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(Source: Dell)

Product: Dell Precision 690
Type: Workstation

Basic Configuration (Worth US$1,729):

* 1 x Intel Dual-Core Xeon 5050 (3.0GHz, 667 FSB, 2 X 2MB L2 Cache) [Up to 2 x 3.73GHz]
* 1GB (667 MHz) DDR2 SDRAM (2 x 512MB) [Up to 64GB via memory risers]
* 1x 80GB (7,200 RPM) SATA hard disk drive [Up to 5 HDDs]
* 128MB nVidia Quadro NVS 28 [Up to 512MB nVidia Quadro FX 4500]
* 48X CD-ROM drive
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition
* 750 watt power supply [Up to 1 kilowatt]
* Slots: 3 x PCI-e x8, 1 x PCI-e x16, 2 x PCI-e x16 slots with optional graphics card riser (on 1KW power supply), 2 x PCI-X 64bit, 1 x PCI 32bit
* Ports: 8 x USB 2.0, 2 x IEEE 1394a
* Dimensions: 8.5″ (W) x 22.26″ (H) x 22.3″ (D) [Without Stand]
* 3 Year On-site Economy Plan

Reviews:
None Yet.

News:

1. In an effort to remind the most demanding users of the superiority of its product line, Dell has launched two new workstations, with the Dell Precision 690 being the more powerful of the two.

   The Precision 690 comes equipped with up to two Dual-Core Intel Xeon 5000 series (64-bit) processors, up to 64GB of DDR2 RAM (yes, 64GB) via optional memory risers, and even a 512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 graphics card if you have the cash to splurge. It can also be fitted with up to 5 hard disk drives, i.e. 4 SAS and 1 SATA (boot).

   Of course, “up to” and “potential” are words that are pretty much useless to most consumers since only madmen would pump their workstation with tens of thousands of dollars of RAM. So, we think it is more important to note that the Precision 690 starts as low as US$1,729, don’t you think so?

2. The recently held WWDC keynote uncovered an interesting tidbit. It seems that the new Mac Pro is cheaper than a similarly configured Dell by around US$1210, except for a Quadro NVS 285 graphics card on the Dell to the Mac Pro’s GeForce 7300GT. It’s going for only $2499 according to Apple’s site against Dell’s $3709 price tag on the Precision 390.

   And Dell isn’t the only PC manufacturer the new Mac Pro is being compared against. Apparently, even the HP Workstation xw8400 is $1292 more expensive than its Apple counterpart.

   Now, this is news. Given that the latest Mac’s can all run Windows using either Apple’s free Boot Camp or Parallels’ Virtual Machine, this looks like an incredible deal. But we’ll have to see how things go from here to say anything more.

   [News via CNET]