Dell XPS One 24 (PRODUCT) RED

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Design : 7.0
  Features : 7.0
  Performance : 6.0
  Service and support : 8.0
  Overall score: 6.9 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Rich Brown
• Reviewed on: 12/09/2008
• Updated on: 11/05/2009
• Released on: 12/04/2008

We liked Sony's Vaio LV180J 24-inch all-in-one because it works as a relatively complete secondary home entertainment system. Despite Dell's ambitions in that direction with its own XPS One 24, we don't think it's as well suited to the purpose. Instead, Dell's new large screen all-in-one fares better if you look for it to provide a blend of digital entertainment features and productivity-oriented performance, although we admit we're frustrated by a few omissions in that regard as well. At $2,199, the XPS One 24 may be expensive for even the large-screen all-in-one category, but as member of the (PRODUCT) RED charity effort, this particular XPS One will also apportion off part of your payment to disease research. We find that a worthy cause. Regardless of your own philanthropic leanings, we think you'll find this an adequate jack-of-all-trades PC. As with many products that attempt to please everyone, though, you may also wish that Dell had picked one area for this system to truly shine.

Compared with Dell's original 20-inch XPS One from last year, the most distinctive change to the XPS One 24 is the larger, 24-inch LCD. The large screen and the slot-loading Blu-ray burner make the XPS One 24 a legitimate digital entertainment device, and you'll be happy with the video quality, which handles HD video content well. More limiting is the fact that you can't separate the XPS One 24 from its support stand, which prevents you from mounting it on a wall. Dell's system also lacks advanced media-friendly options like an HDMI input for connecting game consoles, DV cameras, and other components. The Sony Vaio LV180J offers both of those features, and, in general, it's a more complete home entertainment device.

If we prefer the Sony as a self-contained entertainment system, the Dell works better as a more well-rounded all-in-one. But again, we have some reservations. As its Blu-ray drive and large screen satisfy a baseline requirement for a modern digital media PC, its quad-core CPU, 750GB hard drive, and 512MB video card help the Dell surpass the Sony system in the realm of everyday computing. Sadly, Dell missed the opportunity to move to the 64-bit version of Windows Vista. As you'll see in our charts, the XPS One 24 still does well on certain tests, but it would likely gain even more performance by going to 64-bit.

Based on the Dell's scores on our multitasking and Cinebench tests, the quad-core processor has a definite impact on XPS One 24's ability to handle multiple processing threads at once. As this reflects how many people use their PCs day-to-day, we would be happy to use that Dell XPS One 24 at work situation over the Sony, or a comparable iMac.

For single application tasks, such as photo editing, the Dell is less impressive. We're not surprised given its slower 2.3GHz Intel quad-core chip, especially compared with the 3.0GHz Intel dual-core chip in the Sony. Had Dell used 64-bit Windows, it likely would have seen better scores, especially on Photoshop. Perhaps it would still not have overtaken the Sony system, but any boost would be welcome.

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