New Dell Workstations Raise Speed Limit Up to 155 Percent(a); Dell Precision 690 and 490 Deliver Increased Productivity, Value.

ROUND ROCK, Texas -- Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) today announced a new generation of performance workstations capable of handling some of the most demanding applications up to 155 percent faster than its predecessor.(a)

The Dell Precision 690 and 490 workstations feature innovative dual-core Intel(R) Xeon(R) technology, a new, faster and more scalable memory architecture and some of the latest dual graphics to deliver performance gains over previous models of up to 45 percent(b) on single-threaded applications and up to 155 percent(a) on multi-threaded applications.

"Customers want higher performance and memory capacity, particularly when running compute-intensive applications or dealing with extremely large or detailed images such as mechanical design and seismic data analysis," said Darrel Ward, director, Dell Precision Workstations. "We listened to our customers and our application software partners' needs when we designed these new workstations. Our goal was to set a new standard for performance and scalability in an industry-standard professional workstation and we have done just that."

The new memory architecture is designed to enable customers who work with massive data sets to more easily manipulate and manage workloads and images. The new systems double the number of memory channels to four fully buffered dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) and feature a unique, scalable advanced memory design -- up to 16 DIMMs via optional memory risers -- for very large memory configurations.

The graphics capabilities of the Dell Precision 690 and 490 workstations have also been enhanced for some of the most demanding graphics environments. The Dell Precision 690-1KW workstation features an optional dual-graphics riser card that combine two NVIDIA(R) SLI(TM) graphics cards for increased performance and visual quality.

Dell also has acted on customer feedback with new 490 and 690 chassis designs. The 490 features a convertible chassis that can be deployed as a tower or desktop, depending on customer requirements. In addition, both chassis provide easy access to system components, excellent front panel access and outstanding reliability.

Dell Precision 690 highlights:

--New dual-core Intel(R) Xeon(R) processors

--Up to five times more memory bandwidth over dual-channel memory with new, fast quad-channel memory

--Memory scalability up to 64GB with new DDR2 fully buffered ECC DIMMs

--Dual-graphics capabilities that support quad monitors or NVIDIA(R) SLI technology for enhanced graphics performance (available via an optional graphics riser card in a specially designed 1KW 690 chassis)

--New serial-attached SCSI (SAS) disk storage delivers up to 50 percent higher performance than SATA 10K(c)

--Innovative chassis designed for increased reliability, ease of access and exceptional expandability with support for up to five disk drives

Dell Precision 490 highlights:

--New dual-core Intel Xeon processors

--New memory architecture increases bandwidth by 500 percent

--Up to 32GB quad-channel DDR2 fully buffered DIMM ECC memory

--New SAS hard disk storage delivers up to 50 percent higher performance than SATA 10K(c)

--Innovative, compact dual-orientation chassis for flexibility and 6 slots for expandability

Pricing and Availability

The Dell Precision 690 and 490, certified on some of the workstation industry's most demanding CAD, CAE, DCC, GIS and other applications, are available today worldwide. Prices for the Dell Precision 490 start at $1,529. The Dell Precision 690 is priced from $1,779. For more information, visit http://www.dell.com/precision.

About Dell

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell sells more systems globally than any computer company, placing it No. 25 on the Fortune 500. Company revenue for the past four quarters was $56.7 billion. For more information, visit http://www.dell.com. To get Dell news direct, visit http://www.dell.com/RSS.

(a) Up to 155% performance gain in multi-threaded benchmarks (Woodcrest): Based on the SPEC CPU2000 (integer-rate base) benchmark test performed by Dell Labs in January 2006 on the Dell Precision 690 with two Intel Xeon 5150 2.66GHz processors with dual-core, 4MB L2 cache and 1333MHz FSB (No HT available), 8GB DDR2 533 ECC FBD memory, 160GB SATA 7200RPM HDD, Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2 as compared to the Dell Precision 670 with two Intel Xeon 3.8GHz processors with 2x 2MB L2 cache and 800MHz FSB (HT off), 2GB DDR2 ECC memory, 160GB SATA 7200RPM HDD, Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.

(b) Up to 45% performance gain in single-threaded benchmarks (Woodcrest): Based on the SPEC CPU2000 (integer-speed base) benchmark test performed by Dell Labs in January 2006 on the Dell Precision 690 with two Intel Xeon 5150 2.66GHz processors with dual-core, 4MB L2 cache and 1333MHz FSB (No HT available), 8GB DDR2 533 ECC FBD memory, 160GB SATA 7200RPM HDD, Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2 as compared to the Dell Precision 670 with two Intel Xeon 3.8GHz processors with 2x 2MB L2 cache & 800MHz FSB (HT off), 2GB DDR2 ECC memory, 160GB SATA 7200RPM HDD, Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.

(c) SAS performs up to 50% faster than SATA 10K and up to 11% faster than SCSI 15K: Based on the PCMark hard drive benchmark tests performed by Dell Labs in January 2006 on the Dell Precision 690 with two Intel Xeon 5150 2.66GHz processors with dual-core, 4MB L2 cache and 1333MHz FSB (No HT available), 8GB DDR2 533 ECC FBD memory, Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2. Tests were performed comparing the performance of a 73GB 15K SAS drive vs. the 80GB SATA 10K drive and the 73GB SCSI 15K drive. Actual performance will vary based on configuration, usage and manufacturing variability.

Pricing, specifications, availability, and terms of offers may change without notice. Taxes, fees, and shipping, handling and any applicable restocking charges are extra, and vary.

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