Dell XPS Desktop 8300, i7-2600 3.40GHz, 12GB ram, 1.5TB HDD, W7

thegift06 · 03-01-2012 03:04PM #1

Just picked up one of these for €653.65 was €1253, does not include monitor or speakers offer ends 11th January

Firstly go to this link

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ie&l=en&cs=iedhs1&kc=&oc=D00X8328

after you finish customising your machine add it to your basket. In the enter coupon section enter the following:

KGXJL1$Q3T6VLH = 15% off any system above Eur599 Expiry Date: 11th of Jan 2012
JN?4TK048C3ZMP = Free Shipping on all XPS desktop & notebooks Expiry Date: 11th of Jan 2012

if you stuck to the stock machine your total should be €653

you can also get an additional 3% off if you order through fatcheese, to find this machine on the dell site go to search and type in D00X8328 and follow the steps above.

Squall19 · 03-01-2012 03:25PM

Graphics card is pure crap though.

As a gaming card, the GT 530 is **** and is certainly too slow to run modern games at high resolutions with acceptable performance.

Looks a good deal.

Just needs a new video card.

CPU alone is worth almost 300 euro.

Kevface91 · 03-01-2012 03:59PM

hold on, is this not ridiculously cheap for XPS's?! i need a new laptop after 4 years, and last time I looked, XPS laptops would set you back e900 minimum- I'm now looking at one for e600?

ok also im not looking for a PROPER gaming laptop, but i dont just want one for internet & movies like most people. I wouldnt mind picking up starcraft and playing on basic settings- what kinda specs would I be looking for with that? 4gb ram/ 1gb graphics (1GB GeForce® GT 525M)/ 2.4ghz i5 processor should be fine?

Kevface91 · 03-01-2012 04:00PM

either way, thanks a mill OP for link! perfect timing!

xtal191 · 03-01-2012 04:02PM

Its not a laptop

Onikage · 03-01-2012 04:16PM

Good deal for i7

thegift06 · 03-01-2012 04:26PM

Kevface91 wrote: »

hold on, is this not ridiculously cheap for XPS's?! i need a new laptop after 4 years, and last time I looked, XPS laptops would set you back e900 minimum- I'm now looking at one for e600?

ok also im not looking for a PROPER gaming laptop, but i dont just want one for internet & movies like most people. I wouldnt mind picking up starcraft and playing on basic settings- what kinda specs would I be looking for with that? 4gb ram/ 1gb graphics (1GB GeForce® GT 525M)/ 2.4ghz i5 processor should be fine?

sorry to tell you but its a desktop

Kevface91 · 03-01-2012 04:35PM

no sorry, yeah i know the quoted one is a desktop, but i looked elsewhere on the site at laptops and i found XPSs for the above (searched e400-800, 15inch screen and dedicated graphics). question still stands, is it ridiculously cheap or have XPS laptops come down in price since i was last computer shopping?

ionapaul · 03-01-2012 04:58PM

Since I see that one of the graphics card upgrades is a HD6870, and I have HD6850 in my current machine, do you think it is alright to assume that I can swap out this desktop's basic graphics card if I wanted to buy it? The reason I ask is that I've heard Dell use non-standard sized mobos and that this can make them harder to upgrade yourself.

ChickenBalls · 03-01-2012 04:58PM

The CPU comes in at number 12 in the CPU Charts!

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

partyatmygaff · 03-01-2012 05:00PM

There's nothing that amazing about XPS laptops... Leaving aside the better build quality, they're only as good as the spec you order them with.

The entry level €599 XPS 15 is very poorly specced. An i5-2430M with 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD and a GT525M while not bad value isn't great. It's not a proper premium laptop unless you get the B+RG Screen and a decent quad core CPU.

As for this desktop, at €611 it's very good value. All it needs is a new graphics card and it'll be an excellent gaming computer.

partyatmygaff · 03-01-2012 05:01PM

ionapaul wrote: »

Since I see that one of the graphics card upgrades is a HD6870, and I have HD6850 in my current machine, do you think it is alright to assume that I can swap out this desktop's basic graphics card if I wanted to buy it? The reason I ask is that I've heard Dell use non-standard sized mobos and that this can make them harder to upgrade yourself.

They used to... years and years ago.

Nowadays, most of their normal form-factor desktops (XPS being one of them) use standard ATX motherboards. Any PCIE graphics card ought to work alright.

Squall19 · 03-01-2012 07:40PM

partyatmygaff wrote: »

As for this desktop, at €611 it's very good value. All it needs is a new graphics card and it'll be an excellent gaming computer.

i7-2600 3.40GHz,
6GB ram,
1TB HDD,
W7
HD6950

Would a 6950 work in it?

Looks a great rig with that in it.

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/10754384/art/vtx3d/radeon-hd-6950-1-gb-gddr5.html

game4it70 · 04-01-2012 01:44AM

On the stock setup they give you
"6144MB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz [2x2048 + 2x1024] Memory"
Wtf surely that cant be right for dual channel?

partyatmygaff · 04-01-2012 02:02AM

Squall19 wrote: »

i7-2600 3.40GHz,
6GB ram,
1TB HDD,
W7
HD6950

Would a 6950 work in it?

Looks a great rig with that in it.

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/10754384/art/vtx3d/radeon-hd-6950-1-gb-gddr5.html

HD6950s have high power requirements. While i'm sure the PSU's 12V rail is rated to support the power requirements it may not have the required two PCI-E connectors required. The fact Dell don't offer anything more than a HD6870 on that system would imply that anyway.

Worst case scenario is you'll have to buy a MOLEX or SATA -> PCI-E adaptor off ebay. They're less than a fiver anyway.

game4it70 wrote: »

On the stock setup they give you
"6144MB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz [2x2048 + 2x1024] Memory"
Wtf surely that cant be right for dual channel?

It is. Most mid-high end motherboards have four RAM sockets. Usually two of them are colour coded differently to the other two. Providing that each memory bank (I.e. Group of two sockets) contain DIMMs of the same capacity then you can run in dual-channel mode. Seeing as that 6GB setup is 2 x 2GB (Bank 1) and 2 x 1GB (Bank 2), there's no issue.

Jonny7 · 04-01-2012 02:11AM

As XPS's go, this is cheap.

Taking into account the current prices of hard-disks plus the cost of Win 7, it beats the cost of a self-build!

Super gaming enthusiasts maybe want to stay away because it can't really be overclocked and the power supply is not great, etc, etc.

But for the average user and some who wants to do a bit of gaming (buying an after market graphics card is recommended) then I have to say that this is a good deal considering you buy the thing and just turn it on, any probs - return straight back to Dell.

Bish bash bosh.

partyatmygaff · 04-01-2012 02:15AM

Jonny7 wrote: »

As XPS's go, this is cheap.

Taking into account the current prices of hard-disks plus the cost of Win 7, it beats the cost of a self-build!

Super gaming enthusiasts maybe want to stay away because it can't really be overclocked and the power supply is not great, etc, etc.

Dell's PSUs are capable of much higher than they're rated. I ran a 7900GTX (For a week) and a 9600GT (3 Years and still going strong) on a Dell PSU rated to only 300W. Out of their fear of product failure and expensive returns they make certain that the PSUs they use are good quality.

Jonny7 · 04-01-2012 03:04AM

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Dell's PSUs are capable of much higher than they're rated. I ran a 7900GTX (For a week) and a 9600GT (3 Years and still going strong) on a Dell PSU rated to only 300W. Out of their fear of product failure and expensive returns they make certain that the PSUs they use are good quality.

Oh I've done the same, but I've also blown a few in my time.

The 460 watt PSU in the XPS 8300 can handle most single GPU cards, but from my own experience I wouldn't feel comfortable running anything above a 6950, which is practically mid-range for enthusiasts at the mo.

I wouldn't put a 580gtx in it, I doubt it would even fit the case.

On the B&U forum we generally recommend a 550 watt 80+ PSU for most mid-range graphics cards. Just to be on the safe side you know.

TL:DR - buy the PC, go out and get an ATI 6870 graphics card for 140 euros from pixmania and you've got a relatively good gaming rig that'll handle BF3 and Syrim no bother.

vibe666 · 04-01-2012 08:49AM

game4it70 wrote: »

On the stock setup they give you
"6144MB Dual Channel DDR3 1333MHz [2x2048 + 2x1024] Memory"
Wtf surely that cant be right for dual channel?

why not? the "dual channel" part refers to each pair, so you can have 2 different sized pairs.

looks like they just had a heap of spare old memory to get rid of.

jodaw · 04-01-2012 09:58AM

TradeScam And Save

http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=d00x8304&c=ie&l=en&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1&model_id=xps-8300

This looks to me like the exact same machine under their trade and save scam, but the price is 150 higher to begin with which just happens to be the amount you get for your trade in.:rolleyes:

Seriously who falls for stuff like this and what is the deal with their trade and save sh*te.

Do Dell just want to take older perfectly usable computers out of circulation???

04-01-2012 10:03AM

Will there be enough physical space to install a new graphics card?

muppetkiller · 04-01-2012 11:27AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Will there be enough physical space to install a new graphics card?

I have the 8100 and have a ATI 6950 in it but had to upgrade the power supply.
It fits but it's a squeeze. It's the same case so shouldn't be a problem for you.

Icarus152 · 04-01-2012 02:17PM

Guys,would this rig run games like Total War as is? I'd buy it if I didnt have to change anything afterwards and got a few years out of it. #lazyfecker

EDIT:NVM,just bought it.Thanks OP for coupon codes.

Alkers · 04-01-2012 03:21PM

Are any of the GFX card upgrades from Dell worth it?

Zab · 04-01-2012 03:27PM

I have a couple of 5850 xtremes I'm looking to get rid of if anybody is interested. They'd be a reasonable upgrade for the included card. Would be looking for €100 each picked up in D6. Have boxes for them. Much better value than what Dell are offering as upgrades.

Jonny7 · 04-01-2012 04:06PM

Simona1986 wrote: »

Are any of the GFX card upgrades from Dell worth it?

Well just compare what Dell offer to the real prices..

Lets have a look

The GT530 that comes with it can handle football manager, World of Warcraft, the sims, most games alright. But will struggle with newer games.

Dell offer the 560ti GTX at 325 euros upgrade - this card costs 200 euros in any online shop.

Dell offers the 6870 at 274 euros, again an upgrade - this card costs 140 to 150 euros

Every upgrade by dell is an absolute rip-off

The PC is good value, but don't touch the upgrades.

HovaBaby · 04-01-2012 05:03PM

How powerful is the PSU?

I'd like to use the GTX590 as a GPU.

mcgarrett · 04-01-2012 07:34PM

Anybody know how good it would be for editing HD video and converting analog to digital etc..

Onikage · 04-01-2012 08:21PM

Think this expires tonight? Worth noting

Alkers · 04-01-2012 08:57PM

Gonna buy one also, hopefully get €50 for the GFX and a few quid for my old pc and upgrade the card then. If anyone has any luck installing anything else into this case ans power supply please post it up here, thanks.

partyatmygaff · 04-01-2012 10:16PM

mcgarrett wrote: »

Anybody know how good it would be for editing HD video and converting analog to digital etc..

Analog to Digital video? That'll need a videograbber (EBay, they're pretty cheap). Pretty much any computer can handle that.

Editing HD video - This computer can handle that and then some.

Dell XPS Desktop 8300, i7-2600 3.40GHz, 12GB ram, 1.5TB HDD, W7

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