Dell XPS 730 H2C Performance Gaming System
Introduction & Specifications
Dell's XPS branded products have come a long way since they first appeared in 1993. Starting life as a performance trim for the Dimension product line, Dell has nurtured XPS into a well-known and respected premium performance brand. While not all XPS branded products are specifically targeted at gamers, gaming has always been at the core of the product line-up. The XPS brand's flagship desktop and notebook products have always been heavily gaming oriented, but it looks like that is set to change.
The XPS 730 is Dell's latest XPS flagship desktop product, the fourth generation of the XPS 700 series, and it may be the last. Or at least the last XPS flagship product as we currently know them; large, aggressively styled behemoths sporting the latest hardware and adorned with colorful LED lighting. A week after the XPS 730 was launched, news regarding the demise of XPS as a gaming brand began to circulate. Since its acquisition of Alienware in the summer of 2006, Dell has effectively been operating two separate gaming brands with directly competing products. It was speculated that some changes, possibly in the form of consolidation of the two brands, would eventually be in order. It is now fairly clear that Dell is to focus on Alienware as its premier gaming brand in the future.
While Dell has only now acknowledged that the XPS brand will give way to Alienware as Dell's premier gaming brand, there have been numerous signs that such a move was in the works. Since Dell brought Alienware into the fold, they have been busy introducing new, non gaming oriented products to both the XPS desktop and notebook line-ups. Starting with the XPS M1330 notebook and its derivatives and then the XPS 420 desktop, Dell is busy converting XPS into a premium multimedia brand. While the XPS brand of the future may still include gaming systems, they will not be the high-end flagship systems of today.
So it is with a slight bit of regret that we begin our review of the XPS 730 H2C, possibly the most exciting and last generation of the flagship XPS 700 series.
The XPS 730 is Dell's latest XPS flagship desktop product, the fourth generation of the XPS 700 series, and it may be the last. Or at least the last XPS flagship product as we currently know them; large, aggressively styled behemoths sporting the latest hardware and adorned with colorful LED lighting. A week after the XPS 730 was launched, news regarding the demise of XPS as a gaming brand began to circulate. Since its acquisition of Alienware in the summer of 2006, Dell has effectively been operating two separate gaming brands with directly competing products. It was speculated that some changes, possibly in the form of consolidation of the two brands, would eventually be in order. It is now fairly clear that Dell is to focus on Alienware as its premier gaming brand in the future.
While Dell has only now acknowledged that the XPS brand will give way to Alienware as Dell's premier gaming brand, there have been numerous signs that such a move was in the works. Since Dell brought Alienware into the fold, they have been busy introducing new, non gaming oriented products to both the XPS desktop and notebook line-ups. Starting with the XPS M1330 notebook and its derivatives and then the XPS 420 desktop, Dell is busy converting XPS into a premium multimedia brand. While the XPS brand of the future may still include gaming systems, they will not be the high-end flagship systems of today.
So it is with a slight bit of regret that we begin our review of the XPS 730 H2C, possibly the most exciting and last generation of the flagship XPS 700 series.
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| Processor Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 (3.2GHz @ 3.8GHz,6M L2 Cache,1600MHz FSB) Operating System Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Memory 2GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ OC to 1600MHz Graphics Card Dual 1024MB ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 (Quad-Crossfire) Chipset NVIDIA nforce 790i Ultra SLI - Supports ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 in four way Crossfire or NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 in quad SLI - Standard ATX Form-Factor Cooling H2C 2-stage Hybrid Cooled CPU and MCP Communications Dual Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000Base-T) Bluetooth Audio Creative Xi-Fi XtremeGamer Integrated 7.1 Audio (disabled by default) Hard Drive 2x160GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000RPM SATA Hard Drive (programs and OS) 1x1000GB Hitachi 7,200 RPM SATA Hard Drive (data) Optical Drive 16x CD/DVD Burner (DVD +/- RW) w/ Double Layer Write Expansion Slots 2 x PCIe x16 Gen2 slot 1 x PCIe x16 slot 2 x PCIe x1 slot 2 x PCI slot External Ports 8 x USB 2.0 ports (2 front, 4 rear) 2 x 1394a Firewire port (1 front, 1 rear) 2 x RJ45 Ethernet (10/100/1000) port 1 x eSATA 1 x PS/2 Mouse Port 1 x PS/2 Keyboard Port 1 x 19-in-1 card reader (front media-bay) 1 x 1/8" headphone port (front) 1 x 1/8" stereo line-in (microphone) port 1 x S/PDIF Optical 1 x S/PDIF Coaxial 1 x 1/8" surround sound outputs |
Chassis Dell XPS 730 ATX Aluminum Chassis - ESA Compliant - 4 x 3.5" Internal Bays - 2 x 3.5" External Bays - 4 x 5.25" External Bays Color Option Anodized Aluminum in Victory Red Power Supply 1000W Power Supply - EPA Compliant - 80+ Certified Physical Dimensions Width: 21.9 cm (8.6 inches) without stand; 35.6 cm (14.0 inches) with stand Height: 55.5 cm (21.9 inches) without stand; 57.2 cm (22.5 inches) with stand Depth: 59.4 cm (23.4 inches) Weight: 21.7 kg (47.8 lb) typical configuration, 25.6 kg (56.4 lb) maximum configuration Included Accessories and Extras DVI to VGA Adapter Recovery DVD Norton™ Internet Security 2007 or McAfee SecurityCenter (15-months) FREE Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA2 6-channel Headphones FREE Dell XPS Mouse Pad FREE Dell XPS Beanie Cap FREE Dell XPS 2-in-1 Pen & Laser Pointer FREE Dell XPS Tool Kit FREE System Recycling (recycle your old system with Dell) Warranty And Support 1-year In-Home Service (upgradeable to 4 years) 1-year Parts and Labor (upgradeable to 4 years) 1-year 3GB DataSafe Online Backup (capacity upgradeable) 24x7 Online and Phone Support Optional CompleteCare Accidental Damage Protection Price: $6,629.00 USD (as configured here)  |
As we saw in our unboxing and preview article, the XPS 730 H2C is possibly the most well-specified XPS desktop ever. It is powered by the latest dual and quad-core Intel processors cooled by a redesigned H2C hybrid TEC-assisted water cooling system and complete with a warranty that has room for processor and memory overclocking. Not to mention the graphics performance afforded by Quad-GPU graphics setups from both ATI and NVIDIA (although at this time the Quad-SLI option is not yet available). All of this is built on NVIDIA's top-end nForce 790i Ultra SLI platform in the form of a fully-ATX compliant motherboard, unlike all other XPS 700 series machines which used BTX designs. Other features new to the XPS 700 series like a fully ESA compliant chassis design round out the package.
One of the XPS 730's most interesting new features is the motherboard's support for both Crossfire and SLI. The nForce 790i Ultra SLI based motherboard under the hood of the XPS 730 will be able to support both multi-GPU technologies, making it compatible with basically every single graphics configuration currently available. While Dell is not the first manufacturer to pull this off (Voodoo PC has offered this on several systems in the past), it is certainly still a novelty.
One of the XPS 730's most interesting new features is the motherboard's support for both Crossfire and SLI. The nForce 790i Ultra SLI based motherboard under the hood of the XPS 730 will be able to support both multi-GPU technologies, making it compatible with basically every single graphics configuration currently available. While Dell is not the first manufacturer to pull this off (Voodoo PC has offered this on several systems in the past), it is certainly still a novelty.
