Those who follow PC Authority will be familiar with the Dell Dimension XPS B733r, which in basically the same configuration won our Speed Award in a canter back in the March issue (p 52). It now takes a back seat to the more powerful CPUs that have arrived on the scene over the last three months - not that the months have been unkind to this Dell model. It still has what it takes to compete in its current company.

Some alterations have been made that will make it more appealing for this Labs target audience. The modem has been dispensed with, and in its place is a hardware DVD decoder card. Instead of the Hitachi eight-speed DVD-ROM drive is a quicker NEC 12-speed drive. The crowning achievement though is the addition of the Altec-Lansing ADA885 speakers.

These speakers, at time of writing, are reputedly the only THX-compliant speakers for a multimedia PC in existence. The significance of the THX label is that the speakers comply with the standard that was devised by Lucasfilm for showing the original Star Wars movies so that it is aurally accurate to the original. Applied to a room as well as individual components only something like 300 cinemas around the world have the THX compliance label. It is understood Dell has an exclusive deal with Altec-Lansing to supply these speakers so canny readers will not be able to source them without first having to buy a Dell PC.
In spite of the commotion over the speakers we found the ADA885 lacked some mid-range coverage. At high volume the satellites distorted significantly. At lower volume the surround sound from the speakers was a treat, as was the versatility. The system allowed stereo, Dolby Prologic and Dolby Digital options to suit the room, soundtrack or your own taste. DVD movie viewing quality was good on the 19in monitor although action sequences and the booms and pops of action games might be better served by more direct speakers.
Apart from these changes to the bundle the only other difference to the system seen in March is a re-vamped software package. Time has been kind to the B733r, which still ranks as a fine PC with some nifty home entertainment options. Interested readers might also like to know that Dell is prepared to offer this system with this configuration only to PC Authority readers at our quoted price.