CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/10/2009
Dell's Studio XPS 8000 offers an attractive chassis and mostly up-to-date features. Its configurations start as low as $699, but our $1,329 review unit is a solid upper-midrange performance desktop that will play games and handle more demanding digital media tasks with little difficulty. For the very price-performance conscious, both Velocity Micro and Asus offer more competitive PCs in this price range, but we still find the Dell appealing because of its good looks. We recommend the XPS 8000 to anyone shopping for a performance PC that's willing to trade a bit of substance for Dell's unique style.
At 16-inches high by 7.25-inches wide by 18-inches deep, the Studio XPS 8000 is essentially a smaller version of the Studio XPS 9000 that we reviewed back in August. You don't lose that much with the smaller case, just a few card expansion slots and a third hard-drive bay are the major sacrifices. As with the higher-end model, the Studio XPS 8000's molded plastic exterior looks like it was crafted with more than a little awareness of modern aesthetics. Apple remains the benchmark for computer visual design, but Dell's new chassis ranks among the best looking cases currently available from Windows PC vendors.
In addition to its smaller dimensions, the Studio XPS 8000 is technically different from its higher-end lookalike. Dell has opted for an Intel P55 Express-based motherboard in the Studio XPS 8000, which means it supports Intel's Core i7 800 and Core i5 700-series CPUs. It also means slightly reduced memory bandwidth (dual channel versus triple channel) and marginally slower CPUs next to the Intel X58/Core i7 900-series-based Studio XPS 9000. The practical differences between the two chipsets are minor for most consumer-level tasks, and only true performance enthusiasts will notice the difference. Some iterations of both the X58 and P55 motherboards offer dual-graphics card support, but neither of the Dell-made motherboards in the Studio XPS line offer that feature.
| Dell Studio XPS 8000 | Velocity Micro Edge Z30 | |
| Price | $1,329 | $1,349 |
| CPU | 2.67GHz Intel Core i5 750 | 3.2GHz Intel Core i7 860 (overclocked) |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel P55 Express | Intel P55 Express |
| Memory | 8GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM | 8GB 1,333MHz DDR3 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 1,762MB Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (216 core) | 896MB Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 (216 core) |
| Hard drives | 1TB, 7,200rpm | 1TB 7,200rpm |
| Optical drive | dual-layer DVD burner | dual-layer DVD burner |
| Networking | Gigabit Ethernet | Gigibit Ethernet |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) |
The configuration Dell sent us compares well pricewise with a Velocity Micro system we reviewed in September. We awarded that Vista-based PC an Editors' Choice award; however, since that review, Velocity Micro has switched to Windows 7 for the Edge Z30, it no longer has a second 3D card option (according to Velocity Micro, it's updating its motherboard option to a superior dual-card option shortly), and its price is now a bit higher at $1,414. You can also customize this Dell configuration to include a Core i7 860 chip like the Velocity Micro's, and the price will only jump to $1,428. Velocity Micro has an edge over Dell in that it will overclock the CPU for you, a task which Dell leaves for customers to do themselves. Otherwise, the two are close enough on price and features that we can safely call the relative value comparison a tie.
(shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
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Rendering multiple CPUs | |
Rendering single CPU |
The Studio XPS 8000 puts in a strong showing on our application charts, even next to a competitive Asus system we thought might give it trouble because of its higher-end Core i7 920 CPU. Instead, the Dell fits right in with the midrange performance PCs we've reviewed lately. We expect anyone who buys this system for consumer-level video editing and other media-related tasks will be satisfied by its performance.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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1,600x1,200 (high, 4x aa) | |
1,280x1,024 (medium, 4x aa) |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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1,920x1,200 (DirectX 10, 4x aa, very high) | |
1,440 x 900 (DirectX 10, 4x aa, very high) |
The Dell's gaming chops are a little less impressive, but it should be able to handle the majority of current PC games at decent resolutions and image quality. Where other PCs in this category can at least hit 60 frames per second on our 1,440x900-pixel resolution Far Cry 2 test, the Dell falls just short. If gaming is your top priority, you can find a better PC in this price range than the Studio XPS 8000. Also, it's worth noting that neither Dell's nor Velocity Micro's configuration wizards for the systems in this chart list AMD's newest graphics card, the Radeon HD 5800-series, as an option. A Radeon HD 5870 in either system would likely result in faster performance, not to mention DirectX 11 graphics support. For the moment, you'll have to turn to Falcon Northwest and
Dell Studio XPS 8000:
