Dell XPS 700

[magburner]

Has anyone seen the new Dell XPS 700? I'm teetering on the cusp of buying one, but should I? I have about two grand spirited away for a rainy day, but the more I see the XPS 700, the more the money burns a hole in my not so deep pockets. Even with the two grand I have, I couldn't get the top end system, but with a clever build, I could get a damn hot machine.

Here are the system specs I chose:

BTX-standard motherboard
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6400 processor (2.13GHz, 1066MHz, 2MB cache)
2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x1024] Memory
320GB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe [2x160GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache]
16x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives (dual DVD drive)
512MB nVidia™ GeForce 7900GTX graphics card
Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI Soundcard
Dell™ 19" UltraSharp™ Digital/Analogue Flat Panel (1907FP)

Optional extras

Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
Remote control for Genuine Media Centre Edition 2005
Dell™ USB Optical Mouse
Dell™ Enhanced USB Multimedia Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
Upgrade to 3y Next Business Day On Site

Total price: £2,073.05

I chose a lower priced CPU, as the cost of upgrading to the next processor IMO was not worth the performance boost. In time as the price of the processors go down, I could always upgrade to a better CPU. I used the same reasoning for the ram too. Looking at the price, it is expensive, but I'm tired of having just an average PC. Should I buy the XPS 700?

 

[F1GTR]

Dells overheat alot, but I don't know how their new cases fare.

You can build a system with the top of the line Intel dual core (or the one lower if you want to go cheaper)here for a similar price.

 

[PLmatt91]

The Core 2 Duo is going to run VERY cool. I'd say get it if you want, but I'd much rather get a custom built one.

 

[Evolution.]

Do us a favor and do not buy a prebuilt (especially a Dell).

They tend to be overpriced.

Just look around at places like NewEgg.com (seeing as you don't live in the U.S, that isn't an option) and find some parts, order them, and build it yourself. It adds the fun of building a PC, and the cost effectiveness is a big plus too.

 

[emad]

It's a nice setup, but you're throwing your money away on the 2.13ghz Core 2 Duo. It's a high performer, but the Athlon64 4600+ is on par with it on most fronts and marginally better at gaming - and it costs less. Ideally, you'll want the Core 2 Duo with 4mb cache since those are the ones pulling the massive performance benchmarks that have been floating around. You can make up for a good chunk of the cost of the 2.66ghz by downgrading to the 1 year on-site warranty

 

[emad]

odd, double post...

 

[F1GTR]

Do us a favor and do not buy a prebuilt (especially a Dell).

They tend to be overpriced.

Just look around at places like NewEgg.com (seeing as you don't live in the U.S, that isn't an option) and find some parts, order them, and build it yourself. It adds the fun of building a PC, and the cost effectiveness is a big plus too.

Bear in mind MachOne that most people won't want to mess up £1900 worth of parts.

 

[sutton.a]

I would never spend money on dell, buying the parts individually and making the computer is much more satisfying. Also if your going to spend that much money, as if you woudn't get a proper gaming mouse/kb. My suggestion:

Mouse:
Razor Mice
Logitech g5
Logitech mx518

KB:
Anything logitech

 

[KieranMurphy]

KB:
Anything logitech

Maybe it's just me, but I find that the cheapest keyboard available is good for me.

I've a tendency to get dust, crumbs and all sorts of crap in my keyboards and recently killed an expensive wireless keyboard by taking it apart and cleaning it out.

I've dismantled, cleaned and reassembled several cheap ****ty wired keyboards however without a problem.

Take that advice with a pinch of salt however, it's just my anecdotal evidence. I just don't think that an expensive keyboard makes typing or gaming that much better than a cheapo keyboard.

Spending good money on a good mouse may be worth your while however. A good mouse for gaming or even general usage is a better investment (in my opinion and experience) that an expensive keyboard. Your mileage may vary however.


KM.

 

[sutton.a]

Well i myself have a cheap keyboard, but thats because its a low priority for me. I eat and all that stuff at my computer, so naturally my keyboard has alot of gunk on it. Although i do have a logitech g5, best thing i ever bought. U'd be surprsied how a good mouse can drastically change the feel and flow of your gaming experience.

Just to me, if your willing to fork out that much money for a brilliant "supercomputer", you'd be willing to complete that supercomputer by buying the best peripherals(is that how u spell it). Apart from the razer mice that steal some sales from logitech in the mouse department, logitech has the rest of the market. They produce the best quality, have GREAT customer service and you normally never have to use their warranties. I remember my old logitech mx400 i think it was, had it for 3 years and the mouse button started getting sticky. Took it to harvey norman and they gave me a new one.... love em

 

[PLmatt91]

It's a nice setup, but you're throwing your money away on the 2.13ghz Core 2 Duo. It's a high performer, but the Athlon64 4600+ is on par with it on most fronts and marginally better at gaming - and it costs less. Ideally, you'll want the Core 2 Duo with 4mb cache since those are the ones pulling the massive performance benchmarks that have been floating around. You can make up for a good chunk of the cost of the 2.66ghz by downgrading to the 1 year on-site warranty

But yet, the 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo beat a $1400 USD AMD processor. So it'll basically beat the little Athlon64 4600+. The 2.13GHz goes from $210 - $350, so I think I'd rather buy an Intel. Plus the E6400 has 4MB of cache, 4MB OF CACHE! Also, the 2.13GHz E6300 runs a whole lot better than any AMD's now in my opinion. And the 2.13Ghz can easily over clock to 4.0GHz, but then the cooling would just be a problem, you'd need a lot better cooling.

mag, just build a custom PC. It has a better variety and exactly what you would want. If you can't program it, find a very good person / friend / shop that can do it good and for cheap.

 

[pimp racer]

Well if you wanna save a cool 400 -500 build your own XPS 700! Dell has the barebone options where you buy what ever you want for the XPS and then you put it together yourself. Same as buying from them but just you build yourself and its cheaper.

 

[magburner]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm still thinking about the XPS 700 though, it looks so damn sexy! XPS 700 BYO

The only down side is that the whole setup will put me back the best part of £3,000! I have £2,000 already so I'm almost there, but the huge outlay is making me nervous... If any of my family knew how much it cost, they'd have me committed!

Do us a favor and do not buy a prebuilt (especially a Dell).

They tend to be overpriced.

Just look around at places like NewEgg.com (seeing as you don't live in the U.S, that isn't an option) and find some parts, order them, and build it yourself. It adds the fun of building a PC, and the cost effectiveness is a big plus too.

Looking around, there is not much difference between the price of the parts if I built it myself, than if I brought it from Dell. Also, I have yet to find a BTX motherboard anywhere! I also tried MESH for a custom built PC, and found they had had prety bad reviews, though their systems where awesome.

As for Dell's over heating, I'm not so sure - they reackon they have got it sorted with the XPS 700 . I've had a SX270 for a year and a half now, and whilst it can get as hot as a mofo, its never caused me any problems whatsoever.

It's a nice setup, but you're throwing your money away on the 2.13ghz Core 2 Duo.

The 2.67mhz version it will be then!

I would never spend money on dell, buying the parts individually and making the computer is much more satisfying. Also if your going to spend that much money, as if you woudn't get a proper gaming mouse/kb. My suggestion:

Mouse:
Razor Mice
Logitech g5
Logitech mx518

KB:
Anything logitech

Thanks for the heads up on the gaming gear, I'll look into them. 👍

Well if you wanna save a cool 400 -500 build your own XPS 700! Dell has the barebone options where you buy what ever you want for the XPS and then you put it together yourself. Same as buying from them but just you build yourself and its cheaper.

Unfortunately, the BYO option is only available for US customers.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Dells overheat alot, but I don't know how their new cases fare.

I've never had a Dell overheat, nor been responsible for a Dell that has overheated (so that's another 2,000 units). Nor have I ever heard of a Dell Desktop that has overheated.

Their laptop batteries are somewhat incendiary at the minute, but that's not relevant.

If you don't want to build it yourself, and you can get the config you want, Dell do good stuff, and are worth buying in my opinion.

 

[TB]

We have 7 Dell's in the office ranging from a 2.4G P4 to a 3.2G Dual Core Pentium D. Five of them have been running SETI@Home 24/7 for a year with no problems with overheating.

 

[dbartucci]

I've had Dells for years with few problems and when I did have a problem I found the tech support pretty helpful most of the time, even if you have to wait 2 hours on hold to talk to someone

Knowing the components will work together and having a warranty and tech support for the system is worth the extra bucks to me over the headaches of trying to sort out what's good and what will work well together trying to build a computer myself with my limited knowledge.

Also, prebuilt stuff from Dell will stomp the prices on DIY comps on the low-mid range. Economies of scale.

 

[magburner]

Thanks again for the advice guys, its much appreciated. In the end I decided to go with the XPS 700 here are the specs I chose:

* BTX motherboard with NVIDIA® nForce 590SLITM chipset
* Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6700 processor (2.66GHz, 1066MHz, 4MB cache)
* 2048MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz [2x1024] Memory
* 320GB Serial ATA RAID 0 Stripe [2x160GB 7200rpm drives with DataBurst™ cache]
* 512MB nVidia™ GeForce 7900GTX graphics card
* Dell™ 19" UltraSharp™ Digital/Analogue Flat Panel (1907FP)
* Sound Blaster® X-Fi Xtreme Music PCI Soundcard
* 16x DVD+/-RW & 16x Dual DVD Drives

Extra's

* Logitech® QuickCam Express Webcam - Twin Pack
* Dell™ Enhanced USB Multimedia Keyboard - UK/Ire (QWERTY)
* Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black
* Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2 (incl Operating System Re-Installation CD)
* 1-Year On-site service
* 1 Year CompleteCare + On-Site Next Business Day Service

Price= £2239.91p (inc. 10% discount for being the 500th customer!)

The only down side is that I have to wait upwards of 35 days for an E6700 processor. Still, It will be worth the wait!

Also if your going to spend that much money, as if you woudn't get a proper gaming mouse/kb. My suggestion:

Mouse:
Razor Mice
Logitech g5
Logitech mx518

KB:
Anything logitech

I'm going to look for those things right now. Thanks again guys! 👍

 

[magburner]

What a difference a month makes! My top of the line XPS 700 is due to arrive in the next week or two, and I honestly cant wait! Dell has been universally panned for its apparent lack of customer service, and whilst I have felt like I've been held in limbo for the past few weeks, things are finally moving along now.

To top it all off, I got an email from Dell customer support today saying that my 7900GTX was being upgraded to the awe-inspiring 7950GX2 for free (yes free!) They stated that there was a shortage of 7900GTX boards, and they didn't want to delay my order any longer! I almost choked on my coffee when I read the email, talk about customer service!

Thanks to Dell, I've had a 10% discount, and a free graphics card upgrade, and probably saved about £300-£400 on top of that! Great stuff Dell, now ship my XPS!

 

[Eric.]

But yet, the 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo beat a $1400 USD AMD processor. So it'll basically beat the little Athlon64 4600+. The 2.13GHz goes from $210 - $350, so I think I'd rather buy an Intel. Plus the E6400 has 4MB of cache, 4MB OF CACHE! Also, the 2.13GHz E6300 runs a whole lot better than any AMD's now in my opinion. And the 2.13Ghz can easily over clock to 4.0GHz, but then the cooling would just be a problem, you'd need a lot better cooling.

mag, just build a custom PC. It has a better variety and exactly what you would want. If you can't program it, find a very good person / friend / shop that can do it good and for cheap.

Actually, you have to get the E6600 for the 4MB L2 Cache. It is the 2.44Ghz model which is $360 USD on Newegg.com. Benchmarks meet or exceed AMD's FX-62 and some people are running them at 3.0Ghz on stock cooling. I've ordered one for my PC (to be covered in a thread coming soon) and I plan to run it at least to 2.6Ghz.

 

[Burnout]

What a difference a month makes! My top of the line XPS 700 is due to arrive in the next week or two, and I honestly cant wait! Dell has been universally panned for its apparent lack of customer service, and whilst I have felt like I've been held in limbo for the past few weeks, things are finally moving along now.

To top it all off, I got an email from Dell customer support today saying that my 7900GTX was being upgraded to the awe-inspiring 7950GX2 for free (yes free!) They stated that there was a shortage of 7900GTX boards, and they didn't want to delay my order any longer! I almost choked on my coffee when I read the email, talk about customer service!

Thanks to Dell, I've had a 10% discount, and a free graphics card upgrade, and probably saved about £300-£400 on top of that! Great stuff Dell, now ship my XPS!

Nice deal there!

That PC is really going to be quite a beast.👍

 

[magburner]

That PC is really going to be quite a beast.👍

It sure is, and its a heavy mutha too! I just checked the shipping company that is handling the delivery, and it says that the whole weight of the delivery is 54kilos - 54kilos! To put that into perspective, I weight approximately 80 kilos! What the hell are they sending me!?

Anyway, another couple of days, and those noobs better watch out, 'cos I'll be pwning them - 'BOOM, HEADSHOT!'

 

[Revolution.]

Nice!
That 7950... isn't that the card with 1gb of vid memory?

 

[magburner]

Nice!
That 7950... isn't that the card with 1gb of vid memory?

Yep, its an awesome free upgrade!