Customer Reviews

Dell Studio XPS sx8100-850NBC Desktop (Piano Black with Chrome Trim)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I ordered this Dell XPS8100 last weekend using the FREE shipping option (5-9 business days). I received the PC and a Dell Monitor (Amazon via [...])yesterday. Very fast delivery. I've just started setting things up. I had an initial concern regarding the speed of the memory, however, after running a couple of different diagnostic programs, I learned that the memory was as advertised, 6GB, DDR3, 1333Mhz. The PC is much quieter than my previous one, and also runs considerably cooler (about 85 degrees F). I don't know about the primary hard drive other than it is a SATA. Most XPS PC's come with a SATA II 3 Gb/s. For $699, it appears this was a good deal.

I was shopping for a new Windows 7 computer to replace my aging Dell desktop. I had seen an add in the Sunday paper and went to Dell to shop online. I had configured the XPS 8100 system like I wanted and saved the file for purchase in the next day or two as I thought it over. When I returned to buy the unit the special pricing had run out. Just as a lark I did a search on Amazon and found this unit which was virtually identical to the one I configured. Better yet it was only $699 about $205 less than the sale price and over $400 cheaper than the updated price at Dell online. I order this unit from Amazon at about 4 PM on Thursday and believe it or not it was delivered by 10:00 AM the next morning!!! I also purchased a Belkin file transfer cable to move all the data from my old computer. Windows 7 did all the heavy lifting and transferred everything that I needed, photos, videos, music, documents, you name it. Easy as could be. It was also extremely easy to configure this new system into a home network with multiple computers, printers, etc. I couldn't be more pleased.

I checked Dell's website and the 8100 has a lower end I5 that is upgradable to a lower end I7. It works great out of the box but with no extras as far as software. Keyboard and mouse are fair. Power supply is on the low end at under 400 watts. This will be an issue if I upgrade the video card. It came with a Nvidea 300 series video card with 512mb ram which only gave a score of 4.7 for windows performance review. Hard drive is a nice size at 1TB but only recieved a score of 5.9. For the money its hard to complain at all. It was $200 less than Dell's website with the same items. I have not have any issues and it runs everything I have loaded on it. I do not hear any noise from fans at all. My only concern is the low-end power supply in the future. For a mid-level machine its hard to beat the price.

Bought this for my dad, was happy with Amazon price and spec's. It arrived quickly but was not functional at startup, message indicated windows improperly loaded pon initial boot. Spent a few hours with Dell tech svc trying to correct, they decided need to send technician to fix (Thurs). Tech arrived (Mon) with replacement mother board, hard drive, graphics card. Still couldn't make it work. Pointed out a few prob's (broken bezel, bad memory cards. Tech did his best but ultimately this is a dud. Now my dad has to wait up to 2 more weeks for replacement. He's very frustrated and expects better quality for a brand new unit. This scenario points out 2 glaring problems in my opinion;

1. Final product and component level QC failures at Dell

2. Inneficient customer service for replacement. C'mon, 2 wks to replace? 4 days for assigning number to initiate replace?? How about an accelerated replacement track for brand new unit's shipped with prob's? (I spoke to CS on dad's behalf to request expedition but they appear to be internal process driven instead of customer focused).

Needless to say, Dad is no fan of Dell... he's one pissed off 82 year old with no internet access....

System was DOA. Contacted Dell tech support and they sad it was most likely a bad power supply. I now have to return the system to Amazon and they informed me that they don't have one in stock.

Pros
- Fast delivery
- Great customization option online
- Faster than I expected
- Excellent monitor
- Excellent sound
- Easy setup
- Elegant design (both case and monitor)
- Quick start up and shut down
- Many inputs, 8 USB, HDMI, optical, etc
- Very quite
- Reasonable price compare to other brands with the same specs

Cons
- keyboard and mouse are not that good, can be better

Overall it is a good product and I can recommend it.

The first one I got unpacked it hooked it up and it did not boot up. Called Dell and they said I needed a new hard drive!! Called Amazon and they sent me out a new one the next day. So fare so good with this one

Received the computer with Heat Sink (Cooling Fan) completly detached. Dell Tech arrives and replaces the motherboard and the heat sink. After that, the Tech was unable to boot-up, called Dell, got transfered three times, finally ended up with dell life support, they hung-up on me. I resolved the issue by reloading the operating system.

Bottom line Dell lacks in their Quality Control, they at the minimum should test their product prior to shipment.

At first I saw the deal online, it was cheap. After I bought it. It became OOS soon.

When I power on, it power off automatically even before the login screen.

My power socket has no problem.

I returned it....

The hard drives on my Dell XPS studio have been replaced twice since July 2010.
Now the machine's freezing on applications and generating hard drive error on boot again.
Today, I'm on hold again with Dell tech support, where I have spent at least 20 hours working to resolve these issues this year.
Steer clear of Dell, research machines with quality components. Don't settle for brand hype.
Time is precious. And the warranty replacements are by no means free!!