Four years ago, I wrote a back to school guide for dorm-friendly technology on a budget. Yes, it still holds true that a good notebook PC will work wonders for students, but sometimes you still want to have a desktop and you still want to have a bigger screen. Unfortunately, you may not exactly have room for both a full desktop computer and an HDTV. You want something that can do both without sacrificing anything in terms of performance. Today, those wishes may just be one of several possibilities and we have one of them from DELL. A prime example of this is their new Dell XPS One 27. If you want a powerful desktop with a big screen but a not-so-big footprint, this could be the PC for you.
Features at a Glance
As with all other Dells, the XPS One 27 comes in a variety of SKUs that can be upgraded at will. This means that potentially, many of you PC DIY’ers out there could dive inside and make this a little hot rod with the right parts upgrades. But we’ll stick with the stock configurations for the purpose of this review.
Prices currently start at $1,399 for this 27-inch PC, but the version being reviewed here today costs a little more. The base configuration comes with an Intel Core i5-3450s processor and 6GB of RAM, whereas this version has an Intel Core i7-3770S quad core processor with 8GB of dual channel DDR3-1600 RAM.
This is backed by 2TBs of hard drive space, a 27-inch QHD (2560×1440) display, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics (upgraded from Intel integrated graphics), and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. There are plenty of ports to keep you connected, including multiple USB 3.0 ports, plus built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0+LE, 10/1000 Ethernet, and both HDMI-in and HDMI-out. This particular configuration has a current MSRP of $1,799. For an extra $200, you can add a 32GB SSD hard drive caching enhancement that speeds up your software loads, boot times, and more.
Not surprisingly, these specs are considerably higher than what we got on the Inspiron 14z or XPS 15z, but that’s an apples and oranges kind of comparison. Even so, it wasn’t that long ago that all-in-ones had performance numbers that were barely on par with equivalently-priced notebooks.
What’s In The Box?
Like we discovered in our previous unboxings, DELL is a huge fan of brown boxes. Inside this brown boxes, there are more boxes that house the included mouse, keyboard and remote that we’ll get to shortly, and a power cord, instruction manuals, warning sheets, and software DVDs in case you need to restore your machine to factory condition.
Overall, not much else to talk about here so let’s move on to things that are much more interesting.
Don’t Touch Me, Bro
There are other all-in-one PCs out there that boast touchscreen capabilities, but this is not one of them. As impressive as the beyond HD 27-inch display may be, it is not a touch panel. I imagine that Dell may start outfitting some variation of the XPS One 27 with a touchscreen when Windows 8 launches next month.
Although there is no touch panel, there are some touch controls. Toward the lower-right corner of the bezel are three touch-sensitive soft keys. They illuminate when your finger gets close, which is definitely a nice touch, especially if you’re using the computer in a darker room. They’re used to bring up the on-screen menu for brightness control and to switch to the HDMI input.
Keyboard, Mouse and Remote Control
Yes, the XPS One 27 has several USB ports so you can tack on whatever accessories you want, but it does come bundled with everything that you need to get started. There is an included wireless keyboard and mouse combo, as well as a remote control for Windows Media Center.
While these are certainly not the fanciest things you can get, they certainly get the job done and they do so in a fashionable way. The keyboard is very slim and light, giving you access to a series of function keys, plus a full numeric keypad on the right. The “island” style keys will remind you more of a laptop than a desktop, though, so for those of you who prefer more key travel, you’ll want to add your own keyboard.
Similarly, the included wireless mouse is decidedly simple with just the two buttons and the scroll wheel. For those of us who like extra buttons and bonus features, this mouse won’t do. That said, these are both good quality and it’s great that they come “paired” with the Dell right out the box. The same can be said about the glossy black Media Center remote.
Watching TV and Playing Games
At the beginning of this review, I talked briefly about how the XPS One 27 could be a good fit for a college dorm. This is particularly true because it is more than “just” an all-in-one PC. The HDMI-in allows you to connect something like an Xbox 360, for instance, expanding your functionalitiy beyond Windows and the slot-loading optical drive. There’s also a jack for TV input.
What I found great about the TV input is that you can effectively bypass the need for a separate digital receiver box. There’s a built-in TV tuner in there and it works through Windows Media Center, giving you access to a full digital guide (assuming your provider is supported), which you don’t normally get when you plug a TV “straight into the wall.” This works with the provided remote or you can do the keyboard and mouse thing if you prefer.
Display Quality and Viewing Angles
I used the XPS One 27 under a number of what could be considered “daily use” circumstances. I used it to do my regular web browsing, word processing and that sort of thing. I used it to watch online videos, watch TV (as described above) and play some casual games. All in all, I’d say that the performance easily held up and the display was great.
Because it is a glossy display, however, you will find that you’re going to get some glare and reflections. This can be frustrating if you’re in a room with a window shining straight onto your computer screen, to be sure, so it’s something that you’ll want to keep in mind. However, it’s not as bad as a notebook where multiple light sources could be encountered on a daily basis. You tend to leave this one plugged in and stationery in that one ideal spot in your room. That said, the screen is very bright, the colors are rich and saturated, and the contrast is admirable.
Viewing angles, both horizontally and vertically, are very good too. This wouldn’t be as important on a notebook, but especially if you’re going to be using the XPS One 27 as a way to watch TV and movies, having wider viewing angles is a must. And yes, it delivers on that front.
Performance Benchmarks
While I found the daily performance to be quite good, we needed to run the XPS One 27 through our usual battery of performance benchmarks to really put it to the test and identify any potential weaknesses.
First, we ran 3DMark06. With the Ivy Bridge Core i7 and GT 640M graphics, the Dell earned 12421 3DMarks with a SM2.0 score of 4865, an HDR/SM3.0 score of 4583, and a CPU score of 7025. That’s quite admirable for an all in one.
Next, we ran PCMark05. While a total score could not be calculated, the Dell earned a CPU score of 13835, a memory score of 14432 and a graphics score of 10503. Again, these numbers indicate that this machine should hold up to the needs of most users, including gamers.
Speaking of gamers, we also ran the Street Fighter IV benchmark. Using the default settings, the XPS One 27 passed with flying colors. It earned a mark of “A” with 59.88fps average. Even when I cranked up the settings to 2560×1440 resolution and “high” quality throughout, the Dell was still able to maintain an “A” rank with an average of 59.94fps. Again, very playable frame rates for this title. However, if your cup of tea are more aggressive titles like Battlefield 3 and the newly released Borderlands 2, lower settings may be required to maintain a steady frame rate.
And finally, we ran CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1. The sequential read and write speeds were clocked in at 190.2MB/s and 187.2MB/s, respectively. Again, this is reasonably fast and will be more than adequate for the average user.
Final Thoughts
While no one at Dell is going to admit it, they do borrow some inspiration from a certain company in Cupertino. The XPS 13 ultrabook is meant to compete with the MacBook Air and the XPS One 27 goes head-to-head against the iMac. That’s obvious enough. You do get better specs for your money, but that’s always the case when you compare Mac vs. PC on the hardware alone. But when it comes to the user experience, Windows 7 does provide a very solid one today on the right hardware and the XPS One 27 does have the right hardware built in.
As it stands, the Dell XPS One 27 fills a pretty particular niche in the market. You want to have the bigger screen and you want to have real desktop-caliber performance, but you don’t want to deal with having a big tower and you want everything to be seamless. In that regard, the XPS One 27 fits the bill. Performance is very good, the display is great, and the TV tuner works perfectly. You can game on this, you can watch high-def movies, and you can get a little work done too. The only thing holding it back, really, is the price to get it all in one compact package.
The configuration, as reviewed, is still a hefty $1,799. It’s not exactly cheap, but you are getting an all-in-one solution that should put a smile on the face of any user looking to something that combines so much in so little room. It may not please the most hardcore FPS gamers, but it’ll please just about everyone else. We most certainly recommend this product if you’re everyone else.
Pros
- Impressive performance for an AIO
- Bright, vibrant display with very high resolution
- Built-in TV tuner, plus HDMI-in and HDMI-out
- Bundled wireless keyboard, mouse and remote
Cons
- Not exactly the cheapest option
- Some potential heat issues
- Could be difficult to upgrade down the road
- No touch panel (probably coming with Windows 8)
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
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