Dell Gives XPS Desktop a Smaller Chassis with More Powerful Parts
Dell’s desktop gets inspired by the design of its XPS laptops.
Dell is refreshing its XPS Desktop with a new model, the 8940, which has a new, smaller chassis, along with the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors paired with either Nvidia or AMD graphics cards. It starts at $649.99 and is available now in the United States and Canada.
The new design is meant to be reminiscent of what we saw Dell do with its XPS laptops, using a design that looks like the carbon fiber weave or woven glass palm rests on those machines. It comes in either mineral white or night sky (black).
| CPU | Up to Intel Core i9-10900K |
|---|---|
| GPU | Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT |
| RAM | Up to 128GB DDR-2666 |
| Storage | Up to 2TB PCIe NVme M.2 SSD and 2TB TB 7,200-RPM HDD |
| Power Supply | 360W or 500W |
| Case | 19 liters, mineral white or night sky |
| Optical Drive | Optional, DVD or Blu-ray |
| Dimensions | 14.5 x 12.1 x 6.7 inches |
| Starting Price | $649.99 |
In many ways, the chassis and system resemble the company’s gaming desktop, the Dell G5. The power supply, which goes up to 500W, appears to be a server-style PSU. There are plenty of ports on the front, including a USB 3.1 Type-C port, three USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a headphone jack and an SD card reader. Those are a great convenience - that’s a lot of connectivity without having to reach behind your system. But in a shot showing all of the parts, it shows a non-standard motherboard to make that happen, so some upgrades may be difficult down the line.
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While the CPU options are all 10th Gen Intel, the GPU choices are more flexible. On the Nvidia side, it starts at a GT 1030 and goes up to an RTX 2070 Super. For AMD, there will be only the Radeon RX 5600 at launch. Later on, the Radeon RX 5300, RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT will be options. This announcement confirms the RX 5300’s existence, as we had previously only seen rumors about it.
Where the XPS is most upgradeable is in storage. Its highest capacities mix an M.2 PCIe SSD and a spinning HDD, but there are four bays to add space later.
In other XPS-related news, Dell also announced today that the XPS 15 laptop will be available in white (specifically, an arctic white woven glass palm rest with “frost” colored aluminum). Previously, the XPS 15 only came in black, though the XPS 13 launched with both options.
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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and BlueSky @andrewfreedman.net. You can send him tips on Signal: andrewfreedman.01
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everettfsargent No XPS 8940 at dell.com yet. I'm thinking your vaporware articles outnumber real hardware articles 10:1 You all need to STOP pushing crap that doesn't exist at the time of publication. TIAReply -
C_Ray Reply
I'm thinking you need to learn how to use search... https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/desktop-computers/xps-desktop/spd/xps-8940-desktop#configurations_sectioneverettfsargent said:No XPS 8940 at dell.com yet. I'm thinking your vaporware articles outnumber real hardware articles 10:1 You all need to STOP pushing crap that doesn't exist at the time of publication. TIA -
nofanneeded This is just the same Optiplex 7080/5080 internal case with different cover. Sadly this case is worse than the older case in cooling ...Reply
the older XPS was way better . it is stupid to use Business class compact cases for the XPS line . Dell is going cheap.
Dell XPS allways shared the internal case design iof their workstation entry level case .. now they decided to use the Optiplex cases for XPS line. not good
things that went bad :
1- Top 120 fan lost.
2-normal ATX size power supply *upto 800 W" lost to some non Generic low watt PSU.
3- Cant add RTX 2080 super anymore while old XPS with 800W PSU option had no limits for GPU.
4- no "k" potential at all , and lower turbo speeds ...
Dell really forgot what XPS used to be ...
I Miss old times
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King_V Replynofanneeded said:This is just the same Optiplex 7080/5080 internal case with different cover. Sadly this case is worse than the older case in cooling ...
I remember when the 8910 came out, it supposedly had some of its cooling redesign inspired by the cooling for the Alienware R8, I think. I have read, though, that its cooling turned out not to be all that great on the XPS. Not sure if the R8 managed it better.
I never quite got any solid confirmation on that. Still, my son's video card (PowerColor RX 580 at the time) seemed to need to spin up the fans more, and audibly so, in his 8910 than it did in his DIYPC-Trio-GT-RGB. Of course, the latter is a much larger case with 4 fans included.
But, was the 8910/8920/8930 good at cooling, better than the XPS 8300/8500/8700? Is the new 8940 a big step backward in cooling ability?
I'll admit that seeing them moving to a server-style PSU is very disappointing. Maybe they're trying to draw a much sharper line between the general use home PC and the enthusiast (Alienware) one? I was given to understand that even that R9 redesign for the Alienware didn't improve cooling, not sure if it made it worse.
I have to admit - I've liked Dells, they've been good to me for my needs, but this seems a bit like a step in the wrong direction. -
nofanneeded ReplyKing_V said:I remember when the 8910 came out, it supposedly had some of its cooling redesign inspired by the cooling for the Alienware R8, I think. I have read, though, that its cooling turned out not to be all that great on the XPS. Not sure if the R8 managed it better.
I never quite got any solid confirmation on that. Still, my son's video card (PowerColor RX 580 at the time) seemed to need to spin up the fans more, and audibly so, in his 8910 than it did in his DIYPC-Trio-GT-RGB. Of course, the latter is a much larger case with 4 fans included.
But, was the 8910/8920/8930 good at cooling, better than the XPS 8300/8500/8700? Is the new 8940 a big step backward in cooling ability?
I'll admit that seeing them moving to a server-style PSU is very disappointing. Maybe they're trying to draw a much sharper line between the general use home PC and the enthusiast (Alienware) one? I was given to understand that even that R9 redesign for the Alienware didn't improve cooling, not sure if it made it worse.
I have to admit - I've liked Dells, they've been good to me for my needs, but this seems a bit like a step in the wrong direction.
Actually the XPS was allways the "studio" solution , that is in between General PC (The Dell inspiron) and the high end gaming Alienware machines ...
That is , the XPS was the high end PC that lacked Overclocking and Dual GPU ... but it was vey high end in design and cooling and could take the best single card GPU. and The "K" Cpus were an option but without overclocking just built in Turbo mode.
Now not anymore , the XPS turned into a crap ... -
btc909 Disappointing. Smaller, don't care. Less fans = more noise. No RTX 2080 support. Non-standard ITX power supply. Still only 1 PCIe 4x slot. The PCIe 1x is useless to me. Only gigabit LAN (see PCIe 4x slot). Two useless 2.5" drive bays, only one 3.5" bay. Of course you have that 10th Gen limitation, no PCIe 4.0. The swing out power supply is gone but that never bothered me. Just the cabling was odd. Is as if Dell is pushing you into the Alienware line. Be aware if you are upgrading to a higher CPU a 'voltage regulator heatsink' does exist. Refer to the Service Manual.Reply