Dell Studio Desktop PC Review
Dell’s studio laptop series was a great success and hence the desktop counterparts of Dell had decided to take the same path and has come out successfully with flying colours. Dell has introduced both the dell studio desktop pc as well as the Studio XPS range. The Dell Studio Desktop has come up as a good replacement for the aging Inspiron desktop lineup.
The Dell Studio Desktop PC computer has a very decent processor, RAM and hard drive capacity. It does not have much for gamers and a jewel piece as in a living room, but it provides you with a solid everyday Vista performance. Dell Studio certainly shows a better performance in most of the areas that the desktop PCs of the same range such as, HP Pavilion Elite m9402f, Apple iMac and Gateway DX4200.
Design:
The PC is a very compact minitower. The dimensions and look of the PC is similar to that of the Medion Akoya and this cannot be considered as a compliment as you must keep in mind that Medion Akoya was a budget PC and Dell Studio Desktop PC is certainly not one of that kind. The chassis is a plain metal box and the facia of the PC is plastic which contains a slide down panel and two drive bay covers. The top has a glossy black metal finish and the facia is of piano black. The chromed buttons of the drive bays compliment the silver ringed Dell logo as well as the power button well. When you start up the PC, the backlight of the chrome power button shifts from orange to white and gives a very attractive look. The built quality of the main casing is very good which is evident from the absence of any flex when you press it in. One major thing that Dell has omitted is the ventilation as no fan ventilation can be noticed either in the sides or at the top. There is only one 92mm fan at the rear and the air intakes at the front that runs down both the sides to provide some kind of air flow. It does not come with any clunky accessories.
Ports:
Only one optical drive is available which is the DVD+/-RW drive, but you need not worry much as, this is a Dell PC it can easily be upgraded to one with Blu-ray. The sliding panel simply comes down without a smooth mechanical action as you can observe in the Medion’s panel. The rear of the machine has four USB ports, a FireWire port, memory card reader slots and a standard 3.5mm head phone jack. Most of the ports that you will ever need is available in the rear of the PC which includes the S/PDIF and eSATA. While the former is used for outputting surround sound digitally, the latter is used for hooking up external storage with ease. The other ports are, 4 USB ports, a FireWire port, a Gigabit Ethernet port and 7.1 analogue audio outputs. You also get a Hauppauge TV tuner card that sports 3.5mm audio, composite, S-Video and antenna connectors, while the video card provides a complement of twin DVIs.
DisplayPort:
The Dell Studio Desktop Computer also comes with a DisplayPort for connecting new DisplayPort-capable monitors. So far those are rare, and DisplayPort will not be a “must-have” feature for another year or so, if ever. We like the inclusion of multimedia friendly 802.11n wireless networking, but you will need to have an 802.11n router at home to use it at its full speed. The built-in TV tuner can record HD over the air or from your local cable TV’s unencrypted HD feed.
Keyboard:
The keyboard is a slim one and has a very classy appearance. The stylish look the keyboard is given particularly by the circular volume control wheel. The overall built quality of the keyboard is very good and the key feedback, though on the lighter side, is quite decent. The media remote offered by Dell is powered by AAA batteries and has a sharper edge than it previously had. The layout cannot be said as perfect as the keys are not that accessible as some of the buttons are very small. It has a metallic silver finish and the square navigational pad alone in the top is coloured black. The style factor is given by the vista start green icon in the media remote. Yet, it is usable and the built quality is quite decent.
Mouse:
The mouse coming with Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop PC has an versatile look having a glossy black finish that matches the PC in a perfect manner. The top part of the mouse is removable which is held on magnetically and by removing the cover, you will be able to change the batteries and also clean the dust that must have accumulated around the two way mouse wheel. The curved sides that have a matte black finish provides you with a perfect grip.
Inside the case:
If you want to remove the case, it can be done quite easily by unscrewing just two thumb screws. And one you remove the case, you will get the feel that this is one of the most crowded arrangements that you would have ever seen. You would feel so because of the twin hard drives that are mounted vertically with their bottoms facing against the side of the case, wall like. As there is no hard drive cage, you may be able to install full length video cards, but there is hardly any space between the drive and card which makes it practically impossible to install any video cards. The available space for the optical drive highlights the Studio Desktop’s most glaring omission, the Blu-ray player. All that we feel is that the cabling could have been done in a tidy way.
Dell Studio Desktop PC set up:
The setting up of the Dell Studio Desktop PC is very easy as you get a lot of assistance form Dell. Two quick start guides are provided which are full coloured. One of the guides explains to you how to plug in your television tuner equipped computer to a set-top box or how to connect it directly to your cable or digital antenna. The other quick start guide explains to you how you could set up the wireless mouse and keyboard that comes with the package. You also get a complete guide that explains how to set up the computer along with complete illustrations.
No crapware:
The Dell Studio Desktop, as in the case of the Velocity Micro Vector Z20, comes with very little of unwanted stuffs installed. As in some of the PCs of HP and Gateway, install programs that will be seen in the desktop or in your Start menu and will wait for you to try them out so they can offer to sell you the full version. The Microsoft Office 2007 60-day trial and extraneous links to eBay and some other online shopping sites have been omitted. Yet, Dell cannot be labelled as completely innocent as there is an icon available in the Dell dock, which is a quick launch program takes you to a Dell website where you can download some Dell games. The good news is that they are not pre-installed.
Dell does give you a despicable trial subscription of 30-days to McAfee Internet Security which includes antivirus, antispam, and much more. By comparison, Velocity Micro provides a 12-month subscription which is very essential for a media based computer.
Features:
Since Dell has used the 1GB DDR3 sticks to achieve the Studio XPS’ total 6GB capacity, all the slots of the motherboard are filled. But this is not of a big worry as with a RAM of this huge, you will not need to upgrade it any time soon. Another boon is that the 64-bit edition of Windows Vista Premium that is installed will be able to take full advantage of the RAM. The processor used is a Core i7 920 that runs at 2.67GHz.
With the 6GB RAM, twin 500GB hard drives and Core i7 920 having a of speed 2.67GHz, the Dell Studio Desktop is one of the fastest processors that are available in the current market. Yet, it cannot be said as one of the greatest gaming machines as a few compromises have been made by Dell and the machine can get annoyingly noisy. The Studio Desktop can load fairly strenuous 3D games, but it cannot play them that efficiently. ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphic card is used which is one the best cards that Dell can offer, but it is not up to the power of the other components that are included in the PC.
Noisy PC:
Coming to the noise factor of the PC, the Dell Studio usually does a quite operation but does gets you annoyed when you stress it. Though this will be only for a small period of time, this PC is quite noisy. Even if this does not matter for most of you out there, we raise the question, “What is the great point in getting a Core i7?”
Package:
For the price tag offered by Dell, the package is quite satisfactory with Intel Core i7 920, 6GBs of DDR3 RAM, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 and twin 500GB hard drives. The exterior package is decent too with DVI to VGA and HDMI adapters, Two quick start guides, a complete guide, Bundled discs include Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit SP1, one with drivers and utilities, and another with Microsoft Works 9, wireless mouse and keyboard both of which works on a pair of AA batteries. Overall, the package is same as that of the other XPS desktops of Dell such as the Studio Hybrid and One.
Service and support:
The service and support provided for Dell Studio XPS is standard which is one year for parts and labour. You also get 24 x 7 phone support. On site warranty service is also available which still requires a remote diagnostic and diagnosis before a tech is sent out, but this is a major step up for service.
Verdict:
Dell Studio desktop PC is a very capable PC with a great set of specifications. The only issue with the machine is the noise that can be compromised for the kind of performance the system offers. Heavy gamers and professional digital media editors have to choose something else. It has enough features though a bit less than that of the Gateway and HP which also cost more. Keeping in mind that it is a Intel Core i7 unit, it provides you with excellent value for your money. It has almost all of the most happening “latests” included in itself except for the Blu-ray playback capability. It is perfect for anyone in need of something more than a simple budget PC.
Check other Dell Desktop PCs, Compaq Desktop PC Reviews in our website.
Dell Studio Desktop PC - Technical Specification Details
| Manufacturer | Dell |
| Model Name | Dell Studio desktop PC |
| PC form factor | Mini tower |
| Dimensions (H X W X D) inches | 14.3” x 6.7” x 17.1” |
| Weight | 24.9 lbs |
| Colour | Black |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 / 2.33 GHz (also available with Intel Pentium Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo) |
| Chipset | Intel X58 +ICH 10 |
| Processor bits | 64-bit processor |
| Maximum processors supported | One |
| Cache memory type | L2 cache |
| Cache memory installed | 4 MB |
| Chipset type | Intel G45 Express |
| Data bus speed | 1333MHz |
| RAM Installed Size | 6 GB |
| RAM Technology | DDR2 SDRAM |
| RAM form factor | DIMM 240-pin |
| Storage controller type | Serial ATA - Integrated |
| Controller interface type | Serial ATA-300 |
| Hard Drive | 1 x 750 GB - Standard - Serial ATA-300 - 7200 rpm |
| Optical drive | DVD RW |
| Graphics controller | ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB supporting HDMI |
| Sound output mode | 7.1 channel surround |
| Keyboard | Wireless |
| Mouse | Optical Wireless |
| Data Link Protocol | Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet |
| Networking | Network adapter - Integrated |
| OS Provided | Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP1, 64-Bit |
| Software | Adobe Reader 8.1 , Microsoft Works 9.0 |
| Warranty | 1 year |
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