Final thoughts and rating
Dell's Studio XPS packs in a Core i7 platform and shoehorns it into a mini-tower box that's less than half the size of a regular chassis. Smaller form factors are the key to extending the longevity of the desktop PCs, we feel, and Dell has seen the merits, from both cost and spatial points of view, and managed to cram incredible power into the diminutive case.
There's no denying that abundant power is just waiting to be unleashed, and looking at our performance numbers we see that the Turbo Boost-enabled Intel Core i7 920 often has the beating of an also-quad-core 3.5GHz Core 2 in processor-intensive benchmarks, sometimes by a comfortable margin.
Gaming performance is generally governed by the chassis - being small enough to nullify dual-GPU operation - but specify a Radeon HD 4850 at the time of purchase and gaming at an LCD-friendly 1,680x1,050 shouldn't pose too many problems.
Dell would only succeed with a pint-sized Core i7 system if the pricing was right. Thankfully, it is, with the base system starting out at £699, including VAT and delivery, and including a Blu-ray burner as standard. Add in a decent one-year warranty and the value proposition is very attractive, especially to those looking to jump on the Core i7 bandwagon but put off by the cost of the platform.
The system's very quiet when pootling around in Windows and only the graphics card's fan is noticeable once gaming is called to the fore.
A perfect mid-range PC that leverages the latest technology, then? Not quite, because we're concerned with just how close the sample's components push the, in our view, underpowered 360W PSU - Dell really should opt for a 450W if users are thinking of upgrading any parts in the future.
Being critical, we'd also like the front-mounted ports to be on the top and a touch more chassis cooling as standard, as well as the ability to tinker with the CPU's parameters in the BIOS. However, for most, these are minor gripes set against a system that redefines the value with respect to benchmark-busting Core i7.
Want a mid-range, chic PC with consummate CPU power and decent multimedia credentials? The Dell Studio XPS currently goes top of our list.
The good
Thunderous CPU performance availed by Core i7 goodness
Small form factor design makes implicit sense
Dell's pricing is significantly cheaper than you can build the constituent parts yourself - pricing starts at £699, which includes a Blu-ray burner
Very quiet in 2D and not particularly noisy when gaming
Uses the latest platform technology to good effect
The not so good
PSU may well be underpowered with a discrete card in situ
Minor gripes regarding ports' arrangement, cooling, and BIOS tweaking
As always, most point-of-sale upgrades are expensive
HEXUS Rating
HEXUS.net scores products out of 100%, taking into account technology, implementation, stability, performance, value, customer care and desirability. A score for an average-rated product is a meaningful ‘50%’, and not ‘90%’, which is common practice for a great many other publications.
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
HEXUS Awards
Blistering CPU performance and more than adequate multimedia performance is married to an attractive etail price, making the Dell Studio XPS hard to beat.
Dell Studio XPS
