Dell targets hardcore gamers

New top-of-the-range desktop comes with factory-overclocked CPU--at a wallet-clutching price.

Computer manufacturer Dell has unveiled its latest gaming PC in Europe, but the system doesn't come cheap. The new machine's price starts at £3,399 (approx $6,667), with the all-bells-and-whistles version with two UltraSharp monitors fetching just over £5,000 (approx $10,000).

The XPS 710 H2C edition desktop is for gamers who want "the ultimate gaming experience," according to the company line, and the computer comes built with a factory-overclocked Intel Extreme quad-core processor.

The system also combines traditional water cooling with thermoelectric, ceramic-based cooling. It uses a liquid-to-air heat exchanger that works like a car's radiator to remove most of the heat from the processor. Any leftover heat is removed with ceramic thermoelectric cooling modules--like those used in the space shuttle--to prevent the PC's high-speed components from damage.

The 710 H2C uses an Intel Core Extreme QX6700 quad-core processor overclocked from 2.66GHz to a heady 3.2GHz. It also uses the latest DirectX 10-compatible Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card, 4GB of RAM, and two 160GB hard drives with a fast spin-speed of 10,000rpm.

Dell believes that gaming enthusiasts who love to tinker with their PCs will want to buy the XPS 710 H2C, as it will provide the ability to have an overclocked machine but will also give the security of being under warranty.

The company, which acquired Alienware in March 2006, stated that it would also be continuing to "aggressively" focus on the gaming market itself, despite the acquisition of a gaming machine specialist.

246 Comments

  • First_Person

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 2:13 pm PT

    good LAWD. . .this makes PC gamers look bad.

  • sniper_99

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 1:36 pm PT

    I wish I was a millionaire

  • Sil3n7Knight

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 12:13 pm PT

    You can build a great pc for 6 times less...Dell you phail you will never capture the hardcore pc gamers hearts so stop trying...

  • hgabriel

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 10:52 am PT

    Nice, but out of budget . . .

  • kyokpa

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 10:34 am PT

    dell must assume that the common hardcore pc gamer has no idea that he can get a far better deal almost everywhere. consindering the success of dell this makes no sense at all...

  • hojobojo

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 10:31 am PT

    I would love to have that PC

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 9:44 am PT

    Yep, that's about right, the bi-yearly cost of PC gaming nowadays.... Thank God for retro and emulation (Playing Planescape Torment as we speak - as good a game as everybody said and a game I just didn't get around to!)

    2007 - One of the most interesting years in PC gaming since the pentium and CD drive arrived in the mid 90's!

  • clyde46

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 9:34 am PT

    sound like a good machine but theres a teeny tiny problem, can you guess what that is

  • LexLas

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 9:17 am PT

    Dell vs Sony ? Hmmm interesting, they are both my favorites ? If they could only combine and power up. That would be the nations ultimate power source. Well competition is always good also.

  • ldonyo

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 9:04 am PT

    Why would anyone wanting this type of PC get it from Dell? For that kind of money you can buy a fully-loaded gaming PC from any of the custom builders (Falcon Northwest, Velocity Micro, ABS, etc.) and not have to uninstall a boatload of crapware once you turned it on. Better yet, build it yourself and save a bunch of cash.

  • Bloodlustt

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:59 am PT

    10,000 for a computer is rediculous. It's not worth more than 3,000 at best

  • gozalo

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:34 am PT

    and you thought 600$ for a PS3 was expensive....

  • rob3nelson

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:31 am PT

    In two years, this machine will be obsolete.

  • SocaWarrior

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:25 am PT

    I would definetly rather try to build my own pc... I just need to learn how.

  • fahad2mail

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:23 am PT

    i love my own built pc. 3d mark2005 score is 16,200. enough for me.

  • fastpunk

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:05 am PT

    Wow! Slow down Dell! That PC is way too expensive... I could build my own without paying that much.

  • fishheads111

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:27 am PT

    nice specs...ill build my own for half the price...

  • adolfogomez

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:14 am PT

    Not sure who buys this stuff... lots of crap you just do not need.

  • jknight5422

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 6:51 am PT

    I think a true hardcore gamer would build his own system.

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 6:41 am PT

    It's good but very expensive. With $10,000 you could buy a car.

  • serbdelija

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 6:25 am PT

    And people say PS3 cost's to much and this PC will run PS3 quallity games nothing better

  • MAD_VD

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:49 am PT

    i agree with chrisdojo iv looked up all the prices and i can put together a better system 40% cheaper! DELL=RIPOFF

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:33 am PT

    meh, i'll build one for cheaper when i need to upgrade.

  • LosDaddie

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:14 am PT

    I'm going to buy tihs with my tax return.

  • diablos101

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:58 am PT

    looks loike some serious piece of hardware

  • jaychow101

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:44 am PT

    nice rig.... but cost too much at the moment cuz it was just announced... im gonna wait later if im really going to consider on buying it... im in a tight budget rite now... but really the rig is nice...

  • reeconstead

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 3:20 am PT

    Wow what a bargain! HAHAHA
    The hardcore gamers I know build their own systems or aspire to buying alienware because they look so damned cool and work so damned well. Still for that ludicrous price I could build myself a few bad boy machines that play everything out at the moment, and most probably in the future.
    And give me the ease to upgrade one bit, rather than fiddle with DELL nonsense

    I poo poo at you Dell!!!!

  • SirWeymont

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 2:44 am PT

    haahahah who is going to buy that? really, anyone?

  • Razzi65

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 2:09 am PT

    emmmm!!!wait until my grand children...

  • Atomic_Mutant

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 1:40 am PT

    NO THANKS OK

  • Arkasai7

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 1:24 am PT

    Most of that goes into cooling....though for that price, you should get the true ultimate....4 8800GTXs in SLI.

  • noblekeltic

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 12:48 am PT

    Interesting stuff, I ate granola just now.

  • Dreski83

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 12:13 am PT

    I don't mind Dell one bit, been doing business with them for years... but I'm not feeling the whole pre-made super computers.
    Of course it helps the fool who knows nothing about PCs, yet again why would such a dip have the joy of spending money on things they don't understand... its just the way the world spins and how others make profit. I can't hate them for it, do whatcha do Dell!!

  • Kracka2205

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 10:27 pm PT

    this is why PC gaming has been reduced to flight simulators and The Sims. Gaming PCs are way too overpriced and aren't guaranteed to be taken full advantage of. Sure this PC has the highest specs it could have for the moment but developers design games to be played on a large range of systems, so there will prolly never be a game that takes full advantage of this computer. Consoles, on the other hand, are different. Since they are all the same, developers can develop specifically for those components, which is why console games get better-looking over the years, even though the hardware doesn't change

  • lzorro

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 9:56 pm PT

    ehh I'm more of an HP person myself

  • robfield

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 9:44 pm PT

    Please, computers aint worth that much

  • asmodeus_z

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 9:21 pm PT

    For the price I'm paying, I rather get a PS3 and a XBOX 360, without having to worry about compability issue, drivers conflict, etc ...

  • Riddick123

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 8:41 pm PT

    Two words...New Egg

    Buy a super gaming computer with a monitor for around 1500 dollars at new egg. Of course you need to know how to put it all together, but everyone knows somebody that can build a computer. Dell builds the worst proprietary garbage and charges people a premium for it. If it breaks...you're screwed. Basically put a piece of crap in a box and sell it for 6k....good job Dell. Feel bad for anyone dumb enough to buy that.

  • Colonel_Cool

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 8:31 pm PT

    For that much money I would expect 2 8800 GTX's.

  • neerajkumar_4

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 8:24 pm PT

    whoa!!!

  • BloodEagles1717

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 8:00 pm PT

    that... is not... worth $6000... or anywhere close...
    who thought this was "hardcore"?

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 7:30 pm PT

    Every product that Dell produces comes with a wallet-clutching price. This is insane, you don't need all this to enjoy video games on your PC, you start playing a favourite game, get sick of it, then in no time your PC starts collecting dust and you'll be too damn lazy to clean it (along with your room), all the while thinking "I could've put that $6,667 to good use." And don't even get me started on $10,000, buy a car or something useful. Get an 8MB video card if you're into pornography.

  • WR_Platinum

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 7:13 pm PT

    Too much money when you can build a very good computer on you're own.

    The problem is... Can you build it on your own? =( damn...

  • Gmacrusher

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 7:05 pm PT

    I really want this computer but i lack of cash!

  • DarkleafNight

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 6:49 pm PT

    I don't think if you pay 10k for a computer is that makes you "Hardcore" I would think it would just make you "Stupid"

    ~DL~

  • Brian_WCU

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 6:44 pm PT

    I think what dell is missing is that they are taking all the fun of building your own pc out of the equation, most people who want a computer like that can build it themselves, and for a whole lot cheaper, I know I can.

    Now if they are marketing to the extremely rich and lazy gamer, then maybe it might work out for them lol.

  • CaribouLou5

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 6:41 pm PT

    It's sort of cool that they're trying this, but let's break down the costs, shall we? QX6700: $1000
    Good Intel MoBo: ~$250
    4 gigs of Ram: ~$400
    2 x 10,000 RPM HDDs: ~$300
    8800 GTX: $550-650
    Case: $50
    Cooling: ~$100
    Figure $100-$200 for extras like disc drives, speakers, optical mouse, etc.

    So without a monitor I could build this for under $3000. I wouldn't pay double just to get a factory warranty, that's just crazy. It IS a great gaming rig and I wanted to make it clear to whoever said this would only be worth $1000-$1500 that that's also ridiculous. Still though, I honestly can't see anyone, short of the super rich and uber ignorant, buying this computer. The people who want this kind of performance are also the guys who like to build their own systems.

  • Factor-Zer0

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 6:36 pm PT

    Dell... hardcore gamers? can these words even be in the same sentence?

  • vitz3

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 6:32 pm PT

    You could build the same rig for half the price. Easy. Anyone on the PC Hardware forums would preach the same.

  • brianbien

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 6:16 pm PT

    I can't see spending thousands of dollars on a computer to play games, when the next generation consoles are cheaper.

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