Dell Unveils Core i7 with New XPS

Adding to its successful XPS line of gaming desktops, Dell introduces its new XPS 730x gaming system to the line-up. The new ‘x’ denotes the cross over from Core 2 to Intel’s new Core i7 platform along with Intel’s new X58 chipset.

The new XPS 730x system will be available with all three Intel i7 CPU models: the i7 920 (2.66GHz), i7 940 (2.93GHz), and the Extreme i7 965 (3.2GHz). Customers will also have their choice between an ATI CrossFire setup, or Nvidia SLI setup. Either solution will surely give the customer the best possibly gaming experience money can buy.

Dell has left the XPS chassis true to its previous models, so there’s no huge change here. However, some minor adjustments have been made to the chassis thermal monitoring system. All important system statistics can be viewed in real time via the XPS Thermal Monitor utility with the ability to drag and drop individual fan or temperature monitoring widgets anywhere on the desktop. The XP Thermal Monitoring application runs in the background and uses very little resources since all of its operations are handles by a dedicated chip.

Along with updates to the thermal monitoring system, the chassis also got an update to its lighting system – this time around, with some ideas loaned from Alienware designs. The 730x supports the AlienFX utility which allows users to customize the XPS multi-colored lighting system to their personal liking or disable it all together. For those not familiar, the AlienFX lighting control allows users to set lighting profiles based on certain applications that are currently running. The lights can also be set to change color upon system notices or new email.

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Another interesting feature (which may be nothing new to enthusiast builders) is the addition of what Dell refers to as ’Theater Lighting’ that consists of four white LEDs placed strategically inside the case. These LEDs automatically turn on when the side panel has been removed so that you can see what is going on inside the system when performing maintenance. These lights are powered by battery and not the system’s main Power Supply Unit (PSU).

Some of the other hardware options that are available with the 730x line-up are factory overclocked processors, which come with full warranty coverage from Dell. The H2C liquid cooling solution option, Blu-Ray drive, Western Digital Raptor RAID configurations and various solid state drive configurations are available as well. Lastly, the KillerNIC from Bigfoot Networks is still available in the new line-up.

The launch-day pricing for the Core i7 920 (2.66GHz) XPS 730x model starts at US$1999.00 – so be prepared give your arm or leg for this one. The good news? You will have the the ability play all the latest games on a very potent and factory overclocked system that comes with a warranty.