Dell XPS One

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bonestonne
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Dell XPS One

Post by bonestonne » Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:45 am

In front of me is a Dell XPS One, Dells All In One computer, rival to the iMac.

I'll be honest, it's crap. The configuration of this one is as follows:

Core 2 Duo E4500, 2GB DDR2-533, Intel G33 chipset, 250gb SATA-2 drive.

This computer is a beast, it's large, it's hot, and it's sluggish.

The cooling layout of this computer is terrible. Graphics heatsinks at the bottom near the air entry, with blower style fans for both the CPU and the PSU.

The CPU runs amazingly hot, and the system slows down after very little time. All things considered, taking the back cover off requires only the removal of two screws at the bottom, and cleaning is pretty straight forward, for the price tag, is this what I should be doing at least once a month? It does not use an embedded CPU, it has a full size LGA775 socket with a heatpipe cooler, just like a notebook with maybe an 8mm heatpipe going to the fins. It's just not even. If this was a Celeron, or a 45nm CPU, I'd say it would be a lot cooler, but not this.

As far as basic use goes, the speakers work, the webcam works, the internet works, and it's got optical audio output, and a built in TV tuner.

Would I use this thing on a daily basis? Absolutely not. It looks nice, deep down, it's not. The screen is pretty nice, but that's about all it has going for it. It's not cooled well enough, and I do not keep my house at a steady 64 degrees to accommodate the amount of heat this computer is putting out.

I'm not using the wireless keyboard or mouse with it, but I would put this computer in the same league as the HP IQ500. Sure, the IQ500 has a touch screen, and by all means, is an all around nicer computer, runs cooler, has a few better features, but when you break it down, these all in one computers are just nightmares. The IQ500 requires a specific power brick, which runs at 19v, 7a. I'll be honest, that's a lot for a computer. Sure, it only comes down to 133W, but it's an all in one touch screen computer, couldn't that number go down a little bit? Couldn't the power brick use less power when the computer is off? The brick itself isn't a whole lot larger than a standard PICO 102W brick, and produces a hell of a lot more heat.

Even with Speedstep enabled, the Dell XPS One just doesn't run cool enough, and I honestly couldn't tell anyone that this computer would be the one for them.

I'm not a Mac person. Sure, I own a Powerbook G4, and it's near maxed out, but it's my only working laptop, and the price was right for what it is. When it comes down to the new All In One fad for computers, Apple still has it right, and Dell, HP and all other companies trying to copy it have a lot to learn, especially if they're putting the computers in the same price range.

The Dell XPS One could use a dedicated hole in the back just to let fresh air to the CPU, and the graphics could use fan rather than being passive. Once the Dell XPS One gets hot, it slows down a lot, and just freezes for a while, and it just doesn't display the performance or "wow" factor that would make me recommend it to anyone.

(Yes this is very opinionated, but hey, I don't have all the time in the world, these are client computers being repaired for various reasons, and when I get the time, I write about my experiences with them.)

MikeC
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Post by MikeC » Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:42 am

Thanks for the valuable hands-on insights. Now I know why they haven't responded to sample requests. :lol:

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