The Dell XPS 8960 proves you don't need an RGB-lit fan to be a great gaming PC, delivering top-level gaming power in an outstanding package.
professional+ Subtle, understated design+ Calm and cool under pressure
+ Lots of ports+ Easy open case cons- Outstanding design- Difficult to work in cramped areas
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The Dell XPS 8960 ($1,149 to start, $3,149 reviewed) looks like a nondescript office computer, but it's really a gaming PC in disguise.
This boxy beige or black tower blends in with '90s office decor, yet beneath the unassuming exterior you'll find the latest Intel Raptor Lake 13th Gen chips and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 series GPUs. Our Dell XPS 8960 review unit packs some fairly powerful components inside, and while it's not ideal for 4K fans, it's more than enough to play the latest and greatest PC games @ 1080p with excellent performance.
Some may balk at its pedestrian packaging, but for my money the Dell XPS 8960 offers great value for a gaming PC and offers a unique selling point that
Price: $3,149 as of review CPU: Intel Core i7-13700KRAM: 32GB GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Storage: 1TB SSD Accessories: Keyboard and Mouse Ports: Number: 16.8 x 14.6 x 6.8 inches Life: 19 - 29.4 lbs.
Prices start at $2,749, going up to around $5k
The Dell XPS 8960 is available for purchase now through Dell's website and select third-party retailers It starts at $2,749 at launch and for that, you get an XPS case (in white or black, aka platinum or graphite) with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700 CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, 16GB DDR5. RAM, a 512GB SSD and a copy of Windows 11 Home. It also comes with an Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6E wireless card (which supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth) as well as a Dell keyboard and wired mouse.
Of course, you can pay more for better parts. For storage you can get an XPS 8960 with a 13th Gen Intel Core i9-13900K CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 64GB DDR5 RAM and a pair of 2TB SSDs (so 4TB total). Such a machine will cost you roughly $4,929 before tax.
Note that you can pay an additional $50 to add an external DVD +/- RW optical drive to your machine if you still want the option of having a physical disk drive in your PC. Note that this is an external drive that plugs into the PC, not something built into the tower.
The simple rectangular case looks straight out of the office
Cold under pressure As you can see from the photos throughout this Dell XPS 8960 review, this gaming PC doesn't look the part. The simple rectangular tower case is serving up 90s office park chic, and if you appreciate minimalist design. I think you'll love how quiet and unobtrusive the XPS 8960 can be when sitting on your desk.
Sure, it's not as eye-catching as some of the more luxurious gaming PCs out there, but I like how the XPS desktop doesn't draw attention to itself. This nuance sets it apart from nearly every gaming PC we review here at Tom's Guide, giving the XPS a unique selling point.Weight It's not hard to squeeze into your existing setup, as it measures a pretty reasonable 16.8 x 14.6 x 6.8 inches (or just over a foot long and about a foot and a half deep) and weighs between 19-25 pounds, depending on how you configure it. It's not too hard to move around, as I discovered while moving it back and forth between my bedroom desk and the nice big 4K TV in my living room.
All units come with two fans and a 125-watt air cooling system, though you can upgrade to liquid cooling for higher-end builds. A metal grill on the lower half of the front panel draws in air that is then used to cool the components inside the PC, causing a steady wave of warm air to come out of the rear and side exhaust grills while you're playing or gaming. Other demanding work.
In my experience, the cooling of our review unit is good enough to keep it reasonably quiet even when gaming at max crank with all the bells and whistles, which is nice when set up on your desk next to your monitor. With a power button in the top-right corner of the front panel, this case's design tempts you to leave the XPS 8960 on the floor, but it can make accessing the front-mounted ports a bit of a hassle.
Plenty of ports on the front and back The case is compact inside but easy to open
Our Dell XPS 8960 review unit comes with plenty of ports, some arranged vertically on the front panel and the rest on the back.On the front you'll find an SD card reader, a 3.5mm headphone/mic jack, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, another identical port with PowerShare, and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port with PowerShare.
