Dell to the N-th Dimension
Written: Jul 11 '07 (Updated Jul 12 '07)
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Pros: Performance, insanely low price, support (so far).
Cons: Not for gamers, no DVI output.
The Bottom Line: Super bargain for a non-gamer. Support exceeded expectations.
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| asafono's Full Review: Dell Dimension™ E521 (D10E16) PC Desktop |
It was with certain apprehension that I ordered a Small Business Dimension E521 from the Dell site this May. Since 1995 when I built my first PC, I always either had direct control over what parts that went in it, or at least knew exactly what those parts were. Not so with this E521 tower - with Dell in general, and with Dell's Smart Deals in particular, one gets an unknown brand of motherboard, memory, hard disk and optical drive, etc. Is this loss of control offset by the incredibly low price? Read on.
What You Get
The Dimension E521 was sold as a package that included an AMD X2 3600 CPU, 1 Gigabyte of memory, a 160 GB SATA hard disk, a 16x DVD-RW (reader and writer), all housed in a tool-less midsize tower. The "X2" in the CPU name stands for dual core, meaning there are two processors on a single chip. Each processor runs at 1.9 GHz. There is no dedicated graphics card - the graphics chipset on the motherboard shares main system memory, reducing what is available for the operating system and applications.
Also included in the package were a Dell-brand 19" LCD monitor with a stand, and generic black USB mouse and keyboard. When customizing the order, I added an internal FireWire card and an integrated speaker for the LCD monitor.
I chose Windows XP Home as the operating system due to the reports about problems Vista users had encountered. XP Media Center 2005 would have been my choice, but it was not available for this configuration. Other bundled software included Microsoft Works 8.5, Norton Internet Security 2006 trial with a 90-day free update subscription, Roxio Creator Basic/MyDVD Basic, Sonic CinePlayer, and Corel Snapfire basic photo management/editing software. XP Home came on CD suitable for reinstallation - most likely only on this particular PC.
The total cost, including the 6.5% Minnesota tax, was about $580. Basic airborne shipping was free.
System Performance
This is a highly evaluation, since I have not run the (freely available) benchmarks on this system. However, having 10-12 Firefox tabs or windows open, Windows Media Player running, and writing a DVD does not slow the system down at all. Even with Windows Movie Maker running in the background, automatically finding chapters in a home movie - a very processor-intensive operation - I did not notice any performance degradation. This is where these new dual core/Core Duo chips from Intel and AMD really shine - one processor is handling the user interaction, while the other is servicing background tasks. Compared to the system this E521 replaces, a 2002 Athlon XP 1600 whitebox with Windows 2000 and only 256 Meg of memory, literally crawls.
That said, this system would most likely be unacceptable to gamers. The lack of a dedicated video card is a culprit. While the embedded video chip (1) is more than adequate for office/home tasks, it does not have the advanced rendering capabilities taken advantage of - of required - by recent games. Plays the classic Alpha Centauri beautifully though, but this game came out in 1999!
Image and Video Quality
When I initially connected the components and powered up the system, I was very disappointed with the blurry fonts I saw on the big 19" (diagonally) LCD panel. It turned out my disappointment was misguided - XP initially comes up at the 1024 by 768 pixel resolution. When I switched to the 1440 by 900 resolution native to the monitor, the blurring completely disappeared. I switched to Large Fonts in the Windows Control Panel, and I am now enjoying the bright crisp colors and easy to read text. (Does this sound like an advertisement?)
While the LCD monitor has a DVI (digital video) input, the lack of the corresponding DVI output on the back of the E521 tower is disappointing. No DVI means that video signal is converted to an analog format by the video chip, and then back to digital in the monitor, decreasing performance and (possibly) making image quality worse.
Bundled Software
As I wrote above, this E521 came with Windows XP Home, Microsoft Works 8.5, Norton Internet Security 2006 trial with a 90-day free update subscription, Roxio Creator Basic/MyDVD Basic, Sonic CinePlayer, and Corel Snapfire basic photo management/editing software. To me, only Windows XP Home has value, as I am not planning to use any other bundled software. In fact, Norton Internet Security caused a problem that Dell support helped me out with - see below. I installed OpenOffice 2.2.0 to handle Microsoft Office documents. Instead of Roxio, I will be using ULead MovieMaker, since the license from my old PC is freeing up. I prefer ULead DVD Player or Windows Media Player 11 to Sonic; and, finally, the free Picasa from Google is superior to Corel Snapfire.
Warranty
Since I decided to keep costs to a minimum, I declined any additional warranty offered by the Dell configuration utility on their site. I have a 1-year onsite hardware warranty that specifically excludes software issues such as spyware, viruses etc. With the rate hardware gets obsolete these days, I felt 1-year onsite hardware warranty was adequate. In general, I usually decline in-store warranties on electronics, appliances etc., preferring to self-insure.
Ordering from Dell
... is a breeze. One piece of advice I received was to select Office systems, even though I am buying a home system. First, if you want XP rather than Vista, you have to buy an office system - Dell currently offers home PCs with Vista only. Second, prices tend to be lower.
Once you select a system, you go through a number of steps configuring it. Though I would have gladly paid a little extra for a faster CPU, the X2 3600 was, alas, the only option. I may decide to upgrade the processor when the hardware warranty expired in a year. Other options included various hardware and software choices, such as wireless mice and keyboards, wireless networking interfaces, Microsoft Office bundles, etc. I added an internal FireWire card to connect the camcorder (unfortunately, the FireWire ports are on the back of the tower, not on the front), and a speaker that attaches to the LCD monitor.
With the order complete (I had to register), I immediately received a confirmation email, and then, 2 days later, a shipment confirmation with a tracking number. It took only 5 working days between the order and the time 2 boxes showed up on my doorstep.
Sales and Support
Alas, things were not always smooth setting up the system. I suspect a conflict with my antivirus software, but Norton Internet Security (NIS) put up error dialogs about missing files on start up. A visit to the Symantec site found instructions to... yes, contact the PC supplier for the installation CD needed to fix the problem. I called Dell sales - not technical support! - and explained the issue. After a few minutes of talking with her manager, the support lady promised to add the NIS to my order free of charge, and mail me the CD. The CD arrived within 3 working days from my request.
E521 on Epinions
When I wanted to share my positive experience I had with this Dell on Epinions, I ran into some issues. Searching for "Dell Dimension E521" on Epinions produces 2 pages of results, all of which are E521 desktops differing in CPU speed, memory and disk storage, and operating system. I dutifully went through the list and picked the item closest to my configuration - it was the only one that explicitly listed a 19" LCD monitor. My system has a slower CPU (1.9 vs. 2.6 GHz) and a smaller (160 vs 250 GB) hard disk. Epinions has some work to do on their PC catalog - especially since configuration options must have been last updated in 2001 or 2002. Yes, I have a "bigger than 40 Gigabytes" hard disk, and "More than 256 Megabytes" memory - really!
Bottom Line
So far, the E521 Dimension provided me with a brick performance and crisp graphics at an unbeatable price point. Had I bought comparable parts separately, I would have paid about $100 more, almost a 20% premium. Then I would have had to assemble the system, and end up with only individual parts warranted (2). I will report on my experiences with the PC in- and post-warranty.
(1) The Dell order page specified an "Intel Video Accelerator X3000" - which is virtually impossible, given that the PC has an AMD processor. Upon further examination, desktop and resolution control software is provided by Nvidia, so I assume it is also the manufacturer of the on-board video chip.
(2) A respected reviewer commented here on the negative experiences with Dell support and system warranties.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 580
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
asafono
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Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 21 members
About Me:
I have no principles; all I've got is nerves - Akutagawa Ryunosuke.
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