Dell Tags All the Bases With Intel Haswell Offerings
The sexiest new products are arguably the Dell XPS 27 all-in-one and the XPS 12 convertible laptop/tablet. The XPS 27 features an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2GB) GPU in addition to Intel HD4600 graphics with either an Intel Core i7-4770S (3.9GHz) or Core i5-4430S (3.2GHz) CPU. The 27-inch (2560x1440) display features 10-point multitouch, and there’s a 2MP webcam with dual digital microphones integrated in the front. Waves MaxxAudio Pro is on board, as well as up to 16GB of DDR3-1600MHz (SODIMMs) memory , 2TB 7200RPM + 256GB mSATA SSD storage configuration, Blu-ray combo drive, 8-in-1 card reader, and a host of ports. The XPS 27 starts at $1,599.99.
Dell XPS 27
The XPS 12 actually isn’t much cheaper, starting at $1,199.99 for an ultrabook/tablet with a special flip hinge and a 12.5-inch full HD display (400 nits) that weighs just 3.35lbs. Inside, there’s up to an Intel Core i7-4650U processor (3.3 GHz), 8GB of DDR3L-RS 1600MHz of RAM, Intel HD Graphics 5000 (with 512MB dedicated video memory), and a 512GB SSD. Dell says that the battery can last nearly 9 hours, and there’s a full chiclet-style backlit keyboard, dual digital-array mics, 1.3MP webcam, and ports including a mini-DisplayPort.
Dell XPS 12
Further on the mobile side, Dell announced the Latitude E6540, which is a notebook designed for the commercial market and includes the company’s enterprise-level security and encryption. In addition to a Haswell-based processor and integrated graphics, it boasts your choice of an SSD hybrid or SSD drive.
Dell Latitude E6540
Desktops? There are several. Dell’s new flagship PC is the XPS 8700 desktop with up to an Intel Core i7-4770 (3.9GHz) CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 (1.5GB) or AMD Radeon HD 7570M (1GB) graphics, 32GB of DDR3-1600MHz RAM, 3TB (7200RPM) plus 256GB mSATA SSD storage setup, and a Blu-ray combo drive. WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 are built in, as well as a 19-in-1 card reader, 7.1 channel Waves MaxxAudioPro audio, HDMI and DisplayPort, and buckets of USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. The desktop starts at $699.99.
Dell XPS 8700
Another commercial offering, the OptiPlex 9020, is being billed by Dell as “the world’s most manageable Intel vPro enabled desktop on the market”. It’s available in USFF, SFF, MT, and compact all-in-one form factors and includes the users’ choice of HDD and SSD, RAM, and discrete graphics options. The OptiPlex includes simplified management tools, Dell Cloud Desktop, and Dell Wyse WSM. There is also a pair of Dell Precision Haswell-based workstations available, which we’ve already covered here.
Finally, Dell hasn’t ignored the gaming side; the new Alienware X51 offers up to an Intel Core i7-4770 (3.9GHz) processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (2GB) GPU, 16GB dual-channel DDR3-1600MHz RAM, and a 1TB (5400RPM) HDD (SATA 3Gbps) with a 256GB SSD. There’s an optional slot-loading Blu-ray player, eight total USB 3.0 ports, mic in and stereo out jacks, HDMI out, SPDIF out (both coax and TOSLINK), LAN port, and an impressive number of speakers (sans subwoofer). The compact chassis is upgradeable, and the whole rig starts at $899 with Haswell chips inside.