Last week I took a risk and bought a Dell XPS one 27 all-in-one with a £300 discount, as they were clearing stock ready for the release of the windows 8 touch version. I decided that if a new iMac was released today, and I liked the specs, I could return the Dell within the 7 day cooling off period and get the New 27 iMac. Problem is now Ive reviewed the new iMac specs I cant decide, especially without knowing the BTO prices. I've surprisingly been quite impressed with the Dell and even using windows hasn't bothered me as much as I expected.
here's a comparison:
Dell XPS one (£1199)
Ivy Bridge Core i7 3770s (3.1 GHz, 3.9 GHz turbo )
27 2560x1440 Samsung PLS display
6Gb DDR3-1600 RAM
GT 640m 2Gb GDDR5
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200-RPM SATA 6Gbps HDD
DVD Drive
Hybrid TV tuner
6xUSB 3.0, HDMI in, HDMI out, Optical out
mSATA port for SSD
If I keep it Im intending to add a 128Gb Crucial M4 mSATA SSD for £80 and upgrade the RAM to 16Gb for £47. Total price after upgrades will be £1327
Imac 27 (base price £1499)
2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
27 2560x1440
1TB (7200-rpm) hard drive
8GB (two 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory
GTX 660M 512 MB
BTO options 1Tb fusion Drive £200 (based on New mac Mini BTO Price)
16 GB Ram upgrade £60 From Crucial to fit myself.
Total Price after upgrades £1760 (estimated)
Pros
Price
better CPU
HDMI in (currently have SKY HD, Freeview HD, and Blu-ray connected via an HDMI matrix and have so been able to remove the TV in the Study)
Built in TV tuner (can watch sky and Freeview in windowed mode while using the PC)
Optical drive
Easy access for upgrading HDD, SSD, etc. (back removable)
Won't have to wait until December
Cons
No OSX
Doesn't look quite as good
Not as Thin??
Display the XPS display is excellent but new mac anti-glare display likely to be better.
Not Sure
GPU 640m with 2GB vs 660m with 512 MB, which is best
Overall I think the specs are comparable, but with the £300 discount the Dell seems like a pretty good deal. If the new Mac had an HDMI input though I'd definitely return the Dell and wait for the new Mac.
Need to decide by Thursday, so hope we get a bit more info on the BTO costs by then.
here's a comparison:
Dell XPS one (£1199)
Ivy Bridge Core i7 3770s (3.1 GHz, 3.9 GHz turbo )
27 2560x1440 Samsung PLS display
6Gb DDR3-1600 RAM
GT 640m 2Gb GDDR5
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200-RPM SATA 6Gbps HDD
DVD Drive
Hybrid TV tuner
6xUSB 3.0, HDMI in, HDMI out, Optical out
mSATA port for SSD
If I keep it Im intending to add a 128Gb Crucial M4 mSATA SSD for £80 and upgrade the RAM to 16Gb for £47. Total price after upgrades will be £1327
Imac 27 (base price £1499)
2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
27 2560x1440
1TB (7200-rpm) hard drive
8GB (two 4GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 memory
GTX 660M 512 MB
BTO options 1Tb fusion Drive £200 (based on New mac Mini BTO Price)
16 GB Ram upgrade £60 From Crucial to fit myself.
Total Price after upgrades £1760 (estimated)
Pros
Price
better CPU
HDMI in (currently have SKY HD, Freeview HD, and Blu-ray connected via an HDMI matrix and have so been able to remove the TV in the Study)
Built in TV tuner (can watch sky and Freeview in windowed mode while using the PC)
Optical drive
Easy access for upgrading HDD, SSD, etc. (back removable)
Won't have to wait until December
Cons
No OSX
Doesn't look quite as good
Not as Thin??
Display the XPS display is excellent but new mac anti-glare display likely to be better.
Not Sure
GPU 640m with 2GB vs 660m with 512 MB, which is best
Overall I think the specs are comparable, but with the £300 discount the Dell seems like a pretty good deal. If the new Mac had an HDMI input though I'd definitely return the Dell and wait for the new Mac.
Need to decide by Thursday, so hope we get a bit more info on the BTO costs by then.
