CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
OK
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 09/24/2008
- Updated on: 10/26/2009
- Released on: 09/23/2008
With its new Studio Desktop, Dell finally brings its mainstream desktop line into the 64-bit era. The glossy black midtower PC presents little in the way of innovative design, but by offering the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, Dell now competes on even footing with HP, Gateway, and other vendors who've offered the more memory-friendly operation system for months. We're glad to see Dell catch up with its competition, but overpriced accessories and limited upgrade options hold this system back.
At its core, the Dell Studio Desktop is very similar to the $1,100 HP Pavilion Elite m9300t we reviewed a few months ago. Both cost about $1,000, and feature Intel quad-core processors, large hard drives, and an array of optional extras including wireless networking adapters and TV tuners. The difficulty for Dell is that HP's upgrades are more plentiful, and more affordable, giving the Studio Desktop less flexibility for customers looking to configure their own PCs.
| Dell Studio Desktop | HP Pavilion Elite m9300t | |
| Price | $1,208 | $1,100 |
| CPU | 2.3GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 | 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 |
| Memory | 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3650 | 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9500 GS |
| Hard drives | 640GB, 7,200rpm | 500GB, 7,200rpm |
| Optical drive | dual-layer DVD burner | Blu-ray/HD DVD player/dual-layer DVD burner |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n wireless | Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11b/g wireless |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (32-bit) |
| TV Tuner | Yes | Yes |
When we look at the configuration of each system we reviewed, we can see just how similar they are. Dell opted, wisely, to send us a 64-bit Vista unit with 4GB of RAM. HP's 32-bit model has only 2GB of memory, as well as a slightly smaller hard drive and only standard 802.11b/g wireless. Upgrading the HP's RAM and Wi-Fi accordingly raises its price $90, and switching to 64-bit Vista is free, leaving it still less expensive than the Dell, but with two key advantages: a Blu-ray drive and a 512MB graphics card. Both of those options greatly expand the HP's capability to serve up entertainment, and in contrast, the Dell system looks less capable and overpriced.
That said, we commend Dell for finally making the leap to 64-bit Windows Vista. We suspect Dell timed the move to coincide with this week's release of Adobe's Creative Suite 4, the first major Windows application with native 64-bit support. Now that Dell has made the move to 64-bit, its PCs can finally put 4GB of RAM and more to use. The Studio Desktop will support up to 8GB of memory, but as you can see from our performance results, the benefits of 4GB are immediately apparent.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Rendering Multiple CPUs | |
Rendering Single CPU |
Our Photoshop test is still based on 32-bit code, but we can still use it to show the benefit of a system such as this Dell that uses all 4GB of its memory. The Studio Desktop blasted through our Photoshop workload 25 seconds faster than the HP, and its scores on our other tests were similarly competitive. The one exception is our multitasking test, which the iMac and its lean Mac OS X operating system continues to dominate.
While the Dell's performance looks good, keep in mind that you can configure the HP with 64-bit Windows and 4GB of RAM and still keep the price under that of the Studio Desktop. We'd expect such rejiggering would result in faster performance. HP doesn't sell the Core 2 Duo Q8200 CPU that came with our Dell review unit yet (it goes on sale from Dell tomorrow), but it sells a variety of quad-core chips with faster processor speeds.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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1,280x1,024 |
Regardless of its CPU, the Dell still falls behind on our Unreal Tournament 3 gaming test. Worse, because the 256MB Radeon HD 3650 graphics card is the best that Dell has to offer, these scores represent the limit of the Studio Desktop's gaming capability. Not every desktop has to be a gaming system, but the fact is that the HP and its 512MB GeForce 9500 GS deliver smoother play for less. Given the fact that 512MB 3D cards have become so affordable, and have been for a while, Dell looks out of touch by not offering one with this system.
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