Dell Studio XPS 7100 Performance

No review would be complete without a look at actual performance, and here we have to add a disclaimer: we haven't reviewed any other pre-built systems lately, so we lack reference points. We're going to stick with a simple table of results format for this review and refer to our Bench results if you're looking for more details. Note that we use a fast SSD for our apples-to-apples Bench database, so the XPS 7100 is at a major disadvantage in benchmarks that hit the HDD, but you can always address that by adding your own SSD. Here's how the system performs, starting with general application results.

Dell XPS 7100 Performance Overview
PCMark Vantage 6740
Cinebench R10 1-CPU 3596
Cinebench R10 6-CPU 16140
X264 720p Encode Pass 1 77.29
X264 720p Encode Pass 2 24.79

Not surprisingly, the results match up relatively well with our Bench database, coming within 2% of our test platform. Given the similar performance, you can refer to our full Bench results to see how the Phenom II X6 1055T performs in other tests; our Bench results use an HD 5870, so the gaming performance should be comparable as well.

Dell XPS 7100 3DMark Results
3DMark Vantage Performance 15533
3DMark Vantage Entry 30856
3DMark06 18209
3DMark05 22312
3DMark03 69538

3DMark scores look to be in line with what we find online, and gaming performance is obviously not a problem for 1080p/WUXGA displays. We measured 41 FPS in Crysis: Warhead at "Gamer" settings, which is definitely playable. Considering that remains one of the most demanding titles around, it's a safe bet that just about every other game will run fine at High settings and 1080p. That said, the performance won't match custom built overclocked systems with similar components. What you're getting is convenience and a single support contact for a good price; no more, no less.

Dell Studio XPS 7100 User Experience Dell Studio XPS 7100 Conclusion
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  • multivac - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    Pun intended?
  • Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    No, but now I feel stupid for not having thought of that.

    You are awesome for pointing it out, and I congratulate you.
  • multivac - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    dont be mad, its just not the best of titles considering the press dell got recently.
    im sorry if that offended you, perhaps it wasn`t the best way to point it out.
    still it was a good article of an odd product line for the site.
    cheers
  • Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    Dude, I thought it was hilarious. No offense at all taken.
  • Ganesh_balan - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    That was quite impressive! I wonder if the system ever had to be overclocked, what could be the stability issues the user might be facing!
  • 7Enigma - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    Exactly. After all the detailed descriptions and commentary, I'm shocked the author just missed/ignored this fact. I wouldn't touch this system with a 10-foot pole with that craptastic PSU.
  • beginner99 - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    yeah and probably pretty inefficient. typical of pre-build systems. Crappy PSU, crappy case, crappy mobo and crappy bios.

    And being "quiet" and "low-temp" is easier if you omit dust filters. So temps will go up pretty fast with dust accumulation. That vent almost at bottom near gpu is prone for dust intake especially if the case is on the floor.
  • Lapoki - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link

    ...and i was scared to put a 5850 in my system with Corsair VX450 PSU.
    Thankfully everything is running great with a E8400 @ 4.2 GHz and 5850 @ 925/4800.

    Found a very good article at Tom's which helped me in going ahead with this purchase decision:
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/balanced-gamin...
  • adonn78 - Thursday, July 8, 2010 - link

    The PSU being only 460 watts and being a generic one that is probably only 60% efficient and probably not well made scares the be-jebus out of me.
  • HOOfan 1 - Sunday, July 11, 2010 - link

    Delta is not generic...

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