The difficulty for the Dell is that if you go to Velocity Micro's eminently usable Z40 configurator, you can match the XPS 8300's specs for $1,829. Velocity Micro will also overclock the CPU, which gives the Z40's Core i5 chip a raw clock speed advantage, but the Dell's Core i7 chip still offers advantages due to the HyperThreading technology that effectively doubles the Core i7's four processing threads. We would credit the Dell's graphics card as well, but Velocity Micro is using an overclocked version of the GeForce GTX Ti card, which gives it an edge over the Dell's typically faster Radeon HD 5870. Compared with the Velocity Micro system above, Dell has advantages in its system memory, its hard-drive capacity, and its Blu-ray burning capabilities. We're more or less satisfied with the relative value offered by the XPS 8300. ![]() We're also glad to see Dell adopt USB 3.0 ports on this system, by way of a single port on the front panel and another around the back. ![]() Dell hasn't moved to the convenient front-access hard-drive bays that we've seen from Acer, Gateway, and many boutique vendors, but the gadget tray on the top of the system is convenient, as are the USB 2.0 and audio ports dotting the rear edge of the tray. Dell has used this case for the last year or two, and the white, black, and red design offers a welcome alternative to the sea of all-black desktops out there. Purchasing confusion aside, we like this system well enough, even for $1,615.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |