Some time back when Dell announced its manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu for faster PC delivery, there was enthusiasm galore among PC users. For those who have wanted to own a Dell XPS, the latest XPS 420 desktop PC aimed at gamers and performance enthusiasts is available for a decent price point.

Dell claims, this is their first major gaming PC released in India. Major specifications include a quad-core Intel processor, a 20-inch widescreen LCD with integrated microphone & webcam (SP2008WFP), 2 GB of DDR2 667 MHz RAM and 256 MB PCIe ATI Radeon HD 2600GT GPU featuring Dual DVI & HDMI out.

What you get may not be in tandem with what you want, which is why Dell, like all other machines of theirs, allows you to configure this system according to your needs. You can choose an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, 768 MB GDDR3 Nvidia GeForce 8800GTX, AGEIA PhysX Physics Accelerator in addition to bigger HDDs, more RAM and wider screeens.

A gaming PC indicates a rock solid graphics card and the XPS 420 packs in a good 256 MB ATI Radeon HD 2600XT with TV-out, HDMI out and Dual DVI. You can also configure it with Nvidia’s 256 MB GDDR3 GeForce 8600GTS or 768 MB GDDR3 GeForce 8800GTX for an additional Rs 3,605 or Rs 14,822 respectively. Without the requisite sound effects, your gaming experience will not be fulfilled - therefore the option to plug in Creative’s X-Fi XtremeMusic soundcard.

At a price tag of Rs 54,500, the XPS 420 also features integrated LCD screen on the chassis and free PCIe-based hybrid PAL/SECAM/DVB-T TV tuner with remote control.

The system comes pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium with an option to upgrade to ‘Ultimate’ for an additional Rs 4,527.

Last word: Dell XPS 420 offers option for both ATI and Nvidia GPUs