Is The Dell XPS 8940 Desktop PC Good for Gaming?

One of the common questions that often get asked about the Dell XPS 8940 Desktop PC is whether it is good for gaming. The answer is yes, the Dell XPS 8940 desktop is suitable for gaming, as it comes with an 11th gen Intel Core i7 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card.

This combination provides a great balance of power and performance, making it suitable for gaming. The XPS 8940 has 16GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, giving you plenty of storage space and the ability to multitask easily.

Also, the XPS 8940 is equipped with a 460W power supply which is more than enough to handle your gaming needs.

In addition, this PC also comes with Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, allowing you to stream games with no lag or buffering.

Now, let me get into more detail about this desktop, including its specifications, features and performance.

What Are The Specifications For The Dell XPS 8940 Desktop? 

• CPU; Intel’s 11^th gen Core i7-11700 with 8cores and 16 threads (2.5GHz base and 4.9GHz Turbo boost).
• GPU; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 with 12GB DDR6
• MEMORY; Quad Chanel 32GB DDR4 (Expandable up to 128GB
• Storage; 1TB NVME M.2 SSD & 1TB HDD Expandable up to 2TB of HDD
• Network and Connectivity; Wi-Fi 6.0 and Bluetooth 5.1.
• Power Supply Unit; 500watts

How Much Does The Dell XPS Desktop Cost, And Where Can I Get It?

The Dell XPS 8940 desktop costs about $1300, and I found it for a good price on micro-centre, while on Amazon, I found it for $1000.

How Long is the Warranty on the Dell XPS 8940 Desktop?

The Dell XPS Desktop has a basic 1-year warranty for its parts and 1-year for labour.

How Well Does It Perform for Gaming?

The Dell XPS Desktop GPU and CPU are a match made in heaven both the CPU and GPU are both solid match-ups, able to clearly handle most games and tasks without even getting close to bottle-necking as they are both similar in power and performance, so no processor is limiting the other in their performance and capabilities. 

When we ran it through our gaming test, it was able to clear most games easily with impressive frame rates. On Call of Duty Cold War at 1440p max settings and DLSS activated we were able to hit a solid 70+ FPS on average. While on Fortnite at 1440p with the pro setting on, we were able to hit up to 200fps on average and just for good measure.

 We ran Cyber Punk 2077 at 1080p with very high settings, and we got a decent 68fps; since this is an RTX card, we enabled Ray tracing, and we only saw it dip to about 54fps which is still very good for gaming, especially on a single-player experience.

Will It Run the Latest Games?

The Dell XPS 8940 Desktop has an impressive CPU and GPU build, and it can run a lot of the latest AAA games very easily. It was able to run Borderlands 3 at 1440p with very high settings at a respectable 65fps, which is good, and if you want to ramp up the fps, you could always lower some of the graphical settings to get even better performance. Even with GTA V, we were able to hit 125 fps at 1440p and at very high settings.

It was also able to hit a graphical test score of 8783 on GPU tester time spy while also able to hit 10358 on the CINEBENCH R23 CPU test, so clearly, both processors were running at the max.

How Easy is It to Setup the Dell XPS 8940 Desktop?

The Dell XPS 8940 Desktop is very easy to set up as it requires no physical installation process; all you have to do is connect it to a power supply outlet, connect your video output option, whether that’s HDMI or VGA, then power it up watch it boot up then begin to use it.

Any Tips to Get the most out of the Dell XPS 8940?

You could always look to make use of all the available RAM space on the PC. It’s at 32GB now, but it could always be improved upon, and it’s expandable up to 128 GB. 

Another thing you could do is also upgrade the storage on the device to get the most out of your storage. So, you could have as much as 2-3TB of space on the device, and now you can have a lot of games on it.

Also, if you want to get the most out of your gaming experience, the best thing you can do is get a really good monitor with a high refresh rate, which would definitely give you a leg up on the competition. 

The HP 24mh monitor is a good one; it’s not the fastest monitor at a 60Hz refresh rate, but it will do a job, and to get and at $139 on Amazon is a good option, and the Cooler Master GM 27-CF monitor is really good, and at 165Hz it has impeccable refresh rates, and at $300 on Amazon, it’s a bit expensive, but it’s worth it.

Is There Any Other Info I Should Know?

Throughout our testing process, one thing became apparent to us, and that was the cooling system for the XPS Desktop was woefully underpowered. It became apparent that when using the device for average tasks like gaming and utilising CINEBENCH, we found out the device would heat up to almost over 90 degrees Celsius.

 Even with the side panel removed, the temperature difference was marginal at best. What became apparent was that the CPU would always undergo thermal throttling and that always limits the performance of the PC on a whole

Are There Any Modifications to this Configuration Due to its Ill-Equipped Cooling Setup?

Any cooling mods are on the buyer’s part; you could either change the thermal paste regularly or you could get an Aseteck 645L7 AIO, a pair of 92mm Noctura fans, a 120mm and an 80mm, a VRM heatsink, and a fan assisted NVME heatsink cooler all these parts should set you back about $200 on Microcenter.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Dell XPS 8940 desktop is a real powerhouse, delivering top-notch performance on every benchmark test we ran. The combination of the 11th gen Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 is truly impressive, leaving no room for bottlenecking.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that the PC’s cooling system could be a bit limiting, leading to thermal throttling and decreased performance. But if you’re willing to pay extra for an upgraded cooling system, then you’ll be able to fully enjoy the impressive capabilities of this PC.

So, if you’re looking to dive into the PC gaming world, the Dell XPS 8940 is definitely a system to consider.

References:

• Dell XPS Desktop.
• Desktop PC.