XPS 420 assistance

First question off the list, how will the CPU handle modern games?

I'll take a stab at the first part of your post, as far as I understand it a quad series processor will not really help that much with running games that are already made because they are not designed to utilize all four cores.

I understand that the 425W power supply unit will pretty much handle the graphics card that is coming with the system. Will this card handle modern games in an acceptable way? If I want to, at a later date, upgrade to a better card, which one would you guys recommend? And will I need a new, more powerful PSU?

The XPS 420 has a power supply of 375 watts, I dont think it comes in the 425 watt flavor. Do you have a screen image of your review summary build? I went to dells website and built the exact computer you have and it shows a 375 power supply.

Cheers for the fast reply mate!

That's a bit of a shame about the CPU, I had a bit of a sinking feeling after surfing the forums. However, games that are soon to be released, or in the development phase, will surely take advantage of a quad processor yeah? Atleast I hope so...

I'm afraid I can't show you a screen image, I'm still adjusting to everything, so I'm not sure how to post an image. *But*, it's most definitely a 425W power supply. I live in Australia, and ordered one through the Aussie site, if that helps? A few months ago I customised one for fun, to get a feel for price and components etc. Back then it had, I think, a Q6600 CPU and a 375W power supply, but, as far as the Aussie versions go, they have changed.

The list I gave in the original post is a direct copy/paste of the list of things ordered.

Again, cheers for your help. Much appreciated!

Ah, that's great! Thanks for the walkthrough mate!

You are correct, however. It seems like a long process, but as you said, what I gleaned from research clearly showed that most people agreed that it is worth it.

Also, it may not prove to be such an arduous task, as I haven't actually received the PC from Dell Aus. yet. So, maybe I should just contact them and see if they can throw the appropriate CD in with it, so as soon as I get it I can put this process in motion?

I have 425 w ps on a 420, but you need to order it since the standard is 375. Dell is now sending the 64 bit of Vista Home Premium instead of the 32bit.

Hello ignis_solus, You may contact Dell support and request a Dell Vista x64 disk.

Some have gotten them and some have not. It seems to be a toss up.

If you get the x64 disk, you would need to go to the Dell web site and download any drivers that you may need.

You would need to check your system for all the hardware devices, since there are many x64 drivers available and you will only need those that apply to your hardware.

After all this, you will have to back up any data that you may need later, because you will have to reformat the hard drive when the x64 OS is installed.

After the OS is installed, you will then need to re-install all your programs and any files that you may have backed up.

This is quite a process, but worth it.

Hope this helps.

:^) Heh.  Now this is what a newbie post should be like; well researched ahead of time, then direct and to the point.  I like it!  Welcome aboard, sir.

...I'm moderately tech-savvy, as any 19 year old raised in today's world is.

;^) -to which I'll quote Mark Twain: "When I was seventeen, I was appalled at my father's ignorance.  But by the time I turned twenty-one, I was amazed at how much the old fellow had learned in just four short years."

...Also, I read and understood that Vista Home Premium is only 32-bit (I think?), so my 4 gigs of RAM is essentially being wasted until I upgrade to 64-bit. However, I don't understand what this means? Any help guys?

:^/ Thirty-two bit operating systems use only thirty two bit addressing to read RAM.  Thirty two binary digits reach their limit at 2^32, or 4,294,967,296.  That's four binary gigabytes even.  So, anything over 4GB RAM cannot be used.  Oddly, Windows® doesn't use the whole four gigs, so the last half gig or so is neither recognized nor used by Windows®.  Soooo, upgrade to a sixty-four bit version of Windows, or swap to another OS such as Linux, which I suspect doesn't have this limitation.

In the meantime, it's incorrect to say that your four gigs are wasted on Windows®; only the last half-gig is wasted, the lower 3.5 are usable.

Haha, cheers for the insight mate, appreciated ;P

Perhaps I should have rephrased my question concerning the Gig usage.

What I meant (atleast, this what I *think* I meant), is that, somewhere in the forums, I read that it would generally just be advisable to 'upgrade' to a 64 bit version of Windows. This still has me stumped. I understand the part you explained to me, but I don't know how to move to a 64 bit version.

The rig is shipping preloaded with Vista Home Premium, so how do I get on board with a 64bit version?

Still trying to soak everything in. :-s

If you don't mind me asking, what region did you order your system from? Here in Australia, it clearly states that the rig ships with the 425W PSU, thankfully, hehe. Also, concerning the OS CD, if they are doin' that over here too, that would be a welcome addition.

I have 425 w ps on a 420, but you need to order it since the standard is 375. Dell is now sending the 64 bit of Vista Home Premium instead of the 32bit.

Hello Mary G, According to his listed specs., his system would ship with the 425 Watt PS, probably because of the processor and the newer video card.

This is the system I placed an order for:

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad Q8200 (425W) (2.33GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
4GB (4X1GB) NECC Dual Channel DDR2 800MHz SDRAM Memory
512MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) 9800GT Graphics
500GB SATA II 3.0Gb/s
Windows Vista(R) Home Premium

I have the 425 Watt PS and also using Vista x64 Ultimate with 8 GBs of memory and 3 hard drives.

I would not go back to x86 (32 bit) at all.

Hope this helps.

Understood, shall do mate. I take it that the PC comes without the OS installed, hence it being supplied on a CD?

Also, concerning the 'formatting' of the HDD, I'm not exactly sure how to do that, but I'll stay my tongue and wait until I receive it, I'm sure if I snooped around on it, I'd found out how to do it.

Yep, just checked, my Aussie order most definitely ships with the 425W PSU, and checked the initial customisation page and it stated that all orders ship with the 64 bit OS CD, so I think all is set eh!

Now that sounds just fantastic...You have made my day....and probably yours as well.

Since this is a new system, you want have any data to back up, so all you will have to do is install the x64 OS.

Again, you will need to format the hard drive for the install to go well. The x64 OS cannot be upgraded and requries a fresh install.

Good Luck, and if issues arise, ask for help here, before contacting Dell support.

You are more likely to resolve any issue from the members here, than at Dell support.

Congratulations on you new Dell XPS 420 and a new computer experience.

Haha, sorry mate, that reply was intended to Mary G, but it's all good.

Yep, just checked, my Aussie order most definitely ships with the 425W PSU, and checked the initial customisation page and it stated that all orders ship with the 64 bit OS CD, so I think all is set eh!

Thanks again for all your help mate.

If you don't mind me asking, what region did you order your system from? Here in Australia, it clearly states that the rig ships with the 425W PSU, thankfully, hehe. Also, concerning the OS CD, if they are doin' that over here too, that would be a welcome addition.

Hello ignis_solus, I am located in the US, and my system was originally shipped with a 425 Watt PS about a year ago, but the recent shipments of the XPS420 here in the US had the 375 watt PS units.

As Mary G mentioned, Dell is now shipping the XPS420 with the optional Vista x64 version. I am pretty sure she may be right, but I cannot verify this.

You can log on to your account and see the order and verify if it has the 425 Watt PS as well as all the other components shipped with your system.

After the order is released to manufacturing, it cannot be changed. To change it, you would have to cancel the order and then re-order it as you like.

If the system shows it to be as you expect, I would not cancel the order, because this could open up a can of worms, that you don't want.

I would just request the x64 DVD from Dell and go that route.

Hope this helps.

Understood, shall do mate. I take it that the PC comes without the OS installed, hence it being supplied on a CD?Also, concerning the 'formatting' of the HDD, I'm not exactly sure how to do that, but I'll stay my tongue and wait until I receive it, I'm sure if I snooped around on it, I'd found out how to do it.

Hello ignis_solus, Your system should come with the OS installed. I would unbox it and connect it up and boot into Vista.

The OS DVD disk and the other Driver and Program disk are just for backup purposes.

You will have to enter some information during the opening of the OS, like User Name, Time Zone, etc. 

This will assure the system is working properly as I expect it to.

After you use it for a while, if you want to install the Vista x64 version, all you have to do is insert the Vista x64 DVD in the optical drive and reboot the system.

It should boot to the Vista DVD disk, and ask to press any key to boot from the DVD. At this point, just press any key on the keyboard, and the Vista install will proceed.

The Vista setup will copy some files and then you will be asked where you want to install the OS. Choose the largest of the partitions, and in the lower part of the screen will be some options listed. One of these will be "Format".

Choose quick format and this will format the hard drive will begin the installation. All the data on the partition will be removed.

That's all there is to it. Then update all the drivers that you have for x64 starting with the chipset drivers first and then the Nvidia drivers.

If you have trouble, just log on here.

I ordered exact same today except with Blu Ray (read only) + DVD combo. I'm from Aus too, got the same 425w power supply as standard. Only looking for multimedia and maybe get my head into some gaming. Seemed like the best deal for what i need. Let us know how it goes.