Dell XPS 8700

dak

Hi

Thinking of getting a Dell XPS 8700 http://www.dell.com/ie/p/xps-8700/fs. Anyone have one ? If so did it live up to expectations ? Any similar spec'd PC's on the market for same sort of price ?

Not sure I want windows 8 . Anyone using W8 yet .. compatability issues?

Any info appreciated

Dak

uncle_sam_ie

What's the PC going to be used for? General use? Gaming?
Apart from the new interface, which can be fixed to look like win 7, windows 8 in fine. Although some people do like the new interface.

KarlNedCarew

I have one of these for work,had to buy through Dell as they are our registered suppliers.
I use it mainly for coding and it compiles and runs code extremely well.
The graphics could leave a lot to be desired for gaming etc. if that is what your main use is.
My office got two and both had decent HDDs installed(2TB Seagate Barracudas) which certainly helps for quick use especially with programme loading and file copying.
All in all a good machine but potentially overpriced.

dak

Hi Uncle Sam ie,

General use , netflix streaming and some gaming

Dak

dak

KarlNedCarew wrote: »

I have one of these for work,had to buy through Dell as they are our registered suppliers.
I use it mainly for coding and it compiles and runs code extremely well.
The graphics could leave a lot to be desired for gaming etc. if that is what your main use is.
My office got two and both had decent HDDs installed(2TB Seagate Barracudas) which certainly helps for quick use especially with programme loading and file copying.
All in all a good machine but potentially overpriced.

Thanks for your reply!


Is this the graphics card in your machine ?

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 645 1.0GB GDDR5 . I thought that NVIDIA made decent graphics card or are some a lot better than others ( I'm Not up to date with best graphic cards)

My current PC has an integrated card so I will be probably be easily pleased . Monitor I am getting is is full HD LED so I would expect a decent picture/ display

Dak

KarlNedCarew

dak wrote: »

Thanks for your reply!


Is this the graphics card in your machine ?

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 645 1.0GB GDDR5 . I thought that NVIDIA made decent graphics card or are some a lot better than others ( I'm Not up to date with best graphic cards)

My current PC has an integrated card so I will be probably be easily pleased . Monitor I am getting is is full HD LED so I would expect a decent picture/ display

Dak

That is indeed the graphics card in my machine, given that it's a work machine I haven't had the opportunity to play games on it so I can't speak from first hand experience in regards to that.

However I did run a sneaky benchmark one Friday evening :P (Catzilla) and it scored worse than the integrated graphics card in the 4770.

I imagine it would struggle in most newer games at the 1080p resolution of the 23" monitor included

Torqay

The GTX 645 is not the worst but nothing spectacular. Depending on your needs the graphics can be upgraded to a certain extent (the XPS 870 has a 460W PSU).

As usual with Dell the computer is too expensive for the specs. The monitor is pretty good (but can be bought separately for €170).

uncle_sam_ie

For 1000 euro's you could do a lot better than Dell. The i7 on that Dell is overkill for what you want . Building your own PC is the way to go. It would be cheaper and easier to upgrade. It might sound like you'll be out of your depth building it yourself but, it's actually easier than you might think. If that is something you just don't want to do then there is OverclockersUK that will build it for free http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2473 or PCSpeacailist http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/ that have come recommend from users here.

Gone Drinking

You will get a decent display/output from that card, it's just not the most amazing graphics card in the world. Its not going to play the newest games on ultra settings but it will do most on medium to highish I would say.

People are right in saying you will get more from your money if you wish to build your own machine or if you want to use one of the sites that builds it for you. But sometimes Dell can be good if you require a decent machine with good follow up support (for the most part).

If you do decide to buy this, I have a code or two lying around to get you a nice few quid off. Send me a message

TerrorFirmer

For 1K, if you either self build, or even if you go to the likes of Overclockers.co.uk or Pcspecialist.co.uk, you will get a machine roughly about 250% faster in games. Pcspecialist I know have a great warranty service as well, I know self building is not for everyone. The GTX645 will get through most new games at lower settings but it is a fairly low end card. Depends on the games I suppose. If you were looking to play Battlefield 4 for example, low settings at 1080p would be about as good as it gets for a decent framerate.

dak

Just took delivery of my XPS 8700 yesterday. Very pleased with it and Win8 is fine . Computer is fastest machine I ever used . Did a speed check and getting 168mb on my 150mb package so happy days.

Down loaded a few programs and thye were installed in seconds. Boot time is about 5 seconds . Graphics are excellent and HD screen perfect