Dell XPS 435 Launches Comments

£2000+ for a Dell PC! The last time I paid that much for a Dell was a max out workstation class PC for fluid dynamic work in 1998.

Surely it can hold upto 6TB? 3x2WD 2TB disks. I assume you were going with 3x1.5TB disks? Can you not add the 2TB disks in the spec?

Yes, £1699 seems way too high for a Core i7 machine, especially with just a single 4870 graphics card. Hopefully the price isn't set in stone yet?

What the hell is that round black thing sitting on top of the heatsink?

@Monkey Man: Checking the Dell site (I'm in the US), you cannot add the 2TB drives. The 4.5TB limit was my thought exactly when I read that, knowing 2TB drives exist.

Although, according to the bit-tech review, that 2TB WD drive is a terrible performer, so maybe Dell excluding the option is not all bad.

Way overpriced for what your getting as usual from Dell.

The black thing is a duct, which will have a hole in the side panel above it. It allows the CPU fan to cool the CPU using cooler air from outside the case rather than the hot air that's already passed over the hard drives and PCI-E cards.

@ Xiphias - so it's necessary to make up for the fact that the case has terrible airflow?

Yep, sounds about right for Dell. They put a load of high powered components in a system which chuck out a load of heat, then put no thought or consideration in how to remove that heat from the case so the system actually runs efficiently.

smc~ you miss the fact that 'cases with terrible airflows do not use additional fans needed for that, and also the fact that 'round black things' have been used for ages to aide in effective yet QUIET cooling.

@ mjaffk - not on my PCs they haven't ;)

There are things called QUIET fans, you know, although unfortunately I don't think Dell do since they insist on using cheap loud ones. Whichever way you look at it, fans are essential to keep a system cool, so I'd rather have them than not and live with a little extra noise. Remember, this is a performance orientated system after all, if it was a HTPC then it'd be a completely different story and I'd be inclined to agree with you.

I'd get a similarly specced alienware for similar price - looks way better

I used an NZXT Zero Full Tower case when I built my PC. It has 8 low RPM fans so it keeps cool and makes very little noise. However it does put out a lot of heat. My room is usually a good 7-10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house.

Man, you guys really pay full price for these? Here's what I got for $1,100 (includes a 24 inch monitor, and $150 gift card and no interest for 18 months)... used a 25% off coupon on an already discounted bundle. The 24 inch 1080p monitor added $105 to the price...

In other words, the PC costs $1,000 with the $150 gift card, 8GB RAM and an upgraded video card...

Quantity Item Description

1 Studio XPS 435
1 Intel® Core™ i7-920 processor(8MB L3 Cache, 2.66GHz)
1 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 4 DIMMs
1 Dell USB Consumer Multimedia Keyboard
1 Dell 24 inch S2409W Widescreen Flat Panel
1 ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB
1 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
1 Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit
1 Dell Laser Mouse
1 No Modem Option
1 Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0 Multi-Language

1 Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

1 Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

1 No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)

1 No Productivity software pre-installed

1 Norton Internet Security™ 2009 Edition 15-months

1 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis,Florida

1 $150 Dell Promo Gift Card - Arrives in 6-8 wks, carries a 90 Day Exp. Dell.com/giftcard

1 Windows Vista™ Premium

1 Dell Remote Access, free basic service