Dell XPS 8300 review

Most small PC manufacturers long ago made the switch to Intel’s cutting-edge Sandy Bridge processors, but it takes a global behemoth like Dell a little longer to overhaul its lines. Finally, the popular XPS range catches up with the competition.

In an unusual step, only one Sandy Bridge chip is available – the XPS 8300 comes with the Core i7-2600. The lack of a “K” suffix indicates that it lacks the unlocked multiplier for easy overclocking, so it’s restricted to the stock speed of 3.4GHz.

Despite 8GB of DDR3 memory, the processor is lacking next to the majority we see pre-overclocked these days. The Dell’s overall benchmark score of 0.95 is perfectly fine, but if you’re looking for raw power we’ve seen plenty of faster PCs: the A-Listed Yoyotech Fi7epower 4.8, for example, runs the same processor at 4.8GHz for £1,199.

The Dell falls behind in the graphics department, too. While the ATI Radeon HD 5770 is a perfectly competent card – its frame rate of 28fps in our High quality Crysis test means most modern games will be playable at relatively demanding levels – your cash will certainly go further elsewhere. For a start, it’s a last-generation chip, and the Yoyotech includes a Radeon HD 6970 that proved three times as quick.

For the XPS 8300’s £1,159 inc VAT price tag you also get a 1TB hard disk, a Blu-ray drive, an 802.11n wireless adapter and a TV tuner. If that doesn’t fit your needs, Dell provides plenty of customisation options, albeit for a sometimes hefty fee. The RAM can be upped to 12GB for an extra £150 or to 16GB for £250. For hard disks, the single 1TB drive can be joined by a second in RAID0 for £80 more – or you could opt for a single 2TB disk and pay a massive £240 for the privilege.

It’s also possible to remove and downgrade components if they don’t tickle your fancy. The Radeon HD 5770 graphics card can be swapped for an HD 6670 to save £110, and removing the TV tuner and wireless cards cuts £40 and £20 from the price. Subtracting the Blu-ray drive and installing a DVD writer instead reduces the cost by £140. In short, build it as you like it, but don’t expect to get great value the higher you go.

At least the XPS 8300 looks the part. The glossy black façade slants towards a curved, chrome-affect base, and the white side panels and roof help the XPS stand out. There’s one USB 3 and a pair of USB 2 ports behind a sliding panel on the front, and the top serves up another pair of USB 2 ports and audio jacks as well as a small recess for storing memory sticks and the like.

On the outside it’s small and well-formed, but this doesn’t continue to the interior. The Dell’s bare metal isn’t particularly strong, and the cramped dimensions and lack of attention to detail make it extremely untidy. Only a handful of cables have been strapped to the back wall of the chassis, with most of the coloured wires from the non-modular PSU left to trail through the middle of the case.

It makes for a difficult tweaking environment, not helped by other component issues. The single spare 3.5in and 5.25in bays aren’t tool free or side-facing, while all three expansion slots on the motherboard are occupied – by graphics card, TV tuner and USB 3 expansion board. Even access to the spare DIMM slots is made awkward by the proximity to the graphics card.
At least the Dell is cool and quiet. Its low hum was barely noticeable when idling and little louder when stressed, and the processor and graphics card peaked at manageable temperatures of 74°C and 63°C respectively.

There are numerous problems, then, but the price still remains the biggest barrier. At £1,159 it offers significantly less value than similarly priced competitors – and even a basic model without a TV tuner, wireless, Blu-ray and more will set you back £932. It’s a competent PC, but if you go to a smaller PC specialist your budget will stretch to a faster and more versatile system, with the added bonus of peripherals on top.

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