Dell Dimension XPS: Gaming with all the Trimmings
by Wesley Fink on November 13, 2003 10:35 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Final Words
Dell has targeted the Dimension XPS at the Gaming Enthusiast who has no interest in building and tweaking a system. This user either wouldn't know where to begin to build their own system, or they would prefer the comfort of owning a system with excellent warranty protection from a top-tier manufacturer. Frankly, this is the largest percentage of potential buyers in this marketplace, and we need to keep that in mind. It may not be the largest percentage of AnandTech readers, however, but there is no doubt that most computer users would prefer to buy their system assembled from top components and already set up for them. Dell reaches this target market very well with the Dimension XPS. These shoppers are more often comparing features, and Dell has provided all the top-notch features to raise it to the top of most any comparison of Gaming Machines.There is also substance behind the features. As you saw in our review of the 20" Flat-Panel 16ms monitor, Dell has truly provided one of the first and few flat-panels fully capable of beautiful and fast gaming performance. The 20" flat-panel is a fantastic gaming monitor – no matter how you look at it. We also found the performance of the 500GB RAID array, top-line ATI Radeon 9800 XT, and Audigy 2 exemplary. This system will certainly please many gamers who want the best and the bragging rights to go with it. Dell is also famous for delivering value with their special promotions, and if you decide that this is the system for you, Dell has provided a Special Promotion for AnandTech readers. You can buy a system exactly like the one we tested for $3399. To get this special price, you need to enter E-Value code 6V411-XPSRPW when you order the system from Dell. The E-value code is also valid for phone orders.
There are gamers who also would not think of building their own gaming system, but who would like to use the fastest memory around, or have the ability to tweak their new system a bit more to get the absolute best performance. We suspect that the majority of AnandTech readers might fall in this category. This group will likely be a bit disappointed in the lack of any adjustments at all in the Dell XPS BIOS. They will find that they will gain little or no performance increase with faster memory, which will not perform at fastest timings in the Dimension XPS. To be fair, there is another side of this coin. The Dell is set up to achieve top performance with DDR400 3-3-3-8 memory and it does perform well with this memory. The fact that the XPS performs well with DDR400 at slower timings also means you can save some money on expanding memory on the XPS. In the end, you will have to decide if this is really important to you.
The last group is the Enthusiast, Hobbyist, or Overclocker who, frankly, wouldn't be caught dead buying this gaming rig. With no tweaking options at all, the XPS would be a complete disappointment to this group, and would be considered a waste of good components. This group would be happier building their own system from the best components available.
All of this is the reason companies aim products at different market categories. The Dell Dimension XPS will be the best thing since sliced-bread for some, while others will see the Dell as far short of their individual goals. I will leave this consideration to our readers.
Last, we should look at the Dell Dimension XPS in absolute terms. At default settings, is it the best gaming system we have tested? The answer here is “yes and no”. It is one of the best performing Intel Pentium 4 machines that we have ever tested. It is not the absolute best compared to other P4 systems, but it is certainly competitive in virtually every area and simply outstanding in other performance areas. We fully expect the XPS to be even better with the P4EE processor, but we really wish we could squeeze more out of this promising machine with better memory timings.
The Athlon64 FX is still the best-performing gaming machine that we have tested. We are in the process of testing a similarly equipped Athlon64 FX gaming rig from ElitePC, and we are anxious to compare performance to the XPS. It should be an interesting comparison.
If you are in the market for a top Pentium 4 Gaming Computer from a top-tier manufacturer, the Dell Dimension XPS will please you. It has a wonderful screen and performs very well. It comes assembled and is set up for top performance. If you prefer overclocking, adjusting your computer yourself for top performance, or the ability to use a standard ATX motherboard in the future, then you should look elsewhere. The XPS is a great gaming machine that will satisfy many, but it will definitely not satisfy all.
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Wesley Fink - Wednesday, November 26, 2003 - link
Flash is used for charts in all AnandTech reviews because it uses less bandwidth than any other option. On a site with very heavy traffic like AnandTech, bandwidth is very important. As Editors, we do not have the option to use other charting methods.If you still have an issue with Flash after hearing the explanation, you should send your complaints to anand@anandtech.com
mindless1 - Saturday, November 22, 2003 - link
I would tend to agree that this is a DELL high-end box, and the review best served to acquaint readers with Dell's current offerings, even though most of us do not want to be stuck with $3K worth of unconfigurable equipment that's so proprietary that it'll certainly cost more in the long run due to upgrade hassles.On the other hand, the review used flash images, which is clearly stupid. I'm opposed to flash to begin with, but could understand it IF you needed an animation for some reason, but it wasn't a case of that. Seems more like some people think they know better than the entire world or else have never heard of JPG and GIF.
sador - Thursday, November 20, 2003 - link
MY biggest complaint with this article is that it gives the impression that there are no other "pre-assembled" gaming rigs out there for the money that can compete with it. What a joke! There was a dearth of competitive "pre-builts" in tha article to give a real apples-to-apples comparison. (At least as far as $$$ is concerned)Alienware, like it or not, had pre-config'd systems that will torch this one for less money! Calling this a high-end gaming rig is an insult to qaulity gaming rigs everywhere.
This article did come across as "pandering" a bit to Dell. Whether that was to keep the Dell goods coming, or was sincerely to give this system a fair shake is for every reader to decide for themselves.
madgonad - Thursday, November 20, 2003 - link
to #34 - I don't know how long that coupon is going to last. Since it appears to be part of the Anandtech endorsement package I would guess about 10 days.As you noticed in the benchmarks the Dell was beaten about the head and shoulders by systems far far less the expensive. The excuse was given that the Audigy2 card was to blame since it could not be deactivated. It wasn't mentioned that almost every other system being compared also had an Audigy2 card, making the issue moot.
As to the reason most people have given, tech support, please do not trust anything important to Dell's tech support people. They will tell you to restore the reg or reinstall the OS. After that you get to hunt for the original box in basement to RMA it back to Dell. The onsite people will do the same.
The straight poop is that if you come here you are not the type of consumer to buy the generic-corporate-america product which just gets by. You want a stand-out product that you have control over.
Or put simply. If your shopping for a fast car, do you get a manual or automatic transmission?
cdrsft - Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - link
Can you spell.... SELL OUTway to go AT
jc1x - Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - link
I just did a quick browse to figure out how much it'ld have cost to setup the same system if I were to buy the components..300 MB + Case + PS
500 2x HD w/ SATA
400 P4 3.2 CPU
200 1GB DDR 400 RAM
460 VID - RADEON 9800XT
270 Logitech Z680
175 8x DVD+R/+RW
65 AUDIGY 2
50 XP Home
990 16ms 20.1 in LCD
---
3410
3410 in parts vs 3049* assembled.. (diff $361)
* 3049 = 3299 - 150 (rebate) - 100 off coupon
So, on balance, it's a good deal on price.. performance wise, well, if you want to tweak, buy a new MB for 250 and you'ld still be below component costs.. not to mention shipping costs and the hassle of multiple support locations.
BlackShrike - Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - link
Does anybody else think these comments are ridiculous? The proposed system is only good if you want tech support, a dell, or a very nice LCD. Otherwise, build your own computer. For $3300 I swear you could get the fastest and greatest cpu/motherboard combo of an AMD-51. Then 1 Gb of registered DDR 400. A sound blaster audigy 2. A beautiful surround sound system. A great 19 or 21 inch CRT (I don't like LCDs personnal preference). Then a radeon 9800 XT. A wireless mouse and keyboard. A DVD +/- RW etc and so forth. Hell all these are probably so far under $2500, plus you get the satisfaction of building it, which is quite enjoyable. Oh and why not a nice see through case with lights and cool fans. Basically, I'm saying if you want the best, BUILD IT YOURSELF! If you are lazy then quit bitching or get a Voodo/falcon northwest and lose all the flashy stuff and still pay over $4000. So good job at the review anandtech but I would NEVER buy a dell. AMD IS THE WAY TO BE! Plus all that proprietary stuff that the #5 guy was talking about was right! Man, shame on you anandtech for recommending such a system. Bad, very bad.ComputerBeatnik - Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - link
Please...that's a ton of money just to play games!!! Why not just buy an X-Box for $150?jc1x - Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - link
to #33. try using the code that was provided.. it's now 3299 w/ a 150 rebate = $3149.. no it doesn't have the P4EE but it sure is much cheaper than any comparable.Frankly, I'll probably get one of these.. and when I feel the need to (and actually have the time), just swap the motherboard w/ something tweakable..
madgonad - Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - link
I just went to the Dell website and built the XPS system as described. The regular price is in excess of Five grand when including the EE of the P4.Now if a couple FX51s systems equiped with the same video card and RAID were to be benchmarked, THAT would be a fair and balanced comparison. Anything else looks like a straw-man.