The XPS 420, also called the Studio Box, is all about creativity and performance, says Dell Malaysia’s product marketing manager Asia-Pacific Arthur van der Wateren. “We call it a multimedia powerhouse. It is the first XPS desktop that we are bringing to the market.”

The XPS 420 also incorporates Microsoft’s SideShow technology. Called the XPS MiniView Display, a small three-by-two-inch screen is built on the top front panel and provides easy access to stored media, certain system functions and standard Windows Vista SideShow gadgets without using the computer monitor, keyboard or mouse.

Standard gadgets include date and time default screen, audio playback, picture sideshow, video playback and PC monitor.

Also found on the top panel is the Deck-top device storage area, which provides a convenient place to dock and charge portable devices and route the cables.

Priced from RM3,599, the XPS 420 is powered by multi-core Intel processors, and choice of ATI and Nvidia graphics card. The system is also cool and quiet, thanks to the thermally efficient BTX motherboard design.

Other features include support for Microsoft DirectX10, Extreme High Definition display resolution, physics function and Dell DataSafe Internal for automated protection of data.

There’s also an option to include Adobe Elements Studio software, including Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 & Premiere Elements 4 software as well as Adobe Soundbooth CS3.

Dell also showed its new 22-inch SP2208WFP display, which comes with an integrated two-megapixel Webcam and microphone. It features a two-milisecond grey-to-grey response time for complex gaming and motion video without ghosting and delays.

It also incorporates TrueLife technology, which provides vivid colour reproduction and a higher contrast ratio than the same display with an anti-glare coating.

Meanwhile, Dell Webcam Manager software includes easy-to-use applications that guide users in the multiple Webcam activities.

The SP2208WFP display is available immediately with a starting price of RM1,159.

Dell also showed the XPS M1730 notebook computer that is especially built for gamers. “It is essentially a gaming platform in a mobile form factor,” says its product marketing manager Ng Joe Han.

The M1730 has a 17-inch UltraSharp 1,920 by 1,200 resolution, full high-definition 1,080p support, and a seven-millisecond screen response time.

Additionally, the M1730 incorporates the Logitech GamePanel liquid crystal display that displays game statistics, and comes with a built-in two-megapixel charge coupled device camera and dual-digital array microphones and a 10-key number pad.

The full-sized keyboard is illuminated when the lights are off. It even comes with LightFX perimeter lighting.

There’s an option for a dual redundant array of independent disks (RAID) hard drive and support for solid state disk (SSD) hard drives.

The M1730 comes with a Dual 256-megabyte Nvidia GeForce 8700M GT graphics with Nvidia SLI Technology but there’s an option to choose the AGEIA PhysX processor. A system configured with the Intel Core 2 Extreme processor can also be overclocked, Ng adds.

The M1730 is priced from RM7,799.