The All-in-One Battle: Dell's XPS One 24 vs. Apple's iMac
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 30, 2008 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Can You Game on It?
So here's an interesting comparison, let's look at the graphics hardware in both the Dell XPS One 24 and the top of the line 24" Apple iMac:
| Apple iMac - $2199 | Dell XPS One 24 - $2299 | |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M |
| SPs | 64 | 32 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 128-bit |
See a problem? The Mac actually has a far more powerful GPU, which in theory means...
| Fallout 3 Performance - High Quality Settings, No AA | 1024 x 640 | 1280 x 800 | 1920 x 1200 |
| Apple iMac - $2199 - Vista | 70.8 fps | 65.5 fps | 48.5 fps |
| Dell XPS One 24 - $2299 - Vista | 25.6 fps | 21.5 fps | 14.1 fps |
Yep, much higher gaming performance. Fallout 3, just released this month, plays wonderfully on the iMac at high quality settings but struggles on the XPS One 24. Now neither machine is intended to be used for gaming, but one of the two actually can be and it's got an image of a common fruit on the front bezel - a bit unexpected.
Just for kicks I tried Red Alert 3, a real time strategy game also just released with lower frame rate demands. Unfortunately we see the same sort of performance breakdown - while the iMac can work as a light duty gaming system, the GeForce 9600M is just not up to the task. The GeForce 8800 GS in the iMac has around 2x the shader power of what Dell put in the XPS One 24, the results speak for themselves.
| Red Alert 3 Performance - High Quality Settings, No AA | 1024 x 640 | 1920 x 1200 |
| Apple iMac - $2199 - Vista | 30 fps | 30 fps |
| Dell XPS One 24 - $2299 - Vista | 15 fps | 7 fps |
In an attempt to keep the thermals manageable in the XPS One 24, Dell opted for a mobile GPU from NVIDIA - the GeForce 9600M. Apple instead relied on the GeForce 8800 GS (the same GPU as the GeForce 9600 GSO), which we've shown recently as capable of running most modern titles at 1280 x 1024. Now neither GPU is powerful enough to drive a modern game at reasonable settings at the native panel resolution (1920 x 1200), but gaming at 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024 should be easily possible on the iMac.
The XPS One 24 can run less stressful games or modern games at lower resolutions/detail settings, but as strange as it is to say, the iMac is better for gaming.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
60 Comments
View All Comments
TheFace - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
As far as the programs running in OSX, they do about the same as far as being able to tell which are running. Either the programs have a small 'light spot' under them (OSX 10.5), or they're in your taskbar (XP, Vista).Exposé is not the only way to switch between your programs on a mac. You can use command + tab as well, which is exactly like alt + tab in windows. So what is the big deal?
I would tend to argue that both OS's are as usable as the other, and
I use both every day. I like how everything works on my mac. I like how there are more software options and more hardware options with my PC.
MrDiSante - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
I didn't realize that command + tab was an option, I guess they're about even there. However, I still think that not separating running programs and shortcuts is a big mistake, both on the part of the designers of Mac OS X and Windows 7. I think that it is important to just glance and see the approximate amount/type of programs running instead of actually having to look through it. As well, I feel that the text also brings more to the table than it takes away by looking worse.michael2k - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
Um, Apple has had a solution for that problem for years.A triangle/dot indicator that tells you whether the icon is a shortcut (no instance running) or a reference (application is running).
In other words:
> Icon == Application is up
Icon == Application is not up
sxr7171 - Monday, November 3, 2008 - link
Similar on S60 phones. Very useful in a phone OS.Eidorian - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
You might want to take a look at the iMac's GPU again in GPU-Z. It should be an 8800M GTS.fyleow - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
I skimmed the article so apologies if this is covered.The iMac 24" uses an H-IPS panel. Any idea if the Dell uses the same? That could make or break the pricing IMO. IPS screens do not come cheap and the most affordable 24 inch IPS is the HP lp2475w which is a $650 monitor.
n00bxqb - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
The 24" iMac most certainly does not use an H-IPS panel. It's an S-PVA panel.As for the Dell, I'm not sure what it uses.
andreschmidt - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
The 24" iMac does use an H-IPS panel...fyleow - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
The new 24" iMac uses the LG LM240WU2 panel which is an IPS panel.n00bxqb - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
Based on the specs here:http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetail...">http://www.dell.com/content/products/pr...;cs=19&a...
I would guess the Dell also uses a *VA panel.