Dell offers special edition World of Warcraft laptop (for a small fortune)

by Scott Jon Siegel { Dec 4th 2007 at 10:58AM }

Like an unholy alliance, Dell and Blizzard have teamed up to unleash this beast of a laptop computer into the world. The XPS M1730 World of Warcraft Edition comes in Horde and Alliance flavors, and sells for $4,499 USD. WoW, indeed.

Admittedly, you get a lot more than just the laptop for nearly five large. The deal includes a WoW-branded backpack, a "golden ticket" entitling the buyer to a FigurePrint of their in-game avatar, a special key to all future WoW betas, and a plethora of Warcraft merchandise, including novels, trading cards, soundtrack CDs, strategy guides, and a behind-the-scenes DVD disc.

The computer itself is a 17" widescreen notebook, with backlit keyboard, illuminated speaker grills, and a built-in LCD screen dedicated to displaying in-game stats. The laptop also comes pre-loaded with World of Warcraft, as well as The Burning Crusade expansion. We haven't done the math, but we're pretty sure it's still not a bargain. Still, it's a nice little collection for the Warcraft enthusiasts out there.

[Via WoW Insider]

Tags: activision-blizzard, activisionblizzard, blizzard, dell, warcraft, world-of-warcraft, worldofwarcraft, wow

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

StrangeBum @ Dec 4th 2007 11:06AM

Hmmm...just canceled my account not too long ago. If I had still been playing, I would have considered this, seeing as how my current laptop would run the game a little choppy at times.

And it's always usable for more than just WoW. You know what, nevermind, I wouldn't get it. I would just get the laptop itself if I wanted too.

samfish @ Dec 4th 2007 11:13AM

Are you saying that for a MERE $4,499, I can ensure that I'll NEVER get laid again?

SIGN ME UP!

FOXHOUND @ Dec 4th 2007 11:21AM

Well, for that much money, I can buy a gun and ensure that won't happen either... with change left over not only for your recovery operation, but a good bottle of booze afterward to celebrate too.

And it'll all be done Dick Cheney "hunting accident" style. ;D

Marty @ Dec 4th 2007 11:22AM

You pretty much already did that when you created that avatar.

Mr.ESC @ Dec 4th 2007 12:07PM

Marty wins.

SoulBlade @ Dec 4th 2007 11:14AM

Where is this separate LCD located?

gonk @ Dec 4th 2007 11:17AM

gayyyyyyyyyyyyyy

xXFenixKnightXx @ Dec 4th 2007 11:24AM

My brother-in-law was hooked in WoW for about 3 months. Then he quit. Guess he got horny......

Marty @ Dec 4th 2007 11:25AM

Seems a bit steep, since World of Warcraft will practically run on my cell phone with no problems.

fanguad @ Dec 4th 2007 11:27AM

What is this FigurePrint thing? Googling doesn't turn up anything useful.

JPN @ Dec 4th 2007 11:45AM

figureprints.com

Not available until December 11th...which unfortunately for them will mean they'll probably miss the Christmas retail season. I can't imagine they'll be able to turn them around too quickly. Shame, they look awesome too, but I read somewhere they'll be $100+.

rv @ Dec 4th 2007 12:21PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUvqT4M1zNI

fanguad @ Dec 4th 2007 12:37PM

that's kind of what I thought, although it's too bad they're WoW only. If I could get my FFXI character I'd pay $100 for that.

Chrysee @ Dec 4th 2007 11:44AM

Some of the other stuff included seems pretty neat (figureprint, beta keys, etc) but certainly not for that price. And wtf is up with gaming -laptops-? That thing probably weighs like 12lbs, you're never going to lug it around to play at a coffee house or anything (plus, since the laptop itself blatantly says World of Warcraft on it, you can't even pretend you're like.. messing with spreadsheets.. or something)

For less than half that you can build an excellent desktop system that you can actually gut and upgrade in a couple years when that laptop's specs won't be so hot anymore.

JPN @ Dec 4th 2007 11:46AM

The beta keys are for the next 5 betas, not all of them. (I am assuming there'll be more than 5 but who knows, it could end up being all of them.)

NATO_Duke @ Dec 4th 2007 11:47AM

Oh sweet deal. Now I will know who to stay away from just by seeing their laptop. Thanks Dell!

If you buy this you really need to rethink things.

timnc @ Dec 4th 2007 12:04PM

The stats on this notebook isn't that great considering the price.

Mr.ESC @ Dec 4th 2007 12:10PM

Unless the WOW version included with that laptop removes gold farmers,beggars and most of the annoying s*t in that game is not worth it.

Donald @ Dec 4th 2007 12:11PM

HOW I MINE FOR FISH

Zertoss @ Dec 4th 2007 12:27PM

The specs on this thing make no sense. Why does it say it also includes a Core Duo processor if it comes with the far superior Core 2 Duo? Why does it look like it comes with 2 versions of Windows Vista? Where the hell can you add a second 8700M so you could SLi them and still have room for a PhysX chipset? Why does it specifically say "No Entertainment Software Pre-Installed?" Does WoW not count as entertainment software?

It does explain the price though, you're paying for stuff that is really expensive that you won't even use. No, "won't" isn't the right word. "Can't" is the better term.

So you have to ask yourself, "Is WoW branding on a laptop really work over $1000?"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220210

Zertoss @ Dec 4th 2007 12:34PM

"really work over" should be "really worth over"

This is what happens when you post on Joystiq when you should be doing your job.

Rich @ Dec 4th 2007 12:52PM

Vista, eh? no thanks...
Though I thought I read somewhere (here?) Dell would still offer XP if you asked.

Spartacus @ Dec 4th 2007 1:04PM

I'm not really sure why you would want XP on a machine that obviously has the horsepower to run Vista.

I really don't know what people have against Vista, it is far more of a stable and powerful OS than XP. If it's because people think it's a resource hog, XP was as well compared to Windows 98SE.

I never hear anyone complain that new games require more RAM, faster CPUs, beefier GPUs and bigger HDDs to run.

Zertoss @ Dec 4th 2007 1:05PM

IIRC, that deal only applies to business laptops (and this obviously isn't a business laptop), and I don't think you get any amount of money off the final price of the machine in doing so.

Vidikron (FU) @ Dec 4th 2007 1:08PM

@Spartacus

Just have to say that I like that new avatar of yours.

Zertoss @ Dec 4th 2007 1:24PM

XP is faster than Vista, and according to benchmark tests, XP SP3 beta makes XP twice as fast as Vista SP1 beta.

What does Vista give you over XP besides a pretty interface and DirectX 10? What is Vista's "killer app?"

Spartacus @ Dec 4th 2007 1:28PM

Thanks Vid. I used Paint... On VISTA!

Spartacus @ Dec 4th 2007 1:43PM

Zertoss,

-Better 64 bit support
-Stronger search functionality
-Better security
-More stable
-Integrated media streaming capabilities
-Sidebar and other features and functionality

Windows 98 is faster than XP and Mechwarrior 2 runs faster than Crysis on my machine as well... Fact of the matter is, Vista is the new default OS and will eventually have more support, drivers and SP's than XP. I remember when XP launched, die hards were against it due to those same factors, but soon 98SE was losing support and now it is all but dead. While XP is still a viable OS for the time being, buying a new PC at this point with XP installed is pretty much guaranteeing yourself an added cost to upgrade in the near future.

Vista is future proof, XP is not. Simple as that.

Zertoss @ Dec 4th 2007 2:36PM

Buying a brand new PC at any point is guaranteeing an added cost to upgrade, no matter what you get. You'll always need more RAM, or a better video card, or a larger hard drive, or a new OS.

So why not get a PC with hardware and software that is good now instead of having to wait for it to be good at some arbitrary point in the future that may or may not arrive?

Spartacus @ Dec 4th 2007 4:12PM

True Zertoss, I can't argue with that sentiment (but I will). It is not a question of if Vista will be better than XP, but when. XP is better than 98SE, but many people didn't think so when it launched. No one would argue now that 98 was better than 95, but 98 ran slower than 95. NO OS HAS EVER COME OUT THAT RUNS FASTER AND WITH LESS OVERHEAD THAN ITS PREDACESSOR. However functionality and overall productivity makes up for that. In this regard, Vista runs circles around XP. The fact that it takes .01 seconds longer to boot up Photoshop or 3 seconds longer to encode an MP4 file doesn't really make a difference to the end user when the OS is more automated, has more features, is more stable and ultimately has greater support.

Again, if you were really worried about the least amount of background applications and processes taking place at any given moment resulting in your programs loading in the absolute fastest time possible, you'd still be running Windows 98SE. But you don't because XP has the drivers, the applications and the support as well as much more robust feature set. The same is (or will be soon) true of Vista. By purchasing a new computer and requesting the last generation OS, you're asking for issues in the very near future.

Only enthusiasts keep old software or drivers for "optimum speeds". For most users, the newest drivers and software versions offer the most benefit for obvious reasons- compatability and usability.

Razorlution @ Dec 4th 2007 3:10PM

I own a Dell XPS M1710, and although its pricey, about the same amount as the WoW one. What you get is woth it....considering its portable. If you were to just throw these specs into a normal desktop, its about half the price, but add portability, and thats where the hike is.

When I looked at the site, it made me wonder....2 graphics cards in SLi, i doubt it. As someone posted earlier, its all labeled incorrectly. I believe its one graphics card.

There isnt much room in these things, especially for another graphics card, mine is running a Nvidia 7950 GTX 512 mb, and I have no problems running ANY game at high settings. Processor is an over-clocked T7600G, that can go to 3.3. I also just upgraded to 4 gb of ram.

Knock the system all you want, but its more powerful than the majority of gaming desktops out there, and puts them to shame.

Im not a hardcore gamer, by any means. I just had the $$$ to spend, and I love the laptop, but...to each his own.

Dalrint @ Dec 4th 2007 4:34PM

Maybe if it came with an epic'd out t8(t9 now?) Death Knight. Maybe.

wait, no. I could put a down payment on any number of large things for that much money...

LaughingTarget @ Dec 4th 2007 4:37PM

FigurePrints is a good idea, but as MMOs stand, there just isn't enough difference between characters to make it a worthwhile option.

WoW Addict 1: "Hey, check it out, I got a figure of my level 70 rogue in full Tier (whatever) gear!"

WoW Addict 2: "No you didn't! That's MY rogue in full Tier (whatever) gear!"

Fight ensues to see whose character it really is when they're just identical.