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Dell XPS 420

Author	Edward Chester
Published	11th Jan 2008
Manufacturer	Dell
Price	£815.81 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£958.58 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Design & Features
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Dell's XPS range has seen varied success over the years. We loved the M1330 XPS notebook but its bigger brother, the M1730, was much less well received. Moreover, its desktops have always had trouble hitting the mark, being generally a bit overpriced and underperforming. However, with the XPS 420, Dell is hoping to change all this and establish itself as a true contender for the digital hub of your home.

Packing in such features as a hardware video transcoder, a TV Tuner, nVidia GeForce 8800 GTX graphics, and a mini LCD screen built right into the undeniably eye catching case, it has the potential to be the perfect match for the all-round power user.

Following in the footsteps of previous ‘400' series models, the XPS 420 is a multimedia powerhouse rather than a pure gaming behemoth like it's bigger '700' series brothers. Not to say it's incapable when it comes to the old runnin' and gunnin' though. Apart from the bottom line base spec all the systems have more than enough gaming performance, the only limitation being the small chassis limits you to single graphics card configurations - no SLI or Crossfire here.

The case itself is much the same design as previous models with just a few tweaks here and there. It's midi-tower sized (45cm x 46cm x 19cm) so will just about fit on or under most desks and is made of the usual combination of steel and plastic. The side panels retain the matt silver paint of previous models but this latest version now incorporates a shiny black plastic strip that runs up the front and over the back. The combination looks perfectly reasonable and I wouldn't be averse to having it on my desk. However, the plastic is an absolute dust magnet and would no doubt pick up scratches very easily.

Incorporated into the top is a tiny LCD screen and an accompanying array of buttons. This is actually a SideShow panel (or MiniView if you're Dell), which is something we've only ever seen before on laptops, like the W5Fe. SideShow is basically an external equivalent of the Windows Sidebar that comes with Vista. It uses the same type of mini applications, called gadgets, for displaying a variety of information at a glance. Where it differs from the sidebar, though, is you can use these mini apps while the computer is locked (but not in sleep mode) and your monitor and other peripherals are off or in standby mode. So, if you just quickly want to check something, and you have the gadget installed, all it takes is a quick glance at the SideShow panel.

Default applications include a solitaire game, picture viewer, media player, and system monitor, none of which sound remotely useful. However, there are a couple of dozen other applications you can download from the Windows website and there are probably plenty more to be found elsewhere. A couple that did catch our eyes were the Live Messenger and email gadgets - being able to quickly glance at your PC to see if anyone's contacted you could be quite useful. Unfortunately, without the ability to use these apps when the computer is in sleep mode it is seldom going to be more convenient to squint at a little screen than just unlock your computer and look properly. Ultimately, SideShow was designed for use with laptops and that's where it should stay.