that all XPS  15 and 17 laptops are shipping with the latest, fixed chipset that does not have the SATA issue that has caused all the ruckus.

As for specs, the XPS 17 retains its 1080p panel option, but it now supports stereoscopic active-shutter 3D, a.k.a. Nvidia 3D Vision. Additionally, it has HDMI 1.4a, meaning it supports 3D output to a 3DTV. CPUs are Sandy Bridge up to the Core i7-2820QM, and graphics are Optimus enabled GT 550M 3GB, or upgrade to a GT 555 3GB.

The 15, on the other hand, also has a 1080p upgrade but no 3D upgrade. It also has the more pedestrian GeForce GT 540M 2GB. Both laptops also feature USB 3.0