Desktops

I warned you. Today, customers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Japan can order the XPS 630. It's a gaming desktop meant to pack a lot of power into a smaller chassis. Granted, smaller is a relative term—it's smaller compared to the XPS 720: the XPS 630 has a starting weight of about 39 pounds compared to almost 48 pounds for its larger cousin.

Note: Clicking on either of these photos below will show a larger version. You can see more photos at the main Dell Flickr site here.

 The goal behind the XPS 630 was to provide great performance and expandability at a reasonable price point. We call it a mainstream gaming system. It supports many of the same high-end options that the XPS 720 does, with a starting price of $1,249. That's where the mainstream part comes from. 

The Dell folks I talked to were pretty excited about the XPS 630, and based on early awards from CNET, PC Magazine and HotHardware, I'm glad to see they're not alone.

But enough about that, let's jump into the more technical details. By popular demand, the XPS 630 utilizes a motherboard based on the popular ATX form factor. It's based on a Dell implementation of NVIDIA's 650i chipset, is the first OEM system to support NVIDIA's new Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) and all units will come with a 750W power supply.

It also supports Intel processors (initially we'll support the quad-core Q6600 processor and the and Core 2 Extreme QX 6850, with more coming soon) and several graphics card options from both ATI and NVIDIA. We'll offer certain dual graphics card options in Crossfire mode or SLI mode, depending on whether you prefer ATI or NVIDIA.

In terms of memory, we also support Corsair DDR2 Dominator 800MHz Enhanced Performance Profile (EPP) modules that can be overclocked to1066MHz.

For folks that want to take performance a step further, you will have the opportunity to overclock the parts of the system through the system BIOS and software like NVIDIA's nTune application, much like the XPS 720 today. Unlike the XPS 720, however, we will not ship the XPS 630 overclocked from the factory. Because there's a lot more to discuss on that front, we'll blog about overclocking soon. And look for an overclocking vlog in the not-too-distant future.

In this vlog, I interview Lee Kinder from the XPS Desktop Team about the system overall. He also discusses design elements, talks specs, hardware and OS options, overclocking and more.

Some of you may have seen some basic details about the XPS 630 during CES 2008.  Shortly after that, we rolled out a teaser campaign for it, similar to ones we had done for the XPS One, the M1730, and the World of Warcraft notebook. This one was the most successful we've had in terms of registrations.

And to those of you who did register, you should be receiving an e-mail that looks like this very soon. Click on it to see a larger version of the image.

Here's the deal. From now until 2/27/08 at 5:59am CST, you can purchase a new XPS 630 gaming desktop with a $479 discount. Just click on the Game On button to configure the system. After the discount, the base system includes the following hardware for $1,299:

• Intel Core 2 Q6600 quad-core processor
• 2GB 667MHz DDR2 memory 
• Dual NVIDIA 8800GT cards with 512MB memory
• 320GB hard drive
• 16x DVD+RW drive
• 2-year limited warranty

More XPS 630 product details coming soon.

A couple of weeks ago, Lionel cleared up questions around our commitment to AMD. Today, we've introduced new AMD processor technology in our OptiPlex 740 desktop. Here's what customers can expect:

• We're the first to deliver new processors from AMD including those with a "B" as part of the model name that identifies them as long lifecycle processors that bring 12-24 month longevity that is essential to our business customers
• We will offer more energy-efficient AMD processors with "E" as part of the model name that can reduce energy consumption by 5-10 percent
• RAID 0 and RAID 1 support for performance or data backup hard drive configurations
• Capability to support AMD Phenom performance processors in the future

At the core of our OptiPlex desktop line of products is stability. Business customers want longevity so they don't waste time on routine image management and spend it on innovation. It makes sense for us to offer the AMD processors, in addition to other features that provide more stability, such as ImageDirect service and ImageWatch. You'll hear more from us on efforts to provide even more stability for our customers.

Stay tuned. In the coming weeks, Dell customers in all regions will be able to choose AMD processors on the OptiPlex 740.

I saw that PC Magazine's Joel Santo Domingo recently wrote a solid review of one of our Energy Star 4.0-compliant corporate desktop machines, the OptiPlex 755. In the review, he gave it 4.5 stars out of five and called it, "the hybrid SUV of PCs." They tested the larger desktop chassis version of the system, and liked the overall performance and the expandability options that we support vs. competition like the HP Compaq dc7800.

This is part of Dell's broader strategy of buiding energy-efficient products. We offer a series of Energy Star 4.0-compliant corporate notebooks, desktops and workstations. To learn more about the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star 4.0 guidelines, take a look at this PDF. Beyond that, we also offer several Energy Smart PowerEdge servers for small and large business customers who are looking for energy savings at the server level.

You've probably seen some of the reaction about this in places like Gizmodo, and now I can confirm it. Today, we're making it easy for Dell customers who want to make a difference. Anyone who wants to join us to fight AIDS in Africa can do so by purchasing any of our (PRODUCT) RED-branded PCs. For Dell, this initiative represents an important step in our ongoing commitment to fight the spread of HIV around the globe.

Dell (PRODUCT) RED products are all distinguished by bright red accents and (PRODUCT) RED branding. Each of these systems will come with a special version of Windows Vista Ultimate. Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED includes six unique desktop wallpapers, a screen saver, and two Windows Sidebar gadgets and a (RED)-themed Windows DreamScene.

Dell and Microsoft will make a combined contribution of $50 - 80 depending on the PC purchased to the Global Fund. Dell will contribute $5 for every (PRODUCT) RED printer sold. 100% of the contributed finds will go toward Global Fund-financed grants in Africa. To put it in perspective, the $80 contribution generated by the purchase of the (PRODUCT) RED XPS One with Vista Ultimate  is equivalent to more than six months of life-saving antiretroviral treatment for someone living with AIDS in Africa.

Update 1/24, 10:30am—Here's a cool photo from Davos with Bill Gates, Bono and Michael Dell to celebrate the launch of these products. You can click on it for an enlarged version.

Dell (PRODUCT) RED products are now available for order at www.dell.com/joinred. They will also be available in Best Buy stores throughout the United States by the end of the week. And beginning January 31, these products will be available through Dell in nearly 30 additional countries.

Now for some details about the (PRODUCT) RED systems. Clicking on the images below will give you a larger picture.

XPS One (PRODUCT) RED:

• This is Dell's all-in-one product that I've blogged about before. Starting price is $1,599—every purchase results in an $80 contribution to The Global Fund.

XPS M1330 (PRODUCT) RED:

• This is our award-winning sub-four pound notebook that regular Direct2Dell readers are pretty familiar with. Starting price of $1,149—purchase results in a $50 contribution to the Global Fund.  

XPS M1530 (PRODUCT) RED:

• This is the larger 15" version of the XPS M1330. Lots of the same design and feature enhancements with a larger display. Starting price oof $1,149—purchase results in a $50 contribution to the Global Fund.  

 Dell 948 All-in-One Printer:

• The 948 printer integrates fax, scan, copy, print and photo-printing capability together into an easy-to-use package without requiring a connection to a computer. Starting price of $149—purchase results in a $5 contribution to the Global Fund.