It's cheap enough to get the power supply tested. Some XPS models have
proprietary power supplies, but they are readily available. A standard
PS is easy enough to replace, but the proprietary ones get
complicated. Replacing the motherboard would probably not be worth the
expense on an older model.
All in all, I would agree with Dell that the best way out is a new computer.
Some XPS models had a RAID arrangement that could make data recovery
problematical. Post the service tag # and we can probably advise you
better.

On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 3:44 PM, Michael Lanspa <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> We took a 2-3 second power surge last night, and as a result, our Dell
> desktop computer (XPS Dimension, running XP) will not power up.  No lights
> on the CPU anywhere, front or back, not sound of motors running - nothing.
> It was plugged into a power surge protected strip, and the wireless router
> and cable modem plugged into the same strip were unaffected.
> I contacted DELL and they said it's most likely the motherboard and the
> power source.  Naturally, they suggested buying a new computer.
> I'm just wondering if any of you would concur with DELL's diagnosis, and if
> it is the motherboard and power source, would any of you have a ballpark
> estimate on how much to replace them and whether our data on the hard drive
> is still intact?
>
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