Dell XPS Desktop 8960: A gaming beast with class-leading performance

Dell’s XPS 8960 is the follow-up and upgraded model of the previous model in the XPS series, the XPS 8950, which has brought a massive thread of changes and improvements.

Let’s dig deep and discover what this masterpiece has to offer you.

Design

• Being of a very mediocre size, the XPS (8960) is neither small nor very large which makes it compact and easier to carry. However, the massive graphics card inside makes it a little heavier to lift.
• To ensure that its hardware stays cool when overloaded with intensive tasks, Dell has placed vents on the front, at the back and on one of the side panels.
• These vents help to they help to dissipate heat and deliver top-notch, untroubled performance.
• To keep you connected with your extra devices, it offers two USB ports, one USB-C, and one 3.5mm jack that are easily accessible in the front, and the SD card reader serves as a bonus above all. Meanwhile, four USBs, one USB-C, an Ethernet, three DisplayPorts, a set of six audio inputs, and an HDMI port have been made a part of its back.

Hardware and performance

• As the entire XPS lineup has proved the ultimate option for gaming freaks, the XPS (8960) seems well considerate of the fact as it’s backed by the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i and the Alienware Aurora R15, both of which are primarily designed for gaming.
• It goes better with high-end and demanding games such as DiRT 5, Grand Theft Auto V, and Metro Exodus at 1080p than with the more powerful RTX 4090-powered Alienware Aurora R15.
• Given that, the PC stands parallel to the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i when compared in both 1080p and 4K gaming. Editing and exporting high-res images in Lightroom on this computer don’t take a toll on its performance.
• The same is the case of extensive browsing when you open 20 or more Google Chrome tabs at the same time, out of which some are running streaming services.

Dell XPS Desktop 8960 specs and features