Hey all, so here is the deal. I am a student, and I get a ridiculous discount at dell (were talking around 25% off). I know what you are thinking, DELL IS CRAP! However, I am still getting around $1500 off on this system, so I cant say no. Anyhow, I wanted to get this L33T dell computer to game on. It's the dell XPS 710 red. Here are the stats:

- Intel Core2 Extreme processor QX6700 (2.66GHz,1066FSB) w/Quad Core Technology and 8MBcache
- 4GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz
- Dell USB Keyboard
- 24 in (24.0 in viewable) 2407FPW Wide Aspect Digital Flat Panel Display
- 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX
- 1TB Serial ATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
- Dell 13 in 1 Media Card Reader
- Dell Optical USB Mouse
- 48X Combo drive
- 7 Slot BTX motherboard
- 16X DVD+/-RW
- Soundblaster X-Fi PCI Sound Card,Vista
- 1KW Power Supply

Let's be honest, its a beast of a system.

But do you see a compatibility issue with the above stats and Vista? I don't.

So here is my question: why does this system STILL not come with vista from Dell? If you go to Dell's XPS 710 site at:

http://www.dell.com/content/produc [...] ...;...;cs

you will see that all of the 710 systems can be configured with Vista except the one all the way to the right (with the 1 KW power supply and the ability to have a QX6700 cpu) - which is the computer I quoted you above - the one I would like to get.

If you go to http://direct2dell.com/one2one/arc [...] 11407.aspx a Dell representative explains that the reason some of the 710's dont have Vista (especially the water-cooled 710 H2c which comes with two 8800GTX's in SLI mode) is because of a driver issue with the SLI and Vista. However, why would this be a problem on the one I want to get above (the 710 red).

I am assuming that it is a problem with the site because the one I have configured (the configuration all the way to the right) ALSO allows you to configure the system with SLI - and Dell doesn't have the drivers yet; whereas the other 710 configurations do not allow you to add twin GTX's as an option, so they can come with Vista.

What do you guys think? To make a long story short, I convinced a dell salesman to let me have the system with Vista, and I want to make sure I am not buying a system that will have configuration or compatibility issues. Do you see any?

Please dont buy that PC.

The 1,500$ discount is wasted on that CPU. You can buy a system not from Dell for less, just because of that CPU. Buy another build if u dont want to build ur own. But heck, even without that CPU, the PC is probably more than 1,500$ over the actuall price tag. Dell is crap.

Just buy the monitor!

As for ur question, yes, it will fun Vista. The driver issue has been fixed for a while.

Depends on how much your paying for the computer all together with the 1500 off the price. Please share.

I am getting the computer for $3,900 total (including tax and shipping) with the components I specified (plus the logitic 500watt speaker system) and the 24" dell monitor...


Price that on dell.com alienware.com gateway.com - this is the cheapest. Yay student discount - how can I turn this down?

(and a 4 year accidental damage coverage warranty)

I have a Dell XPS 700, and is thinking about a 710H2C.

I can recommend the Dell system.
I am 33 years old, and my building my own computer days are gone.
Just want something out of the box that works. The Dell XPS does that.
The design inside is really good. Almost as good as Apples.
Al the components are real simple to replace.

It is quiet and looks nice. I dont care about overclocking. 10% +- is nothing. You can't see the different, beside in benchmarks.

To many benchmarks junkies and builders here. Many just want to have things that work.

Vista on Dell. The XPS710 systems dont have Vista beacuse of problem with 8800GTX and SLI in Vista. Missing out on Vista is not a big deal.

Only when DirectX 10 games arrives, you can start to think about upgrade.
And then you have the Vista Jungle.
32 or 64bit version? 64bit has bad drivers. 32bit only supports 3gig memory.
Vista OEM is really cheap, but you cant change motherboard.

So. Buy the system.

And get Vista as a Christmas present.

Vista seems more and more to be like Windows Millenium. Something you should skip.

Seems like a lot. I go with track and use the discount on the monitor. If you don't feel like building your own computer, try to cut corners on the Dell 710. Like less harddrive space, and 2GB of ram instead of 4. Etc. Etc.

This is the only reason to think to go with Dell. You could probably build this yourself for less, easily.

The reason why there is no vista on that is because people buying the XPS systems want performance. Right now it isn't offered in vista primarily due to pre-mature drivers. By the fall I expect this to be done with, at least I hope.
First of all, why do you think you need a 1kw power supply? A little overkill. Since when was BTX in and ATX out? That ram is only clocked at 667MHz.

You could probably build the same computer with a 700W power supply for 2500$. I agree, with everyone else, take the monitor and book it from this "deal". Think about it, if they can give you 1500$ off think how high their margins are.......if they can cut that much off there's still much more that can come. The only disadvange about building yourself or getting a better company to build it would be the fact that you'd only be able to get a 750GB drive not a 1TB drive. But hey I'd take the 750GB and save 1400 on a build any day.

James

Edit: Is the 4 year insurence really worth that much to you, because you could have another gaming rig for your friends when he comes over with that amount of cash or 2x 8800GTX sli'd and two monitors and..........more.