Dell Dimension XPS 600 Desktop Computer Review

CPU and Memory

The Dell XPS 600 is clearly set on being on a mean, high-end gaming PC. The Intel Pentium 4 670 processor (running at 3.8 GHz) and installed 1 GB of RAM simply blows you away. Throw anything you want at it - the latest 3D games, video editing or number-crunching applications - it processes them with aplomb.

If you want to further drive up the power, the Dell Dimension XPS 600 can be configured with practically any high-end Pentium processor, including the dual-core Pentium Extreme Edition 840.

Case

The XPS 600 comes with a armor-like black and silver case. There is a wealth of PCI Express and PCI slots in the box, but they're filled, with graphics cards, TV tuners, and the Audigy 2 ZS sound board. Overall, the case is easy to work with, but made of plastic so it can feel a bit unsturdy. However, that is no big issue considering the processing might of the machine.

Graphics

The dual GeForce 7800 GTX graphics cards in the XPS 600 are the main draw of this system. 3D games these days call for an obscene amount of graphics horsepower - so Dell has responded with a power packed solution. The cards are mounted on a new nVidia-based motherboard chipset which is very apt since the nVidia chipset that can use two full x16 PCI Express lanes for the graphics, as opposed to previous configurations.

Data Storage

The Dell Dimension XPS 600 comes with - get this - 1 TB of hard drive space! I can just imagine storing tons and tons of games, music, videos and what have you in that drive - and not having to worry about disk space for a long time.

Other Components

Another key component in this machine is the lovely 24 inch LCD screen, which is great for playing games. The included primary dual-Layer DVD+/-RW drive and a secondary DVD-ROM drive will ensure you have enough optical storage capabilities.

The system also comes with the Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system and two standard TV tuners for home entertainment.


At first glance the $5024 Dimension XPS 600 appears to be Dell's answer to the souped-up, superexpensive gaming PCs made by boutique manufacturers like Alienware and Voodoo. The XPS 600 is packed with high-powered hardware and provides very good performance, and its silver tower case with corrugated metallic plate and blue backlighting is reminiscent of Alienware's stylish, distinctive case designs. But the XPS 600 isn't really for the dedicated hard-core gamer so much as it is suited to the gamer or multimedia enthusiast who rarely opens a computer's case and wants both a fast gaming system and a Media Center PC.

Any good gaming system needs lots of processing power, and the XPS 600 doesn't disappoint. A 3.8-GHz Pentium 4 670 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, and two 500GB hard drives striped for speed in a RAID 0 array delivered a WorldBench 5 score of 104, the second-fastest score we've seen from an Intel-equipped system. Notably, the CPU isn't a dual-core processor, which you might expect to find on a $5000 PC. Though this isn't a big disadvantage now, it could limit multitasking performance in the future as more dual-core-supported software titles reach the market...............................