Overclocking problems hit Dell's high-end H2C desktop

Round Rock (TX) – Dell has temporarily removed the 3.73 GHz version of its Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800-based XPS 720 H2C due to a lack of overclocking potential.

According to a post on the Direct2Dell blog, Dell had scaled back the 3.73 GHz factory overclocked version to a 3.2 GHz version, which represents still a slight clock speed increase over the stock model’s 2.93 GHz. The company justified this move with the fact that “only a small fraction” of the QX6800 chips supported “Bin+3” (3.73 GHz). The problem apparently became more serious over time and the “backlog forecast started to pass [Dell’s] best estimates for finding Bin+3 chips” in the week preceding July 11.

The company mentioned that its supply of QX6800 processors capable of 3.73 “is exhausted” but the firm’s engineers found that many CPUs that do not pass the Bin +3 qualification, meet Bin +2 (3.46 GHz) requirements. This offering was made available again this week. The company did not say when it will begin re-introducing Bin +3. Users who have ordered a 3.73 GHz system, of course, have been put into a rather inconvenient situation. Dell initially offered to cancel orders and re-order the system with a 3.46 GHz QX6700 processor. Alternatively users can also opt for a 3.46 GHz QX6800 CPU.

Dell declined to comment on how many customers were impacted by CPU shortage and if the company will be offering a 3.73 GHz version of the PC. Instead, a spokesperson told TG Daily that Dell is “proactively communicating” with customers and is “exploring all options” to resolve the situation.

The XPS 720 H2Cis Dell’s flagship desktop PC with prices starting at about $6000 and fully-equipped systems breaking the $9000 barrier.