Last week, I did a lengthy re-review of the Dell XPS 27 (7760) – arguably one of the most powerful all-in-one (AIO) PCs available today. While the high-end version is not cheap – after all, this is Dell's premium XPS line – the XPS 27 is one of the first AIOs that also meets the requirements for virtual reality (VR) systems from Oculus, HTC, and Microsoft's own Mixed Reality Ultra platform.
We managed to squeeze in a little video time with the XPS 27 in a new companion YouTube review, which you can now watch. The video goes over the highs and lows of Dell's juggernaut and hopefully will give you better insight if you are in the market for a minimalist but still powerful PC.
Dell XPS 27 tech specs
| Category | Dell XPS 27 |
|---|---|
| Processor | 7th-Gen Intel Core i5-7400 (6M Cache, up to 3.0GHz) 7th Gen Intel Core i7-7700 (8M Cache, up to 3.6GHz) |
| Chipset | H170 |
| Internal storage | 1TB 5400 rpm SATA hard drive + 32GB M.2 SATA SSD Cache 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD |
| SSDRAM | 8GB or 16GB DDR4 (up to 64GB memory) |
| Display | 27-inch UltraSharp 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) non-touch display 27-inch UltraSharp 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) touch display |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 630 |
| Discrete graphics | AMD RX 570 8GB GDDR5 |
| Webcam | HD (720p) Windows Hello Compliant infrared facial recognition camera |
| Ports | Side ports - one USB 3.0 with PowerShare, SD-card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC), audio jack Back ports - four USB 3.0, one HDMI-out, one DisplayPort 1.2, two Thunderbolt 3 (supporting Type-C, DisplayPort, USB3.1, PS), gigabit Ethernet, one audio out |
| Audio | Ten speaker sound system |
| Power supply | Internal 360W PSU |
| Chassis | All-in-one constructed of CNC machined aluminum |
All-in-ones are a fascinating category that seems to be experiencing a resurgence. Microsoft, of course, has its Surface Studio, HP has its curvy Envy 34-inch machine and Lenovo has long had AIOs available as well.
What differs now is these PCs are beginning to rival traditional box PCs, and that's rather exciting. Dell's new Inspiron 27 has upgradable RAM, storage, even the CPU, which means we're quickly approaching a real modular AIO that can last a few processor generations.
For now, I'm swapping out my Surface Studio with 980M GPU for the XPS 27 just because of the extra horsepower. We'll see how long it lasts before something else earns a top ranking. My only gripe is that the XPS 27 can't be used as a dummy display nor does it support external GPUs like the Razer Core. These are admittedly niche uses, but I wouldn't mind having those features at all.
What would it take for you to switch to an AIO? Let me know in comments your top features.
