Dell XPS One 27 review

We have no qualms over the main specifications. Our review sample came with the excellent quad-core 3.1GHz Intel Core i7-3770S processor, which uses Hyper-Threading to add four more virtual cores. With an overall score of 94 it makes the XPS One 27 more than capable of handling multiple programs at once as well as those that require multi-threading.

Such a high resolution screen will also take its toll on the XPS One 27’s ability to play games, and even 8GB of RAM and a 2GB Nvidia GeForce GT 640M graphics card failed to produce 15fps in our Dirt Showdown and Crysis 2 tests on Ultra Quality settings at both its native resolution and at 1,920×1,080. It fared much better in the laptop version of our Dirt Showdown test, which produced 52.6fps on High Quality settings at a resolution of 1,280×720.

This shows that tailoring the graphics settings for each game proved a much more fruitful exercise. We managed a much more playable 20.1fps in Crysis 2 on High settings and 29.4fps in Dirt Showdown on Medium settings at its native resolution, which means it’s still possible to have a competent gaming experience on the XPS One 27 as long as you’re not too fussy about graphical fidelity.

For storage there’s a 2TB hard disk, which provides plenty of storage for even the most avid of media collectors. Then there’s a 32GB SSD, which acts as a cache, improving boot times and load times of your most commonly-used applications. It certainly helps and Windows 8 boots extremely quickly when used with an SSD.

The Dell XPS One 27 also comes with a Blu-ray Combo drive embedded into the right hand side of the chassis, so you can easily watch films. It also has a multi-format card reader, two USB3 ports and separate headphone and microphone jacks on the left. Around the back are another four USB3 ports, an HDMI input for connecting up your DVD player or games console, an HDMI output for connecting your PC to your TV or another display, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and an S/PDIF port that allows you to send digital audio to external speakers. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the XPS One 27’s integrated speakers, as these had plenty of volume and excellent bass. PC.

The Dell XPS One 27 is an excellent all-in-one PC, and can certainly hold its own against Apple’s iMac. The touchscreen model is a little expensive for our liking, but the non-touch Core i7 model will get you one of the best all-in-ones money can buy.