Dell Dimension XPS 400 Evaluation @ [H]

Damnit! 7 pages already! I'm just now printing up the arty!!

Glancing over the print reminds me of my bro's recent tx650. He's recently started working for a new co. The co had an IT guy...wait...kid. My bro told the kid, he'd like a fast, powerful machine that's light. <---silly bro. So the tv tray finally comes in with a whopping 65 processes. HDtach tells me my usb key's faster than this things hdd.

The kicker of all this. My bro went back to ask the IT kid if he'd take a look at some of this extra stuff and optimize it. The kid told my bro, "I've already done that. I took off quite a few programs and everything else IS REQUIRED FOR THE OPERATION OF THE MACHINE."

How do these folks get jobs in IT? How does this kid administer an entire company?

I need to get off my butt and start my own it consulting co...How's "Humans NOT shafting other humans" sound? :eek:

*jumps into arty*
 
First of all, nice review, right on the money. Most of us in the forums have some knowledge of computers but the average consumer would have an even more difficult time in correcting these problems than the reviewers did. You should have tried to RMA the system, you would have been bribed to keep it.

My first DELL System was XPS "R"400 PII system with Windows98, back in 1999. This was when DELL was not splintered into 10 different departments and the home user mattered. You received a Full Copy of the Operating system along with a huge instruction booklet. A 100% difference from what you get today. Back then we talked about PACKARD BELL the way we are talking about DELL (HOME DIVISION) today.

DELL realized that the money was in Big Business, Servers and Workstations and the Home Consumer started to take a backseat. In addition to a Home Account, I have Business Account and the attitude is way different and the language spoken is uniform and direct. It is now what the stock holders want and not the Home user. The dream of a PC in every home was just a pipe dream. Anyone who repairs PCs are still dealing with PC133 SDRAM. Trying to pry that 5 year old PIII 500 out of their hands is difficult to impossible because the icon on the desktop is in the same place everytime they boot up and it takes them to thier one or two pages on the internet that they never dared navigate away from.

Did you ever uncheck items in MSCONFIG just to have them back a few days later? If you really want to see what starts up in your system, go to regedit and do a search for "startupreg" and you'll see things not listed in MSCONFIG. Although the startupreg seems to be just a benign history of items that started up with your computer, I usually have to delete a number of these items when cleaning a DELL system.

For the most part, Home consumers don't want to know how the system works, they just want it to work, just like thier TV or Playstation. Dell has failed miserably in this department.
 
Man, what an abattoir this review turned out to be. I own two Dell systems myself and the only problem I recognize from the review is the shiny mousemat issue...

Both of my systems (Dim8300 and XPSgen4) were delivered without bloatware and with OS reinstall CDs free of charge. Out-of-the box performance was as expected from the respective hardware, and there have been no stability issues whatsoever. Both systems have been folding 24/7 with two clients each since May without chrashes, only controlled restarts for Windows upgrades etc. Been running games, recording and encoding programs on top without problems. No problems with installation of games or other software.

My conclusion is that most of the problems described in the review apply for Dell USA customers only. Being a Norwegian consumer, I can assure you that the aggressive sales pitch represented by unwanted pre-installed bloatware, "trials" and popups would in practice eliminate any PC vendor from our market, and probably also most of the large European market. I guess Dell Europe are aware of this and have adjusted their computer configurations accordingly.
 
Kyle, Chris, etc.

One area ya'll should start hammering on is all the intrusive and annoying habits that many mainline software packages have. Too many programs, in particular AV programs, have a tendency to take focus from any application for even the simple notification of updates being downloaded.

I used to have Norton on my system but had to switch to another simply because every Norton product took focus away when they ran, even if I was in full screen on another applicaiton. Worse, their floaters about the icon tray would bleed over full screen applications. I haven't found a single AV program that doesn't take focus from my full screen applications.

JAVA does it too, their floaters about a new version available bleed through many games.



So while the Dell system is weighed down by bloatware the real fault is that these software writers have made their software so annoying people will uninstall it. I know of quite a few people who run without AV simply because of annoyance factors!

Still Dell should be ashamed to have shipped such a machine but I doubt they will change anything.
 
Shivetya said:
So while the Dell system is weighed down by bloatware the real fault is that these software writers have made their software so annoying people will uninstall it. I know of quite a few people who run without AV simply because of annoyance factors!
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I couldn't hit 50+ process if I tried. Most of us are under 30 WITH AntiVirus, Firewall, Browser, Email, RSS feed, Audio player.

Tell your peeps to turn off AV alerts before they send more crap to folks I end up talking to during my work day. As for most Firewall's, you kinda have to see the alert ;-)
 
Sorry if this was touched on already...

But you didn't have to buy the Windows CD. Dell computers comes with some sort of program that allows you to burn one image of the Windows CD. They sell the disk as a $10 "upgrade" on their website (last time I checked). Why you paid $11 I don't know, maybe shipping or tax.
Although that is a bullshit hassle Dell does give you the opportunity to burn it onto one of your own disks that you already have and probably paid $0.25 for. They also probably (guessing here) send you a free blank DVD or CD (they usually do) that you could have used so it would cost you nothing but time.

I just wanted that to go on record. Although I am not sure what kind of Windows Disc it burns (never have done it) they do technically give you a Windows Disc image, you have to burn it though. You might want to add that into your review.
 
From my understanding we could find no way to burn an image like we could with Gateway.

Also, I see now on the last page of the 400 configurator that there is a drop down box that defaults to hidden that allows you to order media along with your system.

None of us noticed that.
 
Chris_Morley said:
From my understanding we could find no way to burn an image like we could with Gateway.

Also, I see now on the last page of the 400 configurator that there is a drop down box that defaults to hidden that allows you to order media along with your system.

None of us noticed that.
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I don't know if you still have the computer, or if it would impact your review, but I swear it's there. If you could bring it back to original configuration (how Dell sent it to you) its in the start menu. I think its in the Microsoft or Dell tab, just a little program that will start whatever defaults as the Burner program and it will tell it to burn the disk.
I could be wrong, and I just might be, but I am shocked that a company wouldn't send out a restore disk, or at least a way to get a restore disk. This is BS even by Dell standards.
 
ninethreeeleven said:
I don't know if you still have the computer, or if it would impact your review, but I swear it's there. If you could bring it back to original configuration (how Dell sent it to you) its in the start menu. I think its in the Microsoft or Dell tab, just a little program that will start whatever defaults as the Burner program and it will tell it to burn the disk.
I could be wrong, and I just might be, but I am shocked that a company wouldn't send out a restore disk, or at least a way to get a restore disk. This is BS even by Dell standards.
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I'm sure Brian will chime in here but we found nothing in the original build that would let us do that. Dell support didn't offer anything after questioning about it except for the HDD-based re-imaging...
 
I'm not defending Dell by any means, but I'll throw in a few observations. I've learned to run away from Dimension systems because they are riddled with bloatware. An unfortunate situation for the unknowing general computer purchaser. Dimension's are geared towards the general public. I think you'll find a lot of pre-built systems now a days will come with a lot of crap on them. That's no excuse to be sure.
If you manage to check out the optiplex or precision model's you'll find none of that bloatware pre-installed however.
I still have a lot of concerns about Dell's. Mainly the design of the units. Certain model designs have little ventilation and no case fans. This explains how they are able to make such a quiet machine. Only time will tell however before the power supply or hard drive pre-maturely dies due to heat.
Dell is pretty good about replacing hardware provided you jump through their hoops. But be advised that all they will do is replace the hardware. If your hard drive dies it'll be up to you to re-install and restore the software.
My advice to anyone who purchases a Dell Dimension. First thing you do when you fire it up is go to the add/remove programs and start removing all the crap.
McAfee and Norton both cause more problems than their worth. Remove them both and purchase NOD32 or get AVG free.
 
Well then! Congrats to that, but I still say you can burn a disk! (<--childish yelling)

NINJA EDIT: Notice the bottom line (spotted on Slashdot) maybe he will bookmark HardOCP and we will see "spotted at the [H]" in the future.
 
ninethreeeleven said:
Well then! Congrats to that, but I still say you can burn a disk! (<--childish yelling)

NINJA EDIT: Notice the bottom line (spotted on Slashdot) maybe he will bookmark HardOCP and we will see "spotted at the [H]" in the future.
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Definitely I will get on looking into this. I must say if it's there it's carefully hidden! We did look, I promise! ;)
 
I have two friends that swear bye there dell xps's but then again one has a XPS 600 with a 3.2 dualy and the other has a 3.8 presflop gen 4 box and they have had no problems with them but they both spent atleast 4000 grand on them( they must have nothing better to do with there money) anyway they think they are the bomb and my "little" amd 3200+ is wussy or something but i keep up with them just fine the and i only spent 1000 well anyway they are both running more than 50 pross to my 36 (i havent tried to hard to slim mine down) but anyway i think they are both getting along due to the sheer amount of mem one has 2 gigs and the other 4.

I would like to see the editors opions on the top end systems the XPS 600 right now because they both seem to be solid boxes but i think both have otptimized but i would like to see the opions and if i had to get a dell i would only get the top end.

Sorry for the long post just my thoughts
 
ninethreeeleven said:
I don't know if you still have the computer, or if it would impact your review, but I swear it's there. If you could bring it back to original configuration (how Dell sent it to you) its in the start menu. I think its in the Microsoft or Dell tab, just a little program that will start whatever defaults as the Burner program and it will tell it to burn the disk.
I could be wrong, and I just might be, but I am shocked that a company wouldn't send out a restore disk, or at least a way to get a restore disk. This is BS even by Dell standards.
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Looked up and down for it, couldn't find it.
 
Would it be possible for the [H] team to run through the dell config of startup programs and programs as a whole as to which should be cut off/removed to improve performance as a whole and post the answers? Or anyone for that matter. It would be very helpful to me.
 
Thank you very much for a very timely evaluation for me. I was considering having someone else build a gaming computer for me after building my own for the last 23 years. I guess the fun is not there for me anymore. I was looking at the XPS 400 I guess because the monitor options looked like a good deal. I was wondering about software cds and the ability to upgrade. I think your evaluation made me decide to change my mind about building my own. Thanks :)
 
Chris, I hate to keep bringing this up but I have to admit I am probably wrong. Your Dell might not have come with the Backup OS program but Dells that were shipped up to July 15th 2005 did come with it.

Here is a link from Dells website that better explains how it is possible and how it works.

So at least I know I am not imagining things. While yours might not have come with the OS Recovery Program, Dell did make a program that would back up to a disk.

I guess I can understand them not shipping out the thousands of discs and resorting to this (program) but to pull the disks, the program and then charge you $10 is complete BS.
 
ninethreeeleven said:
Chris, I hate to keep bringing this up but I have to admit I am probably wrong. Your Dell might not have come with the Backup OS program but Dells that were shipped up to July 15th 2005 did come with it.

Here is a link from Dells website that better explains how it is possible and how it works.

So at least I know I am not imagining things. While yours might not have come with the OS Recovery Program, Dell did make a program that would back up to a disk.

I guess I can understand them not shipping out the thousands of discs and resorting to this (program) but to pull the disks, the program and then charge you $10 is complete BS.
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I understand man, my 700m from last year came with disks, so you can imagine my suprise at the 400...
 
Could you guys give me a list of the programs that could be deleted, and the programs that could be disabled from the boot. I would really appreciate it
 
Code8402 said:
Could you guys give me a list of the programs that could be deleted, and the programs that could be disabled from the boot. I would really appreciate it
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You may want to nudge Brian on this, he has that data. You can PM him or use the email addy from the article...
 
I'm not sure if this was already mentioned in this thread.

"I suppose if you wanted to add a TV tuner, you could make use of Windows MCE – if you wanted to add two TV tuners (a configuration Dell offers), you’d have to uninstall the PCI modem."

You can buy an external USB TV tuner that is compatible with Media Center. However, I'm not exactly extatic about having yet another box sitting near the computer. You can also purchase a number of dual tuner PCI cards. That is, a single PCI card with two tuners.

Either of these solutions would allow you to keep the PCI modem installed. Personally, though, I'd rather uninstall the PCI modem and hook up the ethernet. ;)
 
a friend of mine who works at dell is selling a few dimension 9150 pc's to his most close friends. for 450 bucks you get 250 gig sata, dvd-rom, cd burner, 3.2 p4 840 coresomething (i forgot) 128 ati hypress crap vid card and a gig of memory. xp home is the OS. Based on this review, is this dell pc still worth it? Im most worried about when I want to add a 7800 gt card to it. will it fit or there isn't enough space on the pc for this card? Thanks in advance.


Edit: mind you this isnt refurbished or used. new still inside the dell box.
 
First I would like to say that I enjoyed yet another [H] article. I believe that all the bases were covered well.

I feel that Dell is better at marketing it's computers than they actually perform. They used to be alot better. I am at work typing this on a 3 year old 8200 that is rock solid once the bloat was removed.

Dell is a good "Bate and Switch" company IMHO. I have gone to their website and tried to do a custom "Gaming rig" and I am always sticker shocked at the end when I see the final total.

I am really glad that I decided to build my own rig rather than pay a huge amount of money for a computer loaded with bloatware at the factory level (probably hard to get rid of).

In the future, if we are talking about "Gaming rigs" from the manufacturer WHERE OH WHERE IS THE ALIENWARE?

Of course I can make 2 predictions on how that will go:
1. Price/ performance is going to be way too far off for a recommendation.

2. It will be loaded with bloatware that will make it underperform.

But still if we are talking about getting more consumers to join the world fo pc gaming I am sure enough have heard the word Alienware.
 
i used to work for a pc repair shop about 3-4 years ago, did so when i was in college. And my boss made serious cash from people who would bring us their dells still under warranty. Just that concept blew my mind. I'm pretty sure at that stage Dell had all their support in house, and back then it was a pain in the ass. They would put us on hold for 20-30minutes just to make sure the part we're trying to rma was actually not dead.

They would also be so stupid, my boss (same one from the pc repair shop), wanted me to order like 10 pcs from dell. They were to be basic machines so i got xp home on all the machines, we didn't have a domain back then so it was okay. After a while we were testing putting up a domain, and i called dell asking how much to upgrade all the xp home machines to pro. Before i could even wonder a price, they ship'd them (all 10+ licenses) at no cost overnight shipping thru dhl. I'm not complaining about this at all, i'm sitting with two copies here at home. Dell, they make dreams happen :)
 
JOESKURTU said:
In the future, if we are talking about "Gaming rigs" from the manufacturer WHERE OH WHERE IS THE ALIENWARE?
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I experienced Alienware in 2000. As long as they ship a power cable, they've already improved leaps and bounds.

Silent1 said:
...from people who would bring us their dells still under warranty. Just that concept blew my mind.

...they ship'd them (all 10+ licenses) at no cost overnight shipping thru dhl.
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I worked for a ma and pa shop last year. It's not just Dells, but Gateways, Compaqs, HPs, Toshibas, Sonys. No one wanted to deal with losing their pc for +weeks when they could pay $100 and get it back the next day.

That owns man. What a helluva a mistake, lol!v :eek:
 
A good honest review that I'm glad looked at the XPS from a regular user's point of view. Sure, most people here are computer-savvy, but we often recommend or puchase computers for others and we don't have the time to erase the OEMs 'mistakes' and the user either doesn't know how or doesn't know they need to do it at all.

As a Dell on-site tech I have a few remarks.

First, I'm not surprised that the tech that showed up to replace the optical drive didn't test it first. We have so many calls and so little time to do them that it's in everyone's best interest to assume that troubleshooting procedures were followed before we were ever called out (as per SOP). So, when we show up with a part, we replace that part and ensure proper functionality. Our function is solely to replace a part that has been determined (hopefully accurately) to be malfunctioning and make sure it works.

Only in the most obvious of cases will I not follow that procedure. When I say 'obvious', I mean I show up to replace a modem that isn't getting dialtone just to find out they have the telephone cable plugged into the Ethernet jack. Why tech support didn't ensure that the cable was in the proper jack, I'm never sure. Otherwise, if there's any question, I replace the part.

The last thing I want to do is encounter an intermittent problem that doesn't manifest itself while I'm there, neglect to replace the part thinking that the problem's fixed just to have the client call back the next day complaining that I didn't replace the part and the problem still exists. As far as the tech's concerned, this could've been the case with your optical drive. Anyway, I can replace an optical drive in about the amount of time it takes for Windows XP to boot. If I replace the drive, I'm in and out in ten minutes, the customer has a new drive and a resolved problem and Dell's instructions have been followed. Everybody wins.

Also, I've learned the hard way to check for a disk in the drive before removing it (sorry about shipping your only copy of XP back to Dell, Mr. User.)

In addition, we are only sent the part(s) that tech support thinks is the problem. In about 85% of the time, it works. The other 15% usually involves realizing that it's the PS instead of the mobo and wondering why Dell didn't send both parts just to cover their ass.

As indicated by another poster, technically, we're not supposed to do software installs on replaced HDs. However, many of us will initiate (boot from CD, agree to Windows license, format) the Windows install for the user just to save them an hour on the phone holding for a Dell tech to tell them to hit F12 at bootup.

Also, as far as imaging drives goes, I don't know how they do it, but I know of an occasion in which several techs (including me) reported that we had a string of new imaged HD replacements (Windows preloaded on the HD) that _all_ BSOD at the same place and at the same time during the install. Dell tech support indicated to us that it was a bad image.

Also, people need to remember that home users account for only about 15% of Dell's PC business (last I heard). Considering this, it's not surprising that they consider home users a lower priority than business. Not justifying it, just explaining.
 
RE: Onsite service.

Sometimes we get a bit wordy with our descriptions. We sometimes convey even the most mundane details because you never know what may pique someone's interest.

In the case of the on-site tech, the end result was that he got the job done quickly and efficiently...and in fact he was on the good side of how we balanced their tech support score...
 
Sometimes we get a bit wordy with our descriptions. We sometimes convey even the most mundane details because you never know what may pique someone's interest.
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I'm glad. I prefer comprehensive descriptions.

In the case of the on-site tech, the end result was that he got the job done quickly and efficiently...and in fact he was on the good side of how we balanced their tech support score...
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In my experience that's usually the case. When I show up they usually expect me to be as incompetent and inefficient as the people with whom they've dealt over the phone.

"You speak English? Great!!"
 
I'm trying to get a Windows XP Operating System CD from Dell, and it's almost impossible.
 
claudius said:
I'm trying to get a Windows XP Operating System CD from Dell, and it's almost impossible.
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I've tried probably 20 times over 5 years, i've bought 25+ dell systems on killer deals over the years, and upon checking 300+ hardware orders. Calling tech support gets you to pakistan if you manage to actually get through the computer assistant and push the right numbers. Once you do talk to tech and need hardware replacement i've received replacement boards, cpu's, hd's next day, but i have asked for system restore cd's for 5 years and have never got one.

Usually when i get a dell system booted up the first time. I hook up and external USB dvd burner, use norton ghost/or acronis true image and make a dvd image. I've formatted dell drives, then got out the restore cd's that come with it, only to find out the restore CD's only are boot cd's that need the hidden partition. And more than usually after 6 months some virus wipes your mbr and you cant access.

I scratch my head at some dell deals in the past. I've bought dell 400 sc servers for $299 upgraded to a 3.2 P4 when it first came out from a celeron for $100 price mix up. When newegg was selling just the 3.2P4's and everywhere else from $675 to $725.
 
waldo22 said:
I have had the same irritating problem with their defective mousepad (UNBELIEVABLE) and the optical mouse, and their support is abyssmal.
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Ha, I remember when I bought my dell Dimension 8250 a year or two back. That mouse fustrated me like crazy. When I moved the mouse across the pad the pointer just stuttered on the screen. I thought it was just dust or something in front of the laser. The thought that the PAD was defective never crossed my mind. One time I got pissed and threw the pad across the room. Then I was using the mouse on the bare desk, worked smoothly since and forgot about it.
 
Well, after a whole week with the "Hightech" XPS System...High..is there alright, but "Tech"?? I don't know about that. :( All I know, my in-law keep on calling me every other hour and I just giving up on Dell's supports teams after many long holding on the phone so many time. :mad: I come to concluded that it's best to returning it and get a refund to build my own for even less $$$. Dell's not a system that I'm gonna recommending to anyone anytime soon.
 
I also purchased an XPS 400 recently. It arrived with a very bad video stutter when watching LiveTV or TV recordings in MCE. After 2.5 weeks and countless hours on the phone to India, I returned the computer to Dell. All of your statements in the review are accurate. Long, long phone waits, hangups, no return calls, and generally clueless, though polite, tech support. At one point I was promised "level 3 tech support from Texas" but I never heard from them. Think its tuff dealing with Dells tech support? Try getting a refund! Two months and 6 phone calls. I just got my last $25.68 from them today. Goodbye Dell. I just finished building my own media center.
 
Didn't read the whole thread so this may have been stated already. Every Dell PC can be ordered with an OS CD for an extra $10.00, inculding the XPS 400.

So they still include it, but only if you are willing to pay $10.00 for it. I don't really see anything wrong with that. On all of the OptiPlex systems I order for SMB clients I always make sure it comes with an OS CD.
 
Gee, only one recovery CD for a Dell XPS 400? The "cheaper-than-building" HP A1250N
X2 I just bought requires 16 CD's - not a typo, SIXTEEN - or 2 DVD's, my choice, which have failed on several attempts.
Talk about bloatware, Add and Remove Programs was like scrolling through a corporate P&L in trying to clean up the mess.
In the process, ironically, my HP OfficeJet printer was lobotomized. I'm ready to start over as well with a straight Windows install.
 
This thread doesn't suprise me at all. I put in 145 new optiplex 620s this summer ( Celeron D 2.66 1 GB DDR2-533) and they were slower running than some of the older Dells (that had been reformatted for one reason or another) that had 256 MB of ram. Something like 65 processes running. I have 38 with FF, 2xF@H trillian and winamp running. Had to wipe one and ghost all the rest of 'em to get a decently speedy system up and running.
 
I've been playing around with my pc for about 2 days straight. i didn't reformat because ive never done it before so im afraid of messing stuff up.:/ But, I did remove quicken, mcafee and other proggies. it goes to the desktop between 20 and 24 seconds. theres 22 processes running. is that too much? btw, i installed a few games (doom3, farcry, cod, cod2, brothers in arms, mohpa, etc) without a hitch. if it wasnt for a crappy video card (ati xpress 128 shared memory shite), the games would look awsome. I can play them with a reasonable frame but it isnt [H]ot enough. for the price i paid, im ecstatic with the purchase.
 
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