Detailed Specs Comparison

Dell XPS 8950 Desktop vs. Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition

Here is a side by side comparison between Dell XPS 8950 Desktop and Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition specs including price, processors, memory, graphics, storage, ports, and more.

BY Evan Forrest February 25, 2022

Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Dell XPS 8950 Desktop See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	The first XPS Desktop with a liquid cooling option. 12th Generation Intel Alder Lake K-Series Processors. Up to 125W Intel Core i9-12900K (16 Cores, 30MB Cache, Up to 5.2 GHz) Up to 64GB of 4400 MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Up to 128GB of 3600 MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3090 (24GB GDDR6x) Up to AMD® Radeon™ RX 6900 XT (16GB GDDR6) Up to 750W Platinum PSU Available in both Night Sky Platinum Silver New 27L chassis with 42% larger than before. Better cooling solutions for better airflow and acoustics.

Availability	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Released	2021	2020
Release Info	Announced on October 27, 2021	Announced on July 9, 2020 Available from July 9, 2020
Pricing	Starting at $919.00	Starting from $999.99 i5-10400 RX 5300 3GB DVD-RW 360W PSU 8GB 256GB SSD 1TB 3.5” HDD Wi-Fi 5
Generations	2021 Dell XPS 8950 Desktop Current 2020 Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition Compare 2020 Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Compare	2021 Dell XPS 8950 Desktop Compare 2020 Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition Current 2020 Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Compare

Dell XPS 8950 Tower Desktop Price
	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop Computer - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700K, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, Wi-Fi 6, VR Ready, Air Cooled, Bluetooth, Windows 11 Home - Black By Dell $1,328.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS 8960 Desktop Computer Tower - 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900 24-Core Processor, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 4TB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB GDDR6 Graphics, Windows 11 Pro - Graphite Black By Dell $2,099.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS Desktop Computer Tower for Business and Gaming, 13th Gen i7 16-Core PC Desktop, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, Windows 11 Pro, Lifetime Office, RJ-45, Killer Wi-Fi 6E, DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C By Dell $1,599.00	See at Amazon
Dell_XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop Price
	Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop - 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11700 up to 4.90 GHz CPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 4TB HDD, Intel UHD Graphics 750, Killer Wi-Fi 6, DVD Burner, Windows 11 Pro, White By Dell $1,132.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop - 11th Gen Intel Core i9-11900K 8-Core up to 5.30GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 750, Killer Wi-Fi 6, 500W PSU, DVD Burner, Windows 11 Pro, White By Dell $1,079.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Computer Tower - Intel Core i7-11700, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Wired Keyboard and Mouse Combo, Intel UHD Graphics 750, Wi-Fi 6, USB, Bluetooth, Windows 11 Pro – Black By Dell $1,001.99	See at Amazon

Exterior	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Size Comparison
Dimensions	16.8 x 14.8 x 6.81” (426.7 x 372.9 x 173 mm) Without feed 16.8 x 15.39 x 6.81” (426.7 x 391 x 173 mm) With feed	12.1 x 14.4 x 6.7” (308 x 367 x 169 mm) Without feed 12.1 x 15.5 x 6.7” (308 x 393 x 169 mm) With feed
Weight	Starting weight: 16.36lbs (7.42kg) Night Sky Starting weight: 16.79lbs (7.62kg) Platinum Silver	Starting Weight: 13.89 lb (6.3 kg)
Colors	Night Sky Platinum Silver	Mineral White
Keyboard and Trackpad	Dell KB216 Multimedia Keyboard Black or White Dell MS116Optical Mouse Black or White	Dell Multimedia Keyboard-KB216 Black (English) Dell Wired Mouse Black
Ports	Front 3 x USB-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) 1 x USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) 1 x Headset jack 1 x SD Card Slot Optional Rear 4 x USB-A 2 x USB 2.0 (480Mbps) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) 1 x USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) 1 x DisplayPort 1.4 Works on processors with integrated graphics. 1 x Gigabit Ethernet 6 x Audio port 7.1 channel audio 6-connector stack of restackable audio ports. 1 x AC Power Connector	Front 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, 3 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Ports, 1 x Headset jack Rear 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x HDMI 1.4 (UMA graphics only) 1 x Display Port 1.2 (UMA only) 1 x Gigabit Ethernet 1 x Audio port (5.1 channel 3 Jack)

Chasis	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Form Factor	Mini Tower (27.1L)	Mini Tower
Power Supply	460W 80+ Bronze 85% Efficiency 750W 80+ Platinum 92% Efficiency	360W 500W
Bays		2 x SATA slots for 2.5-inch HDD 1 x SATA slot for 3.5 inch HDD 1 x Optional Optical Disk Drive
Optical Drives	No Optical Drive Tray load DVD Drive Reads and Writes to DVD/CD Tray-load Blu-Ray Drive Reads and Writes to BD/DVD/CD	Tray load DVD Drive Reads and Writes to DVD/CD Tray-load Blu-Ray Drive Reads and Writes to BD/DVD/CD

Internal Specs	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Chipset	Intel® Z690 Chipset	Intel® H470 Chipset
Processor	12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12600K 10C/16T, 3.70 → 4.90 GHz, 20MB SmartCache, 125W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700K 12C/20T, 3.60 → 5.00 GHz, 25MB SmartCache, 125W 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900K 16C/24T, 3.20 → 5.20 GHz, 30MB SmartCache, 125W	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400 6C/12T, 2.90 → 4.30 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 65W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10600K 6C/12T, 4.10 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 125W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700 8C/16T, 2.90 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 65W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700K 8C/16T, 3.80 → 5.10 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 125W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10900 10C/20T, 2.80 → 5.20 GHz, 20MB SmartCache, 65W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10900K 10C/20T, 3.70 → 5.30 GHz, 20MB SmartCache, 125W
Integrated Graphics	12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12600K Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1450 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700K Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1500 MHz 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-12900K Intel® UHD Graphics 770 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1550 MHz	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10400 Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10600K Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700 Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10700K Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10900 Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10900K Intel® UHD Graphics 630 24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
Discrete Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 SUPER™ - 4GB GDDR6 GTX 1660 SUPER™ - 6GB GDDR6 GTX 1660 Ti - 6GB GDDR6 RTX™ 3060 - 12GB GDDR6 RTX™ 3060 Ti - 8GB GDDR6 LHR RTX™ 3070 - 8GB GDDR6 LHR RTX™ 3080 - 10GB GDDR6x LHR RTX™ 3080 Ti - 12GB GDDR6x RTX™ 3090 - 24GB GDDR6x AMD® Radeon™ RX 6700 XT - 12GB GDDR6 RX 6900 XT - 16GB GDDR6	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 SUPER™ - 4GB GDDR6 GTX 1660 SUPER™ - 6GB GDDR6 GTX 1660 Ti - 6GB GDDR6 RTX 2060 - 6GB GDDR6 RTX 2060 SUPER™ - 8GB GDDR6 RTX 2070 SUPER™ - 8GB GDDR6 RTX 3060 Ti ™ - 8GB GDDR6 RTX 3070™ - 8GB GDDR6 AMD® Radeon™ RX 5300 - 3GB GDDR6 RX 5600 - 6GB GDDR6 RX 5700 - 8GB GDDR6 RX 5700 XT - 8GB GDDR6
Memory	Memory Slots: 4 DIMM slots Memory Type: Single or Dual Channel DDR5 Memory Memory Speed: 3600 MHz 4400 MHz Memory Per Slot: 8GB 16GB 32GB Memory Configurations 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB 4400 MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 memory. 128GB 3600 MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 memory.	8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB Dual-channel DDR4 2666 MHz or 2933 MHz. 4 x UDIMM slots
Storage	256GB 512GB 1TB 2TB M.2 PCIe NVME SSD 1TB 2TB 7200 RPM SATA HDD	256GB 512GB 1TB 2TB M.2 PCIe NVME SSD 1TB 2TB 7200 rpm 3.5" SATA Hard Drive 4TB 5400 rpm 2.5" SATA Hard Drive
Slots	Expansion Slots 1 x PCIe x16 slot PCIe Gen 5, Full-height 2 x PCIe x4 slot Full-height SATA 4 x SATA slots ForHDD/SSD, and slim Optical Drive. M.2 1 x M.2 2230 slot For WiFi and Bluetooth combo card 2 x M.2 2230/2280 slot For SSD/Intel Optane	1 x PCIe x16 slot 1 x PCIe x1 slot 1 x PCIe x4 slot 1 x M.2 2230/2280 slot For solid-state drive/Intel Optane memory 1 x M.2 2230 slot For WiFi and Bluetooth combo card

Connectivity	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Wi-Fi	Intel® Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1675 Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz WiFi-6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.2	Qualcomm QCA9377 (DW1810) Up to 433 Mbps Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz WiFi-5 (802.11ac) Bluetooth 5.0 Killer AX1650i Up to 2400 Mbps Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz WiFi-6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.1
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.0 Bluetooth 5.1
Ethernet	Killer E3100G Ethernet controller 10/100/1000 Mbps.	Rivet Networks E2600 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet controller 10/100/1000 Mbps.

Software	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
OS	Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Pro	Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 30-day trial McAfee LiveSafe 12 Month Subscription	Microsoft Office 30-day trial McAfee LiveSafe 12 Month Subscription

Camera & Audio	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Audio	Audio controller Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro External Ports One Headset Port Front Six Audio port Rear, 7.1 channel audio 6-connector stack of restackable audio ports.	Audio controller Realtek ALC3861 External Ports One headset port One audio line-out port One rear L/R-surround audio-out port One center/subwoofer LFE surround audio-out port

Misc	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition
Warranty	1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis	1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis

Dell XPS 8950 Desktop vs. Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition

The Dell XPS 8950 Desktop is a newer system that was released in 2021, while the Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition was released a year earlier in 2020. Both systems share the same mini tower form factor that can fit a micro ATX and Mini ITX motherboard, a few hard disk drives, and a single full-height graphics card.

Processor

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is like the brains of your desktop computer. Its performance determines how fast and responsive your PC is. Generally, a processor with newer architecture, more CPU cores, higher TDP (measured in W), and faster clock speed (measured in GHz) tends to be more expensive and run faster than others with older architecture, fewer CPU cores, lower TDP, and lower clock speed.

For Dell XPS 8950 Desktop, you have options to configure it with a 125W 12th Generation Intel Alder Lake 10-core Intel Core i5-12600K up to a 125W 16-core Intel Core i9-12900K with a boost speed up to 5.20 GHz.

While Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition has configurations with a 65W 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake 6-core Intel Core i5-10400 up to a 125W 10-core Intel Core i9-10900K with a boost speed up to 5.30 GHz.

Memory

The Random Access Memory or RAM is the super-fast and temporary storage used to handle all active tasks, apps, and games that will go away when your PC turns off. The more memory your PC has, the better multitasking your PC can handle without having to reload data from slower permanent storage that includes the hard disk drive or solid-state drive.

Both PCs have the same amount of four RAM slots meaning that you upgrade later if you are unsatisfied with the amount of memory on your PC. You can upgrade memory on Dell XPS 8950 Desktop up to 64GB of 4400MHz or 128GB of 3600MHz dual-channel DDR5 memory. For Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition, it supports up to 128GB of 2933MHz dual-channel DDR4 memory.

Ports

Computer ports are the interface for connecting your PC to its peripheral devices or other PCs. The most common peripherals are keyboard, mouse, monitor, flash drive, speaker, and printer. Most of them use Universal Serial Bus (USB) as their connection to your computer. So the PC with more USB ports can connect to more peripherals at the same time.

There is a total number of 9 USB ports available on the Dell XPS 8950 Desktop, one less than the Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition that has 10 USB ports. On top of the number of USB ports, the type and version of each USB port are also necessary for determining how fast it is.

The Dell XPS 8950 Desktop has seven USB Type-A ports and two USB Type-C ports. It has two ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), five ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), one port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and one port that supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps).

For Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Special Edition, it has nine USB Type-A ports and one USB Type-C port. The PC has two ports that support USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) and eight ports that support USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps).

Pricing

Dell XPS 8950 Tower Desktop Price
	Dell XPS 8950 Desktop Computer - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700K, 16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB, Wi-Fi 6, VR Ready, Air Cooled, Bluetooth, Windows 11 Home - Black By Dell $1,328.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS 8960 Desktop Computer Tower - 14th Gen Intel Core i9-14900 24-Core Processor, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 4TB NVMe SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB GDDR6 Graphics, Windows 11 Pro - Graphite Black By Dell $2,099.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS Desktop Computer Tower for Business and Gaming, 13th Gen i7 16-Core PC Desktop, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, Windows 11 Pro, Lifetime Office, RJ-45, Killer Wi-Fi 6E, DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C By Dell $1,599.00	See at Amazon
Dell_XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop Price
	Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop - 11th Gen Intel Core i7-11700 up to 4.90 GHz CPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD + 4TB HDD, Intel UHD Graphics 750, Killer Wi-Fi 6, DVD Burner, Windows 11 Pro, White By Dell $1,132.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS 8940 Special Edition Desktop - 11th Gen Intel Core i9-11900K 8-Core up to 5.30GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 750, Killer Wi-Fi 6, 500W PSU, DVD Burner, Windows 11 Pro, White By Dell $1,079.00	See at Amazon
	Dell XPS 8940 Desktop Computer Tower - Intel Core i7-11700, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD, Wired Keyboard and Mouse Combo, Intel UHD Graphics 750, Wi-Fi 6, USB, Bluetooth, Windows 11 Pro – Black By Dell $1,001.99	See at Amazon