• Overview
• 
• Review
• 
• Specs
• 
• Compare
• 
• Images
• 
• Discuss
• 

By Rich Brown
May 13, 2008

Dell's brand new XPS 730 H2C high-end gaming PC ticks off all the right boxes and even manages to pull off a few new tricks, at least for Dell. It's the first PC that Dell will ship with a factory-overclocked CPU and memory. Our US$6,747 review unit features the latest quad-core processor from Intel and boasts four graphics processors (split between two ATI graphics cards). Dell has also added a few new tweaks to smooth out the case design. That's all good stuff, but the problem is that Dell loses out on price and performance to its boutique vendor competition in the US, though in Asia it's possibly the most powerful gaming rig one can buy from a major vendor.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Maingear's Ephex (available in the US) is the primary competition for this new Dell. The Ephex reviewed a few months back technically had lower-end core hardware than the XPS 730 H2C, but it still managed to outperform this Dell on our application benchmarks due to Maingear's aggressive overclocking. Equally damning for Dell, you can spec out various Ephex configurations that either match or surpass the Dell on features and would likely widen the performance gap, while still keeping the price lower than this XPS 730 H2C.


Consult the specs of our Dell and Maingear review units and you'll see a number of differences. But keep in mind that both of these systems are configurable, so there's lots of wiggle room here. Maingear offers the same processor and chipset on its Web site, and even says it will overclock the QX9770 to 4.2GHz, surpassing the Dell's 3.8GHz tweak (from a stock speed of 3.2GHz). Maingear does not offer an NForce 790i-based Ephex with an option for two 1GB Radeon HD 3870 X2 cards, but it does sell a pair of similar GeForce 9800 GTXs, or even the faster GeForce 9800 GX2s, and still comes in less than the XPS 730 H2C. Dell says it will offer the GeForce 9800 GX2s as well after launch, but you can expect two of them will only drive the price higher.

The motherboard/graphics card combinations have been something of an issue in high-end gaming PCs since Nvidia reintroduced the ability to pair two cards in one PC--aka SLI--a few years ago. Nvidia has largely kept SLI support limited to its own NForce-based motherboards, leaving Intel and ATI motherboards with ATI's competing CrossFire technology (with the exception of Intel's super high-end, overkill Skulltrail motherboards which will support both).

Through creative driver manipulation, vendors such as Hewlett-Packard with its Blackbird 002 and now Dell with the XPS 730 H2C have been able to make NForce boards support both SLI and Crossfire graphics card configurations. This makes those systems more flexibility at the time of purchase and for upgrading after you take it home. We awarded HP's Blackbird 002 an Editors' Choice award last year in part because it was the first mass market system to offer such freedom, and we commend Dell for accomplishing the same feat here. Maingear does not claim that it has a motherboard that will support both CrossFire and SLI. To ensure long-term compatibility in the face of constant graphics driver updates, Dell says it will provide its customers with drivers written by AMD specifically for this configuration. If aftermarket upgrade flexibility is important to you, Dell has the edge over Maingear.

User Discussion

 

• Most Popular

• Upcoming

What's Hot

 

Latest Downloads