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Difference between the XPS 420 and 720?
Hi everyone. I've been thinking about getting a new PC for a little while, especially for gaming, so I've been playing around with the customizations for the XPS 720.
But just for fun I tried the 420, and it turns out that I can actually get a better computer for less money! Now, of course I know there are some differences between the systems, but I'm hoping you guys can explain it better to me. Is there any reason to go with the 720 anyway? I don't need an extreme gaming system, just something with a 512MB graphics card would be good. Here's what I came up with for each system:
XPS 420:
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
MEMORY 3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable MONITORS 22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
VIDEO CARD 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
BLUETOOTH AND MEDIA READER Dell 19 in 1 Media Reader with Bluetooth
KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard
MOUSE Dell Optical USB Mouse
WI-FI AND MODEM 56K PCI Data Fax Modem
$1990
--------------------------------------------------
XPS 720:
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB - Seagate 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
MONITOR 20 inch SP2008WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel w/ Webcam
VIDEO CARD 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeGamer (D) Sound Card
KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard
MOUSE Dell Optical USB Mouse edit FLOPPY
MEDIA READER No Floppy Drive or Media Reader Included
MODEM No Modem Requested
$2315
----------------------------
Are there other things I should be considering when I choose between the 420 and the 720, other than these things?
(The difference in RAM is one thing that really amazes me!)
Thanks, John
Message Edited by JohnJSal on 11-29-2007 04:21 PM
Message Edited by JohnJSal on 11-29-2007 04:22 PM
But just for fun I tried the 420, and it turns out that I can actually get a better computer for less money! Now, of course I know there are some differences between the systems, but I'm hoping you guys can explain it better to me. Is there any reason to go with the 720 anyway? I don't need an extreme gaming system, just something with a 512MB graphics card would be good. Here's what I came up with for each system:
XPS 420:
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
MEMORY 3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE Dual Drives: 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable MONITORS 22 inch E228WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
VIDEO CARD 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
BLUETOOTH AND MEDIA READER Dell 19 in 1 Media Reader with Bluetooth
KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard
MOUSE Dell Optical USB Mouse
WI-FI AND MODEM 56K PCI Data Fax Modem
$1990
--------------------------------------------------
XPS 720:
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium
MEMORY 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 320GB - Seagate 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
MONITOR 20 inch SP2008WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel w/ Webcam
VIDEO CARD 512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeGamer (D) Sound Card
KEYBOARD Dell USB Keyboard
MOUSE Dell Optical USB Mouse edit FLOPPY
MEDIA READER No Floppy Drive or Media Reader Included
MODEM No Modem Requested
$2315
----------------------------
Are there other things I should be considering when I choose between the 420 and the 720, other than these things?
(The difference in RAM is one thing that really amazes me!)
Thanks, John
Message Edited by JohnJSal on 11-29-2007 04:21 PM
Message Edited by JohnJSal on 11-29-2007 04:22 PM
bodybrdng
66 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 19:00
thomasp94
77 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 19:00
Message Edited by thomasp94 on 11-29-2007 03:40 PM
ckoharik
68 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 19:00
EDIT: I cannot find an image showing the 420 and 720 side by side. The size differential is significant.
Message Edited by ckoharik on 11-29-2007 02:24 PM
JohnJSal
39 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 19:00
bodybrdng
66 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 20:00
ckoharik
68 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 20:00
According to the 420's owner manual:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xps420/en/OM/HTML/parts.htm#wp1462641
Also, there are two different power supplies available to the 420 depending upon which base model you chose. The entry level has the 375 watt unit and the top tier has a 425 watt. The 425 watt is recommended by Dell if you plan on having any video card that requires more than 75 watts of power during peak operation. Either default unit can be easily replaced later on by a standard ATX power supply for not a lot of dough. Based upon what I have seen of the diagrams, the 720 also has more cooling capacity. Again, if you plan on being a power gamer and want tons of components, go with the 720. If you are a modest gamer and want to save some dough, go with the 420.
Message Edited by ckoharik on 11-29-2007 03:11 PM
Aivas47a
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November 29th, 2007 20:00
ckoharik
68 Posts
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November 29th, 2007 21:00
JohnJSal
39 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 00:00
ckoharik
68 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 00:00
JohnJSal
39 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 01:00
packerFan07
705 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 03:00
JohnJSal
39 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 05:00
Also, if I can ask, how big is your monitor? Does it display games well?
packerFan07
705 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 12:00
JohnJSal
39 Posts
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November 30th, 2007 22:00