The All-in-One Battle: Dell's XPS One 24 vs. Apple's iMac
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 30, 2008 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Final Words
While I do believe the iMac is the more compelling package there are advantages on both sides of the fence that are worth discussing.
Surprisingly enough, you actually get pretty decent hardware from Apple for about the same price as you do from Dell, the biggest deficit proves to be HDD space and memory capacity, both areas where Dell takes the case. There's honestly no excuse for Apple not to be shipping 4GB of memory and the same 750GB drive that Dell's using.
The Dell advantages are clear, you get a quad-core processor (although Apple's dual-core 3.06GHz chip should be faster for most users), a Blu-ray drive, an integrated TV tuner, better software compatibility out of the box, more memory, a bigger hard drive and better speakers.
Apple's advantages are equally as pronounced, you get a higher clocked dual-core processor, a faster gaming machine thanks to the GeForce 8800 GS instead of Dell's GeForce 9600M (that's still shocking) and depending on how you look at it, an OS advantage. If you want to use the iMac as a gaming machine though you'll have to spring for a copy of Vista, which does balance the price between the iMac and Dell's XPS One 24.
If you absolutely abhor OS X then much of the iMac's advantage disappears, although I do believe that Apple's hardware decisions made a bit more sense than Dell's. The faster dual core vs. the slower quad-core, the 8800 GS instead of the 9600M. Dell did get a couple of things right, mainly the memory and HDD size which I've already mentioned, some sort of a hybrid of the two would be perfect.
The inclusion of a Blu-ray drive in the top end SKU is a nice gesture on Dell's part, although it would be nice to have a problem-free BD playback experience. I suspect that the current state of Blu-ray playback is partially why Apple has stayed away from it for so long, but if you can get it working right it is a nice frill. The (PRODUCT) RED versions of the XPS One 24 are also very solid gestures by Dell, especially given that they don't cost any more than the non-RED versions.
I'd say this whole comparison would be a lot more difficult if Dell chose to offer a better GPU and faster dual core CPU in its XPS One 24, thus removing any performance advantage from the iMac, effectively boiling this down to a Mac vs. PC debate. Since the iMac does have some inherent performance advantages, the situation is complex. If you are going to be doing more video encoding work then the XPS One 24 is a better option for you, while the iMac will be faster for most of the general populace. If you're buying this for a gamer then the iMac with Vista is the better option, but if you want something to be your primary machine for movies and a media center PC (especially one with Blu-ray support) then the Dell is more flexible; Vista Media Center continues to be a better overall media platform than Apple's Front Row under OS X, despite Apple having the cleaner/simpler interface, not to mention better integrated speakers on the Dell.
Personally, if I were in the market for an all-in-one I'd lean towards the iMac and use Boot Camp to fill in the gaps with Vista. If I were in a dorm room and wanted Blu-ray support, a basic TV tuner and wanted a Vista Media Center PC though, I'd gladly take the Dell XPS One 24 as an option.
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croc - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
I personally don't like wireless mousies, keyboards, nor do I like batteries or charging stations... In fact, I actually hate all of the above. So I'd hope that Dell's devices have a 'remove' function so I could easily use my preferred wired devices.For both of these all-in-ones, the average user will get similar functionality. They will also get less cluttered workplaces. And if the user is moving from XP, then the learning curve of moving to either OS-X or Vista should be similar, so no advantage there, really. If my Mum's PC died, I'd let her look at both and be happy with whichever she chose. And understand that I will be the first port-of-call if she has issues...
Ptaltaica - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
The best part about your laptop articles is seeing the machines disassembled. It's important, at least for me, to see what they're doing with the cooling systems in the machines because I consider it an indicator of how well engineered the machine is. I really wish you'd done that with these machines as well; I realize that most people will never take them apart, but as I said, I think it's an important indicator of quality.sxr7171 - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
I'm sure it's designed just fine. Dell doesn't mess around with premium products like they do with their low end. You just want to see XPS porn.Xavitar - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
The implementation of the monitor's panel controls looks fantastic. I just got a new 24" Samsung LCD, and the display is killer -- but the design of the panel controls is very frustrating. Switching between input sources (HDMI -> DVI) in the dark is near impossible because there is absolutely no visual indicator or tactile feedback on the touch controls. Since this LCD model functions well as a small HDTV but does not include a remote control, this becomes almost unbearable. Especially when you accidentally hit the wrong button, which changes the "Input Source" button to some other function depending on the option you are in. Argh.chef24 - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
thanks Anand, this is the review i've been waiting for. all-in-one's have come a long way and manufacturer willing, could go even futher.i'd like to see these two match up against sony's latest LV line being introduced next week.
Spivonious - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
12 seconds on Vista? Really? My machine at home resumes from sleep in under 5 seconds. That's complete mouse-moving/application accessing awake.croc - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
So I guess you have a new Dell XPS? Because that was what was being measured, NOT your home PC.Wolfpup - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
-Most monitors do NOT use LED backlighting. I'm only aware of a SINGLE consumer level panel that does, from Viewsonic.-The iTunes control issue has NOTHING to do with Dell. That's EXACTLY the behavior you get with the current version of iTunes using ANY keyboard based media controls...and IMO it's a good thing. Apple briefly changed that behavior so that iTunes would respond to input from media controls even in the background-which means you can't use the media controls for playing back a Blu Ray disc or whatever while iTunes is open. Hit play, and both the movie and iTunes start in (or if one's playing, it stops and the other goes). It was extremely annoying, and I'm glad they switched it back to only responding in the foreground.
At any rate, that has NOTHING to do with Dell.
CSMR - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
Why does the article claim that the OS advantage, if any, goes to Apple? That needs an article in itself but suffice to say that Windows is the favoured OS among ordinary consumers, businesses and power users, such as frequent AnandTech. Especially businesses and power users are not so price-sensitive that they are picking Windows over Apple despite thinking Apple has the better OS.And regarding Dell's "improvements" to Vista: to non-technical style-conscious users they may be an advantage, but in Vista you can arrange program startup any way you want:
-you can put programs in the Start menu
-you can find them in start menu->programs
-you can use a combination of start menu main programs, frequently used programs, and the full programs list
-you can put them in the task bar for one-click access
-You can put them on the desktop
...
Look, you are not going to get Anandtech users saying: "wonderful, with Dell's new software I can now get at my programs".
preslove - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
I want to see what's inside. That's why I read your reviews, Anand :p.Also, the fact that the hard drive has not been user replaceable in the iMac since the switch to intel has been a serious reason for my reluctance to get one.