Dell on Wednesday followed up on previous upgrades to its XPS line with speed boosts to its Inspiron line based on Intel's 45 nanometer Penryn processor architecture. The 14-inch Inspiron 1420 and the 17-inch Inspiron 1720 now have the option of Core 2 Duo processors that use Intel's new platform to run cooler as well as faster than older designs. As Dell's desktop replacement, the 1720 is the fastest and uses a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo with 6MB of Level 2 cache; the 1420 scales back only slightly by using a 2.4GHz processor with 3MB of Level 2 cache.

The price of each notebook varies based on configuration. A base 1420 with the 2.4GHz processor costs $924 with 1GB of memory, a 120GB hard drive, and basic integrated graphics; the 2.5GHz Inspiron 1720 is set at $1,199 but is also available with the slower 2.4GHz processor for $1,074. Most configurations should ship within a week and are otherwise close to standard models. Dell has yet to update the 15-inch Inspiron 1525.