Update: Dell’s “Affordable” XPS 630 Gaming System Starts at $2,299, But Will Probably Cost You More

Dell wanted to bring its gaming platform down from the US$2000 and up arena, and into something average gamers can go and buy, so it’s rolling out the previously teased XPS 630.

AU: Just heard from Dell in Australia, and we’re looking at a staring price of $2,299 down here. It launches on Feb 29 as well, so only two more sleeps if you can’t wait to get your hands on this machine.

For build-to-order you start at US$1249 and a pre-fab US$1299 edition comes with an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 and dual NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB graphics cards with SLI technology. But the expansion possibilities in the standard ATX chassis include overclockable Corsair Dominator memory and Intel Extreme processors, up to three factory installed HDDs (with a fourth bay for your own tinkering) and an optional AGEIA PhysX accelerator.

In other words, reading the fine print, it sounds like no one is going to be satisfied with the base config—even though it will come with pretty LED lighting zones that synchronise with game play. [Dell]