Specifications and thoughts
Specification
| Dell Studio XPS 435MT (demo system) | |
|---|---|
| Chassis | Dell custom mini-tower (363mm x 171mm x 438mm - hxwxd) |
| Processor | Intel Core i7 920 (2.67GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 8MB L3 cache, LGA1366) |
| Cooler | Dell reference |
| Mainboard | Dell mATX X58 |
| Memory | 6GB (6 x 1GB) Samsung DDR3-1,066 |
| Hard disk(s) | 2x Hitachi 500GB SATA, 7,200rpm 16MB cache. Configured in non-RAID mode |
| Display | None, optional extra |
| Graphics hardware | NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT |
| Optical drive 1 | None on demo system (Blu-ray burner on retail models) |
| Optical drive 2 | None, optional extra |
| Sound hardware | Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio |
| Speakers | None, optional extra |
| Modem | None |
| Networking hardware | 1x 10/100/1000, Intel 82567LF-2 LAN VIA VT6308P two-port FireWire400 |
| I/O ports (usable) | Front - 4x USB2.0, 1x FireWire400, headphone/sound multi-card reader (SD/CF/MS/xD/MMC) Rear - 4x USB2.0, 1x FireWire400, Gigabit LAN, audio ports, eSATA, optical S/PDIF-out |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 64-bit |
| PSU | Dell (Delta) 360W |
| Input devices | Mouse bundled with sample |
| Additional software | Microsoft Works 9 |
| Notable items | mATX X58 board, small form factor, TV tuner |
| Included warranty | One-year XPS Premium, includes on-site support |
| Price (as reviewed) | ~£900 as tested, range starts at £699 (01/12/08) |
| Shipping | Included in price |
Please bear in mind that the system shipped to HEXUS was a pre-production system that arrived without an optical drive. This is not indicative of full-retail models.
Dell houses the Core i7 system in a space-saving mini-tower chassis that saves costs yet still provides reasonable upgrade potential.
The only sensible choice for a mid-range system is the £240 Core i7 920, but we bet Dell doesn't pay anywhere near that when purchasing tens of thousands directly from Intel.
Knowing that X58-class motherboards are inherently expensive, starting at £200, Dell saves costs by specifying a mATX board that cuts many of the extra features found on retail models - a simple way to chop the BOM cost.
Memory allocation is generous, amounting to 6GB spread over six sticks, and it keeps the CPU's tri-channel memory-controller fed nicely. Interestingly, Dell's product page for Studio XPS lists dual-channel memory in many cases, therefore losing bandwidth for no apparent reason. Dell is updating its website to reflect that tri-channel kits will be shipped with the system, we're reliably informed.
The chassis can take a couple of hard drives and the unit is equipped with two Hitachi 500GB SATA that provide decent-enough performance. There's no reason why you couldn't scale to 3TB, though.
Retail models ship with a standard Radeon HD 3650 256MB card (why not a HD 4550?) or HD 4850 512MB for an additional £120. Our sample, however, was pitched with a GeForce 9800 GT 512MB, which benchmarks a touch slower than the HD 4850 Radeon.
Again, due to the nature of the sample, it shipped without an optical drive, yet even the £699 model ships with a 6x Blu-ray burner as standard, we note.
The rest is pretty standard fare, including lots of I/O ports on the front and back. Microsoft's Vista Premium SP1 64-bit and Works 9.0 are practically automatic choices and the warranty on the XPS range is better than most, encompassing on-site support and what's termed priority support.
The demo system's multimedia credentials shine through, clearly, with a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio card and Hauppauge TV tuner.
Value for money?
It's difficult to ascertain the value-for-money proposition for a non-standard machine. Taking the base £699 system into account and apportioning at least £500 for the CPU/mobo/RAM subsystem, the build-it-yourself price is around £850, and that figure excludes warranty support.
Clearly, Dell's price is ultra-aggressive for base models, and it's padded out by charging more-than-normal for extras at the time of purchase. Bottom line: you cannot build a similar system for the same money.
Now let's move on to a physical look.
