Dell Dimension XPS

By rumbleph1$h
in Member Reviews

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  • 3 months later...
Rookie

SWhockey98

Posted
Posted

I'm in the middle of a debate of either customizing the newest Dell XPS Gen 3 or building my own PC for gaming. I just can't find a cool looking case, and the XPS case is pretty cool. If I bought the Dell, couldn't I just replace the motherboard and ribbon cables?

Thanks,

Sean

Grand Master

OptiPlex

Posted
Posted
I'm in the middle of a debate of either customizing the newest Dell XPS Gen 3 or building my own PC for gaming. I just can't find a cool looking case, and the XPS case is pretty cool. If I bought the Dell, couldn't I just replace the motherboard and ribbon cables?

Thanks,

Sean

Why do you want to replace the mobo? :blink:

Grand Master

OptiPlex

Posted
Posted
Because I've heard rumors that the Dell motherboards are low quality. I was reading the posts above mine and I someone stated that the RAM is poor quality also. But I'm not sure if it's just an opinion or not.    :(

Don't fall into that BS. The people who spread this crap probably got sucked into 'AAAH OEM COMP SUXXORORR' propoganda and probably doesn't even own a Dell in the first place :rolleyes:

Seriously, my Dell is 6 years old. It's still running.

Rookie

SWhockey98

Posted
Posted

In those pics above where it shows the motherboard and RAM, is it just me or does the RAM look slanted? If so, would that affect the performance at all? Furthermore, is it possible to replace that "Dell" memory with something better like Kingston HyperX RAM?

Thanks,

Sean

Explorer

truncated0

Posted
Posted
Don't fall into that BS. The people who spread this crap probably got sucked into 'AAAH OEM COMP SUXXORORR' propoganda and probably doesn't even own a Dell in the first place :rolleyes:

Seriously, my Dell is 6 years old. It's still running.

What Dell System do you have, I'm surprised it's still running after 6 years. :)

Rookie

SWhockey98

Posted
Posted

I just talked to 3 Dell representatives and they told me that they're RAM is compatiable with other RAM and can hold any 3rd party company RAM. Also, they said there are no special connectors either on the drives, so all drives are replaceable. The system can hold 3 5.25" and 3 3.25". Not too bad I guess. It's not like I'll be having more than 3 hard drives. Surprisingly, they did say their XPS case is compatiable with other ATX motherboards, which would mean you could replace it with a better one right? :D

This is what I asked for it, I haven't bought it yet, but their 15% discount ends tonight. Here's the anticipated specs:

- 3.4Ghz Extreme Edt., 800Mhz FSB

- 1GB RAM @ 533Mhz

- 74GB SATA drive at 10,000rpm + 160GB SATA at 7,200rpm = 234GB total storage

- 256MB Radeon X800 XT PCI-Express :)

- 16x DVD-ROM and 16x DVD+/- RW/CD-R burner (these will definitely be replaced :p )

- Dell's 20.1 2001FP Monitor with 16ms response time (Should I get a different monitor?)

Thanks,

Sean

Grand Master

rumbleph1$h

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I just talked to 3 Dell representatives and they told me that they're RAM is compatiable with other RAM and can hold any 3rd party company RAM. Also, they said there are no special connectors either on the drives, so all drives are replaceable. The system can hold 3 5.25" and 3 3.25". Not too bad I guess. It's not like I'll be having more than 3 hard drives. Surprisingly, they did say their XPS case is compatiable with other ATX motherboards, which would mean you could replace it with a better one right? :D

This is what I asked for it, I haven't bought it yet, but their 15% discount ends tonight. Here's the anticipated specs:

- 3.4Ghz Extreme Edt., 800Mhz FSB

- 1GB RAM @ 533Mhz

- 74GB SATA drive at 10,000rpm + 160GB SATA at 7,200rpm = 234GB total storage

- 256MB Radeon X800 XT PCI-Express :)

- 16x DVD-ROM and 16x DVD+/- RW/CD-R burner (these will definitely be replaced :p )

- Dell's 20.1 2001FP Monitor with 16ms response time (Should I get a different monitor?)

Thanks,

Sean

Congrats on your purchase, and glad to hear you got everything worked out. If you have any more questions with anything, PM or IM me :)

Also, welcome to Neowin!!! :punk: :p

Grand Master

OptiPlex

Posted
Posted
What Dell System do you have, I'm surprised it's still running after 6 years. :)

Well to tell the truth I bought it used in 2001 but after checking the parts it seems like NOTHING was replaced ever since July 1998 when it was built.

Model ... Dell OptiPlex GX1 400MTbr+

I upgraded the **** out of it and now it's a decent workstation. I can run a few games in there. :)

Useless info ... the port authority of NY/NJ had my system beforehand :whistle: :blink:

Explorer

truncated0

Posted
Posted
Well to tell the truth I bought it used in 2001 but after checking the parts it seems like NOTHING was replaced ever since July 1998 when it was built.

Model ... Dell OptiPlex GX1 400MTbr+

I upgraded the **** out of it and now it's a decent workstation. I can run a few games in there. :)

Useless info ... the port authority of NY/NJ had my system beforehand :whistle: :blink:

kinda an old dell and well obviously from your name, it's an optiplex :D . imho, optiplex are really good compared to dimension systems. well, almost all older dell systems are durable compared to the newer ones right now excluding the XPS Gaming Systems. :)

Grand Master

Joel

Posted
Posted
imho, optiplex are really good compared to dimension systems. well, almost all older dell systems are durable compared to the newer ones right now excluding the XPS Gaming Systems. :)

The "new" Dimension XPS are nothing but a consumer version of the Precision 650 workstation. Don't even try to compare the "normal" Dimensions to this one. The 650 is an incredible machine (we have 2 at my work).

  • 1 month later...
Neowinian

DellAintSoBad

Posted
Posted

Well i just bought a Dell XPS Gen3 and i love it, the case is roomy and as for air flow , with 5 fans it aint a problem, this is the 7th PC i have owned and only the 2nd that i have bought off the shelf, i had my doubts but after costing the parts i end up paying ?370 more than if i had built an equivalent system myself, for me the time and effort saved is well worth the extra. lack of overclocking (CPU) was a suprise but as this machine performs so well it isnt really an issue, sure i dont get the kudos from my friends that my previous PC earned me, all i get is "its a dell?" "yeah but its a dell!" they soon shut up once they have played Farcry at 1600x1200 with 6xT3 AA and 16x AF and all options on very/ultra high at an average 43fps,:))

it isnt a custom machine i built myself, and i cant overclock it to wring the maximum possible performance from it. but hey i get a 3dmark03 score of 12919 in 800x600 with minimum everything, so as the most important factor for me is its performance with the games i love playing, Halflife and its mods, UT and BF1942, its a winner, and if CS source beta is anything to go by Halflife2 will rock also,:))

Dell XPS Gen3 3.2ghz HT Ee 800Mhz fsb

1024mb DDr2 PC4200 533Mhz

160gb SATA 7200rpm

256mb ATI Radeon X800 XT PE

i am most profoundly happy with my Dell.:))

Grand Master

rumbleph1$h

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Since I wrote this review, I've done some modifications to the XPS...

As I mentioned previously, the loud fan noise was pretty irritating. Because of this - I did some minor cooling modifications to the system. To begin with, I removed the plastic CPU shroud (big green thing), and the plastic air intake duct. Replaced ribbon cables with rounded ones to improve airflow. I mounted a 92mm fan on the heatsink, replaced the 2 rear 92mm exhaust fans with Vantec Stealth fans (much much quieter), and replaced the front intake fan with a larger 92mm blue LED fan. All fans are controlled via a fan controller mounted in a PCI slot. Temps dropped about 10-15C and the noise levels are nearly silent. I'd highly recommend this to anyone with an XPS (particularly Gen. 1 or 2).

Here are some pics:

========================

BEFORE

before1.JPG

========================

AFTER

after1.JPG

shield.jpg

Grand Master

Redestium

Posted
Posted
Since I wrote this review, I've done some modifications to the XPS...

As I mentioned previously, the loud fan noise was pretty irritating. Because of this - I did some minor cooling modifications to the system. To begin with, I removed the plastic CPU shroud (big green thing), and the plastic air intake duct. Replaced ribbon cables with rounded ones to improve airflow. I mounted a 92mm fan on the heatsink, replaced the 2 rear 92mm exhaust fans with Vantec Stealth fans (much much quieter), and replaced the front intake fan with a larger 92mm blue LED fan. All fans are controlled via a fan controller mounted in a PCI slot. Temps dropped about 10-15C and the noise levels are nearly silent. I'd highly recommend this to anyone with an XPS (particularly Gen. 1 or 2).

Here are some pics:

========================

BEFORE

before1.JPG

========================

AFTER

after1.JPG

shield.jpg

584708741[/snapback]

The blue glow behind the silver plate looks freaking awesome!

Neowinian

Edrob

Posted
Posted

Looks awesome. Can't wait to get mine.

Just ordered it on the 14th.

P4 Processor 3.6Ghz

2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz

256MB PCI Express ATI Radeon? X800 XT

148GB RAID 0 (2 x 74GB SATA HDDs)

Dual Drives: 48x CD-RW Drive+ 16x DVD+RW/+R w/dbl layer write

Got it for $1,776 before tax.

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