Dell's Ubuntu-equipped XPS 410n desktop reviewed

Just about a week after Dell officially started offering up Linux-equipped machines for sale, an anxious user over at UbuntuForums managed to get his hands around a XPS 410n desktop and put it through a few paces. Notably, the unboxing experience was far from enthralling, as the documentation still reeked of Windows and an Ubuntu install disc was (mistakenly) not included. Those quirks aside, the "remarkably silent" startup led to a fair amount of tinkering to get things up and running as he wanted, but the general vibe was a positive one. While it did take "some skill" to make the machine play nice with his non-Dell monitor, there didn't seem to be any issues that Dell's technical support (or his internal knowledge) couldn't solve. After cracking open the case, he was "delighted" at the quiet cooling system that was included and the ease of snapping in / out hardware components. All in all, it seems like Dell's first shot at a Linux-based machine was a commendable effort, but considering that it wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, we'd recommend tapping the read link and giving the thread a good perusal before diving in head first.

[Via Digg]

[Dublin @ Jun 5th 2007 2:55AM]

Dell are having problems - 10% of their workforce going. In Ireland here it is a worry. They have a 400,000 sq foot production plant and are building a 600,000 sq foot one in Poland where they earn 30% of the Irish wage. I feel like it is a watch this space before buying Dell again.

[Reginald @ Jun 4th 2007 3:25AM]

Allow me to be presumptuous and state that those who would actually use Linux (and would pay for an OEM Linux rig) probably don't need instruction manuals at all.

It's nice that Dell at least provides the technical support if needed though.

[richard knights @ Jun 4th 2007 7:09AM]

I don't get Dells strategy here at all. Linux users demanding and Linux users buying are probably not the same thing at all. Nice publicity though....until they decided to shed 10% of their workforce

[steven @ Jun 4th 2007 8:41AM]

"The first thing I will say is that when the Fedex guy delivered it he asked if Dell was having some kind of liquidation sale because he has delivered more Dells today than ever before. He told me that he had already delivered five and there were eleven more on the truck. (Just throwing that out there.)"

Well it seems like they are selling well and they are 50-140$ cheaper then one with windows.

The Dimension E520 is 25% cheaper with Linux perfect for companies.

[Aaron @ Jun 4th 2007 10:05AM]

"While it did take "some skill" to make the machine play nice with his non-Dell monitor, there didn't seem to be any issues that Dell's technical support (or his internal knowledge) couldn't solve."

It booted in 1024x768 instead of the widescreen native res. A simple fix in the monitor settings, no different from changing your res in windows or mac. Not even sure why this was mentioned here.

Also, the Ubuntu install disk is on a partition on the machine itself instead of on a seperate CD, so I doubt it was a mistakenly not included. It's there, just on the machine itself. Now, if they mention that in the documentation or not, that would be the real issue there.

[k0a10 @ Jun 4th 2007 11:50AM]

I didn't read the article, but I'm running Ubuntu on a self built computer, and it's no where near as simple as it is in Windows. I had to spend a considerable amount of time tweaking my Xorg.conf file to get it to nearly work the way I need it (panel and projector at different resolutions), many steps would completely lose someone without the knowledge or patience required. I'm very pro-Linoox, but along with a lot of things that are much better (software management), there are still many things that need a lot of low level, detailed work before it is as easy to use as a Windows or Mac system.

[Stephan @ Jun 4th 2007 1:12PM]

If you have an Nvidia card they now have an nvidia-settings launcher that gets loaded when you install the latest drivers. Makes it as easier to use as windows, and provides simple overclocking! No more need to mess with the xorg.conf file.

[k0a10 @ Jun 4th 2007 1:16PM]

That's good to hear. Last time I tried that utility it didn't work the way I needed. I "just" want it to work the way it does on Windows or Mac : display properly recognized on connection, easily change resolution, ability to have mirrored or separate multiple displays.

[badbob001 @ Jun 4th 2007 11:56AM]

Does the XPS 410 have the same hardware for the linux version as compared to the Windows version? So if I were to buy the cheaper(?) linux version, I can still install my own copy of Windows and use the Dell Windows drivers? I wonder if installing another OS affects the warranty...