14 DAY TRIAL // It's a known fact that Dell was going to update the XPS section, but I never thought they will also integrate a cooling system that is not entirely based on air. The XPS 710 "H2Ceramic" (H2C) Edition houses a somewhat interesting, two-stage cooling system based on a liquid-to-air heat exchanger that works like a car's radiator. The exchanger removes most of the heat from the CPU and then a ceramic-based TEC device removes even more heat from the same source with the help of a fluid chiller. The base system is relatively similar to earlier XPS 710 versions. First you get an overclocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 CPU running at 3.2 GHz, 4 GB of memory, a 2*160 GB HDD setup (the hard drives run at 10,000 rpm), two Nvidia 8800 GTX graphics cards running in SLI mode and a 20" widescreen monitor. Among the peripherals it's worth mentioning that the XPS comes with a fully capable gaming keyboard.
The entry-level price is about $5500 but that's only for the basic system. Upgrades such as a 30" LCD will set you back even more. What is interesting enough is that the monster PC still holds the Dell name although we would have expected it to be released under the "Alienware" brand.
At the moment of the launch, Dell also announced some new models which will complete its LCD line. Soon the 27" widescreen WUXGA device (1920x1200 pixels) with a 6 ms response time and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio should be available in stores with a price which will be lower than $1400. Dell is also promoting its new inexpensive 22" panel which costs $330, but still manages to deliver a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels.