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April 1st, 2017 08:00

New XPS 8920 SE Chipset

Hello,

I have ordered an XPS 8920 SE and after doing some research found the "XPS 8920 Setup and Specifications".  It indicates the computer has a Intel Z270 chipset.  The sales pages say Z170  though.  

Is anyone able to confirm which it has?  I'm hoping it has the Z270 so I can use Intel Optane for caching of the HDD.

Thanks!

Dean

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April 3rd, 2017 11:00

My Dell tech contact believes the Canadian site may have a typo, or at best is just unclear.  

The XPS 8920 and SE will have the same BIOS, so capabilities only depend on what Dell configured for whichever CPU is installed.

Since the XPS 8920 can be bought with either a 6th gen or 7th gen CPU, I wonder if the H/Z 170 chipset is for 6th gen CPUs and the H/Z 270 version is for the 7th gen..?? Purely speculation on my part...

The SE allows you to order either a tower with black or silver face but the 8920 is only available as black.

Post back after you get the system and let us know what CPU you ordered and what chipset it has.

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April 1st, 2017 20:00

And keep in mind, even if it has a Z270 chipset, Optane may  only be available if Dell has enabled that feature in BIOS setup.  Don't know if they have or not...

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April 1st, 2017 20:00

The XPS 8920  specs here list chipsets as H270 and Z270. That may depend  on which CPU is ordered, but I don't know that for actual fact....

Post the link where the sales site says Z170 and I'll ping my Dell tech contacts for clarification. But don't expect a response over the weekend...

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April 2nd, 2017 04:00

Here is the Canadian sales site where it lists the Z170 (in the chassis section):

www.dell.com/.../pd

There is a note that says "(some features of Z chipset not supported, including dual graphics)"... so I fully understand there is a chance this feature might not be supported :).  I'll just keep my fingers crossed.  

Thanks,

Dean

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45.2K Posts

April 2nd, 2017 19:00

Might be a difference between XPS 8920 and XPS 8920 SE, a difference between US and Canadian specs or a typo somewhere.

I pinged my Dell tech contact...

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April 3rd, 2017 15:00

I'll re-post in a couple weeks when it arrives :).  I'll also post whether or not it has whatever BIOS features are needed for Optane.

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April 3rd, 2017 17:00

It turns out the details on the graphics card are wrong too.  

They list them as follows:

Video ports by graphics card

GeForce GTX 745

1 Dual-link DVI

1 DisplayPort

1 HDMI

1 One Dual-link DVI-D

In fact, the card has:

1 VGA

1 HDMI

1 One Dual-link DVI-D

Now this one is disappointing.  Can anyone confirm if the DisplayPort that is on-board can be used with the HDMI on the discrete card?

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April 4th, 2017 11:00

I thought I'd done my homework :).  I guess I thought I could trust the vendor's sales page for specs.  

The chipset thing was an afterthought that would be nice to have (but not a deal breaker).

Dean

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April 4th, 2017 11:00

BTW: Why didn't you do all this "homework" before you placed your order? :emotion-4:

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April 4th, 2017 11:00

Most recent video cards support at least 2 monitors, so you probably will be able to connect one to the card's HDMI port and a second one to the card's DVI port.

IF Dell is supplying this OEM GTX 745 video card, it will support THREE monitors.

And many recent PCs also allow you to connect a monitor to one of the onboard video ports, as long as the first monitor is connected to the add-in video card, but I don't know specifically about the XPS 8920.

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45.2K Posts

April 4th, 2017 12:00

"Trust but verify"...

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April 6th, 2017 13:00

Which CPU did you get?

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April 6th, 2017 13:00

Good news - the chipset is the Z270.  BIOS doesn't mention Optane, but we'll wait and see if a BIOS update introduces the feature.

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April 6th, 2017 13:00

7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700 Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.6 GHz)

:)

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45.2K Posts

April 6th, 2017 14:00

NICE!

Enjoy your new toy.

(I'm jealous!  :emotion-5:  )

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