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Hardware Dell Launches XPS 630 Gaming Desktop
Brandon Hill (Blog) - February 26, 2008 10:39 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 61 comment(s) - last by Raidin.. on Feb 27 at 8:34 PM
Dell's new XP2 630 starts at $1,300

Dell is expanding its line of gaming systems today with the new XPS 630 desktop. According to Dell, it's the first OEM PC to support the Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA).

The XPS 630 features an NVIDIA nForce 650 SLI chipset, two PCIe x16 slots, four internal HDD bays, Corsair DOMINATOR memory, four DIMM slots, Light FX 2.0 technology and a 750W power supply. Optional hardware includes an AGEIA PhysX physics accelerator and a Blu-ray drive.

Given that Dell is aiming the XPS 630 at gamers, the company fully sanctions overclocking of the processor and memory subsystems. In addition, the XPS 630 comes with a brushed-aluminum chassis and can be ordered with either a red or black bezel.

"Since its inception, the Dell XPS line has been committed to delivering aggressive, competitive and attractive options for a broad spectrum of PC gamers," said Dell gaming head Arthur Lewis. "With the Dell XPS 630, we have the unique and exciting opportunity to offer a system that brings together the needs of enthusiasts and casual gamers."

Pricing for the XPS 630 starts at $1,249 and will skyrocket from there. The base configuration will get you an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 processor, GeForce 8800 GT 512MB graphics card and a one-year warranty and in-home warranty service.

For a review of the XPS 630, head over to PC Magazine. The publication gave the desktop 4 out of 5 stars.

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Seriously
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 2/26/2008 10:47:15 AM , Rating: 5
Some of the specs really puzzle me. Why bother with overpriced Corsair Dominator? Just throw in some Corsair XMS2 or competitor memory with regular heat spreaders. No need to put pipes and whatnot on it as long as the case has good cooling. Then with the money saved maybe bump that graphics card up a notch. :(




RE: Seriously
By Desslok on 2/26/2008 11:00:15 AM , Rating: 5
Sadly, most people just see the name and think "OH, that must be the best there is!"


RE: Seriously
By Owls on 2/26/08, Rating: -1
RE: Seriously
By DASQ on 2/26/2008 11:41:50 AM , Rating: 2
It's a strange phenomenon, computer geeks and cat ownership. Why do so many geeks like cats? I don't find them particularly interesting. The mystery of the internet.


RE: Seriously
By AlphaVirus on 2/26/2008 11:53:40 AM , Rating: 5
I like cats, they are fluffy and cute. I always squeeze their paws to make the claws come out, they just sit there and its funny to me.

One strange thing they do is when I am laying down, they jump near on my chest and start licking my eyes. I think because they are probably going for my eyelids since its hair and they usually groom by licking, but its weird nonetheless.

Also when there is a bird they try to imitate it with a noise similar to a toy machine gun *cack,cack,cack,cack*. Once again unsure why they do this but its too funny.

House cats are some funny creatures.


RE: Seriously
By FITCamaro on 2/26/08, Rating: 0
RE: Seriously
By Souka on 2/26/2008 2:45:40 PM , Rating: 5
RE: Seriously
By daftrok on 2/26/2008 4:40:21 PM , Rating: 2
RE: Seriously
By AgentPromo on 2/26/2008 12:13:54 PM , Rating: 5
I have a theory why nerds like cats:

1. Cats do not have to go outside. Nerds don't like sunlight.

2. Because said cats do not have to go outside, they cannot run away. Dogs could run away. Nerds do not have the athleticism to chase after a dog, especially chase a dog in the sunlight of the outside

3. Cats look past your flaws and dont mind that you cant run fast or that you dont like sunlight. But if you sit on your butt all day in the dark, even your dog would start to think your a nut.


RE: Seriously
By SiliconAddict on 2/26/08, Rating: -1
RE: Seriously
By Denigrate on 2/26/2008 1:36:11 PM , Rating: 1
Best Post Ever.


RE: Seriously
By Raidin on 2/26/2008 4:25:31 PM , Rating: 2
We're talking about geeks, not nerds. Stay on topic.


RE: Seriously
By Alpha4 on 2/26/2008 6:36:28 PM , Rating: 3
I thought the topic was the XPS 630 Gaming Desktop.


RE: Seriously
By cochy on 2/26/2008 2:25:30 PM , Rating: 5
Cats are great. They mind their own business. Wish more people were like that!


RE: Seriously
By StevoLincolnite on 2/26/2008 6:01:31 PM , Rating: 3
Not to mention you kick a dog and they will come crawling back.
Kick a cat, and they walk away showing they're rear-end with their tail in the air happily.
They have more "character" and are also more self sufficient, they don't rely on us as much as dogs do.

Plus, I'm a gamer - Outside - me vampire = sun bad.


RE: Seriously
By Polynikes on 2/26/2008 11:44:28 AM , Rating: 2
Wow (no pun intended), that is quite possibly the most monumental waste of money ever on computer hardware. Considering WoW probably consumes 90%+ of his PC gaming, that hardware is overkill.


RE: Seriously
By MooseMuffin on 2/26/2008 12:05:31 PM , Rating: 2
Unless that price includes a 30" monitor =)


RE: Seriously
By MightyAA on 2/26/2008 12:07:57 PM , Rating: 4
Actually, I'm glad they tell you who's stuff they are putting in there. The problem I've always had with Dell is that they use the low bidder, and specs are notoriously brief to allow several different brands. Example; find the timings of the ram on a Dell.. how many rails does that psu have?.. they don't tell you because they aren't always the same and subject to change as a new supply contract is filled. If you know who's stuff is going in, you have information to let you determine if it's good or not instead of praying that they didn't cut corners on the guts of your rig. It's those little things that make a machine better.


RE: Seriously
By zolo111 on 2/27/2008 1:59:47 AM , Rating: 2
But if you care about the PSU type, and how many rails it has, and how much amps it's pumping. Then I don't think you should be looking at an overpriced XPS system, you're gonna build your own system and save tons of $$, right?

These systems are for the rich kids who don't know/care about the specs, as long as it plays WOW.


RE: Seriously
By crimson117 on 2/27/2008 1:40:28 PM , Rating: 5
I don't think the base 630 is particularly overpriced at $1250.

Q6600: $260
Vista Home Premium: $110
2x1gb DDR2: ~$40
8800GT 512MB: $200
320GB HD: $90
DVD burner: $30
PSU ~750W: ~$125
Intel Mobo: ~$125
Decent case: ~$100
Mouse/Keyboard: $20

[b]Total: $1100[/b]

So $150 for Dell to put it all together, install Vista, and warranty it for 1 year? Sounds reasonable to me.

Of course if you have very specific parts in mind, and you have the time and inclination, then build it yourself and have fun. And upgrades can add up quickly, of course, as Dell charges a premium. But the base 630 cannot be called overpriced.


RE: Seriously
By retrospooty on 2/26/2008 1:08:02 PM , Rating: 1
"Sadly, most people just see the name and think "OH, that must be the best there is!"

I would think that most people don't even know what Corsair is, or what memory latency is for that matter... Of the small percentage of PC buyers that are gamers, and know what Corsair is, and know/care for faster RAM, they would like the batter RAM for an overclocking system.


RE: Seriously
By ImSpartacus on 2/26/2008 6:47:57 PM , Rating: 2
i agree. most users don't care. So Dell doesn't have to care.

This is a different case. I think Dell made a good call more or less. The pricing is acceptable (I think Tom's Guide said the parts and software would've cost about 1150$ so that extra 150$ gets you a 2 year xps (not the normal) warranty and assembly labor.

I think I might get one. I was thinking of getting an E8400, IP35-E, 9600GT and other parts for a PC and it came out to about 935$ w/shipping&tax, but with the warranty, 8800gt's and the Q6600 I might get this thing.


RE: Seriously
By crimson117 on 2/27/2008 1:43:06 PM , Rating: 2
I'm very much considering one myself... I nearly bought an XPS 420 before they moved the 8800GT to only being available on the highest config.


RE: Seriously
By napalmjack on 2/26/2008 2:21:27 PM , Rating: 3
I wonder how many people bought the Maxtor Fireball just because of the name...


RE: Seriously
By MooseMuffin on 2/26/2008 11:40:23 AM , Rating: 2
I suppose the dominator might be over the top, but this is actually a far more affordably priced system than we usually see from the xps line/alienware/falcon/voodoo/whatever. quadcore, 2gb ram and sli 8800gt setup comes out to a very reasonable $1600.


RE: Seriously
By mcnabney on 2/26/08, Rating: -1
RE: Seriously
By PlasmaBomb on 2/27/2008 7:44:59 AM , Rating: 1
A 32bit operating system?


RE: Seriously
By sgtdisturbed47 on 2/26/2008 1:07:38 PM , Rating: 3
Honestly, I could build a rig that could beat the Dell XPS 630's performance for at least $200 bucks less at their base and at least $500 less at their best. I have never seen the point in buying a Dell gaming rig. Overpriced and the hardware they use isn't always the best. They love to use only OK motherboards and power supplies, and the add-on hardware is far too overpriced.

More and more people are becoming aware that building a computer isn't as hard as one would think. If you can follow the directions on how to build a Lego castle, you can build a computer. More and more people are also becoming aware of overclocking, and overclocking has become easier over the years and with newer hardware, OCing has become safer.

You can skimp on memory these days with no issue. For $50 bucks on Newegg,com, you can get 2 gigs of Geil DDR2 800 that have Micron D9GMH chips, that allow you to increase the RAM speed up to 1000 MHz and at the same time drop the timing down to 4-3-3-4 (2.1v). No need for more expensive RAM for your gaming rig.

You also don't have to buy into the quad-core CPUs if you don't intend on very heavy multitasking. Quads are easily beat by dual-cores in video game performance, seeing as today's video games aren't optimized for quad-core. You could save money and buy an E6850 and overclock it to 3.8 GHz and your gaming experience improves, but if you try and OC a Q6600 past 3.6 GHz, you end up with a toaster in your tower, even with the G0.

If anyone is interested in a gaming rig, they should do their research, buy individual parts and build it themselves. It's easier than you think, and you save quite a bit of money.


RE: Seriously
By Shoal07 on 2/26/2008 2:38:07 PM , Rating: 2
Normally, yes. I am in the middle of pricing out my own system (waiting for the right time to jump) but with the 630 I can get Dell to build it, warranty it, and ship it for something like a $200 premium. With some of the shotty parts (ESPECIALLY memory) I've been seeing lately, I'd pay a $200 premium to not have to stress one bit. Honestly, a $1500 premiun isn't worth it but now we've gotten to the time where the premium is only a few hundred, if that. These are a far better deal then they have been the last few years and I am seriously considering one. Also, many gamers don't add the OS price into the system build price. When you do that your $200 premium becomes about a $30 one.


RE: Seriously
By just4U on 2/27/2008 3:01:58 AM , Rating: 2
more like a $100 premium... If you price out that system via new-egg (skip dominator and go 4gig) it's going to be close to the same price that most of us could readily build it for.


RE: Seriously
By DeepBlue1975 on 2/26/2008 1:21:59 PM , Rating: 2
100% spot on comment of yours.

That and the fact that even the highest end memory can't buy a perceivable performance increase, but with the added price you could go for a higher binned CPU or faster graphics card as you say, that can really bring you a substantially better performace or at least buy you more processing power.

The other thing that puzzles me "being aimed at gamers, it sanctions overclocking"...
That doesn't make so much sense to me, unless it is a factory overclocked system.


RE: Seriously
By mmcdonalataocdotgov on 2/26/2008 2:44:19 PM , Rating: 2
Buying from Dell is a hassle since to upgrade from one video card to the next costs as much as adding the new card, without subtracting the price for the old card. For example, to add a card might cost $400, but the street price of the card is close to $400, but you have also removed a card from the original configuration which might have a street price of $200, but they don't give you a credit for that. The upgrade should cost $200, not $400. Sux. I would just as soon build my own.


RE: Seriously
By ImSpartacus on 2/26/2008 4:07:17 PM , Rating: 2
They use dominators in their other high end products (700's) and other than that its bargain bin ram. It's cheaper to use one kind of ram than to split it up and have to stock multiple kinds.

granted, that practice is a necessary evil on processors, hard drives, gpu's, and many other things, but ram usually isn't worried about so if they can just get two kinds (cheap-o and dominators) then its a lot cheaper.

It's not that i dont agree with you, I almost would prefer the cheap-o stuff on something like this (4 GB of slow ram is usually better than 2 GB of fast ram). There's a purpose for high end ram, but I personally don't think I would need it as much as those extra GB's.


RE: Seriously
By ImSpartacus on 2/26/2008 4:15:20 PM , Rating: 2
Follow-up- I just looked at the config page for the 630 (its available to those who asked for the email update (me).

Dominator RAM is optional. It is not stock.


RE: Seriously
By just4U on 2/27/2008 3:04:11 AM , Rating: 2
well that changes things somewhat, What's the stock configuration for 1200ish?


PC Magazine?
By DASQ on 2/26/2008 11:37:04 AM , Rating: 2
Does anyone actually READ paper magazines about PC's?

The odd few I've looked at recently were basically advertisements with minimal technical inquiry, mostly just fawning over features of certain pieces of hardware that were more or less standard fare.

Junk, basically.




RE: PC Magazine?
By Tsuwamono on 2/26/2008 11:41:26 AM , Rating: 2
i read Maximum PC when i get a chance. its not up to the minute but i find they have some useful info in it sometimes


RE: PC Magazine?
By napalmjack on 2/26/2008 11:59:53 AM , Rating: 2
CPU is one of my favorites, although the subscription price is pretty high, but seems to be worth it.


RE: PC Magazine?
By MightyAA on 2/26/2008 12:13:31 PM , Rating: 3
I used to like CPU, then I ran across some questionable reviews. Basically, they reviewed the Dell XPS Notebook that Dell allowed you to overclock. Not once in the article did they note that the 7950 GTX gpu was underclocked below stock timings... but they still gave it rave reviews. To me, that's a considerable ommission that's hard to overlook on a "overclocker". Start looking even closer, and you'll find they won't give a bad review to an advertiser..... thus in my mind, it became nothing more than a glossy ad book instead of any real journalism.


RE: PC Magazine?
By RamarC on 2/26/2008 1:43:33 PM , Rating: 2
i like the UK rag, PC Format.


Non-technical people...
By F3R4L on 2/26/2008 1:03:27 PM , Rating: 2
... are the ones who buy these over priced machines. Anyone with half a wit, and a little book reading can learn to build PC's and make something for superior for the around the same price.

But lets face it, there are far too many people out there who want the immediate gratification of parting with their hard or not so hard earned money for something overpriced for what they are getting. The only Dell that would be in my house is a monitor or a laptop and that is only because I can't DIY either of those items...




RE: Non-technical people...
By FITCamaro on 2/26/2008 1:56:51 PM , Rating: 1
Technically you can build your own laptop. :)

But yes its generally not practical to.


RE: Non-technical people...
By lagitup on 2/26/2008 8:20:42 PM , Rating: 2
So you are talking about non-technical people yet you would buy a dell laptop?
lol.


RE: Non-technical people...
By F3R4L on 2/27/2008 12:42:15 PM , Rating: 2
What's wrong with Dell laptop's? Nothing, if you want to use them for Word, Excel, etc...


RE: Non-technical people...
By just4U on 2/26/2008 11:36:26 PM , Rating: 2
I look at this system and think, It's not bad. Price is ok... aproximately $100 more then what "MOST" of us could build it for... but what we build is not going to be THAT much better. Plus if you included the Dominator memory (why would you?) it would work out to the same roughly... but anyway.. I can see it being a "VERY" popular choice for gamers.

It's very similiar to what I'd want people to go with if their not on a super tight budget or going the extravagant route. Infact I'd go as far as saying ... it hits the sweet spot in most enthusiast's recommendations. Altho .. I figure many of us would opt out for 4G of ram.. and ofcourse have varying opinions on name brand ect. but that's neither here or there.

Btw most wouldn't have any inclination to build their own computers. Generally speaking I'd say it's something that you HAVE TO HAVE some interest in to even begin thinking about it. Even then a novice, is likely to run into many problems..


The reason
By Raidin on 2/26/2008 4:32:41 PM , Rating: 3
There's a reason why pre-built gaming systems such as this one exist, beyond the fact that not all gamers can build their own. There are some people who don't want to bother with the time and effort of building their own, pure and simple.

The premium cost of a pre-built PC buys you compatibility testing and guarantees, burn-in (sometimes), labor, and the number one reason, warranty and support.

There's a good number of people who can easily build their own PCs, but they'd rather pay a little more and get a guaranteed-to-work system backed by a big name company so that they can enjoy some peace of mind.




RE: The reason
By just4U on 2/27/2008 3:14:56 AM , Rating: 2
That number 1 reason "support" is more like a false sense of security! <grin> I personally think your more likely to get far better support from people like us. who frequent these sites.... and just happen to build computers on the side. As a hobby ofcourse! :)


RE: The reason
By F3R4L on 2/27/2008 12:46:50 PM , Rating: 2
Too true...

Oh, don't forget to stack on top of that nice little price another $200 - $400 for that nice support package.

Is Dell still using India for it's support?


RE: The reason
By Raidin on 2/27/2008 8:34:35 PM , Rating: 2
While I could get support from the online community, I doubt anyone here would offer me a guarantee, or show up to my house, or let me send them my PC, fix it, and return it. It's all about committed support and guarantees, it's all about peace of mind. =P


Sold.
By SiliconAddict on 2/26/2008 12:47:09 PM , Rating: 2
Sold. I was going to build a new PC this summer, but hey. I'm starting to get lazy when it comes to building computers.




RE: Sold.
By FITCamaro on 2/26/2008 1:54:22 PM , Rating: 2
Well as long as you admit to being too lazy to spend an hour building your PC and another hour installing windows and drivers.


RE: Sold.
By Shoal07 on 2/26/2008 2:39:48 PM , Rating: 2
If all the parts work out of the box, which doesn't seem to be the recent trend with memory.


I wonder...
By lagitup on 2/26/2008 11:08:56 AM , Rating: 3
Has anyone told Dell that they are not, in fact, alienware, they just own them?




RE: I wonder...
By kelmon on 2/26/2008 1:48:42 PM , Rating: 2
One thing is for certain - both Dell and Alienware produce some ugly cases. I swear that thing looks like a vacuum cleaner. With all the fans at the front I have a sneaking suspicion that it might double as one anyway.


so
By logaldinho on 2/26/2008 3:20:16 PM , Rating: 2
i need a new computer as im running an old ath 2500 barton, which was great until the memory controller pooped and wont let me work with a HD larger than 8gb plugged into the board.

im not really wanting to invest a lot of money now as im waiting for nehalem but ive got both the e8400 and q6600 for 199$ right now which would be the better buy.




RE: so
By just4U on 2/27/2008 2:58:01 AM , Rating: 2
I'd have to pick the 8400 over the Q6600. You'd notice a more responsive system and have alot more headroom if you plan to do some overclocking. By the time Quad core computing becomes fully realized, you'd likely be building a new system anyway. The 8x series brings some added umph to the core2 lineup and clock for clock is slightly faster then the 6x lineup.

You could however wait for the new Quad's to come out and hope one of them has a target price similiar to the Q6600 but hmmm.. Intel has no reason presently to offer those cpu's on the cheap so it could be a bit of a waiting game for prices to come down to what your interested in paying for one.


CNET Review (Editor's Choice Winner)
By TomZ on 2/26/2008 11:49:47 AM , Rating: 1
By FITCamaro on 2/26/2008 5:49:03 PM , Rating: 2
I like how they compare it to systems that either a) only have one GPU vs. its two in the test or b) aren't even in the same class as they're cheaper and/or not even the same type of system. One of the PCs they compare it to is a Gateway thats a media center PC, not a gaming system.


Brushed aluminum
By Zandros on 2/26/2008 11:43:31 AM , Rating: 2
The picture is a bit small, but it certainly looks more like (bead blasted?) anodized aluminum to me, rather than brushed aluminum.




nice
By ltspongebob on 2/26/2008 5:56:42 PM , Rating: 2
It's not a bad machine. After having hand-built every computer I have ever used (minus laptops) for the past 15 years, I now make plenty of money to pay someone else to do it for me. And a warranty to boot... nice.




interesting
By stonemetal on 2/27/2008 11:17:14 AM , Rating: 2
Something odd but interesting Dell charges 130 dollars extra to get one of these with XP instead of Vista.




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