The motherboard has its own HDMI and DisplayPort, but since the desktop ships with its own GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, you’ll want to use either the line HDMI or three DisplayPort video outputs to connect an external display.
There’s a Gigabit Ethernet jack, as well as jacks for the headphone, microphone, and audio line out. On the rear, you’ll find four more USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, all of the Type-A variety, along with two additional USB 2.0 ports. The optical drive can also write to Blu-ray discs. It’s nice that Dell included a Type-C port in the front to quickly connect or charge modern smartphones. On the front, you’ll find a full-size memory card reader, a headset jack, and four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports that include three Type-A ports and a sole Type-C port. I appreciated that ports are divided between the front and the rear, which helps with both ease of access and cable management. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it gets the job done. The CPU, meanwhile, uses a twin-tower-style air cooler. Dell’s desktop has a single fan in the case and two fans to cool the GPU. Even though the XPS isn’t as whisper-quiet as a fanless laptop - like Apple’s MacBook Air - fan noise is very low and not distracting. The bright side is that Dell did a great job with cooling and airflow. Cable management is still tidy despite the lack of a windowed design, but the inside’s layout is rather sparse without many details or RGB lighting.
The solid metal sides - rather than a see-through tempered glass side window - helps keep the XPS Desktop’s design conservative enough for use in a more professional office setting, as you won’t find any attention-grabbing RGB lighting emanating from inside the tower.Īnd without the distraction of see-through panels, Dell was able to focus its engineering efforts on function rather than form. The left panel can be easily removed with a couple thumbscrews on the back side, making upgrades and repairs relatively easy. The sides of the XPS Desktop are made of color-matched metal plates that join together at the top with an off-centered seam. I do wish the plastic panel on the front was a bit higher quality, though, as it feels hollow and light when you touch it. The perforated panel can resemble a car panel, giving the desktop a modern and contemporary appearance in a minimalist setup, but it can also feel equally at home in a summer cottage, as the lattice can also be seen as a modern reinterpretation of cane or rattan furniture in this environment. This lower panel not only adds a bit of texture to an otherwise muted design, but also adds a bit of visual interest, and the white Special Edition shade elevates the whole aesthetic of the desktop. Just below the curved plate, a flat and slightly recessed perforated grill comprises the lower half of the front panel of the XPS Desktop. The top half of the front is encased in a slightly curved, smooth plastic panel that houses the optional optical drive - a rarity even for desktops in this day - along with a power button and vertically aligned ports, one of which is a USB-C port for a bit of future-proofing. Though the sharp lines and angular design of the XPS Desktop might conjure boring images of a corporate desktop, it looks less conservative than it seems in the Mineral White color. Compared to Dell’s Alienware Aurora gaming desktop, the XPS foregoes the distinct sweeping curves and bold contours found on its more premium sibling in favor of a traditional, and decidedly boxier, design. It’s a simplified and modernized design, so as long as you know what you’re getting into. It’s a new look for the line, and it’s definitely an improvement overall. The XPS 8940 comes in either an understated Night Sky black trim or the chic Mineral White hue found on our Special Edition configuration.