Cube inside...
300-MHz PII And DVD , Too
Zulich, Michael J.
01/01/98
Windows Sources
Page 097
(COPYRIGHT 1998 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company) Copyright 1998 Information Access Company. All rights reserved.
Dell Dimension XPS D300
PROS: Solid components; excellent DVD playback.
CONS: Performance slightly lower than that of the competition.
This is a 300-MHz desktop system with decent performance and excellent DVD playback.
Company: Dell Computer Corp., Austin, TX
Price:With Win NT, $2,684; with Win 95, $2,599
Availability:: Now
OS SUPPORT: Win NT 4.0, Win 95
Phone: 800-388-8542; 512-338-4400
URL: www.dell.com
The growing acceptance of AGP has system vendors introducing new products so rapidly that 6-month-old systems are obsolete. That's the case with Dell and its Dimension XPS D300. This system uses the new AGP-compliant LX chip set and is the first in a series of XPS systems that will replace the H266 product line, with its FX chip set, introduced last April. But there's more to this Dimension than just AGP. It includes a 300-MHz PII and sells for $2,684, loaded with Windows NT 4.0. We tested a shipping system.
Dell is aiming the D300 at the second-time buyer in the small-to-medium-size-business arena. The D300 is equipped with everything this experienced buyer needs, including 64MB of SDRAM, 512K of cache, and an ATX platform with two USB ports on the motherboard. The hard disk is a high-performance, 8.4GB IBM Deskstar DHEA-38451. An STB Velocity 128 board for AGP with 4MB of SGRAM RAM handles the graphics, while a SoundBlaster AWE64 card handles the sound. The system also includes a U.S. Robotics 56K Winmodem. And to confirm Dell's commitment to the forward-thinking buyer, Dell includes a 12X/20X Hitachi GD2000 ATAPI DVD drive teamed with a Quadrant Cinemaster II video controller.
If you need to make the system more enterprise-friendly, you can purchase an optional 3Com PCI 10/100 Ethernet card for $79.
The system had difficulty running our benchmarks. The problems appear to relate to the newness of the graphics board, because the tests ran under Windows 95, only when 2-month-old drivers were loaded. Under Windows NT, the system completed only CPUmark32, (scoring 742, behind NEC's and Hewlett-Packard's powerhouses) and High-End Disk WinMark 98 (achieving a score of 4,710, which beat out NEC's 3,555). As for High-End Winstone 98 and High-End Graphics WinMark 98, the system stalled when calling up Microsoft Access 97. We expect Dell and STB to clear up these problems. In the meantime, you might consider requesting a different graphics board.
Under Windows 95, with system RAM reduced to 32MB, the Dell delivered a Business Graphics WinMark 98 score of 112 and a Business Winstone 98 score of 21.4. These scores are below the PowerMate's Business Graphics WinMark 98 score of 150 and Business Winstone 98 score of 23.7.
Still, we were impressed with the video playback of the Hitachi DVD drive and Cinemaster II combo. The two components delivered broadcast-quality video with no pixelation or distortion, even across a full screen. Moreover, unlike previous versions of the Cinemaster, this one doesn't force you into letterbox mode.
Overall, the Dell Dimension XPS D300 is a decent, if not exceptional, performer whose major selling point is its DVD drive. But considering that NEC's PowerMate Enterprise II delivers greater speed at roughly the same price, it looks like the smarter buy. Even if you don't need all its network support.
The Dimension XPS D300 includes a Hitachi DVD drive and Cinemaster II combination that delivers very good video playback. |
