#2012 DELL XPS DESKTOP SS PC#

Post-purchase expansion options for the XPS 8500 are limited to a few 1x PCI Express slots and a spare hard-drive bay.

#2012 DELL XPS DESKTOP SS PC#

At that resolution, both the Velocity system and the more affordable Origin PC offer a better gaming experience, the Edge Z55 in particular. That makes the 1,920x1,080-pixel-resolution scores more relevant for this class of $2,000-ish desktop. The high-resolution Metro 2033 test is our most demanding benchmark, and while the Dell XPS 8500 outperforms the Velocity Micro system at 2,560x1,600 pixels, the frame rates for these PCs are all under 20 frames per second. That means, at least for this high-end XPS 8500 build, you're stuck with the 256GB mSATA and its heavy cost burden. It's a moot point since you can no longer configure internal hardware components on Dell's Web site. A 128GB mSATA SSD also goes for about $300, and would offer similar performance but with only marginally less storage space. You could spend $300 and see generally faster (or at least, as fast) boot and file speeds with a standard 256GB SSD, for example. Perhaps that accounts for the Dell having a higher price than the Origin, but I'm not sure that's the best way to spend $600 on a PC component. A 256GB model like the one in the Dell will run you about $500 to $600 purchased at retail. You can find them for less than $200 mSATA SSD hard drives are more expensive. Hard drives that are 3TB aren't terribly exotic. If you want to take a more holistic view of the Dell's relative value, you might suggest that the onboard SSD and the massive 3TB storage drive make up for what the Dell lacks in speed with faster file access and boot times, as well as more storage capacity. Those systems don't defeat the Dell on every performance test, but they win more often and arguably on the most important benchmarks. Per usual, Dell loses the performance competition because it does not offer overclocked processors. The Origin system provides a bigger price gap, and is ultimately the system that's most damning for this Dell. Its price puts the Dell XPS 8500 between two recent Editors' Choice Award-winning desktops, the $2,299 Velocity Micro Edge Z55 and the $1,199 Origin Chronos. Greater power efficiency is nice, and a necessary step on the way to faster chips in the next generation, but it's not the most compelling selling point for consumers.Дў56GB SRT solid-state drive, 3TB 7,200rpm Seagate The embedded graphics cores bring longed-for 3D gaming capability to lower-end systems, but in PCs like this one that have discrete graphics cards, the embedded video core in the CPU doesn't have much to do.

Their primary advantages are updated embedded graphics technology and better power efficiency because of a more efficient manufacturing process. The new chips offer few performance gains over the older, second-generation Core i7 family.

In terms of its configuration, the XPS 8500 is based on Intel's new, third-generation Core i7 chips, aka Ivy Bridge.

They're a minor disruption to the XPS 8500's aesthetics, but the benefit of easier access makes up for it. Where previously Dell hid the front-panel USB and audio ports behind a finicky plastic cover, now the USB ports simply sit, uncovered, on the front of the unit. It continues to offer a clean, unique look, although Dell has streamlined this newest model. Dell has used the XPS 8000-series tower design since 2009.

2012 dell xps desktop ss