Dell's XPS 730x Core I7 Gaming System Reviewed 171
MojoKid writes "Shortly after Intel released their new Core i7 processors about a month ago, Dell announced a new update to the XPS 730 with Core i7 tech under the hood.
The new Dell XPS 730x is first and foremost a technology update but the chassis has also been buffed up a bit. The Intel Core 2 processor and NVIDIA 790i Ultra SLI chipset powering the original XPS 730 line have been swapped with
the new Core i7 processor and an Intel X58 Express chipset based motherboard. The XPS 730x retains the original 730's ability to
support both Crossfire and SLI multi-GPU graphics. Like all XPS 700 series machines since the XPS 710, the XPS 730x is available with optional factory overclocking and a H2C edition featuring a two-stage liquid cooling system. And yes,
it rips through Crysis quite nicely and puts up rather impressive benchmark numbers."
Re:Windows again (Score:5, Interesting)
While I don't really disagree with your assessment, I find it interesting to note that many people have blamed the fall of the Amiga as a platform on it being too heavily marketed as a games platform rather than being for "work stuff".
Ironic that now it seems that one of the major obstacles preventing a particular platform's wide level acceptance is the presence of games.
Truthfully given how limited my scope of gaming is these days Linux could PROBABLY serve all my needs if there were a good WoW (and Ventrilo) client for it. For the time being though my Mac is thankfully able to handle both those tasks.
Re:XPS cases sucks (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't want it either because I have to buy a new case.
If I'm just swapping out mobos and CPUs every now and then I don't wanna be buying new cases. Especially if I"m using a really good and very expensive one.
Re:$4,700 later, you can play a $40, year-old game (Score:4, Interesting)
What are you talking about. Computer games have *always* been designed to have settings headroom so that they can take advantage of new hardware. Crysis is normal, not some wacky exception.
That's bullshit. FarCry 2, for example, also wouldn't run on max on that rig. And that's good. It means that game graphics haven't stagnated. It means that games can look better, and all you need to do is upgrade to see them. Just like it's been for the past 15 years.
Re:Windows again (Score:3, Interesting)
And if XP lost all the crap and became a game only OS then I could live with that as well.
I'm not getting my head around why this appeals to you so much. Maybe its just how I look at it.
For me - Linux is great. I work in it. I dabble with various hobbies in it. When I want to game, its nice to just swing over to a virtual desktop and fire up a game for an hour or two (or hell - a weekend lost to downing bosses and fighting battlegrounds). A specialized gaming OS would mean I have to reboot (I couldn't imagine running in an emulator but hey - we're getting there).
What you're asking for is a specialized OS. That seems to go against the nature of multi-purpose computing. That environment has been producing some very interesting effects over the years and pushing games that didn't exist anywhere else. Narrow the focus and you might miss the Next Big Thing.
Even consoles are wandering away from their specialized roots. PS3 and Xbox are trying very hard to be all things entertainment; gaming, media, web browsing... it goes on. Unless the market gets burned by this, it is the thing of the future. Even my Tivo wants me to use it to order a pizza (apparently unsatisfied with just recording my TV, delivering movies / internet TV shows / podcasts, and streaming internet music stations).