Entry-level PCs usually scrape the bottom of the barrel in terms of components and performance; they're good for Web surfing, e-mailing, and word processing--and not much else. With the Dimension E310, Dell is raising the bar (and the price). Dell calls the E310 ($957 with monitor and speakers) an entry-level multimedia computer, largely because it uses the Media Center version of Windows XP. For serious multimedia work and frequent multitasking, we suggest a dual-core system such as Dell's own XPS 200 or the HP Media Center m7260n Photosmart PC. Choose the Dimension E510 for basic tasks and more occasional use. In the E310's favor are its attractive price (the baseline model costs $499), its 64-bit-capable processor, and Dell's DataSafe hard drive backup solution. We just wish it used a more recent chipset and offered a graphics upgrade path.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
From the outside, the silver-and-black Dimension E310 looks about as middle-of-the-road as you can get--understated and unadorned. A cutout directly behind the front panel provides a centrally located fan exhaust--a staple of its BTX design. A media-card reader, a double-layer DVD burner, and a single USB 2.0 port are all you find up front. A FireWire port is available as a $30 option (although it should come standard).
When you pull the case-release lever and remove the side panel, you'll find that the case interior is well laid out, offering easy access to all components and slots. The drives are easily removed, and the cables are well managed. But you may be a bit dismayed with the internal expansion option. While the E310 has two PCI slots and a single PCI Express x1 slot, it lacks a dedicated x16 PCI Express slot for graphics cards. The integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics of the 915G chipset are your only option. By contrast, the $599 eMachines T6420 (the price works out to be approximately the same as the E310's when you add a monitor) features an x16 PCI Express slot, which lets you upgrade the graphics down the road. Even the budget AMD Sempron-based HP Compaq Presario SR1620NX supplies an x16 PCI Express slot.
The Dimension E310 comes standard with 512MB of DDR2 RAM, which is barely enough for most users. Fortunately, upgrading is fairly painless--only $30 for an upgrade to 1GB. Upgrading to the system's 2GB maximum capacity will set you back $180.
CPU choices are slightly more limited. Our review unit came with a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 521 processor. It's not anywhere near the top of the line, but it helped the E310 run 12 percent faster than the Pentium 4 519-based Gateway DX200X on CNET Labs' SysMark 2004 application benchmarks. If you want even more speed, the 3GHz P4 630 makes a worthy $40 upgrade. Your only other CPU option is the 3.2GHz P4 640 (a $90 upgrade). Besides running faster, the 600-series CPUs offer a 2MB L2 cache rather than the 1MB cache on the 521 series. Intel's 915 chipset is fine, especially for a budget system, but it's not the company's most recent.
The combination of midrange CPUs with a lack of video-card options means the Dimension E310 won't do much for you as a gaming system. Frame rates were too low to run Half-Life 2, although older games, such as Unreal Tournament 2004, should run at lower resolutions.
Dell ships the Dimension E310 with the Windows Media Center Edition operating system, giving users an easy way to manage photos, music, and videos. If you want a physical restore CD for the operating system, you'll need to spend an extra $10--a wise investment, even if you shouldn't really have to pay extra for it. Both the Media Center remote and a TV tuner card are optional. The remote alone costs $29, or you can get the remote and a basic single-tuner, standard-def ATI Theater 550-based TV tuner for $100. Plenty of other options are available off the shelf if you decide to add TV tuner functionality later on.
The included monitor is an analog-only Dell E176FP 17-inch LCD, although you can bundle a variety of 19- and 20-inch LCDs starting at an additional $150. The integrated Audigy Sound Blaster audio is fine for all but the most discerning audiophiles, and the included Dell A525 30-watt 2.1 speakers offer surprisingly good sound for a system with such a small subwoofer. The bundled software package, which Dell calls its Starter Entertainment Pack, includes the Musicmatch audio player and Corel Photo Album 6 Starter Edition.
Despite the lack of standard FireWire ports, internal expansion slots, or Media Center hardware, one thing the Dell Dimension E310 does provide is advanced data security, namely Dell's DataSafe hardware-and-software-based data-protection solution. In a nutshell, DataSafe is a dual-drive RAID 1 array with a software component that automates backups. Our review unit came with dual 80GB hard drives, but only one of them was available to us for storage. The other remained invisible, taking regular snapshots of the visible drive. Should the system ever suffer a major hardware malfunction or fall prey to a malicious spyware agent, a few mouse clicks would send the backup software (in this case, Norton Ghost) into action, restoring the main drive with a snapshot taken before the trauma occurred. You can also opt for a DataSafe arrangement that uses two 160GB drives.
The Dimension E310 comes standard with a one-year warranty, which includes at-home service and 24/7 phone (not toll-free) and online support, including chat. Dell provides useful printed documentation and an incredibly thorough Web-based support center. Adding a second year costs $80, while the premium hand-holding service Dell On Call, which can help with anything from hardware problems to spyware, costs $49 for 30 days.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 | BAPCo's SysMark 2004 rating | Â Â | | SysMark 2004 Internet-content-creation rating | Â Â |
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
Dell Dimension E310
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 2.8GHz Intel Pentium 4 521; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Intel 915G graphics chip using 128MB shared memory; two WDC WD1600JS-75MHB0 160GB Serial ATA 7,200rpm; integrated Intel 82801FR Serial ATA RAID Controller (RAID 0)
Dell Dimension E510
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 3GHz Intel Pentium 4 531; Intel 945G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 400MHz; 128MB ATI Radeon X300 SE (PCIe); Maxtor 6L160M0 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
eMachines T6420
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; 2.2GHz AMD Athlon 64 3400+; Nvidia C51G chipset; 1,024MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated Nvidia GeForce 6100 graphics chip using 256MB shared memory; Seagate ST3200826A 200GB 7,200rpm IDE
Gateway DX200X
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2; 3.06GHz Pentium 4 519; Intel 915G chipset; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; integrated Intel 915G graphics chip using 128MB shared memory; Seagate ST3160023AS 160GB 7,200rpm Serial ATA
HP Compaq Presario SR1620NX
Windows XP Home SP2; 2GHz AMD Sempron 3400+; ATI Radeon RS480 chipset; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics chip using 256MB shared memory; Seagate ST3160021A 160GB 7,200rpm EIDE