Audio and video encoding
Our mono-threaded audio-encoding tests don’t
get the benefits from the Hyper-Threading tech of Core i7, but we think
slightly higher speed of XPS One will take it to the top. Rather than that, we
see the best the system can do is equal to Core i5 of an $800 PC.
Our
mono-threaded audio-encoding tests don’t get the benefits from the
Hyper-Threading tech of Core i7
On the contrary, video encoding drivers
benefit from 4 physical and logical cores of Core i7, delivering enough speed
to push XPS One to the top.
Adobe Creative Suite
Adobe After Effects usually flavors
platforms with lots of RAMs, which seems to be correct: XPS One 27 and Clevo, both
of which are equipped with 16GB memory, stay at the 1st and the 2nd
positions.
Between the Photoshop tests, Premiere Pro and
Acrobat, 2 of which are multi-threaded, one of which is single-threaded, and
one exploits graphics processing, it’s obvious that the Dell system has its own
position with a role as productivity-increasing and content-creating computer.
That’s impressive, considering the all-in-one form factor and the low-power
components.
Adobe
Acrobat X Test
Productivity increasing
One more time, we see the Core i7 processor,
16GB memory and the fast storage subsystem of XPS One combine and surpass some
of our recently assembled desktop computers, along with a laptop equipped with Core
i7. Being the platform for the productivity-increasing tasks, the settings of
Dell works well.
Visual
studio 2010 Test
File compression
We have learnt from experience that 7-Zip exploits
the physical cores and benefits from Hyper-Threading. Compression performance
from Core i7 is suitable for our experience.
On the other hand, the algorithms of WinRAR
don’t seem to be as optimized. So, the Core i7s don’t leave the Core i5 we’re
using behind to compare in this load.
Core i7 of XPS One also seems useful in 2 WinZip
tests of us, though the differences mainly reflect its slightly higher clock
rate.
WinZip
17.5 Pro
Dissecting average performance
Available at many different prices, all 27
inch XPS One systems share some common features. Unfortunately, (though it may
be unnecessary, based on the strict limitations), one of these is GeForce GT
640M of Nvidia, which is directly welded onto the motherboard of Dell. If GT
640 is basic according to the desktop standards, then we know that GT 640M must
have been pretty low according to the laptop standard. That means XPS One won’t
be the very powerful gaming platform. However, considering the positive sides,
an incredibly fast Core i7-3770S helps the performance, especially in the
platform-limited games such as Skyrim and F1 2012. A result is a
system being capable of processing regular detail settings at 1,280x720.
XPS One 27 goes over our basic minimum
gaming requirement, which is what we can expect from a computer that’s not
actually designed for gaming. Better yet, CPU is fast enough to compete with
all system we compare (even gaming laptops which we use as a reference frame).
While it seems that the thermal limits of
the all-in-one frame is still an obstacle for a truly balanced configuration, the
dependence on the quad-core 65W processor of Dell gives us
productivity-increasing and content-creating performance that competes and
surpass the best efforts of the middle-class level Core i5 CPU line of Intel, which
usually appears on our cheap-priced System Builder Marathon models.
Dissecting
average performance
Power, temperature and efficiency
The screen of 27inch XPS One is amazingly
effective, with 16W delta between the moment it’s completely off and running at
max brightness. That helps this platform reach a surprisingly idle power
consuming result at 53W, which includes a desktop CPU, a portable GPU, and a
screen. This also forces us to add screen voltage to the power-consuming result
of the System Builder Marathon settings.
Clevo laptop uses much less power, but also
has weaker CPU and smaller screen.
27-inch XPS One runs really hot because its
fan profile flavors the more interesting noise than the comfortable heat. We
can force the fan to speed up a little bit when the ambient temperature is
higher. Doing so will help to reduce the heat temperature at the cost of
noisier fan.
Unfortunately, the basic graphics
performance damages the efficiency readings of XPS One compared to gaming
laptop, which delivers better gaming performance with lower power consumption.
If we have to take the graphics in the overall performance rating in account by
reducing the focus on gaming, we can point out larger screen and more powerful
CPU for that remaining 17% delta.
