E3 2006: Hands on with Nintendo's Wii and new Dell Designs

Dell Reveals New Designs

We were called in on Tuesday, a day before E3 began, to come in for a sneak preview of Dell's latest design ideas which are going to be added to the XPS lineup. Dell provided us with no availability date or specifications of these new XPS systems, the best we were able to get from Dell was "soon."

Dell's new XPS tower is a significant departure from more conservative designs of the past. The case designers constructed the case around optimal air flow: cool air in from the front, it then crosses straight over the CPU/heatsink then out the back. The analogy we got from Dell was, "just like a jet engine."

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The case is entirely constructed out of 2.5mm aluminum. The finish is bare to give it more of an aggressive appearance.

Dell has also placed a light in the back which shines downward to illuminate the cables and connectors, making it easy to see what you're doing. There is also a light on the top front which illuminates the front of the case and allows you to see what is inside your CD try when open. This front light will change colors, although we are not sure if the rear light does as well. The front panels will be available in your choice of black or red.

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The case was canted forward to give it an aggressive stance with styling cues taken from many objects, such as classic muscle cars. Not only is the case canted forward for appearance, but function as well. According to Dell, by having the case canted even if you have the case put up against a wall you will still be able to reach behind and connect whatever it is you are trying to without having to pull the case forward.

Rather than having the side panels slide towards the back of the case, like most traditional cases, Dell has designed the case panels to swing down, from top to bottom. Dell also states that this case is made for easy upgrading if one desires to do so at a later date, which is a definite plus.

Currently, for all of Dells gaming platforms, at the Dell site, they have opt out solutions for software that is usually included when the computer is shipped. Buyers also have the option of a clean install, which is something we see most serious computer users do so after they have purchased a pre-built system. This takes the hassle of reinstalling Windows out of the buyers' hands.

While this desktop will be shipped with plain aluminum side panels, Dell has gone ahead and created a special edition, called the XPS X-Men: The Last Stand Collector's Edition. Beginning May 10th, 2006 through June 18th, 2006, consumers can enter to win this one-of--kind desktop which is valued at about $10,000.

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Not only will Dell be releasing an updated XPS desktop model, but they also have a mobile XPS concept they are looking at producing. These mobile systems are called the Mobile Renegade M1710. These notebooks will be sporting custom paint jobs in which we had the opportunity to view four different styles.

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As we mentioned before, Dell didn't release any specs, pricing or availability information to us.