Reg Kit Watch Dell today unveiled a notebook based on Intel's expensive Pentium 4 Extreme Edition. The machine follows on the heels of much-maligned PC supplier Liebermann, which announced just such a system of its own late last year.*

The Inspiron XPS will features the upcoming 3.4GHz P4EE, though you can also choose one based on the (cheaper) vanilla 3.4GHz P4. Each model has a 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 to power its 15.4in display, 512MB to 2GB of 400MHz DDR SDRAM, a 7200rpm 60GB or 5400rpm 80GB hard drive, and a DVD+RW, +R drive.

The graphics card is removable, and Dell is offering an upgrade option which will see the company send an engineer round to your home to swap out the 9700 with a more advanced part as and when one becomes available.

For LAN parties, the XPS contains a Gigabit Ethernet port and a 56Kbps modem. Dell is offering a variety of Wi-Fi adaptors and Bluetooth support as optional extras.

Liebermann was laughed at for its claim to have integrated a sub-woofer into its notebook. But Dell has put one into the XPS, and even our year-old Apple 12in PowerBook G4 has a built-in bass-boosting speaker.

The XPS contains four USB 2.0 ports, a 1394 connector, an S-Video output and a DVI port. There's a PC Card slot too.

And for the gamer who wants to carry his (or her) machine around and let everyone know what he (or she) has got, the XPS comes with an "exclusive" XPS backpack.

XPS prices start at $2849 - or $2599 if you remember to post the mail-in coupon. ®

*We keep an open mind on Liebermann, which some observers claim to be a hoax. Whatever, we've been promised a review unit, and we'll let you know how it performs in due course.