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XPS 2720 - NO THUNDERBOLT
Contrary to what the Dell website says for the specifications on these machines, I thought I would post this message to advise potential buyers out there, that not all versions of the new Dell XPS 2720's come with Thunderbolt ports.
I ordered 2 base Dell XPS 2720's and was a bit surprised when there was no Thunderbolt port. I ended up spending about an hour on the phone with XPS Dell support and various other departments who swore that those ports should be there (as advertised on the site), but they were not. Dell ended up sending two more replacement units out which also came WITHOUT the ports. Another hour on the phone and FINALLY someone at technical support found out that ONLY the models that come with the discrete video card option will come with the Thunderbolt port.
I wasn't very happy to be honest, I felt like I was being mis-informed based on the specifications for this computer. I really wanted the Thunderbolt port for future use, but was able to secure a decent discount on the two machines I ordered originally so I kept them.
This is a BUYER beware message, I advised that they should change the information on their site to show that the Thunderbolt port was an optional port that only comes with certain configurations, but no one seemed to care at all.
Now I have to lug the two original machines back to shipping company to send back :(
dracer09
9 Posts
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July 8th, 2013 19:00
If you read the user's manual it states in there the thunder bolt is optional
dracer09
9 Posts
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July 8th, 2013 20:00
Dang, you must have gotten some money laying around lol. I agree with you about the misleading info on Dell site. I was worried after placing the order when seeing some videos on you tube showing a modem jack instead of a thunder bolt port, but then I read the title it says XPS One 27 which is an older model, phews!!!! This is gonna be an awesome system for my music mixing.
Talking about Dell staff, they're totally hopeless in terms of answering technical questions.
dracer09
9 Posts
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July 8th, 2013 20:00
lol, maybe it's just me. I actually dl everything belongs to the model I bought from dell and read them before deciding to buy it.
feejai
26 Posts
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July 8th, 2013 20:00
Yeah, if there was any doubt at all like Thunderbolt* (and text stating that it's an optional port), then I would understand. It's just misleading from all of the documentation on the Dell site itself. A simple explanation or a clear identification of *OPTIONAL* would have saved me and Dell XPS Technical support (which didn't know either initially), sales, and any other representative from Dell that I spoke with a lot of time and trouble.
Love the system now though, might have to order my 4th system with the upgraded video card to have one system with the Thunderbolt port.
feejai
26 Posts
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July 8th, 2013 20:00
Lol, and how is putting it in the manual of any use? Do you buy a computer from the manual or from the website where all the specification and pictures are layed out?
promomanagers
11 Posts
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July 13th, 2013 21:00
I have had a great experience with the Dell systems we've ordered. That said they've been doing a lousy job for the past year or two on specs on the website. I spent a few hours in various chats trying to buy one of the 4-5k dollar business laptops and could never get a straight answer on the color gamut.
I swear none of the "more info" tabs are close to accurate on Dell's site. They usually reference specs for components that are obsolete or not available on that page. It's really frustrating so I share Feejai's pain. This should be clearly marked "optional"
I have it on the system with the discrete card. It's a single port.
Vonlar
3 Posts
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November 9th, 2013 00:00
Do you happen to know if the Thunderbolt port accepts input? Or is it just an output port?
dracer09
9 Posts
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November 9th, 2013 05:00
Yes, it accepts input. You can also hook up firewire devices using adapter. It provides a very stable and fast connection.
Vonlar
3 Posts
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November 9th, 2013 08:00
Last question, can I use the thunderbolt input as a display input?
dracer09
9 Posts
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November 9th, 2013 11:00
I've never tried video input but if you can find an adapter that converts video to thunderbolt then I think it would work. Why don't you use hdmi input port instead?
Vonlar
3 Posts
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November 9th, 2013 13:00
I guess I'm hoping the Thunderbolt connection may enable touch.
matjm
4 Posts
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June 22nd, 2015 02:00
> Yes, it accepts input. You can also hook up firewire devices using adapter. It provides a very stable and fast connection.
By adapter, i assume you mean the apple thunderbolt to firewire adatper?
does anyone know if the thunderbolt port can be connected (through this adapter) to firewire audio interfaces from the likes of presonus and focusright? What about actual thunderbolt audio interfaces like the higher end motu interfaces?
The reason why i ask is because i was led to believe that the thunderbolt port is really just a display port, or meant for only displays ans storage devices but might bnot be good with other devices.
If anyone can clear this up it would be very useful indeed, since true thunderbolt is still today rare on windows pcs.
speedstep
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47K Posts
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June 22nd, 2015 05:00
XPS units are NOT IMAC's
The thunderbolt to firewire works just fine on an IMAC with OSX
Thunderbolt is not just display. Its PCI-E to serial bus.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464LL/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapter
matjm
4 Posts
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June 22nd, 2015 06:00
i know the thunderbolt to firewire adapter works on an imac and osx. i have read the apple forum on this.
i know that xps are not imac computers. xps are dell, and they are windows.
what i was asking is whether one could use an audio interface that is firewire on a dell xps
hence why i was posting on the dell forum about this.
To make things clear, i already have a dell xps 27 touch. it has a thunderbolt port. it runs windows 8.1 pro. i wanted to use a firewire or thunderbolt audio interface on this computer.
in theory it should work. that is a thunderbolt audio interface should work and a firewire one should work assuming the adapter works in a similar way to how it works on an apple imac. But this is in theory.
I was not sure if it would work in practice because I have heard that different vendors do thunderbolt differently and the way dell does thunderbolt on the xps might be different from the way apple does it.
matjm
4 Posts
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June 22nd, 2015 06:00
i know the thunderbolt to firewire adapter works on an imac and osx. i have read the apple forum on this. i know that xps are not imac computers. xps are dell, and they are windows.
what i was asking is whether one could use an audio interface that is firewire on a dell xps
hence why i was posting on the dell forum about this.
To make things clear, i already have a dell xps 27 touch. it has a thunderbolt port. it runs windows 8.1 pro. i wanted to use a firewire or thunderbolt audio interface on this computer. in theory it should work. that is a thunderbolt audio interface should work and a firewire one should work assuming the adapter works in a similar way to how it works on an apple imac. But this is in theory.
I was not sure if it would work in practice because I have heard that different vendors do thunderbolt differently and the way dell does thunderbolt on the xps might be different from the way apple does it.