The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

_me — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:23:32 GMT

The XPS miniview NEEDS a driver for Linux. Right now (when I boot in Linux), my machine starts up Windows Sideshow on that little LCD screen, and the only thing that's available is Solitaire (how interesting). See http://hardware4linux.info/component/33676/. I wish there was a way to either to put something else there besides Windows Sideshow or to put gadgets on from Linux.

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

Pete — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:57:35 GMT

Just ordered mine today, the question is will the kids let me near it

210-18989

200-55746 D10X403 1 S

340-14832 XPS 420 Resource DVD 1 S

340-14835 English - XPS 420 System Docs (UK power cord) 1 S

370-13023 Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 800MHz [4x1024MB] Memory 1 S

385-10556 19-in-1 Bluetooth Media Card Reader 1 S

400-13928 Hard Drive 750GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm) 1 S

429-12775 16X DVD+/-RW 1 S

429-12780 ROXIO Software Creator / MYDVD 10.1 1 S

480-15472 Display : 24in E248WFP UK/Irish Black Widescreen Value (1920 x 1200) TCO99 DVI-D 1 S

490-10813 Graphics Card : 512MB ATI Radeon 3870 1 S

510-10136 Audio Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital capability 1 S

506-10039 TV Tuner and AVIO / Accellerator 1 S

520-10652 Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Speakers - UK 1 S

580-13188 UK/Ireland - Logitech - MX3200 - Cordless - Desktop 1 S

619-12597 Operating System : English Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 1 S

630-10933 English Microsoft Works 9.0 (Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Outlook Express, Powerpoint Viewer) (With

Recovery CD)

1 S

640-10270 UK Internet Service Provider - Tiscali (w/CD) 1 S

640-10554 Dell Support Center 2.0 1 S

650-10761 English McAfee 9.0 Security Centre 30 Day Trial Version (No Recovery CD) 1 S

754-11096 1Yr XPS Premium Warranty Support - Priority Call In and Onsite Support 1 S

754-11098 No Warranty Upgrade 1 S

755-10352 No Accidental Damage Support 1 S

800-11502 XPS Desktop Order - UK 1 S

Pete

http://www.businessservicesuk.com

XPS 420 Q6600 Quad Core Processor 2.40GHz, 1066Mhz FSB, 8MB cache 1 914.00 914.00 S

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

NeilWill — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:42:51 GMT

I bought my xps 420 with a lower graphics card to upgrade at a later date. Now I have a new graphics card it wont work in the system! Why is this Initial card was ati this card is geforce 7800gt. Is this a power issue or this system just does not supprt it?

I am increasingly becoming miffed with dell I bought the system as I like dell alot especially the quitetness, However when I went to overclock it. Guess what I cant as its locked. Why is this? This is my machine now and not dells why do you insist on people not being able to use other manufacturers products unless installed by Dell. I do hope dell is not trying to be the big bad wolf like microsoft of the new generation pc's.

As if this was stated in the purchase options I would not have bought it. I hope dell takes this on board and will release a bios upgrade with these options enabled.

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

that_dude — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:30:56 GMT

hello,

to start off let me say i love this computer. my family got it back in march and even let me pick it out. so of course, we get the computer and i'm excited since i think i'll finally be able to get into some pc gaming (world of warcraft, half-life 2 are the only games i have). however, ever since i started playing games or have done any other video-based application (i.e. burning dvds) my comp will freeze and make a stuttering type sound. i then have to manually restart my computer through the power button. i had a feeling that maybe the graphics card was to blame after this problem occured more than a few times. my thoughts were confirmed when i went to the manufacturer's site and they had a downloadable "fix" for this issue. naturally i downloaded it and thought "my problems are over!" wrong! the problem persist to this very day and as such i am very dissuaded from playing any of my games.

so my questions are:

what video cards are supported by an xps 420?

i see cards that say that are "SLI ready". i've read somewhere that 420s are not SLI compatible. does this mean that any graphics cards marked SLI ready are unusable on my xps 420?

any help that i can get for this will be greatly appreciated thank you

btw my current video card is an ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro, my comp has 3GB of memory, runs vista home premium, and has a 300GB hard drive

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

Darren Thompson — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:15:37 GMT

Hi Fellas,

I'm happy with the XPS 420 my wife and I bought (2.4Ghz quad core, 1TB Raid 0, 3GB RAM, TV card, Wi-Fi, 1 DVD-RW & 1 DVD-ROM, ATI Radeon 2600 HD graphics card 256Mb, Vista Home Premium, no Xcelerator, no monitor). We use it as a general computer (for boring stuff) and video editing (with the bundled excellent Adobe software).

Don't think much of MS Works or the Roxio DVD burning software, but there are plenty of alternatives :o)

The Mini view is a bit odd, but a nice distraction :o) At least I know the weather forcast without logging in every morning.

Not bothered about the 375 watt power supply since loads of people have reported DELL rate their power supplies differently than other manufacturers, quote RMS rather than PEAK output. Apparently, the 375 watt supply is equivalent to a 500 watt supply. I'll include links if you're interested.

To sum up, a cool machine!

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

Armando — Fri, 23 May 2008 20:56:09 GMT

I'm generally happy with my XPS 420. I've added a second HDD and I am unable to enter system setup by using the F2 key. If I press it too early, it locks and lights 1,2 and 3 light up on the front panel---too late and the system boots up fully. I don't get a Dell splash on boot up--the first screen I see is Vista.

Any ideas?

Thanks

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

Rpage — Tue, 20 May 2008 03:59:04 GMT

Thanks Lionel....That was exactly the clarification (and education) I needed. I really appreciate that Dell has invested in forums like this...this is much better than what I've seen from other manufacturers.

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

RPage — Sun, 18 May 2008 06:22:30 GMT

I can't find any detail describing the true benefit of "performance RAID" on the 420. I know that it provides data protection, but I've always thought RAID slowed things down. Does "Performance RAID" really perform any better or worse than a single drive with the same total capacity?

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

Mike — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:38:27 GMT

I just read the post on the problems getting the ATI TV Wonder digital cable tuner to work. I had the same problem and after many hours found out that the Norton's Internet Security that came with my XPS 420 was not compatible with the tuner. I had to remove the NIS and buy something called BitDefender Internet Security which worked. I finally got a Dell rep to admit they knew about it and reimbursed me for the NIS and that covered the cost of the BitDefender.

re: The XPS 420: Multimedia & Video Enthusiasts Unite

Mike — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:21:12 GMT

Hi,

What's happened to the ATI TV Wonder™ Digital Cable Tuner? They disappeared from the tuners page when building an XPS 420. When are they coming back?

Thanks