Specifications:
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.66GHz (8MB L2 cache).
Memory: 6GB tri-channel DDR3 @ 1066MHz.
Hard drive: 500GB SATA @ 7200RPM.
Optical drive: SuperMulti DVD+/-RW.
Sound: Integrated 7.1 HD audio.
Video card: ATI Radeon HD4850 .
Networking: 10/100/1000 Gigabit ethernet .
Dell wired keyboard and mouse .
Operating system: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit.
Warranty: One year limited warranty with in-home service after remote diagnosis and 24/7 phone support.
Dimensions: 14.2"(H)x6.7"(W)x17.1"(D) .
360W rated power supply.
The new Studio XPS follows the same design cues as most of Dell's recent desktops. The front of the case uses the same high-gloss tuxedo black plastic as the rest of the Studio desktops. On the front, you can see the optical drive bays up top covered with black plastic. While this gives the desktop a uniform appearance, it does make the access button a little squishy. Directly below the optical drive bays, there is a sliding access door that hides away all of the front ports of the machine.
I actually much prefer this way of hiding mess on the front panel of a desktop to a door that has to be left open. Doors get broken, they look ugly when left open, and they're just a bit of a pain to deal with. This solution, however, lets you leave the bay open for viewing and access without any of those repercussions. I suspect that most users will just leave it open in general use.
The side panels are traditional Dell, with a vent noticeable in the lower left-hand side of the case. The sides of the case are less important than the front as far as design goes, since it's going to be pretty hard to see the sides of the computer when it's sitting beneath a desk. More importantly than how they look, Dell also designed the left case panel to be easily removed for quick access to the interior. Loosen a couple of thumbscrews, and you're in.
Inside, the case is, like many recent desktops we've reviewed, relatively sparsely populated with hardware. The power supply sits at the top of the machine, with the motherboard and graphics card below. On the right sit the optical drive and hard drive. Interestingly enough, Dell has mounted the hard drive vertically rather than horizontally even though there is significant space beside and beneath it. I suspect this is probably a result of the higher number of DIMM slots for DDR3 memory than what has been usual; by mounting the drive in this fashion, Dell facilitates access to the data and power cables.
Mounting the drive in a more traditional fashion would mean banging against the RAM whenever you needed to move it around. Unfortunately, this creates a messy cable situation with cables trailing from the hard drive over the RAM to the motherboard and power supply. Given that a second hard drive would be mounted (in the picture) directly down from the first, I suspect a RAID 0 configuration would simply compound the issue.
The real centerpiece for the new Studio XPS is the new Intel Core i7 platform. Underneath the big (compared to many OEM heatsinks) heatsink rests a Core i7 920, clocked 2.66 GHz. Dell's BIOS, unfortunately, doesn't really lend itself to overclocking the processor. It's a bit of a letdown, considering that Intel's Core architecture has traditionally been a good overclocker.
Another noticeable difference between computers based on the new Core i7 chip and traditional desktops is the addition of tri-channel memory. What this means is that instead of putting in either two or four memory modules to fully realize the speed of your desktop's memory, you're going to need either three or six. In this case, Dell populated the slots with six 1GB sticks of DDR3 memory, although the Studio XPS does support using up to 12. If you're going above three, however, you're going to absolutely want to run a 64-bit operating system to make sure your computer can address all of it.
Inputs and Expansion:
The Studio XPS does offer a fair number of options regarding ports and expandability. As discussed earlier, the front of the computer has a slotted compartment that hides all of the ports. Beneath the cover rest four USB2.0 ports, one FireWire and audio in/out. As an aside, the four USB ports on the front were some of the tightest I've ever used; pulling out a thumb drive literally moved the desktop forward a few inches. I suspect, however, that there is a certain degree of variance involved in the construction of these.
The rear of the Studio XPS offers several more options. In addition to four more USB2.0 ports (bringing the total to eight), there is another FireWire, one eSATA, gigabit ethernet, audio in as well as analog and optical audio out. One thing you can see in the picture is that the Studio XPS has no onboard video whatsoever; this is because it's only configurable with discrete graphics cards. In this case, it's an ATI Radeon HD4850, offering up two DVI-I video out ports as well as s-video. It's certainly an interesting move by Dell. The back of the computer also offers up a cable lock slot.
Inside of the computer, there are external 5.25" and 3.5" drive bays available (one of each) as well as two more internal 3.5" drive bays. There are three PCI-e x1 slots and a single PCI-e x16 slot which is already taken up by the discrete graphics solution.
Pros:
Core i7 920 is incredibly fastStudio XPS offers low barrier to entry for new platformLots of room for lots of memoryEasily accessible componentsSlotted front port cover a much better alternative to door-based covers
SOURCE:
http://www.desktopreview.com/
