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
Can You Game on It?
So here's an interesting comparison, let's look at the graphics hardware in both the Dell XPS One 24 and the top of the line 24" Apple iMac:
| Apple iMac - $2199 | Dell XPS One 24 - $2299 | |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M |
| SPs | 64 | 32 |
| Memory Bus | 256-bit | 128-bit |
See a problem? The Mac actually has a far more powerful GPU, which in theory means...
| Fallout 3 Performance - High Quality Settings, No AA | 1024 x 640 | 1280 x 800 | 1920 x 1200 |
| Apple iMac - $2199 - Vista | 70.8 fps | 65.5 fps | 48.5 fps |
| Dell XPS One 24 - $2299 - Vista | 25.6 fps | 21.5 fps | 14.1 fps |
Yep, much higher gaming performance. Fallout 3, just released this month, plays wonderfully on the iMac at high quality settings but struggles on the XPS One 24. Now neither machine is intended to be used for gaming, but one of the two actually can be and it's got an image of a common fruit on the front bezel - a bit unexpected.
Just for kicks I tried Red Alert 3, a real time strategy game also just released with lower frame rate demands. Unfortunately we see the same sort of performance breakdown - while the iMac can work as a light duty gaming system, the GeForce 9600M is just not up to the task. The GeForce 8800 GS in the iMac has around 2x the shader power of what Dell put in the XPS One 24, the results speak for themselves.
| Red Alert 3 Performance - High Quality Settings, No AA | 1024 x 640 | 1920 x 1200 |
| Apple iMac - $2199 - Vista | 30 fps | 30 fps |
| Dell XPS One 24 - $2299 - Vista | 15 fps | 7 fps |
In an attempt to keep the thermals manageable in the XPS One 24, Dell opted for a mobile GPU from NVIDIA - the GeForce 9600M. Apple instead relied on the GeForce 8800 GS (the same GPU as the GeForce 9600 GSO), which we've shown recently as capable of running most modern titles at 1280 x 1024. Now neither GPU is powerful enough to drive a modern game at reasonable settings at the native panel resolution (1920 x 1200), but gaming at 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 1024 should be easily possible on the iMac.
The XPS One 24 can run less stressful games or modern games at lower resolutions/detail settings, but as strange as it is to say, the iMac is better for gaming.
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strikeback03 - Monday, November 3, 2008 - link
I saw a post saying it is replaceable, it just requires disassembling the entire computer FROM THE FRONT.Griswold - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
My vista box takes ~8s to get from suspend to RAM back to login when keyboard and mouse works again. Must be the jobs distortion field delaying things around your desk. :pOh and one more thing, the "dock" was not invented by apple. No need for a patronizing tone towards Dell for making their own dock for vista.
Zebo - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
Really things like 750 GB and quad core mean nothing top this crowd. Why not talk about the quality of screens? Apples uses an expensive IPS technology while Dell uses a VA and suffers from it's color shifting. How about input lag while gaming? How about noise?sxr7171 - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
I think its unfortunate how sometimes people will compare specs of laptops as if they were a desktop of some sort. Every form factor has a purpose and a market and that has to be considered. Every buyer has a different needs. Personally I couldn't care less how much hard drive space this thing has. If I ever bought one, it would sit in a kitchen or some little alcove. I have a home server that has all my data and it gets shared amongst all my machines. Nobody with 3 or more computers should live without NAS or a home server. Then you can have nice 64GB SSDs in each machine and have them be responsive.I'm very disappointed that neither has an HDMI input or something for an auxiliary digital source. Some people might want to hook up a cable box to it.
Also I wish the Dell's speakers were optional or removable. They look ugly on an otherwise beautiful machine.
strikeback03 - Tuesday, November 4, 2008 - link
Rather large for a kitchen. I'd rather a smaller touchscreen and have the system in a miniITX or smaller case, or just build it into the screen yourself. One of the grad students I work with is doing that - built a custom case with a 19" LCD at the front and the motherboard of a Eee 4G behind.Zebo - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
top = toPirks - Thursday, October 30, 2008 - link
What an ironyGriswold - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
Hard to believe your brainsize exceeds that of a peanut. Its been spelled out for you: the GPU does the trick, numbuts.JarredWalton - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
I think the point is that it's surprising that Apple is the company using the higher spec GPU. What's in the MacBook Pro? Yeah, a 9600M GT. What's in the Mac Pro desktop these days? Top-end choice is an 8800 GT, with the default being an HD 2600 XT. So yes, it's surprising that their new iMac has a GPU that's actually not pathetic for gaming, whereas Dell's XPS One 24 is exactly that.Pirks - Friday, October 31, 2008 - link
Who are you talking to? Braindead PC/Windoze worshipping zombie named Griswold? What a waste of time :)