A Review of the Dell XPS 8100

Multi Media, Large Screens WiFi all in one cost effective package

By: Kurt von Behrmann

I assumed that if you want computing power to perform multimedia functions with prowess, you would need a system in the $ 1,500 to $ 2,000 range. However, this was several years ago, more like three. I started to wonder just how low one could go to obtain a system that can run basic applications, multimedia and basic video editing without breaking the proverbial bank.

When I attempted this quest for value and power several years ago, the closest I came was about $ 1,000.00 and that is not including a monitor, mouse or a keyboard. While it was a decent system, once windows 7 was released, it was not as fast as it was under XP. Even with the addition of a gig of memory, it works, but it still fells a tag sluggish.

What motivated this search for the best combination of value, price, power and quality was the current job market. With everyone concerned about employment, housing and the price of just about everything, figuring out ways to save is not a luxury. Right now, it is a necessity.

As everyone copes with leaner times, a number of workers are looking at work at home options, or need a stabile system. With so many jobs literally requiring web access, being able to go online with a reliable system can mean the difference between working and not working.

With the search in mind to see just where the most cost effective way to get the most computer for your valuable dollar could be found, I discovered the first issue to address in cost cutting was with the processor itself.

Certainly it is a given that most of us want the fastest processor on the block. However, bragging rights come at a cost. If you can scale back a bit here and not utilize the latest and greatest, you can find yourself obtaining the power needed to run multimedia programs efficiently without putting to large a dent into your wallet.

Currently the big selling point with processors are the number of cores. Dual cores came out a few years back, and that was the big deal. Now four and six cores systems are common place. If you are a heavy user with applications that can take specific advantage of multicore processors, and you are doing some extremely intensive work, then this is the best route to go. However, most mainstream applications have yet to take full advantage of them. For photo editing, and most commercial applications, you can do very well with a dual core, provided it is a current one, like the Core i5 series.

The next issue is memory. Having 2 gigs is not really an option. You can get by, but for most systems, 4 is really as low as you want to ever go.
Should you still be working with Windows XP, or even Vista, now is the time to upgrade. Windows 7 is stable and reliable. Now that 64 bit computing is more common place, if you are still in the 32 bit world, now is an excellent time to move into the new system as well.

Offering an experience that is close to the Mac system, Windows 7 is easy to use and simply the best operating system Microsoft has ever released. For designers, businesses, the upgrade to 7 is really a no brainer.

With all of this said, I performed some serious shopping online and off to see just where the best value was to be found. Not content to look at just facts, I asked sales people, friends and everyone else just what they thought and why. My search eventually culminated in two choices. That quickly dwindled down to one.

If you are looking at value, bang for the buck, and the ability to do what you want with a bit of style and speed, the Dell XPS 8100 clocked in as the most cost effective solution when factoring stability, quality, features and even the elusive “wow”factor. After all, computing is fun and when you have a nice looking rig, it does make a difference. If you don’t believe that, then look at CPU design and see just how cleaner and more sophisticated towers look today than they did say 20 years ago. Looks do matter and they impact not only how you feel about a system, they influence how likely you are to use them.

What I liked about the Dell as opposed to other models, and this is from the start, is the appearance. While I may have reluctant to see the aesthetic of a white computer with a black faceplate and silver trim, the appearance of the XPS 8100 is more 21st century than last century. In contrast to more utilitarian systems, the Dell demonstrates a design flair that is appealing without being over the top, intrusive or looking like a system designed by an over active 12 year old.

In keeping with the trend of desktop tops that allow for the storage of devices that need a usb connection, the recessed top can hold those devices, like mp3 players and assorted usb drives. Tilted upward, the unit is really well suited for being placed under your desk.

The inclusion of a 15 month subscription to McAfee internet security suite is another positive bonuse. Including a full featured security suite with the purchase price for more than a year is a nice addition, and this is not something often seen. In most cases you have a 30 day or 90 trial and that is it. Here you have a over a year, and that is something to consider.

Dell also tacked on a starter edition of Microsoft Word, and a link to purchase the full Office version. For power users who already have office software, this is not a big deal. But for those new to PC’s or those on a really restricted budget, having a full word processor beats having none at all.

If the inclusion of extras is pleasant, it is what they did not include that is also of note. One of the sad realities of purchasing from a large company are the many games, trial software programs and the like that come already installed. If that were not bad enough, many are set to auto run at startup, thus taking away valuable system resources for programs you may neither want or need.

Thankfully, Dell has no “bloat ware” installed. With the exception of a few helpful, and they are helpful, utilities and a floating taskbar, that is it. There are no preinstalled games, trial ware for a million and one products or other programs taking up space. You will not need to use a program uninstaller to obtain a lean hard drive.

That is a very good thing, and something or a rarity. Plus, it saves start up time because you can get right down to business installing your favorite programs.
In the past using a new pc meant a long series of questions, answers and well, process to go through that take time. For this go around, from out of the box to set up took a mind boggling 20 minutes, that includes opening boxes, cables and all.

If you have ever set up a desktop from scratch, this was about as efficient, logical and to the point as possible. Again the advantage of having major equipment from one vendor is that everything is designed to work together.

Putting the display monitor together was a straight forward proposition. Setting up the CPU was also a case of screwing in two antennas and turning the on switch on. In moments I was online with a fully functional pc. Never before had I see a system start up this quickly.

Like many larger companies, they did include a disk partition for system restore, however they also enclosed the operating system, drivers and programs on disks just in case you may need them. Shipping with a terabyte hard drive, the reservation of 10 gigs for system restoration doesn’t seem too bad in the scheme of things.

The Dell XPS 8100 reviewed included the following:

PROCESSORS Intel® Core™ i5-650 processor(4MB Cache, 3.20GHz) edit

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit
MEMORY 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs edit
MONITOR ST2320L 23-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor edit
VIDEO CARD nVidia GeForce GTS240 1024MB GDDR3 edit
HARD DRIVE 1TB
OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable edit
Dell 1525 WLAN PCIe card with11n mini-Card & external antenna edit
KEYBOARD Dell Consumer Multimedia Keyboard edit
TV TUNER Hauppauge HVR1250 hybrid TV Tuner with Remote Control edit
MOUSE Dell Laser Mouse

Your price may vary, but this configuration at the time of writing, including a monitor and came to about $ 1168.99 when ordered online. Not too bad when I considered that my previous system was a cool grand and did not include 8 gigs of ram, a wifi card, a tv tunner, a monitor, mouse and keyboard or an entire security suite.

Naturally, you have some configuration options with Dell, and yes it does pay to play with them to see what you need and what you do not. But by and large, a little over a grand buys some nice features.

Just to see how solid this was price wise, I went online to anther vendor. The system advertised, no monitor base was about $ 800.00 for just the CPU. When I added features to make it comparable to the XPS configuration I had, the cost shot up to about 1,500.00, and with some other mix and match even higher. In some instances there was no option for a tv tunner, or a year subscription for antivirus.

For me, the Core i5 processor was a pleasant surprise. While I would have thought they would have shipped with only i7’s, the i5 is more than capable of running things.
Coupled with 8 gigs of memory, a dedicated nVidia card sporting a gig of onboard memory, you should have no trouble with photo editing, video editing or even gaming. Although this is not a power gaming rig, the system has enough muscle to provide respectable performance.

What I also liked about the package was the inclusion of a decent keyboard and mouse. Often what you get is whatever they threw in at the last minute when it comes to keyboards and mice. The Dell keyboard is slim, well designed and the keys have just the right amount of pressure to make lengthy typing a pleasure. The included mouse is not bad either. While both are usb and tethered to the CPU, I have never found this to be problematic. Even though I use wireless mice, the problems with batteries and recharging are greater than the one presented by a simple chord. This is one of the few ship with mice and keyboards I have encountered that does not necessitate a trip to the another vendor to find a keyboard that works and a mouse that feels comfortable to handle for more than an hour.

If you have held off on getting a monitor, the Dell ST2320L is bright, and displays small text to perfection. If you write professionally or simply write often, having a wide screen and being able to view two page at the same time translates into more productivity. Should you need an additional monitor, there is a second connection with the video card. Being that I tend to like dual monitors, having a second digital connection is certainly worth having.

Eight usb connections are included, along with firewire. The only downside is that the emerging usb 3 is not included here. Another omission is the inclusion of a Blue Ray reader. While blue ray readers and writers are still somewhat pricey, for a system that is so multimedia savvy, it seemed odd that some form of Blue Ray was not included, but this is not a deal breaker. Also, you can added, but expect to see a bit of an increase if you do.

What I found interesting was the inclusion of a television tuner and Wi-Fi. For many desktops Wi-Fi may seem superfluous, but with so many devices requiring wired connections, for example tv over the web services, having Wi-Fi just means that much more convenience and that much more portability.
Having a terabyte hard drive in this class of systems seems almost standard now, but having the 8 gigs of DDR3 memory is not so common. Rather than having 4 or 6, 8 is a really great sweet spot.

Coupled with the configuration, feature set, video card and processor speed, the XPS 8100 I worked with was more than capable of performing effectively and quietly. When contrasted to my other system, the XPS 8100 was nearly dead silent. My older Core 2 sounded like the concord taking off in comparison.

Having two systems side by side and working with them directly, it was then I could see the visible advantages of the new processor versus the older one. While both are dual core, the i5 has hyper threading. Basically what this means is that a 2 core system is threaded to operate as if it were a four core system. The hyper threading provides a speed increase and it is noticeable. Plus, running at 3.20 GHz gives a certain degree of muscle over a 2.13 Ghz system from 2007.

Now another concern that comes up in PC pricing is the issue of building it yourself versus purchasing from a company. The first big disadvantage in building yourself is time. If you want to achieve the best value, it will require shopping around. Then there is the actual time spent putting everything together, the cost of an operating system, and knowing just how well all the parts will work together.

Being that large companies can purchase parts in bulk, you will be very hard pressed to find a better deal, particularly with newer CPUs. For the average user, the time spent and the possible issues that may arise may not make it worthwhile.

With this said, convenience, cost, features and the like, Dell has produced a system that proves you do not need to spend thousands in order to have a system that can juggle the needs of basic computing with more demanding tasks.

For designers seeking a cost effective way to go online and have a monitor that doesn’t look like a postage stamp, Dell has managed to provide a respectable offering that doesn’t feel as if you are skimping on the essentials. In fact, they have thrown in some convenience features that make this a compelling choice for those that want to purchase, plug in and go online right away.