Dell XPS 630: Gamer's PC Review Intel Dual Core 2 E8400, 6GB, NVidia GeForce 9800 GT

My Gateway decided to go belly up just a few months ago, and since I ran into major headaches with Cyberpower's connection warranty on a back up unit, I refused to purchase a Cyberpower gaming computer, or anything associated with this company. For months I have been playing ping pong with this company, and for months I was out a computer.

The fact of the matter was, time was ticking away, and I wanted my computer back. Losing my computer was like losing a family member, and I wanted to replace that void.

Before jumping into a hasty decision though, I needed to read online reviews and articles written by regular people, and professional reviewers on which system would give me the best bang for my buck. I wanted a computer that would function with speed for word documents, Internet, and whatever else I threw at it. I also wanted a computer that would handle gaming without glitching, freezing up, or running slowly. I'm a pretty hardcore gamer, and I wanted a rig that would handle whatever game I wanted to play.

I came across a decent amount of gaming machines with impressive specs and decent prices. However I wanted a machine that had minimal complaints from consumers. A machine recommended by the everyday average Joe. Finding such a machine was nearly impossible.

After my search I had a handful of potential computers I wanted, but I never thought I'd end up bringing home a Dell XPS 630.

A few years ago I bought a laptop from Dell, and the thing seriously decided to act like a total fart bag the moment the warranty expired. It was as if the damn thing had some sort of clock ticking down to the day the warranty expired, because it seriously broke the very next day. After that nightmare I vowed to never mess with Dell again.

Yet this past week I came across a gaming rig that I could not walk away from, a computer that was highly recommended, and well liked by gamers.

The Dell XPS 630 sat tucked into the very back shelf in the computer section at Best Buy. The back shelf at Best Buy is usually the seat for 1 or 2 very high end computers. The back wall is usually the wall I avoid based on these higher prices.

Normally I wouldn't even walk up to the back wall systems, knowing that they are way overpriced, and way out of my wallets league.

The Dell XPS 630 has a size that is intimidating, and usually that means the price is just as intimidating. Yet the blue LED lights make the machine look so tempting, and so damn delicious you can't help but wish you could bring it home.

Wishing is what I usually did when I saw this machine. It's a monster, there is no other way to put it. A huge gigantic monster of a machine. Just as I was about to walk away from the machine without even looking it over but for a brief twinkle in time, I noticed that it had a small yellow tag over it's original price.

The Dell XPS 630 originally a $1,500 machine, was reduced down to $899 for the in store display. Whoa! Did I read that right? Seriously!?
 
This was no ordinary Dell XPS 630 either, this bad boy was customized for greatness. Gaming greatness that is.

The particular unit I walked out with came packed with Intel Dual Core 2 E8400, 6 GB Dual Channel DDRS SDRAM at 800MHz, 4DIMMs, NVidia GeForce 9800 GT 512 MB, Windows Vista Home Premium, Integrated 7.1 channel audio, and of course a standard laser mouse, and an enhanced multimedia keyboard. (I actually have no use for these things though, because my wireless keyboard and mouse work much better).

The front of the computer has a large black plastic upper face which stores the DVD/ROM driver. Directly underneath that is an empty slot for an optional Bluray player. (Killer!)
 
Directly below that you have a black panel that when touched can click open to reveal your 16 in 1 media card reader. I particularly loved this because it supports the newer XD cards, which my new camera uses.

The very bottom there is a large black grill which covers the computers insides. If you look closely you can see the fan spinning about quietly inside. I loved this, but I imagine dust will become a concern later on.

Just below this of course if a headphone in, and headphone out port located on the left side panel, two USB ports on the right side, and directly in the middle of that is your power on button!

At the very top hood of the PC you will notice an odd latch. If you pull it, it allows you easy access to the inside of the computer. This is a heck of a lot easier than older computers that require a wrench or screwdriver to open up the computers case.

The front panel is also lined with gorgeous blue LED lights to really give the computer that extraterrestrial look of power.

As far as quality goes, the casing seems like it is made of high quality and durable materials. The front panel is made of hard thick plastic, and the bottom grill is metal. The side panels have a sleek silver finish that looks like stainless steel. It really though is lacquered aluminum. It however is gorgeous nonetheless.

Anyhow, this exact unit sells on Dell.com for $1,499. I literately walked away with a very impressive gamers dream machine for nearly half off its original price. Hell, it felt like I was 'stealing' it, as if they made some sort of enormous error, and I couldn't have been more excited. You can find this exact system by clicking here.
 
USB's:
 
Normally I love a lot of USB ports in the front of the computer, but the XPS 630 only has 2 in the front right of the computer, which is standard. I don't know what it is, I just like easier access to USB slots, and would prefer more in the front. The XPS 630 though has 2 in the front and 4 USB ports in the back, giving this bad boy 6 ports total. More than enough to plug in my printer, wireless mouse/keyboard, and other components that need a free USB slot.

Keyboard and Mouse:
 
Although the keyboard is a fancy schmancy multimedia keyboard, I found it to be a bit cheap feeling and loose. The hand rests are made of hard black plastic, and in all honesty the thing didn't impress me.

The mouse is just as cheap feeling, and I knew I wouldn't be using it. Instead I plugged in my wireless Kensington mouse and keyboard, and used that. It works much better, and is more comfortable.
Size:
 
The XPS 630 is probably the biggest desktop I have ever come across in my entire life. In the era of mini the XPS 630 really sticks out, and to be honest looks a little too beefy. Before dragging this baby home, you better make sure you have the room for it, because it does take up quite a large slot of space. It is 7.83 inches in width, 19.32 inches in height, and 22.05 inches in length.

It weighs in at 39 pounds.

The Dell XPS 630 is huge, in fact the store employee who sold it to me referred to it as 'the monster', which is a nickname for the machine that has since stuck with it (yep, I call it 'the monster').

The fact of the matter is, the XPS 630 is huge, and to be honest it does look a little bit ridiculous at first glance, but you have to keep in mind that it packs a hefty load of power, and in this case size is good.

Bet you are wondering how the monster works right? How fast is that monster, and will it handle my gaming needs?
 
As far as clock tests, I have no clue what that would be. I will say though that as an average consumer I am impressed. Very, very impressed.

At first I did not realize how wonderfully fast the PC was until I loaded my Sims 2 into the system. On my old computer the game would sometimes freeze up, and run extremely slowly for no reason at all. It would be working great, and then out of nowhere my computer would start making the humming noises as if it were struggling to handle such a small requirements game.

With the XPS 630 this was not an issue at all. The game ran with uninterrupted efficiency, speed, and excellent looking graphics. Hours into game play and it still was running. Running with speed I had never seen before from any other desktop I've owned. I imagined that at any given time the XPS 630 would start making that infamous struggling internal humming noise, yet the XPS 630 never did. In fact it made no noise whatsoever.

I had come across reviews complaining that this particular model is loud. Perhaps there is something wrong with their rig, because mine makes absolutely no noise. The only noise you can hear are the slow spinning fans, which can only be heard if you hold your ear up to the towers grill.

The same time I bought the computer I also bought Maxis' newest game SPORE.

My old PC wouldn't of been able to handle this game at all, the Dell XPS 630 handled the game with speed! There were no glitches, and after a few hours of playing the game with no issues, I seriously forgot I was playing on a computer. Normally games run this smoothly on consoles, on PC's usually there are crashes, freezes, and times when the game will just stop running all together.

I played SPORE for hours, and hours, and hours, and not once did the XPS 630 even make a humming sound. Humming sounds are what I was used to in the past with my Gateway. Come to think of it, my Gateway had numerous vocal calls. She would hum, grind and make hideous scratching noises when she ran for too long. The XPS 630 is a silent little sweetheart, even hours and hours after running it.

As far as I am concerned the Dell XPS 630 will chew up and spit out whatever you throw at it with ease. There will be no humming sounds, no glitching, no dead slow load times, crashes, or freezes. The XPS 630 will handle whatever game or program you want to throw at it, and it will handle it with ease.

Power On, Power Off:
 
The one thing I absolutely hated about my old PC rig was that it would take a long time to fully power on, and even longer just to power off. The Dell XPS 630 puts all of that waiting time to an end. It powers on and loads Vista in less than a minute, and powers off in seriously less than 30 seconds.

Overall:
 
I'm in love with my monster, and usually I don't like using the word love when talking about electronics, because it seems as soon as one device hears you say 'love' it tells all of the others, and eventually it gets passed back to the machine, and the machine stops working. Paranoid? Maybe. I have bad luck with computers though, and I pray that the XPS 630 has a longer lifespan than Gateways hunks of plastic garbage they call computers.

So far every game I have thrown at it, it swallows up with a delightful eager to work, and work fast. It is a mean looking machine, and packs a fast and powerful punch.