Dell Rolls Out XPS 420 Desktop

By Geoff Duncan Published July 25, 2014

Computer maker Dell is now offering its XPS 420 desktop for online ordering. The new XPS model is designed to appeal to home entertainment users and semi-pro media buffs who are apt to assemble their own movies from digital video cameras…or just want to have a high-performance desktop system with powerful graphics capabilities.

Dell is offering the XPS 420 in a variety of configuations, inccluding more of the upgrade options available with the high-end XPS 720 series. Available features include Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors, ATI or Nvidia graphics cards, dual-layer DVD burners or Blu-ray optical drive, and a 13-in-1 media card reader. The base XPS 420 configuration comes with 2 GB of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive, a 20-inch Dell LCD display, and a 256 MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT video card for $1,499.

Recommended Videos

The XPS 420 MiniView display uses Microsoft’s SideShow technology the offer supplemental information and interface independent of Windows on a separate 3-by-2-inch 320 by 240 display. The SideShow screen can be used to show standard information like a clock and system status, but can also display images and video, music playback information, a Webcam image, and more. SideShow support is built into Vista, so as additional SideShow-enabled widgets and applications come out, XPS 420 users will be able to take advantage of them. The XPS 420 also features a rubberizes top panel (so your electronic toys don’t slide off) and an internal cable management system to make add-ons and upgrades easier. The system also includes Dell’s Xcellerator media co-processor designed to speed up MPEG-4 video encoding, making it simpler to convert video for use on an iPod or other portable device; users can also “transrate” MPEG-2 video to fit on a single-sided DVD, or “transcale” high-definition video to play on standard-definition sets.

Former Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

Google Earth’s AI misadventure lasted only a day. It was a tale of dangerous ignorance.

Nuclear reactors, tanks, and historical destruction on a life-like satellite map? Yeah, that's bad.

Nano Banana AI image generator representation.

Technology behemoths are clearly not reading the room, or they are just moving faster than they should when it comes to AI deployment. Google has already stuffed its Gemini AI in every corner of its software stack, from Android to daily productivity tools like Gmail that are used by hundreds of millions of users every day. AI is everywhere. Not all of it is bad, mind you. But in a few places, it just feels forced.

In its latest AI-fication experiment, the company targeted Google Earth. The idea was to let the audience use its Nano Banana 2 AI image generator and make images that can be placed on the map view. On paper, it's a cool idea. What would the Colosseum of Rome look like in your urban neighborhood? Yeah, fun stuff like that.

Computing

AMD is apparently gearing up to raise GPU prices right after Nvidia’s steep hike

AMD has reportedly told AIB partners about a price hike that goes into effect in. August.

AMD RX 7800

AMD is next in line to raise the asking price of its Radeon GPUs, merely days after the news of a similar hike coming for Nvidia graphics cards started making waves. As per ChannelGate on Weibo (h/t VideoCardz), AMD has informed its board partners that the price of GPU and memory bundles will go up by at least 10% in August.

Is a similar price hike coming for standalone graphics cards? I won't be surprised if that happens. The situation is so bad that AMD is planning to bring back graphics cards with 4GB of onboard memory. AMD just introduced the RX 9050 GPU, which costs $279. Notably, it's just $20 less than the RX 9060 XT that offers double the graphics memory.

Computing

Microsoft will make Windows work well with just 8GB RAM. We desperately need it

The dream of a reliable and affordable Windows laptop hinges on the next milestone at Microsoft.

Surface laptop on wooden table

The year 2026 has marked a huge course correction for Microsoft after years of frustrating users with plenty of confusing processes, unoptimized UI elements, and just the generous bloatware that can bring any Windows system to a crawl. Microsoft has finally shifted into a new phase. From fixing the right-click behavior to speeding up the Search system, the company has fixed plenty of papercuts.

The next major milestone is making Windows 11 run smoothly on Windows PCs with just 8GB of RAM. That directly means entry-level and budget laptops will at least get the basics right, even if that means sacrificing the on-device AI bells and whistles. Let's face it. The increasingly AI-first approach to computing on a Windows 11 machine is a little too taxing on the hardware at hand.