Entered CNET Catalog: 02/03/2009
SKU: X430-121B
Manufacturer: Dell, Inc.
Product summary
The good: Aggressive processor speed and DD3 memory yield impressive benchmarks; configuration includes TV tuner; innovative chassis design and open ports encourage expansion; inexpensive.
The bad: No wireless networking; budget graphics card can't compete with the competition.
The bottom line: Dell's XPS 430-121B, sold exclusively at Best Buy, outpaces the competition and carries an impressive set of media-centric features. Heavy gamers can find a more suitable system elsewhere, but digital media enthusiasts will appreciate this Dell in their home network.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/10/2009
Back in 2007, we reviewed Dell's XPS 420 that focused in on digital video with a few other light upgrades on the side. Just over a year later, Best Buy and Dell now offer the $900 Dell XPS 430-121B, a lightweight version of the Dell's customizable media-centric system. This refresh leaves out the superfluous Windows SideShow LCD that made an appearance on the 420, and it also costs significantly less. Instead, the 430-121B come stuffed with accessories like a dedicated graphics card, a TV tuner, and a blazing quad-core processor. We have no problem recommending it for media sharing across a network as well as performing light digital-editing duties.
At first glance, the XPS 430-121B's chassis looks very similar to the XPS 420. The case features a stoic glossy black finish that exudes subtle class. A dual-layer DVD burner occupies one of the three optical slots on the front panel--the other two below it remain available to accept another drive or extra storage. A small digital media card reader sits between the drives and the USB, FireWire, and audio ports, providing direct access for your SD, MemoryStick, CompactFlash, and SmartMedia cards.
Starting at the top, you'll see an Ethernet port and the standard set of audio ports including one for digital output, as well as five additional USB plugs. Dell does not include wireless networking, and while we still don't expect to see wireless come standard in traditional tower PCs, we can also understand if you miss it given Wi-Fi's ubiquity.
Although this system doesn't come with a Blu-ray player or the dedicated video transcoder that we saw in the 420, you can still plug an antenna cable into the TV tuner card and watch basic over-the-air television or unencrypted cable. With the included software from Hauppauge, you can watch and record live TV, but one initial suggestion we'll make is that you go to the Hauppauge site and update the driver, or you'll suffer from choppy onscreen video. Just underneath the TV tuner cable plug, you'll find a dual set of extra storage connectivity options by way of eSATA and FireWire ports.
Dell makes good use of the top of the tower with a textured tray for external accessories and a quick release handle that pops off the side panel sans screws. In fact, the system has barely any screws at all. The hard drive and optical bays fasten using tabbed plastic brackets that make swapping a breeze. Once inside, you'll see an open hard-drive bay for increasing storage, and two slots in the optical drive bay. In terms of card expansion, you get an extra PCI slot in addition to the one taken by the graphics card, a PCI-E x1 slot, three SATA plugs, and another PCI-E x8 slot if you pop out the 56k modem. Unfortunately, the four memory slots are already filled with two 1GB and two 2GB sticks, so you'll have to throw at least one away to upgrade to the maximum 8GB, an expensive replacement considering the current price of DDR3 memory sticks.
| Dell XPS 430-121B | Gateway LX6810-01 | |
| Price | $900 | $779 |
| CPU | 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8300 | 2.3GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200 |
| Memory | 6GB DDR3 1066MHz | 8GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics card | 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 graphics card |
| Hard drives | 750GB, 7,200 rpm | 640GB, 7,200rpm |
| Optical drive | dual-layer DVD burner | dual-layer DVD burner |
| Networking | 10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN | 10/100Mbps Ethernet LAN |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) |
Gateway puts together a similar system in its LX6810-01 quad-core system, but for $100 less than the Dell XPS thanks to its slower processor and smaller hard drive. In the end, the Gateway makes a more compelling argument for the hard-core PC gamer, thanks to its aggressive graphics card and an extra two gigs of RAM; Dell isn't exactly sleeping on the job, though--its 6GB of DDR3 memory compared with DDR2 makes the promise to transfer data at twice the transfer speed.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 |
Rendering multiple CPUs | |
Rendering single CPU |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
|
1,280x1,024 |
Dell makes its most noticeable leap in the multitasking test, where it beats the Gateway by almost a full minute, likely due to a slightly faster CPU and memory speeds. The Gateway does have two more gigabytes of RAM inside, but the DDR3 RAM in the Dell may help offset the Gateway's memory volume advantage with more speed. The extra minute of load time is especially significant for those interested in a media-oriented PC. As shown by our Unreal Tournament benchmark scores, the Gateway's GeForce GT 120 card easily outpaces Dell's middle-range ATI Radeon 3650 without breaking a sweat. You also get a TV tuner built into the Gateway for added home theater entertainment, but both computers lack wireless Internet.
Based on its Unreal Tournament 3 scores, the Gateway is a better choice if you value graphic muscle over storage and speed. However, go with this Dell XPS if you're planning on streaming video, media storage, and general entertainment over a home network. It'll let you blaze through multiple programs and encode audio/video with incomparable speeds. Make no mistake that this Dell is missing advanced features like Blu-ray, wireless Internet, Bluetooth, and a remote that extends the home theater capabilities of the system, but the current configuration provides enough power to float you through online streaming video content, media serving, and light gaming.
Dell's support guarantee is a solid competitor against other midrange vendors. You get the standard one-year parts-and-labor coverage as well as 24-7 toll-free phone troubleshooting and a full year of onsite service in case you require help in person. Dell also offers online chats that put you directly in touch with a Dell technician who can help you fix internal problems or even access your computer remotely.
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
Dell Studio Desktop
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.3GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200; 4GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3650; 640GB, 7,200 rpm hard drive.
Dell XPS 430-121B
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8300
; 6GB DDR3 1066MHz; 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 Graphics card; 750GB, 7,200 rpm hard drive.
Gateway LX6810-01
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.3GHz Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q8200; 8GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics card; 640GB, 7,200RPM hard drive.
HP Pavilion Elite m9402f
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.3GHz AMD Phenom Quad Core X4 9650; 7GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE integrated graphics chip; 640GB, 7,200 rpm hard drive.
HP Pavilion Elite Ordinateur m9500y
64-bit Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.4GHz AMD Phenim 9750 X4 Quad Core; 8GB DDR2 800MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9500 GS; 750GB, 7,200 rpm hard drive.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6out of 6 user reviews
Take my advice, do not waste your money on this machine
Pros: Honestly, I can't think of anything I like about this computer.
Cons: - Bad Video Card
- Guaranteed Blue Screen of Death
- Dell won't fix a known issue
- All around crappy machine
You will not be happy if you buy this computer. Even if the price seems right, pass on it and get something else.
out of 6 user reviews
For a system exchange on a D530 Inspiron, it's amazing.
Pros: Fast, very fast. Quad core 2.5 chip & 6 GB ram make it so. It lodes quick, opens web pages in a heartbeat. Most of my software works great to by installing to the x86 directory. I had to update a few apps to an x654 program. Like ESET x64.
Cons: Low end ATI Radeon HD 3650, rubbish. I *******, they sent me a NVIDIA 8600 series card, which is better but still,... I had a couple minor issues with the audio & didn't know that even with UAC silenced, a few things need to be done as administrator.
out of 6 user reviews
Great Price
Pros: Speed, Support, Looks, and SPEED
Cons: problems updating
out of 6 user reviews
Near as makes no difference perfect
Pros: i have yet to try a game this computer cant handle on default settings
even crysis ran on above normal flawlessly
with a 20'' monitor this was less then a grand to buy and runs great
even vista hasent pissed me off yet
Cons: the video card is not the best but atleast its not crappy onboard video
and the tv tunes is a bit laggy but overall thats all i can find wrong
great value for money
huge storage space with 750 gigs i can put the world in there and still have room left over (with all my games installed ranging from old counterstrike to crysis i still have well over 400 gigs left)
and it looks amazing sitting here next to my monitor
there may be better computers but not for this money and quality
i would easily recommend this PC to anybody
out of 6 user reviews
very impressed
Pros: 6 gb of ddr3 makes all the difference. I use mostly for media and not for gaming so the graphics card is perfect. I have only had it for a few days and already love it.
Speed is not an issue performed all tasks with minimal wait time.
Cons: No open slots to upgrade ram, no wireless network or bluetooth. All of which i was hoping for but not a big deal
out of 6 user reviews
This Dell XPS 430 - 121B is worth every penny!
Pros: The system has a very fast processer
Good video card.
The styling and feel of the tower, keyboard and mouse is surely a notch above all the competion in this price range.
Good price.
Excellent for networking.
Excellent for upgrading.
Cons: Not much of a con, but although the upscale glossy finish will get you compliments from all that see it... it is easy to scratch. So be careful about what you're doing around it.
Been nice to have a graphics card with more memory for gaming
Also, I got these Dell's as a bundle, that included a 22" Dell monitor (model S2209W) and a Epson all in one printer (model NX105). So if you're looking for a decent price on a Dell that is a quality product, you would be hard pressed not to go with this Dell model.
Updated on Mar 1, 2009As far as running 2 graphic cards on it is concerend, I'm not to sure, but most likely you probably can. Call Dell for that... or if you have a Best Buy nearby, speak to someone at the Geek Squad.
As far as the DDR3 upgrade to 8gb is concerned, I do believe you'll need to replace the smaller gb chip with a larger one, because I think there is only 2 slots available for it. Again check with Dell, or the Geek Squad at Best Buy. But considering that it already ships standard with 6gb of DDR 3.... that is alot of high speed memory to begin with:)
Also, I will be upgrading my Dell with a high quality 1gb ATI card... I'll update when I do. This has been the best PC experince I have had since I bought my last Dell about 4 years ago.
If a HP/Compaq or Gateway is the Toyota of PC's, this DELL XPS is no doubt the Mercedes E Class.. both are good brands,,, but one is obviously the better
Good price, good quality, solid product.
