Dell Dimension XPS: Gaming with all the Trimmings

Dell Dimension XPS: BIOS and Overclocking

BIOS settings are accessed on the XPS by pressing F2 when the Dell logo first appears. Options are very basic, and there are few, if any, settings that the user would need to adjust. Accessing and setting options is described in the Appendix of the Dell manual.

Dell does not provide, nor did we expect, any overclocking features on the Dimension XPS. Dell has never advocated overclocking or tweaking their machines, delivering systems set-up for best performance.

With the dedicated gamer as the target audience for the XPS, we would have preferred to see at least the ability to adjust memory timings in the Dell BIOS. Unfortunately, that option is not available, and we don't know that we blame Dell for not making available tweaking options that could create stability problems and unneeded support calls for less-experienced users. Dell sets the memory timings with the SPD of the memory, but the Dimension XPS would not set CAS2 timings for any of the CAS2 DIMMs we installed. Our Mushkin PC3500 Level 2 and OCZ 3500 Platinum Limited Edition are both capable of 2-2-2-6 operation at DDR400 on most 875 motherboards. The XPS would not set the Mushkin or OCZ timings at DDR400 any faster than 2.5-3-3-6. The Dell XPS is optimized to run at CAS 3 or 2.5, and faster memory can not run any faster in the XPS. Using CAS2 in this machine, the way it is now configured, is a waste of your money.

We did test the ability of the Dell Dimension XPS to run with 4 DIMMs, and had no problem with the system running 4 x 512MB DIMMs. Stability was excellent, and the XPS had no problem with any of our benchmarks while running 2 GB of memory.