Geez, don't feel bad. I'm not entirely sure myself where the intakes are at the moment. If I recall, the intakes are on the underside, and the exhaust blows out of the spine (I distinctly remember the two times I started the computer quickly balancing it on my knees by the spine and having very hot air jetting out).

 

For the stands, I do know that. They basically move more air underneath your computer as well as being constructed to divert heat. I'm not sure if any feature a radiator system to cool the air additionally but I'd doubt that. Basically tries to improve cool air flow and helps to avoid you resting on malleable surfaces that cause the vents to get blocked

Just wait until you get it and try it before you buy anything like that.

 

For one thing the m1730 is huge! I looked for some after I got mine but felt they were too small.  THey may not be but it looked like it in the store.

 

I got a small 'hospital tray' type cart from Amazon, for about 70 that hold the notebook and mouse if I'm sitting in a chair or in bed that works great when it not on a desk.

 

It really is huge though. 

TPhillips... would you happen to have a brand name for that? Sounds like something I'd be highly interested in.

I'm using the Cooler Master Notepal W1. Its not really designed for a laptop as deep as the M1730 (its wide enough though) as my laptop can't sit in the front lip of the cooler. Instead the front of my laptop is sitting ON the lip and it actually works pretty well; the 3 fans on the W1 literally sit directly underneath the fans of the laptop, and they're pretty darn quite to.

waiting my M1730, too, and would be interested in a cooling stand and/or a stand that will allow me to use it in place of my current desktop - preferably one that will allow me to plug in a seperate keyboard and my gaming peripherals. Most of the stands I've looked at on various stands are either specifically for Inspirions or D-docks (whatever they are). Anyone got any good suggestions?

Thanks, KracsNZ. I like the idea of the active fan cooling. I was also looking at http://www.laptopstuff.co.uk/p/Soyntec_Laptop_Station_200_Notebook_Stand.htm

 but there are no reveiws on it yet. Cons are that it is passive cooling, and has no external power supply that I can see. Pros are that I like the fact that I can tilt it up to have the screen at eye level, and I like the 5 USBs (though presumably one gets lost in connecting to my rig). My main concern is that if I do crank it up, are the hinges strong/robust enough on the lid? I've seen a few posts suggesting that they may be a wee tad on the wimpy side, and I'd hate to knacker them and have it off the road whilst it's getting fixed.

The W1 powers its fans from a USB port and has a replacement one on the cooler if you need it, so theres no need for an external powersupply. I can't see the W1 on their website anymore, but the W2 is 3 fans as well and it looks like they've removed the lip.

 

http://www.coolermaster.com/products/product.php?language=en&act=detail&tbcate=1&id=4320

 

Another option peps on this forum recommend is the Zalman NC-2000, its also USB powered.

 

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?Idx=280

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=laptop+cart&x=0&y=0

Here is a link to them at Amaz  I got one of the ones with two sections, one for the computer and the other for mouse. 

I have the M1710 XPS and I use a Lian Li NC-02 cooler. I love this cooler because it fits the 17 inch foot print perfect. The fans are located just to each side if the RAM area and have dropped my temps by 15 degrees. The fans are USB driven and are movable underneath from from to rear. I got mine from the cooler guys. Lian Li NC-02 

 

Laptop stand: I personally think Logitech's Alto is the best available:

 

 

 

 

Laptop cooler: I use a (black) Zalman ZM-NC2000:

 

 

 

It's as if it was made to measure for the XPS M1730 :smileyhappy: