I purchased the Dell X8900 to replace an older desktop. I needed one with a fast 6th generation Intel I7 quad core processor, good HD graphics, and ample memory, and storage. In addition to the typical web browsing, I use the desktop for concurrent applications, and HD video capture and editing. This X8900’s specs fit the bill. It comes with an Intel I7-6700 quad core processor clocked at 3.4ghz with turbo boost up to 4ghz, a 4gb Nvidia GTX 745 graphics card, 16gb of 2133mhz DDR4 memory, a 1TB 7200RPM hard drive, plenty of usb 3.0 ports, and a couple of extra drive bays for storage expansion. That is a lot of capability for the price point ($953 for me). It did come with the original Windows 10 installed so I had to go thru the latest version upgrade. The desktop description does tout the 460W power source providing an extra 225 watts for expansion, but more on that later.
Dell has some of the best system diagnostic tools that I have ever seen and recommends using them to periodically check system health. They will even check the health of attached external drives and other hardware (like a USB microphone). Overall I am very pleased with the quality and functionality of this desktop, except for –
The health and support application can send a user to a download page which contains driver downloads supposedly for the specific desktop. Each desktop is given a unique service code and the drivers can be refined for that desktop. Sounds good doesn’t it? Well it didn’t work out that way. I checked the driver download versions and dates and in each case, even if the version was the same, the date appeared to be later (or more current) in the download. So I downloaded the “newer” drivers, including bios. Big mistake.
I started having issues immediately. The system would freeze requiring a hard shutdown. On boot up I started getting an error (MespIlock failed) that hadn’t been seen on Dell pcs in years (based on research into forums) although HP pcs have been having them more recently. Seems that consensus was that these two errors were generally caused by bad bios.
I had to do a factory reset, reinstall all my applications and data, which took close to a full day, but since then the errors have disappeared and I have had absolutely no problems with the desktop and am a happy camper (well other than the lost time and the aggrevation).
I recommend the desktop for anyone who requires substantial horsepower, decent graphics, and plenty of storage with potential for expansion for more storage. I rated this 4 stars because of the initial problems I had and the cautions below I have to list for any potential user:
-- Do not download the drivers from the dell support application when setting up the desktop. There could definitely be issues. Dell has a background update application that will notify a user of any required or recommended updates. Use that. When I checked for updates using that tool, the only update listed was the help and support tool!
-- Do not implement the Nvidia Geforce application or download drivers from it. Let the installed application notify you of a driver download. It appears that Dell may have tweaked the graphics card a little and what is available from Geforce may cause problems with the installed card. Obviously if you decide to upgrade the graphics card (read below), follow all implementation and upgrade procedures and recommendations for that card
.-- Do not get overly excited about the 460W power source unless you just plan to add HDDs. Note that the extra drive bays are 3.5” and SSD drives are generally 2.5” so a bracket will be necessary if you want SSDs. The extra 225W touted by Dell is only sufficient to upgrade the graphics card from 745 to 750 which is not really worth the cost. To upgrade further, one will have to replace the installed power source with a more powerful one. At least 600W and probably more to get the cards with substantially more capability.
With those caveats in mind, the x8900 as configured for me fits the bill and is priced a bit lower than a similarly equipped HP desktop and substantially lower than other brands.
Update and Errata:
After a little more use and research I found that the Nvidia GTX 745 graphics card is actually a Dell (OEM) product manufactured for the most part to nvidia specifications. Because of that, GeForce and driver updates directly from Nvidia will generally not work and may/will cause problems. I am seriously considering replacing this card with a "real" Nvidia card (like a GTX 750) to avoid those kinds of problems in the future. Until then I will accept driver updates only from Dell.
I misspoke about the power supply being not sufficient for upgrading the graphics card. One can upgrade up to a GTX 960 card with this power supply. Any higher and a more powerful power supply will be required.
Conserves energy compared to similar products.
As certified by
EPEAT
EPEAT addresses the sustainability impacts of electronic products. An EPEAT registered product must meet required criteria and can meet optional criteria. The criteria depend on the type of product and can include energy efficiency, reduction of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-Gases), and end of life management. Products meeting 50% - 75% optional criteria are “Silver” and those meeting more than 75% are “Gold”.
Certification Level
SILVER
