Windows 8 is unquestionably intended to create consistency between consoles, tablets, phones, and the PC. But the desktop world is still largely without touch input. Can Dell's XPS One 27 make the Windows 8 experience better with a gorgeous touchscreen?
Windows 8 represents Microsoft’s first earnest effort to bring mobile users back to the desktop (Ed.: Or is it the other way around?), where they can find huge quantities of local storage and vast computing resources to be more productive, create content, and game in a truly enveloping environment. A 5" screen just can't hold a candle to three 1920x1080 displays for any of those tasks.
For those of us glued to our desktops, not necessarily concerned about a convergence of phones, tablets, game consoles, and PCs, the Windows 8 interface is jarring. We saw it from your comments as soon as the operating system debuted. But we've been using it since last year and navigate around it fairly smoothly, particularly on multi-monitor configs that circumvent that interface almost entirely.
What about the folks using Windows 8 on a PC with a single screen? That's where the operating system seems to run into most of the resistance. The one thing hurting Microsoft the most with its touch-based interface is the lack of PCs with touchscreens.
Dell saw that coming.

If you have a mobile device with Windows on it, you already know that consistency between interfaces is nice. Really, though, you want functionality to match. A touchscreen turns Dell’s XPS One 27 from a device that resembles a super-sized tablet to a device that actually works a lot like one. And that capability adds only $200 to the price of the most entry-level $1,399 model.
Of course, Dell wants to show off. So we're testing something a little (lot) more deluxe.
| Dell XPS One Touch 27 (2710) $2599 Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Platform | Intel LGA 1155, H77 Express, Embeded PCIe Graphics |
| CPU | Third-Generation Intel Ivy Bridge-Based Core i7-3770S (3.1-3.9 GHz, 8 MB Shared L3 Cache, 65 W Max TDP) |
| RAM | 2x Nanya NT8GC64B8HB0NS-DI (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 SO-DIMM, CL11 |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce GT 640M: 645 MHz, 2 GB GDDR5-4000 |
| Display | Capacitive Touch 27" LED Backlit Glossy LCD, 2560x1440 |
| Webcam | 2.0 Megapixel w/dual microphone and sliding cover |
| Audio | Realtek Integrated HD Audio with Waves MaxxAudio 4 |
| Security | Kensington Security Slot |
| Storage | |
| Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001: 2 TB, 7,200 RPM, 64 MB Cache, SATA 6Gb/s Samsung MZMPC032HBCD-00000: 32 GB MLC Cache Drive, mSATA 6Gb/s |
| Optical Drive | HL-DS 8x Slot Loading DVD Burner/BDR Combo HL-DT-ST DVDRWBD CT40N |
| Media Drive | 8-in-1 SDXC/MMC/MS/xD flash media interface |
| Networking | |
| Wireless LAN | Intel Advanced-N 6235 802.11n PCIe |
| Wireless PAN | Integrated Bluetooth Transceiver on Wireless Combo Card |
| Gigabit Network | Atheros AR8161 PCIe 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet |
| IEEE-1394 | None |
| Telephony | None |
| Peripheral Interfaces | |
| USB | 6 x USB 3.0 (4-rear, 2-side) |
| Expansion Card | 1 x empty Mini PCIe (for optional TV tuner) |
| External Hard Drive | USB-only |
| Audio | Headphone, Microphone, Rear Out, SPDIF |
| Video | HDMI Out, HDMI In (Display-Only) |
| General Stats | |
| Weight | PC 34.4 lbs, Peripherals 1.6 lbs, Total 36 pounds |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-bit Edition, OEM |
| Warranty | One-year parts/Labor w/In-Home Service |
The extra $1,000 brings with it a slew of upgrades, including the Core i7-3770S CPU, 16 GB RAM, the 32 GB SSD cache drive, a 2 TB hard drive, and Blu-ray reader/DVD burner.
- Meet Dell's XPS One Touch 27
- Getting To Know The XPS One 27
- Inside The XPS One 27
- Test System Configurations
- Results: 3DMark And PCMark
- Results: SiSoftware Sandra
- Results: Battlefield 3
- Results: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Results: F1 2012
- Results: Far Cry 3
- Results: Audio And Video Encoding
- Results: Adobe Creative Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: File Compression
- Average Performance Dissected
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- A Productivity PC For Windows 8
Who ever invented the desktop touch monitor should be shot.
There's probably some use for a touchscreen-desktop monitor productivity-wise.
But as a Windows 8 saviour? Hell no!
Really there is no comparison. Windows 8 and a touch screen are not worth the trade off. Building a high-end system that blows the Dell away is by far the superior choice.
Who ever invented the desktop touch monitor should be shot.
There's probably some use for a touchscreen-desktop monitor productivity-wise.
But as a Windows 8 saviour? Hell no!
Its important to get a informal, subjective review from a general user. Numbers are very important, but they dont tell the complete picture.
+1 for more "Average Joe" impressions in gadget reviews.
Touchscreens on laptops might suck less as a concept, but laptop screens suck by design because they're so small.
I find these all-in-one touch screens helpful for kiosks, data centers, production, (kitchen - maybe
Touchscreen has no place on a desktop, unless you have Felix Unger with plastic gloves touching it. It's messy, and it's hard not to feel like a retard while using it.
This is a solution in search of a problem. I haven't heard too many complaints on the keyboard/mouse interface. I have heard plenty of complaints about Windows 8.
Case in point: I set my girlfriend up with what I thought was a really nice setup. A touch screen AIO in her spare room. It had (read: HAD) Windows 7 on it. She was constantly complaining about how she hated it when it either did not register her touches or the limited gestures that I so painfully set up. She went months without even turning the damn thing on. She complained that she couldn't do anything with it because it was just too hard to get a simple task done.
Windows 8 comes out last October and I figure I'd give it a shot and if she still didn't like it, I'd have an extra computer in my man cave for something. I can't keep her off the thing. She absolutely loves it. She loves the live tiles, how it recognizes her gestures, how easy it is to navigate. I could go on...
What I wish people would realize is that Windows 8, while it will probably not be as widely accepted as our beloved Windows 7, it is still a pretty solid step forward. If you are a power user (myself included) you will probably never install W8 on your desktop or even your laptop. But it is a fantastic piece of software that can change how people use computers.
How normal people think: Cool, a touch screen. Now I have more options. Perhaps one day I'll find an application in which being able to manipulate up to 10 different points simultaneously will be much more practical and time-saving than editing coordinates one at a time.
Really there is no comparison. Windows 8 and a touch screen are not worth the trade off. Building a high-end system that blows the Dell away is by far the superior choice.
And then there's the mess one's fingers will make on a touch screen. I can't see desktop users
being happy with ever-present finger prints, etc. When I get off a bus, I see people sitting using
their smart phones; my first thought is, how can they live with such a filthy screen?? Some of
them look as though they've been dipped in a sewer...
Ian.
But why on earth would I pay MORE for a PC when there's a widely supported Unix for LESS?
Sorry, I didn't notice the screen was 27". Ok, this puts everything back into perspective again. No flame intended.
No, we predicted it would be a failure because of the changes Microsoft made to it.
We're proclaiming it a failure because it has a 30% slower adoption rate than Vista had, despite being released just before the Xmas shopping season.
Fans of Windows 8 and Metro need to recognize they're the minority. More than 96% of PC users are not using Windows 8, and the reason is not steep hardware requirements, or bugs, or the unavailability of drivers, but the stupid touch centric interface that most users don't want anywhere near their PCs - hence the 3.3% market share for Windows 8.
Maybe, if so it's way uglier and packed with a crap OS too.