Previously Dell's only PC option that offered an Intel Alder Lake CPU, DDR5 RAM, and RTX 30 series video cards was in the form of the Alienware Aurora R13 gaming PC. At a cost of about $2900 for an Intel Core i7 RTX 3080 combo, it's out of reach for many people. Now, Dell has extended similar buildout options to their new 2021-2022 Dell XPS gaming PC.
I've been recently building a new Intel PC for myself and I've been flabbergasted at the cost of some of these new components. Right now, Intel and NVIDIA hold the titles for the best gaming CPU and GPU on the market, but sourcing their products can be a nightmare. We should all know by now how hard it is to get hold of an RTX 30 series video card at retail price. It's practically impossible to get online. On eBay, an RTX 3080 video sells for over $1600 (if you've forgotten, the MSRP of an RTX 3080 starts at $700). Your best bet would be to walk into a local Best Buy and hope that your trip wasn't just a waste of time.
That's not even the end of it. Intel released its new 12th generation Alder Lake processors, and they've proven to outperform the AMD Ryzen 7 and 9. The processors are readily available, but the costs of Z690 motherboards and DDR5 RAM are utterly ridiculous. DDR5, in particular, is impossible to find anywhere except on eBay. 32GB of RAM there costs... and I'm not joking... $900. The best option is to stick with DDR4, but there aren't nearly as many DDR4 boards available, and you'll still have to pay over $200. The last nitpick is cooler compatibility. The vast majority of existing coolers, both air and AIO, do not come with LGA 1700 mounting. You'll have to email your cooler manufacturer and request one. For many of these manufacturers, there is a shortage of LGA 1700 mounting brackets, and again, that will delay your build. Time is money.
Compared to the previous Dell XPS chassis, this one is larger in volume (27L vs 19L) and provides more clearance for the CPU and GPU area for much better airflow. That's important because the new Alder Lake processors can run hot under intense loads. In terms of future proofing, the new Dell XPS boasts a Z690 motherboard that supports the newest 12th gen Intel Alder Lake processors, DDR5 RAM, and RTX 30 series video cards over PCI-E 5.0. This proves that DDR5 RAM actually exists in the wild. Your video card options are great as well; pick your choice of RTX 30 series video card, from the RTX 3060 Ti all the way to the RTX 3090, just like with the Alienware Aurora R13. Perhaps the best news? According to Dell's website, these configs ship out in mid January.
Normally there'd be naysayers claiming that you could build the same quality rig for a cheaper price. Provided you know how to find deals, that certainly isn't far from the truth. But we're living in a whole different world right know where supply and demand has killed off price sensibility. And we have to factor time in as well. Technology moves so quickly that the value of our PC components depreciate at a frightening pace. Waiting a few months for a current gen piece isn't necessarily the best option, especially if that "few months" could extend to several months. In these circumstances, Dell offers an incredibly powerful and slick looking gaming rig with all the impossible-to-get components you could hope for, at a reasonable price and time frame. The only other sensible option is to go AMD.
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I've been recently building a new Intel PC for myself and I've been flabbergasted at the cost of some of these new components. Right now, Intel and NVIDIA hold the titles for the best gaming CPU and GPU on the market, but sourcing their products can be a nightmare. We should all know by now how hard it is to get hold of an RTX 30 series video card at retail price. It's practically impossible to get online. On eBay, an RTX 3080 video sells for over $1600 (if you've forgotten, the MSRP of an RTX 3080 starts at $700). Your best bet would be to walk into a local Best Buy and hope that your trip wasn't just a waste of time.
That's not even the end of it. Intel released its new 12th generation Alder Lake processors, and they've proven to outperform the AMD Ryzen 7 and 9. The processors are readily available, but the costs of Z690 motherboards and DDR5 RAM are utterly ridiculous. DDR5, in particular, is impossible to find anywhere except on eBay. 32GB of RAM there costs... and I'm not joking... $900. The best option is to stick with DDR4, but there aren't nearly as many DDR4 boards available, and you'll still have to pay over $200. The last nitpick is cooler compatibility. The vast majority of existing coolers, both air and AIO, do not come with LGA 1700 mounting. You'll have to email your cooler manufacturer and request one. For many of these manufacturers, there is a shortage of LGA 1700 mounting brackets, and again, that will delay your build. Time is money.
Enter the New Dell XPS Gaming PC
Compared to the previous Dell XPS chassis, this one is larger in volume (27L vs 19L) and provides more clearance for the CPU and GPU area for much better airflow. That's important because the new Alder Lake processors can run hot under intense loads. In terms of future proofing, the new Dell XPS boasts a Z690 motherboard that supports the newest 12th gen Intel Alder Lake processors, DDR5 RAM, and RTX 30 series video cards over PCI-E 5.0. This proves that DDR5 RAM actually exists in the wild. Your video card options are great as well; pick your choice of RTX 30 series video card, from the RTX 3060 Ti all the way to the RTX 3090, just like with the Alienware Aurora R13. Perhaps the best news? According to Dell's website, these configs ship out in mid January.
Normally there'd be naysayers claiming that you could build the same quality rig for a cheaper price. Provided you know how to find deals, that certainly isn't far from the truth. But we're living in a whole different world right know where supply and demand has killed off price sensibility. And we have to factor time in as well. Technology moves so quickly that the value of our PC components depreciate at a frightening pace. Waiting a few months for a current gen piece isn't necessarily the best option, especially if that "few months" could extend to several months. In these circumstances, Dell offers an incredibly powerful and slick looking gaming rig with all the impossible-to-get components you could hope for, at a reasonable price and time frame. The only other sensible option is to go AMD.
Continue reading...