There are more 27-inch all-in-one desktops these days, but very few are done right. The Dell XPS One 2710 manages to put almost every technology and feature we're looking for in a compact stylish chassis.
There are more 27-inch all-in-one desktops on the market these days, but very few are worth big bucks. Some fall short on the visuals, while others fall short on the sound. The Dell XPS One 2710 ($1,999 direct) manages to put almost every technology and feature we're looking for in a compact and stylish chassis. And it has excellent performance, thanks to its new Core i7 (Ivy Bridge) processor and Nvidia GeForce (Kepler) graphics. If you're a media enthusiast, this is the desktop you're looking for. It's our new Editors' Choice for high-end all-in-one desktop PCs.
Design and Features
The newest XPS One gives up the previous two-peg leg and easel design in favor of a cleaner base and hinged arm design. The computer's internal components are built into the screen chassis, connected to the base via that hinged arm. The hinge gives the user a decent amount of tilt, accommodating most seated and standing positions. The base doesn't swivel, and there's no height adjustment, so it's not necessarily perfect, but you will get similar viewing angles as the HP Omni 27 ($1,249 direct, 4 stars) and Apple iMac 27-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,999 list, 4 stars). The screen itself is crisp and bright with decent viewing angles and 2,560 by 1,440 resolution. The screen is large enough to work as a mid-sized HDTV as well as a large screen all-in-one desktop PC.
There's an antenna jack on the back and built-in TV Tuner for over-the-air broadcasts. The HDMI-in port will work with settop boxes from your cable company, and the system comes with an IR blaster to control those settop boxes. The front panel has a touch-sensitive and backlit row of soft keys. The soft keys control onscreen functions like brightness, contrast, etc. The top-mounted HD webcam can be switched off with a physical switch, handy for the privacy-obsessed. You can also use the webcam for logging into the system, once the facial recognition software learns your face. Like other all-in-ones with screens that float above the base, you can store the keyboard under the screen when you're not using it.
Feature-wise, the XPS One 2710 has made quite a few intelligent choices. For one, Dell has jettisoned USB 2.0 ports entirely. Instead, this system has six USB 3.0 ports. This helps eliminate end user confusion, as there is no "wrong" port for your speedy external USB 3.0 hard drive (remember: USB 3.0 ports are still backward-compatible to USB 2.0 devices). One of the two side-mounted USB ports is a "Sleep Charge" port which will remain active even though the system is off. That way, you can charge your tablet or phone.
About the only nits I could find are that the USB 3.0 ports aren't colored blue as they are on many USB 3.0 hard drives. It's a minor nit, since all of the USB ports are USB 3.0, but the practice still bucks current usability trends. The HDMI-in port helps extend the life of the monitor even after the internal CPU is obsolete, and the system also comes with HDMI-out, which lets you extend the usable workspace in Windows with a second monitor.
The system comes with an internal power supply, so there's no power brick cluttering up your floor. Our review unit came with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, so you can use the less crowded 5GHz bands for better performance (though you need a router is also 5GHz capable to use if you want to use the 5GHz bands). There's an IR remote for the built-in TV tuner, and the slot-loading optical drive is a Blu-ray player, so you're covered for entertainment options. Speaking of entertainment, the XPS One eschews the trend of tinny speakers and low-volume level found on some all-in-one desktops like the Asus ET2700INKS-B062C ($1,499 list, 3.5 stars). The sound coming from the XPS One 2710 was forceful and distortion-free. Dell uses Waves MaxxAudio 4 sound enhancement (think Beats without Dre) technology, and it's very effective.
The system comes with no bloatware icons on the desktop when you first boot it up. This is good because you want less clutter, not more. The included 2TB hard drive is plenty for the average family user, and you can add more with the USB 3.0 ports (with an external hard drive). The 32GB mSATA SSD is a MiniPCIe-sized board that works with Intel's Smart Response Technology (SRT) to boot the system quickly, load apps quickly, and come back from sleep quickly. Essentially, the 32GB SSD acts like a hybrid drive with the 2TB main drive. You can't see the SSD in Windows as a separate drive, but you will feel the extra performance compared to a similar system without SRT. The XPS One 2710 comes with a standard one-year warranty.
The last Editors' Choice for high-end all-in-one desktops is the HP TouchSmart 610-1065qd ($1,789.99 list, 5 stars). Though that system has a touchscreen and innovative tilt mechanism, both technologies aren't really necessary for the type of user that wants the best multimedia enjoyment desktop on the market, which is what the Dell XPS One 2710 represents. The XPS One 2710 gives the entertainment enthusiast great sound, sparkling video, a plethora of media sources (Internet streaming, Blu-ray, downloads, OTA TV tuner), an attractive chassis, plus the power to create her own media content. The target point changes from time to time, but for now, the high-end all-in-one desktop to beat is our new Editors' Choice, the Dell XPS One 2710.
| Dell XPS One 2710 Specifications | |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-3770S (4x3.1GHz, Hyper-Threading, 3.9GHz Turbo, 22nm, 8MB L3, 65W) Intel Core i5-3450S (4x2.8GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo, 22nm, 6MB L3, 65W) |
| Chipset | Intel H77 |
| Memory | 2x4GB Samsung DDR3-1600 SODIMM (Max 2x8GB) |
| Graphics | Intel HD 4000 (16 EUs, up to 1150MHz) NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M 2GB GDDR5 (384 CUDA cores, 645MHz/4GHz core/memory clocks, 128-bit memory bus) |
| Display | 27" LED Glossy 16:9 2560x1440 Samsung PLS |
| Hard Drive(s) | Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 2TB 7200-RPM SATA 6Gbps HDD Samsung PM830 32GB mSATA 6Gbps SSD |
| Optical Drive | Blu-ray reader/DVD+/-RW writer (HL-DT-ST CA30N) |
| Networking | Atheros AR8161 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11a/b/g/n Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Audio | Realtek ALC275 HD Audio Stereo speakers Headphone and mic jacks |
| Front Side | Webcam Speaker grilles |
| Right Side | Optical drive Power button |
| Left Side | Headphone and mic jacks 2x USB 3.0 SD/MMC/XD/MS Pro card reader |
| Back Side | 4x USB 3.0 Ethernet jack Line-out HDMI out HDMI in Optical out CATV in |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Dimensions | 19.32" x 26.14" x 1.25-2.81" 490.75mm x 664mm, 31.76-71.6mm |
| Weight | 35.16 lbs 15.95 kg |
| Extras | Webcam Wireless keyboard and mouse Flash reader (MMC, SD/Mini SD, MS/Duo/Pro/Pro Duo) Blu-ray reader TV tuner (Optional) |
| Warranty | 1-year basic support |
| Pricing | Starting at $1,399 As configured: $1,999 |