Good From the Factory? The Dell Studio XPS 7100
by Dustin Sklavos on July 7, 2010 4:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Dell
- AMD
- Radeon
- Studio XPS 7100
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.
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aoskunk - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link
I'm not sure what you meant your dissapointed about? it turned out i had done nothing wrong, seeing as how once i got working parts everything was perfect. bios was far from complicated to setup. just select the proper xmp profile which it explained right in the directions that came with both the ram and motherboard. slecting right boot config. in fact i dont think there was really anything else to change other than the timing to skip Asus' own quick access OS. Aside from core multipliers etc. (I am now perfectly stable at 4GHz!)Unfortunatley at least where I live the cost of going to a repair shop would likely end up costing as much as say, my videocard. But like I said there was no error on my part, just some bad luck. I paid extra for good shipping from a carrier that doesn't subject your packages to falls from as high as 12 feet. I agree that there is a lot of misinformation posted in the reviews on newegg. They do often have some of the best pricing and pretty good RMA service though.
BernardP - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link
Each time I look at the possibility of configuring a Dell system, I run into a couple of things that keep me from proceeding. One is the limited possibilities for adding hard drives. No experienced user wants to run a single 1 TB HD with everything on it. My preferred combination is one system drive and 2 data drives, one mirroring the other. No can do here.The other thing is that Dells no longer ship with a true Windows install DVD. There is a basic configuration already on the HD and you have to burn your own disc image of this in case of an eventual reinstall. It's not possible to format the drive and do a clean Windows install from an OEM windows DVD.
Don't try to partition the drive either, as the partinioning software will wreac havoc with the hidden Restore Partition.
However, a basic pre-built is certainly a great option for the casual user (like my parents) who are happy to just surt the web and send email.
seapeople - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link
Did this just change? My Dell Inspiron from April shipped with a Windows install disk. It was simple to do a reformat and fresh Windows install. Partitioning is fine to do as well. Of course, the partitioning does kill the Factory Restore functionality, but why would I want to go back to the factory state anyway when I have a Windows install disk?DominionSeraph - Thursday, July 8, 2010 - link
With Dell it's always questionable what you're going to get. I've gotten disks that restore it to factory state, ones with OS + applications so you can just install the OS, and straight Windows disks.BernardP - Thursday, July 8, 2010 - link
Yes, it's a new policy effective April 1 2010:http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/deskto...
seapeople - Thursday, July 8, 2010 - link
Wow, I was lucky it seems!harbingerkts - Thursday, July 8, 2010 - link
Long story short - with their windows 7 systems Dell's using a recovery partition and telling users to create recovery disks. I had to request the OS and Application disks through a form on their site.damianrobertjones - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link
"The dock offers sets of shortcuts at the top of the screen not totally dissimilar to the dock in Mac OS X."I'm sure that I had a Windows 95 machine way back in the past that had various menus at the top of the screen from oems and other etc.
I don't think we'll ever have any article that doesn't mention apple now. People want to know about the damn machine and most won't even know or BOTHER to realise that shortcut icons look like the ones in OSX.
cknobman - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link
That coupled with the gimped chipset ruin a otherwise decent build for the price (from a cookie cutter manufacturer anyways).With only 460 Watts say goodbye to overclocking or expansion.
Powerlurker - Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - link
Overclocking is probably the last thing on the mind of someone who is buying a computer from Dell.