Dell XPS 420

After the success with its earlier XPS systems aimed at enthusiasts, Dell has tried to bridge the gap with the rest of the population. While XPS still means high power, it's evolved into a not so extreme market to broaden its appeal. The 420 was designed with this in mind, specifically targeting the "Creative Class", to use Dell's own words -- "artists, designers, film-makers, producers, architects, builders, engineers, scientists, professors".

Design
The XPS 420 is not as striking as its forebears and has, to a degree, been built to a budget. The black reflective plastic on the front feels slightly cheap, and the loose housing around the DVD drives also reflects this.

The front of the machine is set aside for inputs, with a 5-in-1 card reader, S-video/composite and RCA audio inputs, two USB ports, and one port each for firewire, headphone and microphone.

Most of the attention is demanded by the top of the machine though, in which a small screen has been embedded with access to Windows Sideshow. This allows you to read e-mails, control Windows Media Player, play Solitaire and even install custom applications, all by pressing the navigation buttons supplied on the case. While for notebooks this has a genuine use in that it can save battery time and avoid slow Windows boot times, on a desktop its role is questionable, especially considering the painfully slow navigation compared to the nearby mouse, keyboard and full sized monitor. Some users have a genuine need for the usability the extra display adds -- however the placement of the screen makes this awkward at best -- a computer is usually placed on top of a desk (in which case the screen will be above the line of sight), next to a desk on the floor, or at the very worst under a desk, making the screen and navigation buttons impossible to get at it. Perhaps a breakout module that could sit next to the keyboard or monitor would be a wiser option.

To the left of the screen are hard drive and Ethernet activity lights, as well as diagnostic LEDS -- the placement only really useful if your tower is sat on the floor.

Behind this is a rather inventive rubberised and indented bay, in which you can sit your iPod or digital camera for charging or to transfer data, with the rear section designed for easy routing of cables.

The rest of the case is steel constructed, making it a heavy desktop, the sides a powder-coated silver. Thanks to being a BTX solution, machine access is on the right hand side, the panel removed by pulling on a handle on top of the case. This reveals a reasonably neat interior, and although the cable routing is a step down from the management found in the 720, Dell's unparalleled quick-release systems are still intact, holding the DVD drives, hard drives, expansion cards and even the heatsink in place.

Back to the front of the case, a hole cuts through from side to side, to diffuse noise emitted by the front fans. While it may look a bit like a handle, it's certainly not intended to be and the lack of easy to grip sections on the case means that hauling the PC up from the ground is a difficulty.

Features
Dell's custom motherboard is based off Intel's performance flagship X38 chipset, a single PCI-E 2.0 slot adorning the surreal signature design that fits Dell's system alone.

A quad-core Q6600 CPU powers the system at 2.4GHz, along with 2GB RAM and a thumpingly powerful GeForce 8800GTX graphics card -- although of course these options are customisable to fit your budget. A few fistfuls of cash could be saved, for exampled, by opting for a Radeon HD 2400 Pro instead of a GeForce 8800GTX. Sound is supplied by a Creative X-Fi, gigabit Ethernet is onboard, and eight available USB ports make sure you'll never go wanting on the accessories side.

On the media centre side a digital/analog TV tuner is included, as well as a receiver and basic remote. We haven't met anyone yet who would waste such a powerful machine on running Windows Media Center, but at least the option is there.

Continuing the video theme, Dell offers its new "Xcelerator'" technology, which needs to be bundled with the TV tuner. In short, it's a capture card that sits in one of the drive bays, offering S-video, composite and RCA audio in ports, hooked in to a ViXS XCode 2110 processor that takes the encoding burden off the CPU for MPEG2 and MPEG4 operations, as well as being able to apply a whole bunch of video processing filters. TV recording can also take advantage of the processor, meaning your quad core CPU can be left to do more important tasks.

Drive wise a Sony DVD+-RW and a Philips Blu-ray burner are included -- although we'd happily dump the Blu-Ray drive to save on costs. A pair of Western Digital 250GB hard drives are set up in RAID 1, so if you one dies on you, you have a backup.

A Bluetooth keyboard and mouse fill the peripheral roles, but neither could be described as wonderful, the mouse in particular far too thin and doesn't stack up performance wise to something like the Logitech G5, feeling skittish and not accurate enough on screen for the "Creative Class" market Dell is targeting.

Curiously, unlike other XPS systems there are no options in the BIOS for overclocking -- possibly due to the refocused target group, but still a sad omission nonetheless.

On the software side Dell has scored a minor coup, including Adobe Premiere Elements, Photoshop elements, and Soundbooth for your video, photo and sound editing needs. While most creatives would likely prefer the respective "bigger brother" products Premiere, Photoshop and Audition, each of these software suites are capable of the large majority of functions that their more complex siblings are, if you're willing to spend time adapting to the changed user interface.

Performance
Dell's machine didn't disappoint in the performance stakes, with a 3DMark06 score of 10,810, and a PCMark05 score of 5,389, placing it reasonably high on the ladder. While the volume wasn't too annoying, we felt it could have been a bit quieter than it was, given today's access to premium quiet parts.

Being an XPS machine means that you have priority 24/7 support with Dell over phone, Web, or e-mail, and you're allowed to fiddle with the insides of your machine without voiding warranty -- a bonus for anyone who's technically minded.

The XPS 420 is priced right for the performance and the market it's aimed at, and includes a few nifty touches to boot. For the next revision though we'd suggest the Sideshow screen be dumped to save the end user money, the case redesigned so there's an easy way to lift it, and the included keyboard/mouse be given a premium work-over. All this aside, it should be seriously considered for any creative business that's looking for a quick and powerful solution.

• E-mail this
• Print this
• Share this...
  • del.icio.us
  • digg this
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
• beam_from:CNET.com.au beam_text:Dell XPS 420 http://m.cnet.com.au/339283101.htm beam_tags:CNETAU beam_label:Send to my mobile beam_icon:12 beamad_category:20 beamad_placement:2181